WWE has announced that a new class of 10 recruits — including a former NFL player, an All-American collegiate wrestler, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and talent from independent wrestling circuits — has begun training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
“With support from our world-class coaching staff at the WWE Performance Center, these men and women will have the chance to hone their skills and fulfill their dream of becoming a WWE Superstar,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “Our state-of-the-art training facility gives our talent every opportunity to succeed and grow, and I’m pleased to welcome this new class to WWE.”
The new training class includes:
Babatunde Aiyegbusi (Oleśnica, Poland) – Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 350 pounds, 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.
The new class will join a group of 69 men and women training out of the WWE Performance Center.