Shawn Michaels admits he had ‘mixed emotions’ when Vince McMahon stepped down from WWE with Triple H taking control. The Hall of Famer has weighed in after his former boss retired amid the board of directors’ investigation into allegations of misconduct and his longtime best friend Triple H – real name Paul Levesque – took over as head of creative in addition to his role as head of talent relations. He exclusively told Metro. co. uk : ‘I’ve been here 35 years, and it’s a mix of emotions. But I’ll say this – because I’ve been with this company since I was 23 years old, the mindset of this place has always been to be exciting and always try to forge ahead, growing, expanding, getting better. ‘That has always been encouraged here, we all know the goal and that is for WWE to be the biggest global sports entertainment brand that the world ever knows. ’ Looking to Triple H’s regime, the Heartbreak Kid – who is in charge of WWE’s NXT and upcoming NXT Europe brands under his role as Vice President of Talent Development Creative – is ‘incredibly excited’ about what’s to come. ‘How we go about doing [things] has been other people’s call in the past, and will continue to be someone else’s call – other than mine, certainly for the future. It’s exciting,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t change the road that I travelled for anything, but I’m also incredibly excited about the future. To continue to have new horizons and new exciting goals and things to strive for, I consider myself an extremely blessed man. ’ Particularly significant for Michaels’ role in developing talent is having Triple H – the man who created NXT and guided the likes of Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch early in their careers – leading the main roster. One criticism levied at WWE for a long time has been the inconsistency when it comes to talent moving from NXT to Raw or SmackDown, but HBK thinks that transition will get easier now. ‘Absolutely. I absolutely do believe that, and I think we’re all seeing that now currently, just with some of the small references here and there. So, absolutely we’re all encouraged by that,’ he noted. ‘Look, some things are never gonna change here in the WWE and that is about trying to grow bigger and better. We just wanna put on the best quality entertainment we can do for our fanbase, and that’s exactly what Hunter is doing. ’ This weekend, WWE is in Cardiff, Wales for Clash At The Castle – the company’s first UK stadium show in three decades – on Saturday (September 3), while Michaels is being kept busy with Worlds Collide the next night. Beyond Scared Straight star Ashley Tropez dies aged 24 after 'traumatic injuries' She-Hulk episode 3 delivers one of the best cameos in MCU history with Megan Thee Stallion Chris Rock 'turns down Oprah interview' after Will Smith Oscars slap With the likes of Tyler Bate, Bron Breakker, Mandy Rose, Nikki A. S. H. , Ricochet and more in action, fans can expect a special show, while the legend in charge can’t quite believe the position he’s in as NXT UK ends and attention turns to the NXT Europe in 2023. ‘If you’d have told me, the 19 year old kid getting into wrestling, then at 57 he would be having the opportunity to help launch and expand a global brand, I would not have been able to guess that in a million years,’ he laughed. WWE NXT: Worlds Collide airs Sunday (September 4) at 9pm on the WWE Network. Got a story? If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro. co. uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro. co. uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you. MORE : WWE’s Shawn Michaels confirms NXT Europe launch in 2023, NXT UK plans for Worlds Collide and building for the future MORE : WWE Raw: Seth Rollins blasts Matt Riddle over divorce and star drops F-bombs as fans think rivals went off script.