WWE announces signing of six new superstars including Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas

On Wednesday morning, WWE took to its official website and various social media platforms in order to announce the signing of six new superstars, including former Mae Young Classic Tournament competitor Mercedes Martinez and Independent sensation Jake Atlas.

Along with Martinez and Atlas, the company also recruited Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt Emily Andzulis, former NFL player Anthony Francis, and 7-feet-tall Zechariah Smith, who have all reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

WWE announces the signing of Mercedes Martinez, Jake Atlas, and other superstars

The latest batch of WWE Performance Center recruits includes the likes of Mercedes Martinez, who is best known for her time in WWE as part of the 2017 Mae Young Classic Tournament where she defeated the likes of Xia Li, Princesa Sugehit, and Abbey Laith before being eliminated by Shayna Baszler in the semifinals.

Also Read: Mercedes Martinez reportedly signs with WWE

Martinez, who also competed on NXT on a host of occasions, was also a part of the second Mae Young Classic and was very recently seen competing under All Elite Wrestling, wherein she appeared on AEW Dark, teaming up with Big Swole in a losing effort against Allie and Sadie Gibbs.

Jake Atlas, on the other hand, is popularly known for his work on the Independent Circuit, where he has competed for notable promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerilla. Having appeared on an episode Stephanie McMahon's 'Undercover Boss', Atlas recently featured in Fred Rosser AKA Darren Young's list of top 5 matches of all time and the former WWE Tag Team Champion has always been one of Atlas' biggest supporters, hoping to see the latter sign with the company for a long period of time.

Also Read: Why WWE still has a long way to go in terms of true LGBTQ representation (Exclusive)

The rest of new signings include Emily Andzulis, who competed on Dwyane 'The Rock' Johnson's Titan Games, where she was also crowned the first female Titan. Anthony Francis, a former NFL player who has represented the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Rednecks. And lastly, we have the gigantic Zechariah Smith who has represented the Washington Generals in the past.

About the author

Soumik Datta is a professional wrestling journalist who has been following the business for more than a decade.

In 2017, Soumik joined the Sportskeeda Wrestling team and is best known for his work with the WWE team. He has previously contributed to the Sportskeeda AEW, MMA, and the football team where he specifically covered the Major League Soccer.

In 2024, Soumik crossed 50 million reads for Sportskeeda WWE. While working under Sportskeeda MMA, he interviewed prominent UFC fighters, including Justin Gaethje, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen, among others. He is also being followed by John Cena on X (formerly Twitter).

In 2025, Soumik became an Assistant Content Manager at Sportskeeda, but continues to cover and write about the hottest and trending news topics.

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Edited by Anurag Sharma