Shawn Michaels Discusses His Bond With Wes Lee

Shawn Michaels discusses Wes Lee‘s NXT North American Championship victory.

Michaels, WWE’s Vice President of Talent Development Creative, oversees NXT, and the brand had an eventful Halloween Havoc premium live event on October 22. There, Lee won the Ladder Match for the vacant NXT North American Championship. In doing so, he captured his first singles title since he signed with WWE.

Speaking on the media call after NXT Halloween Havoc, Jon Alba of Podcast Heat asked Michaels about Lee and his title win. Michaels and Lee were seen hugging in an emotional moment in the aftermath of Lee’s victory. The WWE Hall of Famer emphasized that he has gotten to know Lee very well, and he’s invested in the young star because he has been with the latter every step of the way in his journey with WWE. Michaels referenced the obstacles Lee as faced, such as the release of his tag team partner, Nash Carter, and noted that he has overcome these challenges.

“So when it comes to Wes Lee, we have been here with him through every step of his career,” Michaels said. “I’ve got to know that young man very well. He’s had to deal with some tough stuff, and I have been there every step of the way with him. He is just one of the sweetest young men that I’ve ever met, and he cares so passionately about this. He’s somebody, I guess he and I get along really because we’re both pretty emotional. It doesn’t sound very tough, but I think Wes and I have probably wept with one another more than two guys probably should. He really appreciated our support and our belief in him, and I guess for some reason, he somehow felt like he didn’t deserve it. I guess that’s what shocked me because I find him to be a very pleasant young man.

“Losing his friend and all that hurt him a great deal, and this job is so much more than the wrestling stuff. I am guilty of getting way too close probably and way too invested in these talents, but I can’t stand it when they go through that stuff and they’re hurting like that. So I don’t know. We just wanted to be there for him. What’s resonated is that he’s been real with the camera. The camera sees the realness of what Wes went through, and he was bringing who he was to that television, and people picked up on that, and all of it’s real.”

Michaels went on to describe how Lee’s triumph was a real moment for everyone involved because winning titles is a sign that the company, or someone in the company, believes in the talent. He emphasized that he wants the performers to enjoy these moments and admitted that he struggled to do so during his career.

“It’s one of those things that I get an opportunity with these young men and women,” Michaels said. “So this business is entertainment, but for us, a lot of those moments are real. When you win a championship, it is the company or someone in that company telling you they believe in you. They think you have something. Here, somebody like Wes Lee knows who it is that believes in him. We spend those moments expressing that to one another. I don’t know. I’ll take the people making fun of me if I have an opportunity to share those moments with them. I just know what they mean. Everybody’s marks here, and I don’t have a problem with that.

“We all grew up wrestling fans, we all grew up wanting to do this, we all grew up one day wanting to have a title around our waist. When you have the people in the company tell you that this night is yours, it means a lot to you. Tonight was that night, and I wanted him to enjoy it. I’ve had people tell me to enjoy it and I didn’t, so I try to make sure that I really emphasize that I want them to enjoy it, to let it be real, and make the most of the opportunity. We let them know that at least for this moment, somebody believed in you and thought you were worthy of the honor that you got, and he’s definitely had that tonight.”

The full media call is available here: