Triple H was hit with a health scare last month when a genetic heart issue caused him to suffer a cardiac event. He’s already undergone treatment for it and is expected to make a full recovery, but in the meantime, he hasn’t been able to run WWE’s NXT brand while recovering. Shawn Michaels, who has been working backstage with NXT for several years and is now the vice president of talent development, confirmed in an interview with Sports Illustrated this week that he has stepped into the role during his best friend’s absence.
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“Trying to step in and fill his role is impossible to do,” Michaels said. “Everybody here misses him unbelievably, especially me. But I always go back to this — everything in real life takes precedence over everything else. This was a situation where my best friend needed my help and needed me to step in, so I look at this as an opportunity, in a small way, to thank him for everything he did for me earlier in my career.
“Taking over the responsibilities here is a drop in the bucket compared to what he did for me all those years back,” he added. “I’m honored to at least have the opportunity to pay him back a little bit and be there for him. That’s what this whole company does —this whole relaunch has been everyone pulling together, and I’m energized and inspired to keep this NXT territory going strong during his absence.”
“The Heartbreak Kid” also talked about the changes NXT has undergone in recent months as NXT 2.0 — “Doing this now for 35 years, I’ve seen constant change. And change is certainly not new to us in WWE. It’s constantly evolving and changing. I’ve heard people call this a refresh, but it’s still the same crew, which is great because they’re so damn talented. It reminds me of the Attitude Era. We had the same roster the day before he Attitude Era started, and I still remember Vince coming into the locker room and making that speech, inspiring us and making us hungry for the future. That’s what this is–turning over a new leaf, restructuring a few things and putting a brand-new coat of paint on a dominant and incredible brand. It’s chummed the waters, so to speak, and that’s fun to be around.”
Tonight’s Halloween Havoc event will be the brand’s first major event since the 2.0 reboot. The show will be headlined by NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defending his title against Bron Breakker.
