Sorry to say we missed this during the week... blame the post-WrestleMania, post-Superstar Shakeup hangover... but, thankfully, our SBNation sister blog American Ninja Warrior Nation was on the case.
Kacy Catanzaro, one of the biggest stars in the history of NBC’s fitness competition series American Ninja Warrior (ANW), made her wrestling debut at NXT’s Sanford, Florida house show on Thursday night (April 19). She lost to Reina Gonzalez, but it’s not the outcome that’s important here. Hitting the ring in singles action against a Mae Young Classic (MYC) competitor just a few months after she officially reported to The Performance Center is the latest sign WWE is very excited about Catanzaro.
As if reportedly angering their broadcast partners at NBC by announcing her signing last summer during the MYC before she was done with her ANW commitments wasn’t indication enough.
Catanzaro didn’t work the Friday night show in Jacksonville. The NXT roster is loaded right now, and not everyone is going to wrestle every night - even with two groups working simultaneously this weekend - so we shouldn’t read too much into that, either.
Check out some pics and video of Kacy’s debut from Twitter below, to get a taste of what to expect when/if the five foot, 100 pounds 28 year old comes to a town near you...
#NXTSanford making her NXT debut @KacyCatanzaro ! pic.twitter.com/x1DuNeUbF4
— JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) April 19, 2018
Uh oh #NXTSanford pic.twitter.com/1tQDSmEE4H
— Alfredo Ricardo (@Boribunch08) April 19, 2018
Expect big things from the highly athletic @KacyCatanzaro #NXTSanford pic.twitter.com/73NStlPRWT
— Wayne Mason (@waynemason) April 20, 2018
Sounds like a quick one won by a Gonzalez lariat, but JJ Williams’ live report for Wrestling Observer says the crowd was excited by what they saw from Catanzaro - and that’s probably the most important thing at this point.
Let us know your thoughts on her prospects below, and we’ll keep you posted on her development. Or, if you want to be sure to you don’t miss anything Kacy-related, maybe you should follow ANWNation. Unlike some people (*coughcough* me), they’re definitely on top of it.