From NXT to NFT: Shawn Michaels helps pave WWE’s future | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

Credit: WWE.com

For as iconic of a career as he had inside the squared circle, Shawn Michaels’ work with WWE behind the scenes may prove more central to his legacy than anything else.

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer is widely regarded as one of the greatest to grace the squared circle. With countless championships and instant classics to their credit, that’s a hard claim to argue with.

However, since retiring from the ring in 2010, Michaels has been fully focused on helping WWE build a strong foundation for the future through NXT and other avenues.

That alone makes the 57-year-old’s present as important as his history, and being an innovator has given him the ultimate advantage in that regard.

As a trailblazer for WWE’s ladder and Iron Man matches, Michaels should unsurprisingly be the first superstar to receive his very own NFT trading card thanks to the company’s partnership with Candy Digital, WWE’s digital trading card partner.

“There’s a whole new generation of WWE fans, because of the Network and the Peacock deal and now through NXT, who are growing up with the ability to still watch Shawn Michaels,” The Heartbreak Kid told B/R. “When something is new, original and relatively unproven, it’s the NFT trading card, and I’m the first guy. I’m the guy who grew up when there wasn’t cable TV yet. It’s fascinating to me.”

WWE’s new line of trading card NFTs will closely mirror the trading cards of their ’80s and ’90s fame and include a full-body silver statue of Michaels posing in the center of the ring accompanied by his entrance music, a 3D trading card NFT that will transition into a carousel of photos showing him through three different eras of his career, and more.

Credit: WWE

The winner of the auction for the online-exclusive 1:1 gold NFT will be Michael’s personal guest at an upcoming NXT event and have side-by-side seats, a backstage tour, a personal meet-and-greet and autographed memorabilia.

WWE NXT’s Constant Change fires Michaels

It would have been easy for Michaels to ride off into the sunset after his historic swan song in the main event of WrestleMania 26 against The Undertaker, never to be involved in the business again.

Outside of the occasional appearance on WWE TV, he managed to stay away for several years, at least until a role as trainer and eventually creative consultant in NXT came in 2016.

Since then, HBK has given its shine to all who have come through the brand. As someone who led WWE into the New Generation period of the mid-90s and broke the mold of what a headliner should look like, he is as clear as anyone that being on the path to change in wrestling is essential.

“I pride myself on being one of the guys that has been around a long time, but I understand and appreciate that the business evolves and changes and am a supporter of that,” Michaels said. “As with everything else, the athletes, whether in our industry or others, are getting so much better and continue to be innovative and push the envelope. WWE never shies away from making those different innovations and merging them with what we do.”

In a short amount of time, Michaels went from a major influence backstage to sole owner of NXT’s creative vision when Triple H underwent heart surgery a year ago.

There were strong rumors at the time that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard were essentially running the show heading into the brand’s abrupt relaunch last September, but The Heartbreak Kid confirmed that he has been in the driver’s seat all along.

“When Hunter first left, it became all me, and certainly from a television standpoint,” Michaels said. “Matt Bloom is the head trainer and takes care of everything from a PC training standpoint, but when it came to NXT 2.0 TV, that’s something me and my team took over creatively. I know a lot of people thought Vince and Bruce did it I can promise you, they didn’t have time to make NXT TV, if it’s good or bad, that’s up to me.

“It’s been a great pleasure to run that show and work with those talents. Again, everybody was put in a really tough position, we all were, but that’s where you learn to do things in WWE. That, to me , is a form of talent development, which is understanding that things can always change … around here and you have to adapt to that. The show always goes on. It was a trial for many of us, but it’s been an absolutely amazing experience .”

Michaels feels that being a student of the game for over three decades prepared him perfectly for this opportunity, knowing that everything can change in an instant in WWE.

Although it’s not what he originally signed up for, he’s thrived and survived in his newfound prominence and is fueled by the fun challenges each new day brings.

“As everybody knows, I came in just as a coach and slowly transitioned into helping out with creative stuff and things like that,” Michaels said. “I was always the other guy right behind Hunter [Triple H]. Obviously, I never envisioned being the guy who had the final say in the show and what we do and don’t do and the overall vision for what it is we’re going to do and how we’re going to move forward.”

The DX founders aim to bridge the creative gap between NXT and the main roster

Michaels is a big believer in taking chances, even if they don’t always pay off.

Then again, stepping outside your comfort zone is part of the development process in pro wrestling. This strategy has cultivated quite a few promising prospects in NXT 2.0 over the past year, and seen others not reach the heights originally expected of them.

When Vince McMahon was in charge of the creative on the main roster, no matter how successful someone was in NXT, there was a fear among the fans that they would be played with when they arrived on Raw or SmackDown and have everything that got them over the top changed.

With Triple H now calling the shots since Vince McMahon’s retirement on July 22, Michaels promises that there will be much more synergy between the brands going forward to better secure the company’s future.

“He and I always thought the same thing,” he said. “That’s what we’re hoping for. We want things to continue to evolve and get better and evolve, but I think it’s going to be a more natural transition. And look: We also understand that it’s our job down here to adapt everything else. It’s Raw and SmackDown that really pave the way for this company. We get it.

“I like the fire drill aspect of this job. I know it’s challenging at times and I know people will be upset when we get sudden changes and direction changes and it can be nerve-wracking, but it’s also incredibly exciting and challenging.” I guess that’s something I still like. At 10:05 on Tuesday night we’re going to have a live show for ourselves, and if it doesn’t go perfectly, don’t worry, we’ve got one next week, and that’s a good problem to have.”

Fans have already started to see signs of change on Raw and SmackDown since Triple H took over the creative side of the shows, most notably the return of former NXT stars Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross and Dexter Lumis.

Michaels worked closely with Kai and Iyo Sky (formerly Io Shirai) during their long tenure on the black and gold brand. He is extremely optimistic about not only what awaits them on WWE’s main stage, but also what the coming years will look like for Raw and SmackDown with D-Generation X’s two founding members now at the helm.

“Dakota Kai knows she’s absolutely one of my favorites, and Iyo is clearly one of the most talented ladies in the world,” Michaels said. “I can only say this: We have very comparable lists. Hunter and I kind of share the same brain. We have a little list that we think about every now and then, so I’m really excited about what he’s done and what he’s coming up with to do in the future and we look forward to helping him every step of the way.”

WWE’s Shawn Michaels NFT Trading Cards can be purchased starting August 15 at 1 p.m. ET through August 22 at 7 p.m. ET at candy.com/wwe.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has been specializing in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.