CM Punk made his big return to WWE three years ago and he’s achieved a lot since then. Now it looks like Punk could be taking on a much bigger role behind the scenes.
Recently PWInsider reported that Bruce Prichard is expected to retire from his position as Executive Director – Creative Writing & Talent (CWT) after WrestleMania season. The current plan is for Prichard to move back to Texas and remain with WWE as a consultant.
Shawn Michaels is expected to step away from his role as WWE NXT and Senior Vice President of Talent Development and Creative, and assume Prichard’s role. Michaels is also expected to start splitting his time between NXT and WWE HQ as he prepares to take on the new role.
According to PWInsider the company is looking for CM Punk to take over HBK’s role with NXT. Punk has been alongside Shawn Michaels at NXT tapings in recent weeks and is being prepped for the role. There’s said to be no set timeline for Punk to take over the role as the company wants to make sure it’s a right fit for all involved, but Punk is the person who is being looked to internally to take over for Michaels. It’s not clear if this means Punk would retire from in-ring competition, or work a schedule that allows him to do both.
It had been rumored that AJ Styles would be taking over NXT, but it’s being reported that Styles has been involved more in producing there. It’s also being said that WWE is looking to use Styles to assist in scouting for the WWE ID program.
Rumors of Bobby Roode stepping into Prichard’s role have also been making the rounds. However, Roode is said to be prepping to step into Michael Hayes’ role as a top producer and creative mind.