Why Shawn Michaels Says Present-Day WWE NXT Reminds Him Of The Attitude Era

While "WWE NXT" may be considered the developmental branch of the company, its current product reminds WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels of one of wrestling's most popular time periods. During the "NXT" No Mercy media call, Michaels provided his analysis on the present state of "NXT," which he believes is comparable to the environment of WWE's Attitude Era that spanned from the late 1990s until the early 2000s.

"I feel like "NXT" has got a buzz right now, and I feel like we're the hottest thing going right now in the wrestling business," Michaels said. "We have a fun show. Ours is the closest thing to the Attitude Era you're going to get, and I know a lot of people want to roll their eyes at that, but we have a wild west stuff going on and there is always something new happening. It's very different. We have a number of different reasons for being in storylines. If you ask me, every other show out there, they all wrestle each other because they are all angry at each other. 'I'm angry at this guy, we're going to fight about it.' If you watch "NXT," there are different reasons and different stakes on why people get into wrestling matches on our show. I'm very proud of our show and what we've accomplished over the last several months."

As Michaels alluded to, "NXT" has drawn some impressive viewership numbers in recent weeks, particularly due to the return of Becky Lynch, who is now the "NXT" Women's Champion. Outside of "NXT"'s various championship pictures, there are also a number of non-title feuds circulating as well, including Baron Corbin vs. Bron Breakker, whose ongoing rivalry led them to brawl in the "NXT" parking lot on the September 26 episode of "NXT."

H/T to Fightful for the transcription.