NXT Deadline 2023 Media Scrum: NXT Women’s Division, Wes Lee’s Back Injury, CM Punk, Lexis King, NXT Europe, Becky Lynch, McKenzie Mitchell Release

NXT head booker Shawn Michaels held a media scrum on Thursday to promote this Saturday’s NXT Deadline 2023 event in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• On the topic of NXT’s Women’s division, Michaels praised the division for being “incredibly stacked” in terms of depth with the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge match featuring five women that were in last year’s match. Michaels also praised WWE’s talent and recruitment process and claimed for a long time, they always had the most talented women in world working on their main roster. Michaels also praised the two women’s matches on the card for this Saturday’s event.
• On the topic of Wes Lee’s back injury and the decision to pull him from this Saturday’s Deadline 2023 event, Michaels stated “Well, the decision with Wes was pretty darn close to last minute. Wes has been struggling for quite some time, I certainly didn’t know the depth of it. Obviously, we get medical reports, but it was a decision that Wes made on his own, as he should. Clearly, he’s a young man that goes out there and performs like few others and he had a huge match already going into this premium live event looking for the North American Championship, but just a day or two before, we had a long talk and he just did not think he could make it through the match with the pain that he was in. That was a decision that he and our medical team made, it is the best decision for Wes and that is the only thing in my mind that’s important right now. All of this was last minute, Wes, to his credit, was doing everything he could do to get himself ready for this, but it wasn’t meant to be. So, we made the last-minute decision I guess less than 24 hours with Dragon Lee. I’ll say this, there’s obviously story there from before with Dragon Lee. From a selfish standpoint, for me, I was so looking forward and enjoying having him in NXT, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I didn’t have him as long as I wanted to. He’s something that, again, I felt like would be a fantastic match. He’s somebody that I happen to personally enjoy and like, not just as a performer, but as a human being. I know there were matchups that were still on the table for me in NXT, so I thought that if there was any possibility of those matches being able to happen, that Dragon Lee would be the best fit. It’s great to have him in NXT, even if it’s for just a little bit longer.“
• On the topic of Nikkita Lyons’ return from injury at this past Tuesday’s NXT show, Michaels stated that everyone within the company saw a lot of star potential in her before she had suffered an injury. Michaels also stated that her return adds to an already stacked Women’s division and she is an incredibly talented person who has that special it factor. Michaels also stated that Lyons is going to have to work to earn her spot when she gets back in the ring due to how hungry NXT’s Women’s roster is for competition and success.
• On the topic of CM Punk’s recent return to WWE, Michaels stated in a joking manner that Punk can do him a favor by coming to NXT since he was right on the last media call about Punk’s career future. Michaels also stated that business comes first and does not believe that the it was a tough decision to bring back Punk for anyone in the company. Michaels also stated that he is happy that Punk is back after leaving the first time and wishes both Punk and the company luck for his return run.
• On the topic of NXT’s upcoming move to The CW, Michaels stated that while it is still some way off in regards to time, they are excited about the upcoming move and their new partnership with The CW. Michaels also praised WWE’s partnership with USA Network for NXT being phenomenal and fantastic over the years. Michaels stated that they want to finish out their time strong on USA Network.
• On the topic of Lexis King, Michaels stated that they are looking forward to seeing how he does with his match against Carmelo Hayes at this Saturday’s event. Michaels also stated that King was someone that he thinks needed the structure of WWE’s NXT system to improve and King has taken well to the coaching he has been given in NXT.
• On the topic of the status of WWE’s current plans for the launch of NXT Europe, Michaels stated that this process is still on-going but you can see what is going on with the main roster in regards to holding big international events as an indicator of where things will go in time. Michaels stated that they are ready for NXT Europe’s launch when it happens.
• On the topic of Becky Lynch’s recent stint in NXT, Michaels stated that Lynch wanted to lift NXT’s Women’s division and the brand as a whole for her goal. Michaels stated that Lynch managed to achieve this with great humility, professionalism, and class and thanked her for her work. Michaels also praised Lynch for having a great impact for NXT especially from a ratings standpoint.
• On the topic of main roster talents being sent to NXT, Michaels stated that he did not want to start anything with WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque but everyone had so much fun in NXT. Michaels praised the main roster talents who come in for their great passion and hunger and feel like they are back in their college days again. Michaels also stated that he thinks NXT talents expect main roster talents to be more stiff and gruff towards them but instead they come in relaxed and excited to take part in the brand. Michaels stated that he is happy for the main roster talent who have shown up in NXT.
• On the topic of McKenzie Mitchell’s recent release from WWE and if he was told beforehand about it, Micheals stated “No, I don’t. McKenzie is always going to be a part of the NXT family. It obviously took me by surprise as well, my understanding is that there are some areas where we have overlapping jobs and there were going to be changes. There are a lot of things that go on in this company that are way above me, and this was obviously one of them. Like we always say, the door is always open in the WWE, I think that, in my opinion, McKenzie will always be a part of the NXT family and it doesn’t mean that we can’t revisit that relationship down the road. Obviously, it’s a loss to us in NXT, but the machine, as always, has to continue to roll on and we will obviously do that and miss her greatly because everybody absolutely loves and adores McKenzie.“
• On the topic of NXT’s increases in their 18-34 key demo viewership and ratings over the past year, Michaels stated “My feeling is, a lot of it is the movement of the show. Our show moves very fast. I think that’s something that resonates with that audience. I’ll also say, it’s a variety show, it’s sports entertainment. We have something for everybody. Certainly, for me, is what I believe is resonating with that audience. It’s quick moving, it’s going from one scene to another. It’s almost like scrolling on your phone, some of the segments we have. We can go from a Chase U segment to a backstage promo into the ring to a shot that happens from the Performance Center to an off-site with the Family at the restaurant. We have a lot of different atmospheric aspects to the NXT show. That’s why I do say that we’re the best two-hour wrestling television show on TV today because we have so much variety. That’s something that being in Orlando at the Performance Center allows us that other people don’t have. That’s one of the things that resonates. Also, we have younger writers on our show. The old man is still making the final decisions, but at the same time, we’re always trying to think of stuff that is natural and what is going on today. Certain emotions are there regardless of age group; anger, jealousy, joy, happiness, being hurt, any emotion you have under the sun doesn’t really have an age group. If you can find yourself tapping into all of those emotions, that’s what sort of attracts the 18 to 34 audience because I think they are a bit more focused on that aspect of television.“
• On the topic of NXT’s future, Michaels stated that he wants NXT to have a great show from top to bottom and also wants to continue to expand storylines. Michaels also stated that they are going into the holidays and wants to end this year with a bang and start off next year with a bang as well. Michaels also stated that they are currently focused on their upcoming Deadline 2023 show and the roster is ready to make it a quality show from top to bottom so that their fans who invest their time watching their weekly shows enjoys it. Michaels also stated that he is still a wrestling fan and wants the show to be great so that fans want to keep supporting them.

Full NXT Deadline 2023 media scrum audio: F4WOnline.com

Source: PWInsider.com, Fightful.com 1, 2, & 3