Shawn Michaels Reveals Ethan Page's WWE NXT Debut Was a "Last Minute Thing"
Former AEW wrestler Ethan Page made a shocking debut in WWE on NXT.
On Tuesday night's episode of WWE NXT, fans were in for a few surprises -- first, chart-topping female rapper Sexyy Red made an appearance to help unveil the NXT North American Women's Championship and reveal she's hosting NXT's upcoming PLE. Then the current TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace reappeared to put her name into the bucket against Roxanne Perez and a former AEW wrestler made their shocking debut.
Ethan Page was recently quietly let go from AEW as fans noticed he no longer appeared on AEW's roster page. Although typically when someone pops up on WWE television it means they've signed a contract, Page has indicated that he remains a free agent. Shawn Michaels, the head of NXT's creative, opened up about how his debut came together, revealing that it was a "last minute thing" in an interview with Adrian Hernandez. "We're talking about big stuff. Of course, All Ego Ethan Page," Michaels said. "A lot of questions still that I have to get answered on that one because that was kind of a last minute thing."
"For us at NXT, it's always been about finding the best performers and best wrestlers we can find, but also cultivating our own," Michaels added when asked about the philosophy behind signing NXT talent. "No different then, even though it put me at odds with people when I was younger, this business is a little something for everybody. People always want to narrow everything down to one way of doing things. I've never done this job that way. What you like might not be something the person next to you likes. What I like is not the same as what others like. It's about having variety. It's certainly the philosophy that I've had and Hunter [Triple H] has. We just want to bring the best sports entertainment we can for everybody watching it. We want to put on banger after banger, fantastic wrestling matches. If we can have one that is entertaining in one way or a different way. The more open you are on different ideas and different creative possibilities, for us, putting ourselves in the seat of the fans. Hunter and I, at our core, are wrestling fans. That's certainly all we're trying to do. The possible matchups, these are all things we've thought out. Why not see if it's possible to see how many we can make happen. Can't hurt to give it a try" (h/t: Fightful).
Stay tuned for more on Ethan Page's contract situation and WWE.