Published: Nov 28, 2022 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Nov 28, 2022 by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
WWE
WWE is holding a two-day tryout event this week for a top athletic prep school in the US, reports Sports Illustrated.
The tryouts will take place at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida on Wednesday November 30 and Thursday December 1.
This forms part of WWE’s new recruitment strategy of attracting talent among elite former college athletes.
James Kimball, WWE’s head of talent operations and strategy, explained:
“There are countless examples of top talent that came into the business via college sports, but there hasn’t always been a system built out.
“That’s what we’re trying to create here, a true talent development pathway into WWE for college athletes.”
It’s expected that between thirty and thirty-five athletes will take part in the IMG tryout, with Kimball and his recruitment and development team being joined by Big E and NXT stars.
On the presence of Big E, who is currently rehabbing a serious neck injury, Kimball reflected:
“E is such a critical part of what we’re doing.
“This recruitment strategy is really hitting home for him, and it’s something we should have had when he was a collegiate student-athlete at Iowa.
“He’s such a great ambassador, and he can relate to these athletes.
“He’s presenting with shared experience—that goes a long way.”
Sports Illustrated reports that the event will feature “in-ring assessments at the tryout” that will allow assessors see “how athletes take direction, as well as evaluating the manner in which they perform in traditional professional wrestling scenarios.” There will also be “NFL Combine-like activations to measure athletic ability.”
It won’t be all about in-ring ability, though, with sessions assessing “ability and personality on the microphone.”
The second day of the event will be the one-year adversary of the WWE Next in Line program, with Kimball reflecting on the success of its first signing:
“Our first NIL signing was Gable, and since then, we’ve built around the program.
“We’re making waves, and there are ripple effects to what we’re doing.
“It’s helping raise the profile and awareness of WWE among the athletes, as well as among fans.”
With WWE continuing to expand its reach, Fightful has recently reported that eighteen talents were signed to developmental contracts after the tryouts at WrestleMania, with a further fifteen signed to developmental contracts after the SummerSlam tryouts.
Transcript from Sports Illustrated.
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