What’s the story?
According to a report in Squared Circle Sirens, there are 42 wrestlers currently at WWE’s Performance Centre in Orlando this week. There are a few notable names on the list including former TNA wrestler Lei’d Tapa, former SHIMMER Champion, Nicole Matthews and a former Miss New York, Anna Theresa.
In case you didn’t know…
An unprecedented volume of new upcoming talent was signed by the WWE last year and it doesn’t look like the trend is going to be stopped anytime soon. Dozens of new wrestlers have been signed in the past 12 months, for the main roster, NXT and Cruiserweight/UK tournaments.
The heart of the matter
Lei’d Tapa is a former women’s American football player and mixed-martial artist. She wrestled in TNA’s Knockouts division in between 2013 and 2014 and again for a brief stint in 2015. Most recently, she was seen on the independent circuit towards the end of 2015.
Nicole Matthews is one of most highly-rated women’s indie wrestlers in the entire North America. In November 2016, she appeared as an enhancement talent on NXT TV. She wrestled NXT Women’s champion Asuka while the promotion was in her native Canada.
Anna Theresa, of course, won the Miss New York pageant in 2016. Others in the group include Renee Michelle and Miranda Salinas, both of whom are active on the independent circuit, Stephanie Rowe (an NPC figure competitor), and Reka Rene (a Hungarian actress and also a fitness model).
Super Bowl winner Isaiah Stanback of the New York Giants, was one of six attendees with professional football experience. Terron Beckham, the cousin of American football star Odell Beckham Jr., is also in the tryout with WWE. It so appears that the New York Giants wide receiver is not the only athletic showman in the Beckham family.
What’s next?
Earlier, in January, we saw Triple H announce WWE’s plans of introducing a women’s tournament in 2017. It has not yet been confirmed, but these tryouts suggest that it might be nearer than we think.
Sportskeeda’s take
WWE’s quest to find the next wrestling Superstar continues. As wrestling fans, we can get excited and look forward to seeing fresh new talents wooing us with new moves and techniques in the near future.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
