WWE Signs 10 New Talents
The Mighty Don't Kneel among company's new employees.
WWE released a statement on Tuesday announcing that ten new professional wrestlers have been signed to the company and will begin training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando immediately.
Among the five men and five women are Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls, who have competed around the world under the team name The Mighty Don't Kneel. Haste and Nicholls are two-time GHC Tag Team Champions in Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH, and while they were originally linked with WWE last summer, the signing wasn't completed until March. The talented duo should be a part of NXT television in the near future.
Scottish star Nikki Storm, who has competed for women's promotions in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. was also among the signees, as was former Minnesota Viking Babatunde Aiyegbusi. The rest of the class consists of accomplished amateur wrestlers, sportspeople, military veterans, and more with varying levels of pro wrestling experience. With these men and woman as the newest arrivals, the Performance Center now boasts a roster of nearly 80 trainees.
WWE's official release offers the following bios of the new signees:
Babatunde Aiyegbusi(Olenica, Poland) Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 350 Aiyegbusi is a former professional football player who had stints in Poland and Germany. Most recently, he spent the 2015 preseason with the Minnesota Vikings as an offensive lineman.
Bianca Blair(Knoxville, Tennessee) Blair was an All-American and All-SEC track-and-field performer in hurdles at the University of Tennessee, and was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2011 and 2012. A CrossFit competitor and powerlifter, Blair has been featured in RX Magazine, Femme Rouge Magazine and CrossFit.com.
Nikola Bogojevic(Superior, Wisconsin) A world-class grappler, Bogojevic was the National Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Junior Pan-American Games in 2011. He also won bronze at the Pan-American Games in Greco-Roman wrestling in 2014 and has extensive experience training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Carolyn Dunning(Las Vegas) Dunning is a former Air Force ROTC member and nationally ranked bodybuilding bikini competitor by The National Physique Committee.
Macey Estrella(Parris Island, South Carolina) Trained with Tom Caiazzo of American Premier Wrestling, Estrella is a former U.S. Marine and member of the Marine Corps SWAT team.
Nicola Glencross(Glasgow, Scotland) Also known as Nikki Storm, Glencross has eight years of experience wrestling on the independent circuit for Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Eve, Scottish Wrestling Alliance, Insane Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Elite, Stardom and Shine.
Terrance Jean-Jacques(Boston) Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 265 pounds, Jean-Jacques was an All-American wrestler at the University of Rhode Island in 2015. Prior to that, he accumulated a 32-2 record in wrestling at the University of Iowa.
Danielle Kamela(Los Angeles) Trained with Rikishi and David Gangrel Heath at Knokx Pro Entertainment, Kamela was an on-air talent for FOX Sports Arizona, a Phoenix Suns dancer and an Arizona Cardinals cheerleader.
Michael Nicholls (Perth, Australia) Also known as Mikey, Nicholls has 10 years of experience wrestling on the independent circuit for multiple organizations, including Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he was two-time Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Shane Veryzer, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Explosive Pro Wrestling.
Shane Veryzer (Perth, Australia) Also known as Shane Haste, Veryzer has 11 years of experience wrestling on the independent circuit for multiple organizations, including Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he was two-time Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Michael Nicholls, and Explosive Pro Wrestling.