WWE: Booker T Says His WWE Contract is “Coming Up Soon”, Shawn Michaels on His Philosophy for Recruiting Talent for NXT Brand, More News

WWE

Jun 11, 2024

Booker T Reveals that His WWE Contract is Expiring Soon

A recent River City Wrestling Con event featured WWE Hall of Famer and NXT commentator Booker T as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Booker T revealing that his current contract with WWE is set to expire soon.

“I’m just having fun. I think it’s about having fun, more than anything. Wrestling, especially the NXT brand, if you’re watching it and you’re listening to me, and we’re having fun, we’re winning. I think right now, NXT is hot, everybody is geared to going out and performing and performing to try to make it to the next level, and if I can have any part in the guys making it to the next level, I’m gonna have some fun. Contract should be coming up here pretty soon, and [laughs] we can get a little bit like Sexyy Red. Shake it real fast, get a little more. [Laughs].”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Shawn Michaels Comments on What He Looks for in Recruiting Talent for NXT Brand

In a recent interview with The Schmo, NXT head booker Shawn Michaels gave his thoughts about what he looks for the most when it comes to recruiting and selecting talent for WWE’s NXT brand.

“Honestly, for me, everybody talks about the ‘it’ factor. If you can define that, you’d find it, you’d go out there and pick them, and it’d be easy. First of all, charisma. For me, a lot of it is footwork. I watch a lot of guys run across the ring and whether they run, they move, and whether they are stepping. A lot of what I look for is footwork and coordination. Then, of course, are they coachable and teachable? When everything is said and done, it’s going to come down to attitude and character. That’s one of the things in NXT that Hunter put in place years ago when he started NXT. Character trumps talent. 90% of the time, that’s a culture we continue to try and cultivate. At NXT, it’s a multitude of things. If you could say it was one thing, it would be an easy process. I do know that we are recruiting incredible athletes from around the world and the future of WWE is very bright because NXT right now is kicking ass in every category, whether it’s men, women, anyone else out there, we are finding it and we’re going to continue to bring them to NXT and have the success we’ve been having.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

WWE News & Notes

TMZ reported that rapper and WWE NXT Battleground 2024 host Sexyy Red was involved in an incident this past Saturday at the Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey that led to her arrest. Red reportedly was arrested for disorderly conduct following her being involved in a big brawl that took place at the airport. It was reported that while Red did not throw any punches during the brawl, she was seen standing on and waving around a stanchion post. Following TMZ’s report, Red stated on Twitter that she was not the person in orange TMZ claimed was her from the security footage released of the brawl. It was also reported that Red was released afterwards and was able to travel to Las Vegas for WWE’s event.

TNA talent Jonathan Gresham revealed on Twitter that himself, Gail Kim, Anthem Senior VP of Content Ariel Shnerner, and TNA President Anthony Cicione were in attendance at this past Sunday’s NXT Battleground 2024 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that several talents recently had their contracts expire and have informed other promotions that they are currently under per-appearance type deals in WWE. It was reported that it is currently not known if Chad Gable is among those talent currently under a per-appearance type deal. Gable’s contract with WWE had expired this past Friday but made an appearance on Monday’s RAW show and is scheduled to compete at this Saturday’s Clash at the Castle 2024 event.

WrestleTix reported that WWE recently cancelled two house show events for this September. These two canceled events reportedly were for the September 14th house show event in Kennewick, WA and September 15th house show event in Boise, Iowa. It was reported that the reason for the cancellations is currently not known beyond the venue for the September 14th event stated that the event organizer has had to cancel the event and that all refunds will be made soon.

A&E recently released a trailer for the upcoming ECW episode of their Biography: WWE Legends series which airs on Sunday, June 16th on the network.

In a recent digital exclusive backstage interview with WWE, Roxanne Perez gave her thoughts about her victory over Jordynne Grace to retain her NXT Women’s Championship at this past Sunday’s NXT Battleground 2024 event. This interview was notable for CM Punk making a surprise appearance. Perez stated “Are you surprised? Tell me right now, are you surprised? Of course you are, aren’t you? Because everybody was surprised. But why? Why? I’m The Prodigy. There’s no one like me.” This led to Punk showing up and stated “Hold up, just calm down one second. I’m sorry to bust in here. Listen, you’re the champion for a reason. You’re head and shoulders above all these women here. You’re head and shoulders above all the TNA Knockouts. But tonight, you got lucky. I need you to focus on this. I need you to be who you are, I need you to be The Prodigy. You don’t need anything else.” Perez responded stating “Thanks for the advice. What a hypocrite, huh?” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

During Monday’s WWE RAW show in Toledo, Ohio, WWE announced that qualifying matches for this year’s Men’s and Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder matches will officially start on next week’s RAW show on June 17th in Corpus Christi, Texas.

WWE announced one new match for the card of next week’s WWE RAW show on June 17th in Corpus Christi: