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It's always incredibly exciting for the WWE Universe when WWE announces new signings - and the Performance Center has welcomed three more of them over the past 24 hours!
The previous three intakes saw stars such as Matt Riddle, Mia Yim, Karen Q, Robbie E, Rachael Ellering, Cal Bloom, ACH and Punishment Martinez, as well as a seven-foot-three basketball player, two football players and "The Samoan Ghost" - so the newest intake has a lot to live up to!
But we don't think that's something they'll have a problem with...
The three latest Superstars we're going to introduce you to may technically be about to begin life as WWE Superstars by training at the incredibly impressive WWE Performance Center, in preparation for life in the squared circle as a touring WWE Superstar - but they're all veteran wrestlers and incredibly exciting entertainers, so we're sure we'll see them pretty soon.
All three will debut on NXT initially, with a former Lucha Underground star, a Japanese veteran and a top Mexican wrestler all joining the ranks as they begin life at the WWE Performance Center.
So, who are they? Sportskeeda has you covered. Here's some need-to-know information on WWE's three newest recruits.
#3 Kushida
Okay, so we'll start with Kushida since everyone knows he's signed anyway. The cat is out of the bag, courtesy of WWE themselves who adjudged the Japanese star to be big enough to boast as a major contract signing during wrestling's biggest weekend of the year.
Kushida’s arrival in NXT came to light immediately before NXT TakeOver: New York, at WrestleMania weekend, as an official contract signing with WWE COO Triple H and NXT General Manager William Regal took place and was shared online immediately.
Kushida is also set to debut for NXT in just under two weeks, with WWE believing the star is ready to make his presence known.
While the mainstream American audience may not be entirely familiar with Kushida, he has the potential to be WWE's next Shinsuke Nakamura.
A multi-time champion in Japan, Kushida has more than a decade of wrestling experience under his belt. Like Nakamura, Kushida came to prominence in sports-entertainment an impressive MMA career, holding an undefeated record in professional MMA.
The 35-year-old would become one of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s top competitors with Triple H described Kushida as “one of the biggest international stars in the world” ahead of his official contract signing.
Kushida is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a former ROH World Television Champion, and brings incredible technical ability and charisma to NXT - with his Back To The Future inspired ring attire.
#2 Shane Strickland
If you don't already know the name Shane Strickland, you're about to have your mind blown. The only misfortune is that we should have seen Strickland in WWE a long time ago, had it not been for contractual red tape.
Lucha Underground fans may know him as Killshot, but Shane Strickland is a star in his own right - having faced off against the likes of Johnny Gargano, Tony Nese, Kalisto, The Young Bucks, Ricochet, Kenny Omega, The Briscoes... The list goes on.
The six-foot-one, 190-pounder is incredibly fluid inside the squared circle, with incredibly smooth ring work and a style that instantly draws eyes.
Strickland's striking ability was developed from his time in the US Army Reserves, where he trained in hand-to-to hand combat, and he counts EVOLVE, Combat Zone Wrestling and Major League Wrestling championships among his past accolades.
Back in July, we spoke exclusively with Shane Strickland and asked about the potential of him signing with WWE and he gave us a very interesting answer - remaining coy, but not disregarding the possibility of a move.
I'm doing me and I'm enjoying everything I'm doing in my career right now. I've got a lot of responsibilities on me right now and I'll fulfill every last one of them.
Strickland also cited Matt Riddle as a huge favorite of his, a man who is now performing in WWE, on the NXT brand. Strickland also spoke about his character, Killshot, on Lucha Underground. You can read the entire interview here.
#1 Garza
Much like Strickland, Garza is a man we could have saw a long time ago in WWE, had it not been for injury blighting his chances of signing.
Garza comes to the WWE Performance Center with a long lineage of Mexican wrestling blood in his veins as the grandson of luchador El Ninja, nephew of former WCW Superstar Hector Garza and cousin of NXT and 205 Live Superstar Humberto Carrillo!
Humberto Garza has been wrestling for 11 years, starting out as a teenager. The 26-year-old is one of WWE's smaller stars, standing five-foot-nine and weighing 212 pounds.
Garza is a high flyer who has been jet setting around the world to make his name in wrestling, competing for AAA and The Crash in Mexico, NOAH in Japan and Impact Wrestling.
Are you excited to see WWE's new stars? Let us know in the comments!
