Shawn Michaels Says The Decision To Pull Wes Lee From NXT Deadline Was A Last-Minute One

Shawn Michaels provides his comments on Wes Lee’s injury. 

It was revealed on the December 5 episode of WWE NXT that Wes Lee will be out of action for up to 12 months as he will be undergoing back surgery. 

On a media call prior to NXT Deadline 2023, Shawn Michaels revealed the extent to which he knew about Lee’s injury and the decision to replace Wes Lee in the NXT North American Championship match the upcoming PLE with Dragon Lee. 

“Well, the decision with Wes was pretty darn close to last minute. Wes has been struggling for quite some time, I certainly didn’t know the depth of it,” Michaels said when asked Wes’ injury by Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone. “Obviously, we get medical reports, but it was a decision that Wes made on his own, as he should. Clearly, he’s a young man that goes out there and performs like few others and he had a huge match already going into this premium live event looking for the North American Championship, but just a day or two before, we had a long talk and he just did not think he could make it through the match with the pain that he was in. That was a decision that he and our medical team made, it is the best decision for Wes and that is the only thing in my mind that’s important right now. All of this was last minute, Wes, to his credit, was doing everything he could do to get himself ready for this, but it wasn’t meant to be. 

“So, we made the last-minute decision I guess less than 24 hours with Dragon Lee,” he continued. “I’ll say this, there’s obviously story there from before with Dragon Lee. From a selfish standpoint, for me, I was so looking forward and enjoying having him in NXT, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I didn’t have him as long as I wanted to. He’s something that, again, I felt like would be a fantastic match. He’s somebody that I happen to personally enjoy and like, not just as a performer, but as a human being. I know there were matchups that were still on the table for me in NXT, so I thought that if there was any possibility of those matches being able to happen, that Dragon Lee would be the best fit. It’s great to have him in NXT, even if it’s for just a little bit longer.” 

Dragon Lee will also have Rey Mysterio in his corner. The elder Mysterio is currently sidelined with an injury himself. Fans can learn more about that here. 

Fans can check out the full card for NXT Deadline here. 

Fightful will have live coverage of WWE NXT Deadline as it airs on Saturday, December 9.