On a recent edition of the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer and NXT executive producer Shawn Michaels discussed the progress of Cody Rhodes and Tony D’Angelo, former NXT talents making their WrestleMania debut, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the journey of Cody Rhodes: “I do have to say, what Cody has done over the last year or two years, it’s been pretty amazing because it’s done in what I think a lot of us traditional babyfaces would say is really hard and difficult to pull off in this era, and he’s done a fantastic job of that.”
On WrestleMania 40: “WrestleMania 40 is going to be the biggest WrestleMania of all time. I have no doubt. It’s going to be a huge moment if Cody can [win the title]. But look, we’ve seen before that the story doesn’t get told as they say. So, if it happens, it’ll be an absolutely glorious moment for him and a huge recognition of what he’s accomplished. But if Roman says it isn’t happening, and he goes out there and makes that so, it’s a big hill to climb. Let’s just put it that way.”
On Tony D’Angelo: “Tony is somebody that, from the beginning, he jumped in 110% into that character and has done a fantastic job. I’ve got to be honest, things that worry me about Tony D’Angelo is somebody from Hollywood giving him a call and losing him to play the next mob boss because he does such a fantastic job.”
On former NXT talent making their WrestleMania debut: “[WrestleMania] is just the most exciting week ever, and there’s so much going on. We have guys [like] Tommaso and Johnny, Waller, a number of guys from NXT that are going to have the opportunity to take part in their first WrestleMania. I want to be there to see that. This is what so many of them worked for. So look, this is not just a big weekend for WWE as a company, but it’s big for a number of WWE superstars and NXT superstars because this is their first WrestleMania. And again, for somebody like Cody [Rhodes], and [CM] Punk, who has come back, this is a really big weekend. We’re going to have a lot of unique and different things going on, a lot of firsts for people.”
