WWE's Shawn Michaels Reveals What Led to Gable Steveson Joining NXT

One of the biggest surprises leading into WWE NXT's Great American Bash premium live event is the involvement of Gable Steveson, who will have his debut match this Sunday. Steveson has been making appearances in NXT over the past few weeks, and then this past episode revealed he would be sticking around in NXT as opposed to pursuing more Olympic Gold or another National Championship. He will take on Baron Corbin in his WWE in-ring debut, and during today's Great American Bash conference call, Shawn Michaels was asked how Steveson sticking around in NXT came about and when it all came together.

Bleacher Report's Graham Mirmina asked Michaels about Steveson's development and how the match came together, and Michaels revealed it was something that came together quickly after getting the green light, and it was Michaels who inquired about using Steveson in NXT. After that was done, Michaels didn't waste any time in getting him into the mix, and is excited about what he brings to NXT and what the future holds for him.

"So look I will say this, as to your point, he has been here in the WWE for a while. He has been down here for a bit. I will be straightforward and honest, and again, like always, I never know if I'm supposed to say stuff or not. He had been here, and I wanted to know if we could do something with this guy. I want to get him into the mix, can I do that? Sometimes people fall under different genres, different rules. I don't ask a ton of questions, but he is someone if we could do it, let's do it," Michaels said.

"So I brought it up and I got the go-ahead. Like you said, a bit abrupt, but let's see how it works," Michaels said. "I think he has, obviously, he's an incredibly intelligent and talented young man, so let's get him to work. He's another guy, following in the footsteps of someone like a Kurt Angle, and I'd want to get out there right away and see if I could be as good as Kurt was, or better. So I got the green light and we're doing it, and I'm excited about what he can bring to the table in NXT."

Steveson will be taking on a veteran in Corbin, and Corbin's not going to take it easy on him, first match or not. "Baron isn't going to make it easy on him. He is literally a shark that smells blood, but Gable has had a lot of big moments, so I don't think the moment is going to be bigger than him, but let's see how he adjusts. He doesn't seem to be intimidated by the challenge," Michaels said. You can find the full card for Great American Bash below.

NXT Championship Match: Carmelo Hayes (C) vs. Ilja Dragunov

NXT Women's Championship Match: Tiffany Stratton (C) vs. Thea Hail – Submission Match

NXT North American Championship Match: Dominik Mysterio (C) vs. Wes Lee vs. Mustafa Ali

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Gallus (C) vs. The Family

Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport – Weapons Wild Match

Gable Steveson vs. Baron Corbin

Dragon Lee, Nathan Frazer, Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz vs. Meta-Four – Eight-Person Mixed Tag Team Match

NXT's Great American Bash streams on Peacock on Sunday, July 30th at 8 PM EST.

Are you excited for the Great American Bash? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!