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January 30, 2024 • 17 mins
In this exclusive interview with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, we dive deep into the excitement building up for NXT #VengeanceDay, just days after the historic #RoyalRumble. From the highly anticipated Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals, Shawn provides unique insights into the key matchups. Plus, he shares thoughts on the NXT Women's Championship clash between Roxanne Perez and Lyra Valkyria, the challenges of guiding young talent like Oba Femi, and what to expect from the NXT Championship showdown between Ilja Dragunov and Trick Williams and is Bron Breaker still on the NXT roster!

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Why from the parts Unknown Studios intothe Battle Crowd, the Battle Round,
the Battle Crowd. Welcome to theBattleground Podcast, your place for all things
pro wrestling, the Battle Road,the Battle Brown Now making their way to

(00:27):
the microphones, give it up foryour hosts. Welcome to the Battle Crown.
What's up you guys? Welcome intoiHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast. I'm battle
for one oh five nine the RocketCourse along with my tag team partner Eli
and uh, you know, it'snot very often that I don't know what

(00:48):
to say in an intro, LikeI always rush things or I know what
I'm gonna say. But today Itry not to be a fan. I
have to be a journalist. Buttoday we have the man, the myth,
the legend, WWE Hall of FamerSean Michael joins the show. Sean,
how are you, sir? I'mdoing great. Thank you all very
much for having me, and obviouslythank you for helping us out with Vengeance
Day the Sunday absolutely, and ofcourse Vengeance Day is coming to Clarksville for

(01:11):
the first time ever at that brandnew F and M Bank Arena, So
let's like kind of jump right intoit. Vengeance Day less than you know,
a week away after this weekend's historicRoyal Rumble, what is the excitement
level for the NXC crew heading intothis highly anticipated pl e up A little

(01:32):
bit there, I hope you canhear me, but yeah, look,
obviously everybody here is very excited,as you say, coming off the Rumble
where NXD had some pretty good representationgoing out there at a pretty big impact,
which obviously we are are thrilled about. But clearly, as you guys
know, you know, anytime weget the opportunity to get out of the

(01:53):
state of Florida, get out onthe road, especially with a premium live
event, the young mine here atare extremely excited and ready and ripward to
go to say the leaks, thisis an opportunity for us and our young
superstars to you know, as theysay, get out and show up and
show out, and they're obviously lookingforward to it coming the Sunday, you

(02:15):
know, at Vengeance Day. Absolutely, and of course you can still grab
tickets to that show. All youhave to do is go to ww dot
com tickets starting at twenty dollars,so it's family fun for everybody. Yeah,
and also at ticketmaster dot com andalso say, this one of the
things we wanted to do, andjust look, I guess this is one

(02:36):
of those plugs I would like toget in, you know, because we
know what Clarksville has been through lately, you know, so from a tornado
relief standpoint, we're partnering with theRed car Redcross and Y Pack and again
I'm just asking fans to take anopportunity with their tickets to make a donation
there. And obviously if you cometo the building and you make a donation

(02:57):
there, we're going to take afew folks back for a meet and greet
with some NXC superstars. So justdoing a little something to see where we
can we can help out with someof the hardships they've had down in Clarksville
as of late. Absolutely, that'sawesome. Again, ticketmaster dot com,
w W dot com, grab thosetickets today. Yeah. So, you
know, one of the big matcheswhere everyone's kind of excited for is the

(03:20):
finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag TeamClassic, you know, kind of the
you may call it unorthodox team ofbron Breaker and Baron Corbin. A lot
of people are buzzing about them.You know, some people are comparing them
to the inaugural winners of the ClassicSimo Jo and Finn Balor. What do
you see in this team and whathas this pairing meant for both of these
superstars? Look, I think,first to get I think it's been a

(03:44):
lot to both of them. Idon't think anybody you know, it's one
of those times where I don't know, you mix oil and water and I
don't know, we didn't know.I don't think anybody knew that it was
going to be as good. AndI think there, I say, as
entertaining as it was going to be. And look, it's they are two
very opposites, I guess on onehand, but they do have some commonality

(04:05):
there. So I think they're asidefrom being incredibly impressive, you know,
I mean, I mean and justyou know, I'm very talented, I
think everybody is kind of blown awayby the dynamic of their personalities with one
another and the way they work offof each other. I think there's a
I don't know, it's one ofthose things every now and then when you

(04:26):
run across people that you just havea natural chemistry with and and you don't
know. That's something that Hunter andI had a long time ago. Yeah,
we knew it from day one,and I think for Baron, Corbin
and Braun Breaker again, I thinkit was something that amazed them, especially
you know, you got Baron,who's obviously a veteran, been around a
long time, coming back into NXTwith a bunch of people that this is

(04:46):
not my generation, but they thickerthat is, I don't know, kind
of buses humping away, that's kindof amusing and challenges Zim and so again,
I think it's been very enjoyable,amusing and entertaining for a lot of

(05:06):
us, as well as obviously beingan incredibly talented and tremendous team. Yeah,
absolutely for sure. And of courseyou're gonna be able to see that
match and many more matches this SundayVengeance Day in clarksvill ticketmaster dot com.
Grab those tickets starting at twenty bucks. And you know, you look at
this card for Vengeance Day and it'sit's stacked from top to bottom. And

(05:30):
another match that a lot of peopleare excited to see is the NXT Women's
Championship, which former champ Roxane Perez, who's a friend of the show,
is challenging the current champion, LyraValkyrie. What are some of like the
key factories for Valkyrie to retain hertitle and one of the most important factors
for Roxanne to dethrone the champ andbecome one of only two other women to

(05:53):
be a two time NXT Women's Champion. Yeah, well so look, I
think Larra Valkyria. I think she'sI think she's been an impressive champion.
I think it's somebody who I thinkcame in from the u K. Sort
of it's sort of like a slowburned with with with Lyra, I think,
and over time people began to reallyappreciate her ability, her skill,

(06:14):
and I think obviously her running acrossUh. You know, Becky Lynch was
hues for her and her career.And I can say, look someone that
when you come in and you uh, you know, you have a time
where you're trying to come into yourown, but you're also sort of dealing
with people that you looked up to. It's a it's a it's a different

(06:35):
dynamic than what you what you're usedto. You have a you have a
respect and you also you get whetherit be fan boy or fan girling,
you know, you know, youhave this admiration that you had when you
were younger for these people, butnow you believe it's your time. And
I think it's been a great growth, uh, you know process to watch

(06:55):
and Lyra as she's gone through thatwith Becky and now coming into Rome as
a chanceaion. And on the otherside you've got Roxanne Perez, someone who
again two very young women who arevery talented and have had great success at
a very young age. And howdo you deal with that? And and
also Roxanne having to deal with somany ups and downs in a young career.

(07:18):
I think that's what I think,when everything is said and done.
One of the things that I reallyenjoyed fascinates me about NXTS. You're talking
about incredibly young people, I meanmaybe an average age of twenty four years
old sometimes and again so many theups and downs that the winds and the
losses, you know, the heartbreaksand the victories that they have to deal

(07:43):
with, the longiness and I'll managethat on a national level, at a
global level, very early on intheir careers. It's a great deal of
pressure, uh, you know,to be under as you're as you're going
out there, and that's something thatRoxanne has faced a great deal of here
in the last year. You cansee it coming out every Tuesday night on
the USA Network on our show youKnow Rock Sanne. She's starting to show

(08:05):
a different side of herself aside,is getting a little less patient, not
so much the girl the sweet girlnext door. So again, for me,
that's what I'm excited about Sunday atVengeance Day to watch these two.
One. Yeah, she's a champion, but she really feels like she's got
something to prove and somebody else veryyoung but never lost her championship. She's

(08:28):
been a champion here at NXT attwenty years old, she's never lost it,
and now she's got a chance toregain it. So this is one
that I think is going to boilup and be a you know, be
something to make sure you keep aneye on, because I think it's gonna
be something big come Sunday. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, And it's
kind of it's kind of strange tothink about how young some of these superstars

(08:50):
are, you know what I mean, Like Roxanne winning the title twenty you're
like what and obviously living up tothe name of the Prodigy. So that
kind of jumps into the next question. So another match a lot of people
are looking forward to is the rematchfor the NXT North American Championship Dragon ly
or versus. I guess we couldcall him a phenom Oba pheme, you
knowemy appears to have all the toolsit takes to have a long career as

(09:13):
a w W studter star. Kindof piggyback off where you were just discussing
what are the challenges of guiding thecareer of someone who's so young and has
so much natural power and abilities inthe machine known as the WWE. Sure,
well, look, I'll tell youone of the things that I think
that people can see now that hasbeen a proven success as the NIL program

(09:33):
and obviously, you know, reachingout to these young men and women on
a college level. And Oba isa guy that has, you know,
one not just his background, buthe's had a great deal of success in
his youth and in his college jets, which strangely enough has kind of prepared
him for this. It's amazing,incredibly well spoken and well mannered and just

(09:56):
I don't know, he's so muchmore experienced than his age. Uh you
would think lends itself to but he'sa very I don't know, as we
all say, he's a very completeyoung man, and I think everybody sees
the promise in him as not justan NXC superstar, but a future ww
superstar. You can just see itby the way he carries himself. And

(10:16):
I have to again, you know, he would obviously know better than me,
but I have to attribute that alot of times to again, some
of the success that they had incollege and at the collegiate level that has
kind of prepared them. And look, a lot of these you know,
young men and women, they havebeen you know, successes at a very

(10:37):
young age, and people have beensort of courting them and coming after them
since they were young, you know, and so in high school, and
so I think that better prepares themfor a world uh you know, get
like NXC and the WWE. ButI think the future is incredibly bright for
him. But obviously, you know, he's got the you know, the
former North American Champion Dragon Lee fromSmack SmackDown wanting his title back. So

(11:01):
I think that'll be something again that'llbe very exciting to watch this Sunday Vengeance
State. But I will say Ican't lie when I say that I get
Obafemi has got all those tools thatI think everybody can easily look at him
and go like, oh yeah,I see him being on the main roster
someday, easily being a part ofa wrestleman and not too far down the

(11:22):
line, right, And you talkabout people that you could see down the
line in a WrestleMania being on themain roster. Somebody that's you know,
in the last six to eight monthsstepped out of the shadow of Carmelo.
Hayes, You've got Trick out there, Trick Williams, who is going against
Eli or Isla Dragonoff excuse me,for the NXT Championship. How awesome is

(11:45):
to see somebody like Trick kind ofyou know, step out of the shadows
of Carmelo, And what do youthink this match is going to do for
him? Let's say if he winsand beats dragon Off. Sure, well,
look I think you can argue whatit's already done for him or something.
I think everybody sees that a palpableevery Tuesday night on USA. You
see it when he comes out.But look that I can when everything is

(12:07):
said and done. The reason Ido this job is is again for somebody
like you know, for both forTrick and Melon, so on two different
levels, one to come from ourcollegiate standpoint and then the other to come
from again a very smaller and shorterindependent RN. But both of them step
out and become these two incredibly talentedyoung men and again form this this duo

(12:31):
that is easily one of the hottestthing that NXC has ever seen. But
then you watch Trick again somebody thatyou know. I can remember him coming
up to me and saying, Idon't know any way to tell you this,
and I want the ball, youknow again, you let give me
my opportunity. And then to watchhim do that, and to get to
be a part of it, Idon't know again, to I don't know,

(12:52):
to help guide and nurture along theway, has just been a sheer
joy, uh you know, forme, for you know, to the
both of them. But again,I think what makes Tricks obviously also so
special is that you see him wherehe started from as being you know,
Carmelo whoever one could see had thattalent, had that ability, had that

(13:13):
gift. But then you watch Trickto step out of the you know,
sort of the shadow of Carmelo Hayesand begin to you know again start something
that's almost, I don't know,like a ground swell that we haven't seen
before. And again it's when ithappens from the very beginning. It's ever
organic, and you watch it justget bigger and bigger, and even shades

(13:35):
of it getting bigger and bigger.When you see him run out on SmackDown
and listen to the whole arena chanting, whoop that trick? You know,
that's you know again, then it'ssomething you know, I don't know,
even bigger than I think he imagined. So it really is. It's the
reason we do this, which isagain allowing these young men and women to

(13:56):
be able to go out there andhave those moments that we remember having again
that was so special and formidable tous as we grew, not just in
our lives but in our careers.And to be able to watch him to
and to do that and to getto be a part of it, I
can't tell you what a joy itwas to sit there in the back of
the room as you know, asthey sort of having these royal rumble meetings,

(14:20):
and I'm watching all these you know, young men and women that have
come through our NXT doors here andcertainly for me to have a real I
don't know relationship and hands on sortof peace of their careers. It's just
it really is. It's you know, it's hard to think that, I
don't know, you have something betterthan the time you were in the ring,
your ring days. You feel likeit's all over. But I'll tell

(14:43):
you what, this other side hasjust been so incredibly rewarding and obviously look
looking forward to you know, youknow, Sunday, February fourth, here
at Vengeance Day for again these youngmen and women to come up here and
you know, come to Tennessee,Tennessee and show you all what it's like.
Absolutely again. You still grab ticketsticketmaster dot com. Get those tickets
immediately starting at twenty bucks. Andyou talk about being able to shape that

(15:07):
roster on the NXT, the youngergeneration coming up, and you know,
after the Rumble, a lot ofpeople were pretty pumped about it. Bron
Breaker gave kind of a little shortinterview and indicated that the main roster was
his home. Now should we considerthat an official call up for the former
NXT champion. Well, look,he may, you know, he may
feel like that's his home, buthe's still got work here in NXC to

(15:28):
do, whether he likes it ornot. So look, I'll tell you,
I'll tell you this much. Look, I'm always I'm always, uh
you know, that's strange enough.That's our job, right, our job
is to lose talent. But Igot to you, he's one that you
know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, you know, have trouble letting him
go. So look, I canassure you that there is more left for

(15:54):
broad Breaker here in NXT, oneway or another. And so he's a
he's an incredibly talented, very giftedyoung man. As far as I'm concerned,
he's young and as we say,full of pison vinegar. So he
can if you want to, ifhe wants to double time, and he
can certainly do it. But I'mnot letting go that easy. Yeah,

(16:14):
make that sure. Well, Sean, I know you're a busy man.
You got to make the rounds todayand go all over the place talking to
media, and we just want tosay thank you once again for taking the
time out. It is an honorto have you on the show. As
you can tell, I'm a bigmark. I've got two of your funk
co signed behind me. Hopefully wecan meet up Sunday and I can say
hi in person instead of buying thesethrough other people, So that would be

(16:36):
wonderful and against serously. Yeah,you guys are welcome anytime, and as
always, thank you all so muchfor helping us out on these. We
really appreciate it. Well, Sean, it is an honor to have you
on the show with us today andagain Vengeance Day this Sunday and Clarksville.
Grab your tickets now F and MBank Arena, ticketmaster dot com starting at
twenty dollars. I'm not going tobe one of those guys and say,

(16:56):
well I got two words for you, because I know that you probably getting
that a lot, but I willsay I do have two words for you
Vengeance Day, well Sunday, Sothat's three words. I'm sorryly messed up.
Sean. It's honing to have youon the show, sir. Thank
you guys, and make sure youstop by. We hope you enjoyed today's
episode of the Battleground Podcast. Makesure you give it five stars and a

(17:17):
nice review. To stay up todate with the show, follow them at
Battleground Podcast on Instagram.
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