Tag: wwe performance center

DJZ signs with WWE, heading to NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

DJZ has signed a deal with WWE and will be joining NXT in the near future.

PWInsider were the first to break the story, saying that a deal was signed in the last week of February and that he will be reporting to the Performance Center under a NXT deal. Dave Meltzer has also confirmed that he has signed.

DJZ first started wrestling under the name Shiima Xion in 2004, wrestling on the independent circuit both in the United States and in Mexico. In 2011, he signed with Impact Wrestling under the name Zema Ion, winning the X Division title the following year. He later adopted a DJ gimmick, associating himself with the Bromans (Jessie Godderz and recent WWE signee Robbie E) and changing his name to DJZ.

He continued to wrestle off and on for Impact Wrestling through 2018, most recently teaming with Andrew Everett to capture the Impact Tag Team titles last April. He announced his departure from Impact Wrestling on 12/31 and has since worked the independent scene including wrestling for AAW, EVOLVE, MLW and PROGRESS.

Stokely Hathaway, Robbie E, Cal Bloom sign with WWE

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Stokely Hathaway, Robbie E and Cal Bloom have joined the WWE Performance Center.

WWE announced the three signings today in an article on their website.

Hathaway has been a manager for several years in the independent circuit, appearing in Ring of Honor, EVOLVE and MLW. In the past he’s managed the likes of Moose, Timothy Thatcher, TJP, Chris Dickinson and Dominic Garrini among many others.

Robert Strauss, aka Robbie E is best known for his run in Impact Wrestling from 2010 to 2017, most notably teaming with Rob Terry and Jessie Godderz. He’s also a former Impact Television, X-Division and Tag Team champion. He left the promotion in 2017 and has continued to work in the independent scene since then.

Bloom, 25, is the son of Wayne Bloom, who is most famous for his runs in AWA, WWE (as Beau Beverly) and WCW in the 80s and 90s. Cal played tight end at the University of Central Florida, making four Bowl Game appearances. He has received training from not only his father Wayne but also Brad Rheingans and Ken Anderson.

Latest group of WWE signees report to Performance Center

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The latest group of WWE signees have officially reported to the Performance Center.

WWE announced this month’s Performance Center class via Twitter today, which features wrestlers Trevor Lee, ACH, Rachael Ellering, Karen Q, Samuel Shaw, Jonah Rock, Elliot Sexton, Team 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews), and Nick Comoroto.

Former college football players Omari Palmer and Ricardo Miller, who had WWE tryouts last summer, are the two other members of the new Performance Center class.

Lee officially confirmed last month that he had signed with WWE. He finished up with Impact Wrestling in November and had farewells for PWG and AAW this January but still holds the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. ACH also said farewell to AAW last month.

As “Rachel Evers,” Ellering took part in the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments. Karen Q was an entrant in last year’s Mae Young Classic as well.

Shaw formerly wrestled for Impact and was involved with the NWA before signing with WWE. Rock and Sexton are both from Australia, and Rock had been a regular for PWG.

3.0 are a tag team from Canada who have also made appearances as enhancement wrestlers for WWE. Comoroto is a graduate of the Monster Factory wrestling school.

VIDEO: WWE ARRIVAL featuring Matt Riddle, episode 3

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The latest episode of WWE ARRIVAL featuring Matt Riddle has been released.

The third episode features Matt Riddle on the road with his two daughters as they move to Florida, where Matt Riddle will be training at the WWE Performance Center. Riddle also talks about his run in the UFC and how he was fired from the promotion. He says that it was due to butting heads with people within UFC over a Dan Hardy fight, but the documentary doesn’t touch upon the failed marijuana tests.

After being fired from the UFC in 2013, Riddle competed in MMA for another year before transitioning to professional wrestling in 2014. His first big break came when he signed with WWN, competing in EVOLVE for the next three years, winning the EVOLVE and WWN championships along the way. He officially signed with the WWE a few months ago in October.

You can catch the latest episode, along with the first and second episodes below.

Chelsea Green among newest group of WWE signees

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chelsea Green signing with WWE was officially confirmed as the company unveiled the newest group of wrestlers to join the Performance Center.

Green has been training at the Performance Center and, though she wasn’t on the show, attended last night’s NXT television tapings. Green is a former Knockouts Champion for Impact Wrestling, wrestled at All In last month, is on this season of Lucha Underground, and was featured on the last season of WWE Tough Enough in 2015.

Matt Riddle, Mia Yim, Punishment Martinez (announced as his real name Luis Martinez), Humberto Carrillo (wrestled as Ultimo Ninja before signing with WWE), Daniel Vidot (a former rugby player from Australia), and Jordan Omogbehin (a 7-foot-3, 370-pound former college basketball player from Nigeria who played for Morgan State University and the University of South Florida) were also introduced as part of this Performance Center class.

Riddle made his NXT TV debut and Yim wrestled in her first NXT TV match since signing with the company at last night’s tapings. Carrillo also teamed with Raul Mendoza against Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan.

WWE reveals more names from this week’s tryouts

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A number of college athletes and independent wrestlers were a part of the latest WWE tryouts held at the WWE Performance Center this past week.

Some of the more well known names (Robbie E and Chelsea Green) have been reported on for the last day or so. But WWE has put out a list which also features the likes of Blaster McMassive, the tag team 3.0 and Ava Storie, among other names. There are also a number of people who tried out that have a background in amateur wrestling, college football and the NFL.

Here is a list of the more notable names that were a part of this tryout camp:

  • Jake Kasper, a two time All-American from Duke University. The article noted that Gerald Brisco compared him to a young John Cena.
  • Chelsea Green, formerly of Impact Wrestling as Laurel Van Ness who also competed in the Tough Enough 2015 reboot
  • Terrell and Terrence Hughes, twin sons of D-Von Dudley who made a few appearances in Impact Wrestling earlier this decade.
  • Thomas Stintsman, who has wrestled for CHIKARA as Blaster McMassive and most recently worked in EVOLVE as Thomas Sharp.
  • Rob Strauss, also known as Robbie E. Former Impact wrestling star and also a competitor on the reality show Amazing Race.
  • Shane Matthews and Scott Parker, known as 3.0. They have competed in several independent promotions including CZW and PWG. They’ve also worked both in NXT and WWE as enhancement talent.
  • Rory Gulak, brother of Drew Gulak. He has an amateur wrestling background and has competed in places like CZW and CHIKARA.
  • Brandi Lauren Pawelek, who has wrestled under the name Ava Storie in Impact Wrestling.
  • Terence “TJ” Barner, who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and other NFL teams.
  • Gabriella Belpre, better known as Gabby Ortiz who has trained in the ROH dojo and has wrestled for STARDOM
  • Dorin Dickerson, a former tight end for the NFL.
  • Nilka Garcia, a Puerto Rican wrestler who was wrestled for WWC, winning their women’s title under the name La Rosa Negra.

A full list of try-out participants can be found here.

Mahabali Shera signs with WWE, joins Performance Center

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Another former member of the Impact Wrestling roster has signed with WWE.

WWE announced yesterday that Amanpreet Singh, who previously wrestled for Impact as Mahabali Shera, has reported to the Performance Center after signing with the company. The WWE.com article on Singh joining the Performance Center didn’t mention Impact or his previous persona by name, but it noted that he’s wrestled in his home country of India, as well as in the United States and United Kingdom.

“I came to the U.S. with the dream that someday, I am going to make my country proud,” Singh told WWE.com. “I would consider myself fortunate if I am able to become a positive role model for the youngsters of my country and impact lives. I don’t think I can find a better platform than WWE to empower myself to empower others, especially those back at home.”

Singh began his pro wrestling career in 2011, joined Impact in 2014, and departed the promotion last year. He was prominently featured on Impact’s television tapings in India in 2017, winning a Sony Six Invitational Gauntlet.

Tommy End, Big Damo & Mary Dobson report to the WWE Performance Center

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though it had been known for some time that they would be headed to NXT, WWE officially announced on Wednesday afternoon that Tommy End, Big Damo, and “Crazy” Mary Dobson have reported to the company’s Performance Center.

The three new arrivals join Roderick Strong as the most significant talents to recently make their way to NXT.

End should already be familiar to many fans in the United States. He has appeared in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Battle of Los Angeles both of the last two years, and has made several appearances for EVOLVE Wrestling. Originally from the Netherlands, End has a kickboxing and martial arts background.

In his final independent wrestling match before heading to WWE, End faced PROGRESS Champion Marty Scurll and Mark Haskins in a triple threat match for the title in the main event of PROGRESS Wrestling’s landmark show at the O2 Academy in Brixton. His final independent match in the United States was at BOLA, and he bid farewell to EVOLVE in a match against Matt Riddle over SummerSlam weekend.

Damo, an imposing wrestler from Northern Ireland, similarly had several farewell stops in the United Kingdom before heading to the Performance Center.

Despite her age, the 23-year-old Dobson already has a significant amount of experience since making her professional debut in 2011. And she has already appeared in NXT multiple times as an enhancement talent.