Has WWE Just Signed Its Next Major Star?

WWE seals deal with Netflix breakout star.

by Michael Hamflett
Gabi Butler
WWE

WWE's latest Next In Line signing could be a "franchise player" and a total coup for the company should all things work out well.

Star of Netflix smash hit show Cheer Gabi Butler has committed to a deal with the company, and as PWInsider's Mike Johnson put it;

"This may be a signing that is long remembered should everything play out to the best of plans, as Butler is 100% a star and probably in the top echelon of athletes ever signed by the company".

Butler brings with her enormous buzz, having stood out on the series and gained yet more traction built up by a strong social media presence. Only 22 when the show first aired, Butler had a million followers on Instagram, and has since doubled that in the two years she's been featured on the show. No stranger to the physical demands of WWE, she's also familiarised herself with the product recently having attended SummerSlam as a guest of the company in July.

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As she put it during an interview with People Magazine;

"It was almost like I was watching a cheerleading competition, but wrestling edition, it's very related to cheerleading because we're performers, we're entertainers, we like to put on a show and we also have to be athletic."

WWE's NIL is no guarantee of a permanent deal, but AJ Amrhein and Isaac Odugbesan are both recent prospects to sign deals with the company from elite level gymnastics and shot putting respectively.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett