Tag: wwe recruits

John Cena to produce ‘WWE: Recruits’ docuseries for Roku

Posted on by Ian Carey

A new WWE documentary series in the works. 

John Cena is set to produce and appear in “WWE: Recruits” for the Roku Channel, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The eight-episode series will focus on young athletes in WWE’s developmental system as they chase their dream of becoming a WWE Superstar. 

Filming has already begun, with some content produced this weekend during WrestleMania. Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and Bianca Belair are confirmed to appear. 

A. Smith & Co. Productions, the company behind American Ninja Warrior, Hell’s Kitchen, and The Titan Games (with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) are set to produce the show. 

“Millions around the world watch and dream of it, but only a handful of extraordinary individuals can become a WWE Superstar,” Cena said in a statement. “I am so excited to bring WWE: Recuits to The Roku Channel and look forward to giving viewers an exclusive all-access perspective on how the WWE turns the dreams of talented young people into a reality.”

“Roku Original series WWE: Recruits not only unpacks how the WWE transforms unknown athletes into world-renowned stars, but also invites audiences into the lives of an unforgettable group of young people chasing their ultimate dream,” added Sean Boyle, the head of adventure and exploration programming for Roku Channel. “We could not be more excited to work with the icon himself, John Cena, as our executive producer and our outstanding partners, the WWE and A. Smith & Co Productions, to share the untold story of this high-stakes world.” 

WWE unveils new class of Performance Center recruits

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE has unveiled their newest class of Performance Center recruits. 

In a video released Wednesday, WWE announced the signing of fourteen talents from their SummerSlam tryout in Nashville, Tennessee on July 29. 

The video captured the moments where Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE’s executive vice president of talent relations, offered contracts to the 14 recruits. 

The video was short on details regarding the backgrounds of the new recruits, but did note that signees Alivia Ash and Harleigh White are former ACC track athletes. 

The signees are as follows: 

  • Kennedy Cummins
  • Gabrielle Dunn
  • Rickssen Opont
  • Alivia Ash
  • Harleigh White
  • Chukwusom Enekwechi
  • Jade Gentile
  • Anna Keefer
  • Breanna Ruggiero
  • Beau Morris
  • Franki Strefling
  • Hayden Pittman
  • Lea Mitchell
  • Kevin Ventura-Cortes

Dave Meltzer reported in the most recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter that around 50 athletes from 47 colleges took part in the tryout, with no standouts in the bunch. 

“At the Nashville tryouts, where they said they had 50 athletes from 47 colleges, since most had never been in the ring, nobody really stood out. One person noted that nobody stood out immediately like a future superstar and that this may be the last tryout only using college athletes as they think they will revert back to wanting independent wrestlers with experience again combined with recruiting of athletes. They did sign 14 of the 50 to contracts. There were a few concussions and shoulder injuries and more injuries possibly then any tryout ever due to the in-ring inexperience.”

The video announcing the new recruiting class can be seen below. 

WWE hosting tryouts for college athletes during SummerSlam week

Posted on by Josh Nason

As was the case during WrestleMania week in Dallas, WWE will hold another multi-day tryout as part of this month’s SummerSlam week in Nashville, Tennessee.

The event will feature both current and recent college graduates, and will take place over three days, starting Wednesday, July 27th at the 60,000 square-foot Wildhorse Saloon. The venue is a “live music and event venue and staple of downtown.”

Former WWE Champion Big E will be attending the tryouts along with Paul “Triple H” Levesque and senior VP of global talent strategy and development James Kimball.

For the final day on Friday, fans can buy a general admission ticket to watch the proceedings.

From the company’s release:

“WWE will host more than 50 male and female participants with collegiate athletic backgrounds across football, basketball, track and field, wrestling, volleyball, gymnastics, cheer and dance. Athletes will partake in performance evaluations, individual and group promo evaluations, in-ring technical sessions and sit-down interviews as part of the tryout process. The invite-only event features several athletes who attended 2022 NFL Rookie Mini Camps.”

The WrestleMania week tryout saw more than 20 participants get signed for developmental deals at Orlando’s Performance Center. One of those who attended and was signed was former Bellator MMA fighter Valerie Loureda.

WWE announces new group of Performance Center recruits

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

WWE has unveiled a new class of Performance Center signees.

Six new international recruits have recently joined the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Five recruits have joined the Performance Center as wrestlers, while former Big Japan Pro Wrestling star Hideki Suzuki has signed with WWE as a Performance Center coach.

Tokyo Sports had reported this January that Suzuki was heading internationally with a “one-way ticket.” Suzuki had previously spent a stint guest coaching at the WWE Performance Center.

The group of recruits is headlined by Sarray (formerly known as Sareee). The 24 year old from Tokyo, Japan made her NXT debut this week, defeating Zoey Stark.

Australian indie wrestlers Steph De Lander and Matt Farrelly are also part of this group of recruits. It was reported last month that they had signed with WWE. Farrelly is also a former “Australian Survivor” contestant.

“I am officially a WWE Superstar. Thank you to everybody who helped me get here, no matter how big or small; I hope I make you proud,” De Lander tweeted.

Sanjana George and Jennifer Michell Cantu Iglesias round out the group of new recruits. George is from Bangalore, India and has competed in obstacle courses and mixed martial arts. Iglesias is from Monterrey, Mexico and is a champion powerlifter.

WWE.com wrote about the new recruits:

Sari Fujimura, who debuted on NXT television as Sarray, is a 24-year-old with nearly a decade of experience in the ring already. Competing under the name Sareee, she made her mark in the Japanese joshi circuit for promotions like Meiko Satomura’s Sendai Girls, JWP Joshi Puroresu and World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana.

Sanjana George is a 24-year-old from Bangalore, India. In addition to her passion for running grueling obstacle courses, George also holds a 5-1 record in mixed martial arts.

Jennifer Michell Cantu Iglesias is a 23-year-old champion powerlifter from Monterrey, Mexico.

Hideki Suzuki joins the WWE PC’s coaching staff. The Hokkaido, Japan, native trained in catch-as-catch can wrestling at Japan’s Snake Pit under the legendary Billy Robinson before stepping into the ring for Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Wrestle-1 and Zero1, among others. In 2017, Suzuki was named the MVP of Japanese independent wrestling by Samurai TV.

Matt Farrelly of Sydney, Australia, is a former history teacher with experience in the ring and on reality television. He competed on ‘Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders’ in 2019.

Stephanie De Landre of Sydney, Australia, has a background in dance and soccer, and has been a standout on the independent wrestling scene down under.