35 Current WWE Stars And Their '90s Counterparts

27. Tyler Breeze/Shawn Michaels

Tyler Breeze and Shawn Michaels
WWE.com/WWE

For those who have been watching NXT since its infancy, the evolution of Tyler Breeze has been a true highlight. From plain old Mike Dalton to the Prince of Pretty, Breeze is an absolute star in the skyline of NXT.

When watching Breeze, there’s a whole host of influences easily viewable but it’s the early singles days of Shawn Michaels that stand out the loudest.

Whilst many of us adored Breeze’s original NXT theme tune, he now has self-sung entrance music, much akin to how Shawn would end up singing his own (originally Sensational Sherri-sung) entrance theme. And where Michaels would parade in front of a mirror in those days, preening himself and admiring his beauty, Breeze has brought a modern spin to this in how he will gaze upon himself using his iPhone, snapping photos of himself and fallen opponents as he goes.

The flamboyant, arrogant pretty boy character, not to mention the sound technical wrestling and high energy offence, show that there’s a whole host of early Boy Toy traits in Tyler Breeze. Here’s hoping that the Lance Storm-trained Breeze can have even half of the impact on the WWE as Michaels did.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.