WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels took part in the pre-NXT Battleground media call today and discussed several topics, including initial plans for former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell, recent WWE NXT call-ups to the WWE main roster and more.
Michaels said that there were plans for Indi Hartwell on the WWE NXT brand, but that they were thrown a curveball when she suffered an injury, however they were excited to see Indi have a rise in an underdog type of story and capture the moment that she did at NXT Stand & Deliver. Michaels said that they had hoped for a longer reign, but she was obviously called up to WWE’s main roster.
Michaels put over the Australian talent called-up including Indi, Grayson Waller and Xyon Quinn, and said that they each have the potential for success, noting that Grayson Waller is an unbelievable talent, mature and bright and is everything that the WWE wants in a superstar. Michaels said that he is proud of them and happy to see them get the call.
Michaels stated that the process in how much notice he was given in regards to NXT call-ups was smooth and that the brand had a decent idea of what the main roster was looking for, noting that he felt that NXT would lose Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson), as well as Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, as he felt that they were ready for the main roster. Michaels said that they lost a lot of people from the WWE NXT brand in the WWE Draft, but that he likes the excitement in seeing them get their opportunity when they get called up.