WWE: Cora Jade Torn ACL Injury Update, Shawn Michaels on Supporting Idea of CM Punk Being His Successor Overseeing NXT, Shawn Spears on Origin of “Stan” Nickname

Roxanne Perez Provides Update on Cora Jade’s Torn ACL Injury

As noted before, Cora Jade has been out of action for WWE’s NXT brand since this past January due to a torn ACL injury.

A recent episode of The Ringer Wrestling Show podcast featured NXT talent Roxanne Perez as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Perez providing an update on Jade’s recovery from her torn ACL injury.

“I think she has about maybe a month left (Perez said about Cora Jade’s recovery). She did have a really bad knee injury. Yeah, so who knows when she’s gonna pop up? Kind of have a love-hate relationship so, I feel like she might be coming for me soon or, maybe, maybe she won’t. We don’t know. Maybe she’ll come back around.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

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Shawn Michaels Comments on Supporting Idea of CM Punk Being His Successor in Overseeing NXT

A recent episode of The Ringer Wrestling Show podcast featured WWE SVP of NXT & Talent Relations and head NXT booker Shawn Michaels as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Michaels thoughts about him being supportive of the idea of CM Punk being his successor in overseeing WWE’s NXT developmental system.

“So, if that is in his heart to do, absolutely (Michaels said about CM Punk being his successor in NXT), and again, I will say whether it’s CM Punk or anyone that has a passion for that, I would absolutely understand it because it happened to me. This place is infectious. Again, the environment here at NXT and at the Performance Center down here in Orlando is unlike any other culture in the entire business and that’s why everybody does come around here because it takes them back to the beginning when this business was about, again, the making it and the being in the ring and the excitement about the future. So, and again, I would have never thought in a million years, a guy that loved performing like I did and being out there and having all the eyes and focus on me would get such a joy out of doing everything he can to provide that for the future stars of the WWE, and CM Punk obviously seems to be somebody that enjoys that as well. So, I will say this as I’ve said on many occasions: When he’s ready to make that move after his in-ring career, I’ll support him every step of the way and help in any way that I can, and you know, a lot of people have tried to kick me out of the door before (he laughed)…”

Michaels also gave his thoughts about the potential changes to the NXT brand and if the goal is to make XT a third touring brand under the WWE umbrella.

“I sort of look at NXT as the NCAA, to the NFL. If Raw and SmackDown are the NFL, NXT to me is the NCAA. I think that the NCAA is a brand. They still put 100,000 people in a stadium every Saturday afternoon. So, I think there’s an opportunity for NXT to go out on a more regular basis. But I personally would like to keep that special. I never wanna venture too far from our home here in Florida. That’s one of the things that makes us different. We have an environment unlike any other. It’s intimate and I think we’re able to do things here that other wrestling programs and other brands can’t do and that affords us the luxury of having some of those options that we have here in Orlando that you wouldn’t have at various arenas across the nation because you never know what you might be getting so to speak so, as much as I do wanna continue to grow NXT and I believe we will, I personally don’t ever wanna get to where we’re venturing out of here too often because this is our home and this is where NXT was built and I think we should continue to build here.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

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Shawn Spears Comments on Origin of His “Stan” Nickname

A recent episode of the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast featured Shawn Spears as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Spears thoughts on the origin of his “Stan” nickname from him being a backstage extra for a segment that featured him being superkicked by Shawn Michaels at WWE Cyber Sunday 2006.

“When they pulled me aside from that, I had just gotten down to OVW. They grabbed me, pulled me over, and this is where I meet Shawn and Hunter for the first time. Shawn turns to me and goes, ‘what’s your name?’ We’re going to roll live at any minute. My name is Shawn Spears at the time. I went, ‘Shawn.’ He went, ‘Stan.’ He just said, ‘Your name is not Shawn. My name is Shawn. Your name is Stan.’ He gave me the name, no one else did. ‘I’ll kick Stan.’ I was like, ‘This is the best. He’s going to kick me.’ Like a kid in a candy store. He gave me the name. It wasn’t creative or someone on the writing team or anybody else. Shawn Michaels, you are at fault for ‘Stan.'”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com