Shawn Michaels Comments on Why He Doesn’t Want WWE NXT To Be RAW or SmackDown “Lite”
A recent episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast featured WWE SVP of NXT and Talent Relations and NXT overseer Shawn Michaels as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Michaels’ thoughts about how he doesn’t want to turn WWE’s NXT brand into a “lite” version of RAW or SmackDown.
“I don’t want NXT to be a SmackDown or a Raw lite. We have those. I want it to be a totally different show. It needs to be a brand that also stands on its own, and it is. It’s totally different. It’s unlike any other brand out there in the world, if you ask me, because nobody has the model that we have.
Nobody builds people up just to lose them. Everybody builds people up to build around those guys. We’re unlike any other beast out there.”
Michaels also gave his thoughts about the online criticisms of Tony D’Angelo’s reign as NXT Champion and how D’Angelo reminds him of his own WWE Championship reign in 1996.
“I had a chat with Tony, and one of the things you can enjoy about the job, I said, ‘Tony, the narrative on Shawn Michaels is he’s the worst drawing WWE Champion of all time.’ And I said, ‘Nobody says that that’s when everybody was leaving, WCW was coming on. And Tony, you’re in that same boat. Everybody got called up, you’re the champion in this time.’
I said, ‘It isn’t fun, but I can tell you this much: I’m the one that’s still here.’ And again, I created my space and you can do the same thing. Once again, you just have to be able to silence the noise around you.
And again, I told him exactly what I was told, which is, ‘Hey, you’re the guy who carried us through this tough time.’ That’s the difference. Yes, all those things went on, but Tony D’Angelo is the guy that we knew could carry us and have the shoulders strong enough to carry us through this time that we could rebuild this men’s division. And he’s been the one that’s done that.
Tony D’Angelo is one of the hardest workers in this place. He’s a phenomenal human being, and he has done a great job.”
Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com 1 & 2
Cruz Montana Comments on Biggest Difference He’s Noticed Working For WWE
A recent episode of the No-Contest Wrestling podcast featured NXT talent Cruz Montana, former Mike Santana in TNA, as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Montana’s thoughts about the biggest difference he’s noticed so far working for WWE compared to TNA.
“Well, I think, you know, I started coming to NXT, I think, last year, right? Like, I started coming last year. So right away, the very first day, I’m very observant of my surroundings, right? So I like to, I guess, sit outside of the setting and just observe everything that’s moving around me.
And that very first day, it was May 25th, I think, and we were, it was Battleground. It was like their big show. And I remember sitting in the stands and just watching how the machine runs. And it was that moment that I made the realization like, ‘Yo, this is the WWE for a reason.’
Everything is super structured. Everything is very to the T, you know? And I love that. I love routine and I love structure, right? That’s one of the biggest things about the WWE, aside from everywhere else that I’ve been. There’s a lot of structure here.
It’s a TV show, right? So it’s treated as such and we got to make sure that all the cameras see everything and we’re trying to convey that emotion through the screens and just everything. And I love that. And just me in general, I love a new learning experience, right?”
Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com
WWE Files New Trademark
WWE filed a new trademark for “946” on August 28 for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes.
It is currently not known what WWE intends to use the trademark for.
Portion of trademark filing:
IC 041: Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information; fan club services, namely, organizing sporting events in the field of wrestling for wrestling fan club members; organizing social entertainment events for entertainment purposes for wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment; online journals, namely blogs, in the field of sports entertainment.
AAA Ola de Calor & NXT Heatwave 2026 Ticket Sales Update
WWE reportedly has sold and distributed around 5,440 tickets for today’s AAA Ola de Calor and NXT Heatwave 2026 double header events at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas as of Sunday morning, according to the WrestleTix.
AEW: Britt Baker Reflects on Her & Rebel’s Recent Visit To ALS Nexus In Orlando, Tony Khan on Him Balancing AEW’s Stacked Roster With Adding Some Fresh Names To It & “Many Of The Best Wrestlers” Are Trying To Get In, Grado Competes In Dark Match at 8/26 AEW Tapings In Glasgow
Kyle Fletcher on Him Being Excited Over Thought Of Another Match With Ilja Dragunov
WWE SmackDown Ratings – Aug. 21, 2026 – Up
