NXT’s main backstage interviewer McKenzie Mitchell was terminated by WWE last week during the latest round of corporate layoffs.
During a media call today ahead of this weekend’s Deadline premium live event, NXT head honcho Shawn Michaels addressed Mitchell’s release when asked to comment. Here is HBK’s response:
“McKenzie’s always gonna be part of the NXT family, and I mean that sincerely. But look, no, it was something that obviously took me by surprise as well.
My understanding is there’s just some areas where we have overlapping jobs, and there were going to be changes. There are a lot of things that go on within this company that are way above me. This obviously was one of them.
But look, like we always say here…the door is always open here in the WWE. In my opinion, McKenzie will always be part of the NXT family, and it doesn’t mean that we can’t revisit that relationship somewhere down the road, good lord willing.
Shawn Michaels (Credits: WWE)
Obviously it’s a loss to us in NXT, but the machine as always has to continue to roll on, and we will obviously do that. And obviously we will miss her greatly, ‘cause everybody absolutely loves and adores McKenzie.”
If Shawn is telling the truth about being blindsided by Mitchell’s release, then he is in an awkward position here trying to explain a decision he had nothing to do with and was not in favor of.
Nevertheless, Shawn’s assertion that McKenzie is “always gonna be part of the NXT family” may seem contradictory considering her abrupt dismissal, which reflects a cold corporate decision rather than familial support.
HBK is more realistic later on when acknowledging “the machine as always has to continue to roll on,” as WWE operates primarily as a corporate entity rather than a familial organization.
It’s also evident that HBK’s claim that “everybody absolutely loves and adores McKenzie” doesn’t fully align with the decision to terminate her. If she were universally beloved within WWE, her departure might have been less likely.
