Shawn Michaels: ‘I was begging’ to keep Je’Von Evans in NXT

Almost anyone who watched NXT in 2025 could have told you that Je’Von Evans would not be on the developmental show for long—anyone, that is, except the man in charge of NXT, Shawn Michaels.

In an interview with Ringer Wrestling, Michaels was asked if there had ever been an NXT star he wanted to keep forever. Evans’ name immediately came to mind. 

“Certainly, Je’Von, obviously was somebody I was begging for,” Michaels said. “Can we keep this kid for another six months?’ Because we had every intention … from an NXT standpoint we were, in our minds, going to build around Je’Von for the next year, and that was kind of the model.”

Michaels knew by that point that his NXT Champion, Oba Femi, was being called up to the main roster, but Evans’ promotion caught him off guard.

“And they’re like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. We’re taking him, too,’” he said. “I pushed back a little bit. I was like, ‘Could we get just six months?’ Like, ‘no.’ I’m like, ‘Three?’ Like, ‘no.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, so. fair enough.’”

Though Michaels was disappointed, he also took the news as a compliment. 

“If that’s the worst news you have to have, is that they’re taking too many of your people, that means we’re doing a pretty good job,” Michaels said. “And that’s something that we always have to remember. That’s part of my job as well, is trying to remind people that, hey, this is what we do.”

Michaels then compared what he’s doing in NXT to the world of college sports. 

“We’re like the NCAA,” he said. “We’re a brand, but at the same time, they are they’re not meant to stay here. We’re not going to build around these people for years and years. It’s just not the reality of NXT. And so, understanding, that you’re going to have these times of setting back and resetting and having to go through a building phase again is just something that you have to do.”