Are WWE Trying To Recruit Another Olympic Gold Medalist?

Iranian wrestling Hassan Yazdani was mentioned again on Raw this week.

Hassan Yazdani WWE Raw
Twitter, @WWE205Live

From Hall Of Famer Mad Dog Vachon to current SmackDown star Chad Gable, WWE have a history of signing athletes who've competed at the Olympic Games. Raw General Manager Kurt Angle stands as the only WWE star to win gold at the Olympics as things stand, but if speculation is to be believed, this may not be the case much longer.

This week's raw saw Ariya Daivari dedicate his win over Akira Tozawa to Hassan Yazdani, a 22-year-old wrestler who won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic games. Yazdani's name was brought up several times throughout the show, and he has also been mentioned on recent episodes of 205 Live.

WWE don't tend to do things like this unless they're planning on making a play for the acknowledged name. These mentions have led to talk that Yazdani could soon be on his way to WWE, with Dave Meltzer suggesting that his signing is a distinct possibility on Monday night's Wrestling Observer Radio.

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As well as scoring gold in Rio de Janeiro, Yazdani finished second in the 2015 World Wrestling Championships while competing in the 70kg weight class, and also has three Wrestling World Cup medals to his name.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.