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After a couple of weeks of news about talent who want to leave the company, today WWE is promoting a long list of people who’d like to join it.
There are 40 athletes at the Performance Center in Orlando for a tryout this week, according to their website. This is the first one WWE’s held in the states this year; they were in Mumbai for their first ever Indian tryout last month.
It’s the usual mix of wrestlers from other promotions, athletes and Hollywood-types getting put through the paces by head coach Matt Bloom and crew. Here’s the list, along with the highlights of their resumes:
- James Wilder - former NFL running back, currently playing pro ball in Canada
- Emily Andzulis - amateur MMA fighter who appeared on The Rock’s Titan Games
- Taiwan Markis Jones - former college and pro linebacker
- Chris Martin - former college and pro football player, most recently with the defunct AAF
- Lance Anoa’i - indie wrestler and son of former WWE Tag champ Samu & grandson of Wild Samoan Afa
- Jana Angel - former college and pro volleyball player
- Maritza Ayala - indie wrestler, also known as Danika Della Rouge
- Nick Rodriguez - collegiate wrestler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner
- Ivelisse Velez - indie wrestler & former Lucha Underground trios champ, who has WWE experience on Tough Enough, and in FCW & NXT
- Stephanie Ayala - fitness model and bodybuilding champion
- Andrea Benoit - Canadian indie wrestler who works as NOVA
- Jade Cargill - former collegiate basketball player
- Kristopher Craig - former collegiate basketball player; trained under Billy Gunn at Team 3D Academy
- Michael Delbrey - CrossFit and weightlifting competitor
- Donovan Dongo - powerlifting and amateur wrestling champ
- Leandro Dongo - amateur wrestler and firefighter
- Joshua Dudley - former collegiate football player and current indie wrestler (aka Edgrin Stone)
- Sierra Erny - former cheerleader and dancer who trains at Team 3D Academy, works as Skyler Moore
- Tony “The Storm” Eveland - indie wrestler
- Joshua “JXT” Fikret - Australian indie wrestler who’s trained under Rip Rogers and Orlando Jordan
- AJ Francis - former pro football player training at Team 3D Academy, where he wrestles as Suga Bear
- Aaron Gillis - seven footer who played Division II college football, wrestles as Paxton Calloway
- Alexandria Gracia - Booker T trained wrestler who’s worked for Shimmer and Stardom
- Mahmoud Fawzy Sebie - Olympic wrestler from Egypt
- Randy Kaufman - Rip Rogers and Al Snow trainer wrestler (aka Randall Floyd)
- Makini Manu - former college football and rugby player
- Patrick McAlpine - indie wrestler who’s worked NXT as Patrick Scott; trained with Steve Corino
- EJ Nduka - pro bodybuilder in for his second WWE tryout
- Kristjan Sokoli - former NFL lineman
- Sidney Bateman - Cirque du Soleil acrobat
- Cadman Edward Turner - former semi-pro cricket player who trains at Santino Marella’s Battle Arts Academy; this is his third WWE tryout
- Jeanette Horning - wrestled and played football in high school
- Ana Kundzicz - Team 3D Academy trainee with an entertainment background
- Florence Lortie - independent wrestler from Quebec better known as Flo Riley
- Lauren Regno - bikini competitor and bodybuilder who competed on Titan Games
- Courtney Lynn Roselle - collegiate basketball player and obstacle course racer
- Theresa Lee Schuessler - indie wrestler with some NXT appearances; wrestles as Tenilla and Tesha Price
- Bryce Wollman - powerlifter and former college football player
- Rafik Youakeem - independent wrestler with experience in parkour and BJJ (aka Alexander Zane)
- Jonathan Young - former collegiate swimmer and current Lex Luger protégé
Anybody stand out to you, Cagesiders?