WWE: Paul Heyman Mentions Brock Lesnar During Hall of Fame Speech, Shawn Michaels on AEW Having Very Talented Roster, More News

Paul Heyman Mentions Brock Lesnar Multiple Times During His WWE Hall of Fame Speech

Friday’s WWE Hall of Fame 2024 ceremony at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featured Paul Heyman among those being officially inducted for this year’s class.

During his speech, Heyman mentioned Brock Lesnar’s name multiple times while reflecting about his accomplishments in his career and talent he has worked with throughout the years.

Heyman’s speech was notable for this being the first time that Lesnar was referenced on WWE programming since his involvement in the Vince McMahon sex trafficking lawsuit. While Heyman was able to name drop Lesnar, he was not shown in the video package for Heyman’s induction into WWE’s Hall of Fame.

---

Shawn Michaels Comments on His Approach to Coaching Talent in NXT & AEW Having “So Much Talent”

NXT head booker Shawn Michaels held a press conference (via WrestlingNews.co) on Friday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to promote today’s NXT Stand & Deliver 2024 event.

One of the topics discussed included Michaels thoughts about his current approach to coaching talent for WWE’s NXT brand. Michaels also gave his thoughts about AEW having a very talented roster and who from AEW he would be interested in welcoming to NXT.

“I always go back, I would take darn near anybody. I can’t say specifically because I think there is so much talent there. I don’t know everybody’s situation; the last thing I want to do is get anyone in trouble. A lot of guys that used to be at NXT are up there that I’ve always loved. I don’t get the opportunity to get to watch as much as I would like to, but I know that I love working with young talent, especially when I get to know them and I understand their passion and desire. Until I know what your desire is in this business, it’s hard for me to say whether you’re the one I’m going to work really hard for. It’s become so personal to me on that level. There are certainly people I see from a talent standpoint that you do, ‘Oh my goodness, they have a great deal of ability, what if we got a chance to work with them? I think we could do something special with them. We got Shawn Spears, he’s a guy I worked with a little bit in NXT before he got called up and eventually left, but I always liked him because I always thought he was a formidable, secure, professional dude that could give you anything you ask for. We enjoy working with darn near anybody and trying to make them better than what they were doing before. Whether it’s coming out of college or with another promotion. If you give us at NXT an opportunity to work with you, I think we can get you closer to your goals and what you want to accomplish than anybody else. That’s what we do and we work hard at doing that. Whether it’s AEW, Japan, TNA, go around the globe. I’m excited about NXT having the opportunity to make anybody’s career better than what they are currently doing and allow them to have the opportunity to enjoy weekends like we’re about to have.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

---

WWE News & Notes

Friday’s WWE Hall of Fame 2024 ceremony at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featured former WWE co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and ECW legends and former WWE talents Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, The Dudley Boyz, Al Snow among those in attendance.

Besides McMahon, AEW talent Keith Lee was also seen in attendance at WWE’s Hall of Fame 2024 ceremony. Lee was first spotted walking backstage while CM Punk was being interviewed by host Jackie Redmond. The reason for Lee’s visit was due to his wife Michin currently works for WWE and both had attended the event.

WWE held one dark match and one WWE Speed match prior to the start of Friday’s SmackDown show in Philadelphia. In regards to the dark match, this was Tiffany Stratton defeating Michin in a singles match. In regards to the WWE Speed match, this was JD McDonagh defeating Axiom in a WWE Speed Championship tournament match.

Friday’s WrestleMania 40 Kickoff event in Philadelphia featured Michael Cole announcing that himself, Pat McAfee, and Corey Graves will be the official commentary teams for both nights of WrestleMania 40.

WWE recently announced 22 new events for their live events schedule for this June to September.

Cody Rhodes filed a trademark for “Renaissance Era” on April 4th for merchandise-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is the same name Rhodes has recently used to describe WWE’s current hot business era.

In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, NXT commentator Vic Joseph gave his thoughts about his belief that himself, Michael Cole, and Corey Graves are the “golden age” of WWE’s commentary team history. Joseph stated “I don’t say this as a joke or downplaying anybody else, I think between myself, Corey Graves and Michael Cole, this is the golden age — if we wanna throw ‘renaissance era’ on something — this is the golden age of WWE commentary, because all three of us are so strong that you can plug and play on us any show and you’re not gonna miss a beat and I take a lot of pride in that, knowing that fact so…” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

During Friday’s special live WWE themed episode of The Pat McAfee Show, host Pat McAfee gave a dig at AEW during comments he made towards Rhea Ripley about Dominik Mysterio. McAfee stated “Real talk, if you (Rhea Ripley) were to (push Dominik Mysterio to the side), he’d be gone forever. We’d never have to see him again… He’d probably be at that other place, in front of like 600 people.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

In a recent interview with WrestlingNews.co, Tommaso Ciampa teased that DIY will be having something D-X inspired for their entrance for the Six-Pack Challenge Ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at Saturday’s WrestleMania 40 Night 1 event. Ciampa stated “Yeah dude, the DX stuff is a lot of fun considering we’re coming up trained by Hunter and Shawn. So much at the Performance Center and NXT. So that’s cool. We got a little nod to them planned for Saturday so that’ll be a lot of fun too. It’s just been a great time all around.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently reflected on Twitter about his upcoming tag team match with Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40. Johnson stated “My 12 week training camp for #WrestleMania has been intense and unlike anything I’ve ever done. Pushing myself physically, mentally and psychologically to places I’ve never gone. The men I’m wrestling this weekend at WrestleMania are the best in the world. My respect for them is boundless. My love for pro wrestling is forever. Honored to share the ring, go to war in our squared circle and entrain the fans. Here’s a raw and uncut look at one of my final training sessions this week. Audaces Fortuna Iuvat, – Final Boss“