Shawn Michaels Shoots Down Rumor Regarding Vince McMahon and WWE NXT

Shawn Michaels has been effectively running WWE's NXT brand ever since Triple H had to step away to deal with health issues. In a new interview with TV Insider following NXT WarGames, Michaels talked about his time in the role while also shooting down the idea that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard have been calling all the shots for the show since it was rebranded as NXT 2.0 back in mid-September. Since the rebranding, the show has taken a heavier focus on wrestlers trained at the WWE Performance Center and in-ring segments. 

"I started out doing two hours a day, three days a week. Now I'm doing it about 23 hours a day, seven days a week," Michaels said. "People out there thinking it's all Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard type of production. They just are the ones who gave us the direction of what it is they wanted from NXT going into the future. It is still all the team Hunter [Triple H] put in place doing it here.

"I love learning and growing in the different aspects of WWE, but I have a greater appreciation for everything he took on," he added. "I now understand how you can not return a text when you get it. I've never had so many emails, learning computer stuff. Things I swore I would never want to do. But have since learned to do that. It has been a blast. To be able to step in for my friend is my honor to do."

Michaels talked about filling in for his best friend during a separate recent interview with Sports Illustrated. "The Game" suffered a cardiac event back in early September and has still yet to return to his normal day-to-day role within WWE. 

"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."