WWE Announces Next Class of Performance Center Recruits

The future continues to look bright for WWE.

It was announced on Tuesday that WWE has signed the next generation of talent to the WWE performance center in Orlando, Florida. This class features a wide range of athletic backgrounds, including a former member of the NFL, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and current wrestlers on the independent scene.

Below is the official press release from the company:

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 (Ole?nica, 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.

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