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Duke Hudson Says Shawn Michaels Stopped Multiple WWE Release Attempts

Duke Hudson said on the Between Two Jobs podcast that Shawn Michaels intervened multiple times to keep him from being released during his six year WWE run, which ended in January 2025.

Hamza AwanBy Hamza AwanFounder & Editor
1 min read
Duke HudsonShawn MichaelsWWE releaseNXTChase UniversityBetween Two Jobs podcastAndre Chase

Hudson detailed Michaels' support behind the scenes and pointed to release attempts that came up during his time in NXT. Andre Chase also recalled Michaels encouraging Hudson after a match, adding another layer to how Michaels was involved in Hudson's career.

Between Two Jobs podcast claims

Hudson said Michaels intervened multiple times when release talks surfaced during his NXT run.

Hudson's WWE timeline

Hudson signed with WWE in February 2019 under the name Brendan Vink. Paul Heyman gave him a Raw opportunity in 2020, pairing him with Shane Thorne, before he went back to NXT.

He joined Chase University in late 2022 as part of that group's run on the brand. Hudson and Andre Chase won the NXT Tag Team Championship at Halloween Havoc 2023. He stayed on NXT through November 2024 before WWE cut him loose in January 2025 under Triple H.

The podcast conversation tied Michaels' reported interventions to that full arc, from the early signing as Vink through the Chase University title reign and the release that closed out his WWE stay.

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Hamza Awan

About the author

Hamza Awan

Founder & Editor

I'm Hamza Awan, founder of The Final Bell. I cover WWE with verified reporting, fan polls, and analysis written for people who actually watch the shows — not for algorithms. More about Hamza

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