Xyon Quinn Recalls Shawn Michaels' Reaction To His WWE NXT "Sexy Boy" Tribute
Rising WWE NXT star Xyon Quinn recently spoke with Sportingnews.com about his experience so far working in NXT, and his intent to show his personality every time he's on camera.
One of his recent appearances on NXT had him face-to-face with Robert Stone, competing to see who can give the best singing and dancing performance. Quinn chose to perform the "Sexy Boy" entrance theme of WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, gyrating his hips and posing as he sang.
"I got a bit of a standing ovation when I came back through the curtain, so that was pretty cool," he said. "It was a group effort, we all came together and had a meeting about it and talked about it. It's trying to ignite that spark and bring something different to the table. I feel like things have been repetitive a bit lately, so I've been trying to bring in my own thing and do whatever I can come up with.
"That was a bit interesting. Shawn Michaels was happy with it," Quinn noted. "He said he forgot how good his song was, so it was pretty cool to hear that from a legend such as himself."
As he grows in NXT, Xyon Quinn has been guided by Shawn Michaels and Triple H both. The former pro rugby star admits that he still has to pinch himself sometimes because he is surrounded by legends.
"It's crazy – you still have to pinch yourself sometimes," he said. "You don't really get used to it, but you do – seeing him and you're like, damn, I was a kid watching you. There are living legends walking around you. I got to meet The Rock, John Cena and all these people. It is breathtaking. I got to get a photo with him in his famous pose, I got to sing 'Sexy Boy', which was cool. It's a surreal kind of feeling, and I am blessed and happy to be here and do my thing. I have gotten a lot of help from coaches and have been doing my own thing.
"Creativity and stuff like that has always been my strength, it's something I couldn't really display on a footy field," he continued. "Certain ideas I get in my head and stuff like that, and certain moves, you can't just randomly do stuff on a footy field. But in the ring, you can do anything. You have to use all these little ideas you have and turn nothing into something, and that's what I like to do."
In April 2020, Quinn actually made his debut on WWE SmackDown, competing using his real name, Daniel Vidot. Though that match against Sheamus didn't last long and ended in defeat, Quinn looks forward to the day he get another shot at "The Celtic Warrior".
"It was definitely left-field, I had only been wrestling for about a year-and-a-half at the time," he said. "To be pushed into that position, it was the same feeling I got when I got a call from Dave Furner telling me I was going to play for the Raiders in my debut match in the National Rugby League. It's just one of those things where you get put in these situations with amazing athletes, these legends and people you have seen growing up, and you've just got to do it and do what they ask of you.
"To be able to be in the same ring as a legend like Sheamus was just incredible for me. Standing across the ring, I was just like, 'holy crap, what am I doing?' It was crazy, but to be honest, it felt so right and I felt like I was in the right spot. And I am in the right spot right now. All the hard yards and everything I have been learning, I have put into one, and now it is starting to come out and show on the screens. The sky is the limit, and hopefully it branches off into many other opportunities. I'm just happy with where things are right now. I can't wait for the rematch – Xyon Quinn is undefeated (in NXT). It is going to be great, and I can't wait for it."