Triple H has often said that WWE’s greatest resource is its Superstars. That idea is what spawned the creation of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., and why the consistent inflow of new talent to the WWE PC is a key factor in WWE’s long-term health and development.
In a recent conference call with members of the media, Triple H spoke about what WWE looks for in recruits, as well as how the newly launched recruitment website, WWEPerformanceCenter.com, will help increase awareness among elite athletes around the world.
“We hear it a lot: ‘I wish I had known how to get there, I maybe would’ve tried this earlier,’ ” Triple H said. “If you’re a fan of [WWE] and now you have that opportunity, you want to take it. That allows us to bring in the best athletes from around the globe and really filter through the best of the best.”
There are “hundreds of thousands” of world-class athletes who are of professional caliber regardless of their sport and that, for one reason or another, end up considering options outside the sport they play. Such athletes can make for strong candidates for WWE’s talent development system. “The level of athlete that makes it to the Olympics is incredible. But the ones that are on the alternate team, or the ones that just didn’t make the cut, are at the exact same level almost,” Triple H said, emphasizing that there is an abundance of athletes who could potentially be a perfect fit for the WWE.
Triple H used rugby as an example of a sport that holds great potential for crossover athletes.
“Sports like rugby are really interesting pools for us,” he said. “There are elite athletes at every level … and they’re the best athletes in the world. So there’s guys like Daniel Vidot, who is coming in with us now, we’re just working through the visa process of getting him started. Or Luke Menzies, who has signed a development contract with us. Those are examples of athletes who come out of a rugby environment [with] larger-than-life personalities, but they’re used to that physicality, that daily grind and they love it. It’s a perfect fit for them.”
When trying to find potential new recruits for the Performance Center, WWE focuses on finding the best athletes with the biggest personalities from around the globe, Triple H stressed.
“We look for a lot of things, but the first and foremost of those things being charisma,” he said. “We’re looking for the human being first. We’re looking for the person that, when they enter a room, they have that innate ability to take someone’s attention — that X-factor that draws you to them. We’re also looking, through that training or tryout process, to find emergent leaders that are going to represent WWE and themselves in the best possible way.”
With the new WWE Performance Center website making a pathway to a WWE tryout more accessible and with WWE’s global scouting efforts stronger than ever, Triple H summarized the climate of the recruitment process perfectly, saying, “This is the game change moment.”
Indeed, it is. Welcome to the future.