Shawn Michaels Reveals How Long WWE Really Needs To Create Main Roster Talent

Shawn Michaels is giving fans a rare look behind the curtain at WWE’s developmental system, and according to “The Heartbreak Kid,” building a true main roster-ready superstar takes a lot longer than people think.

During an appearance on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, Michaels opened up about the challenges of developing modern WWE talent compared to the old-school territory days where wrestlers were constantly working matches and learning on the road every night.

While discussing how younger talent today don’t get nearly the same number of reps as previous generations, Michaels revealed what he believes is the realistic timeline for preparing somebody for WWE television at the highest level.

“And look, and that’s one of the things I can remember being asked, like, ‘How long do you think it takes to get one of these athletes that doesn’t know anything, to get them totally ready for the main roster?’ And I said, ‘Honestly? To get them ready to what I think is adequate to be ready for a main roster guy,’ I said, ‘three years.’”

Stephanie McMahon admitted she originally thought the process would take closer to two years, but Michaels made it clear WWE can rush talent if necessary — just not at the level he personally believes they should be performing.

“And they said, ‘Really, ya can’t get it done faster than that?’ And I was like, ‘Well, I mean, I guess we can, but not to get them to where I think they need to be.’”

Michaels then explained the biggest difference between today’s WWE system and the wrestling world he came from. Back when he started, Michaels said he was wrestling constantly and learning directly from veterans almost every single night. The WWE Hall of Famer eventually boiled the entire developmental process down to one blunt reality.

“Simply because of that, because we don’t have the opportunity... I was in the hundreds of matches in probably three months. They may not get there in a year.”

“You can’t increase reps without reps.”

Michaels has become one of the most respected figures behind the scenes in WWE thanks to his work with NXT talent, and comments like these give fans a much clearer understanding of how difficult it really is to create polished stars for Raw and SmackDown in today’s wrestling environment.

How long do you think WWE should keep talent in developmental before calling them up to the main roster? Leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.

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