It was reported earlier this week that a major departure from WWE was expected to take place next year.

PWInsider noted that Bruce Prichard is expected to retire from his position within WWE following WrestleMania 43 and depart his full-time position within the company, though he is expected that he will remain with the company as a consultant.

With Prichard set to leave his role, there had been a lot of speculation about who could potentially replace him next year.

Shawn Michaels replacing Bruce Prichard in WWE

In an update from PWInsider today, it is being reported that WWE is looking to promote from within the company, with multiple sources noting that the plan is for WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, the current head of NXT and Senior Vice President of Talent Development and Creative, to step into Prichard’s current role.

Shawn Michaels stepped into his current role as the head of NXT back in September 2021 amid the shift from Black & Gold to NXT 2.0 that year.

PWInsider also notes that the succession plan for Michaels has been in place for some time, and that he will start to prepare for the Prichard role in the coming months ahead of Bruce’s retirement next year.

What does Shawn Michaels’ promotion mean for NXT?

With Shawn Michaels set to take up a bigger role in the company, that leaves obvious questions about what his promotion could mean for the NXT brand he currently heads up.

While it is possible that Shawn could continue to work with NXT as well as taking on Bruce Prichard’s role in the company, it is probably safe to assume he will take a step back from NXT to focus on his new role.

In terms of who could replace Shawn in NXT, there are a number of potential options currently working for the company, whether it be simply promoting Gabe Sapolsky, who runs WWE Evolve, relocating Jeremy Borash, who works with the Undertaker as part of AAA, or calling upon other veteran names within the company.

Among those names are the likes of AJ Styles and CM Punk, who have both made frequent trips to NXT and the Performance Center in recent years, with speculation long being that they, Punk specifically, could be in line to take over the brand one day.