Shawn Michaels Teases Two More WWE NXT Brands For 2023

It looks like more than just NXT Europe could be on the way next year...

by Andrew Pollard
Shawn Michaels NXT
WWE

With NXT Europe to launch next year, Shawn Michaels has teased that a further two arms of the NXT brand could arrive in 2023.

According to the Heartbreak Kid - who nowadays serves as WWE's SVP of Talent Development Creative - announcements of NXT Japan and NXT Mexico could well be on the way next year.

As Michaels detailed on the media call for last night's Halloween Havoc (as per Wrestling Inc.):

Advertisement
"I know there's been talks of NXT Japan and NXT Mexico. Those are obviously probably father down the road, but it's my understanding those are some announcements that could be coming not too far down the road in 2023."

Of course, the aforementioned NXT Europe is due to launch early next year, with the arrival of that brand coming in the wake of the demise of NXT UK - which formally closed its doors at Worlds Collide last month. There, Worlds Collide saw the NXT UK Title, NXT UK Women's Title, and NXT UK Tag Team Titles unified with their respective NXT equivalents.

Through Triple H, WWE had previously discussed plans to venture into Japan with its developmental arm, but those plans seem to have been scrapped last year. With the Game now steering the WWE ship, it looks as if there's now once again plans afoot to expand to Japan.

Advertisement

Likewise, Paul Levesque has also made prior comments about wanting to do a World Cup-style event featuring different NXT brands squaring off. If we do indeed get to a point where there's NXT, NXT Europe, NXT Japan and NXT Mexico, such an idea could well become a reality.

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, Jamie Hayer, 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.