WWE has released the list of the athletes who partook in the latest try-outs, which included former Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champion Crazzy Steve, who was trained by Eric Young and is a 14 year veteran. Former TNA star Cody Deaner also participated in the try-out.
A number of athletes from many different sports & athletic competitions attended this try-out session.
Here is a list of the participants:
- Obstacle course racer Hunter McIntyre, the reigning champion of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge competition series and a decorated Spartan Race runner
- Amarlo Herrera, a 250-pound linebacker from the University of Georgia who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft
- Noke Tago, a 300-pound defensive tackle from American Samoa who played at Oregon State
- 6-foot-2, 230-pound Raynor Whitcombe, a New Zealand-born football player-turned-bodybuilder who was the first-place winner of the 2015 BodySpace Spokesmodel Search
- Denzel DeJournette, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound All-American wrestler from Appalachian State University who finished eighth in the NCAA heavyweight wrestling championships
- 6-foot-1, 205-pound Nicolai Salchow, a Brazilian-born, German-raised kickboxer and grappler who is 6-1 in professional MMA fights
- CrossFit competitor Lindsey Kelly, a former swimmer at the University of Arizona who has deadlifted 410 pounds and squatted 315 pounds, according to her CrossFit profile
- Reginald Gibbs, a 275-pound, Georgia-based independent wrestler and protege of WWE Superstar Mr. Hughes who competes as “Odinson” in the southeast region
- Brothers Arthur and Josh Haug. Arthur Haug was a four-sport athlete in high school and a former bodybuilding champion who has trained with Impact Pro Wrestling. Josh Haug was a three-time letter winner as a wrestler at the University of Iowa, a 2016 national qualifier and an Academic All-American.
- Minnesota powerlifter Nick Brewer, a 295-pounder who has been known to bend horseshoes and roll up steel frying pans with his bare hands. At the 2009 London Strongest Man competition, he pulled a firetruck.
- Vernon Willis, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound California state wrestling champion
- Andrew Cavanna, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound Connecticut weightlifting champion and five-time wrestling champion
- Briana Brandy, a hip-hop artist who has performed with the likes of Soulja Boy and Ying Yang Twins, and trains in MMA and CrossFit
- Former TNA star Cody Deaner
- Former Impact Tag Team champion “Crazzy Steve” Steve Scott, a 14-year veteran from Ontario who received training under NXT’s Eric Young
- 6-foot-9 Paul “PB Smooth” Bilbo, of Erie, Pa., a former college basketball player who has wrestled for Cleveland-based Absolute Intense Wrestling and CWF Mid-Atlantic in North Carolina
- 23-year-old Matt King, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound model and independent wrestler from Atlanta who competes as “Raphael King”
- 6-foot-6 Troy Russell, a graduate of Lance Storm’s wrestling academy who trains at the famous DeFranco’s Gym
- Tehuti Miles, a 210-pound U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and played for the University of Maryland football team
- Twenty-year-old Quelton Toliver, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound wrestler from Missouri
- Brothers Morgan and Christopher Hill, football players-turned-fitness models from Las Vegas
- Elena Pogosyan, a 24-year-old journalist-turned-wrestler who trained under WWE Hall of Famer Johnny Rodz and has wrestled for almost two years
- Jeslen Mishelle, a three-year wrestling veteran and blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who competes on the West Coast under the alias “Desi Derata”
- Nikii Duke, a 24-year old bodybuilder, International Federation of Physique Athletes pro, and World Beauty Fitness and Fashion bikini competitor
- Twenty-five-year-old Mike Taverna of New York City, who has wrestled in Chaotic Wrestling, Chikara and New York Wrestling Connection, among other groups
- Marquis Carter, a U.S. Army veteran who was deployed once to Afghanistan and twice to Korea, and has officiated in several Florida wrestling organizations
- Haley Kate Yellin, a fitness model with a background in dance, track and taekwondo
- Will Cuevas, a California-based independent wrestler, former referee and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who is a former All Pro Wrestling Worldwide Internet Champion
- Blake Dees, a 240-pound former college football player who played linebacker at Texas Tech and South Alabama
- Micas Harris, a 28-year-old independent wrestler from Indiana who played semi-pro football
- Marshall “Solo” Williams, a Maryland-based, 260-pound powerhouse wrestler who has trained under former WWE Superstar Gillberg and was an aviation ordinanceman in the U.S. Navy
- 6-foot-5, 240-pound Zach Johnson, an independent wrestler from North Carolina for whom this was a second WWE tryout
- Michael Richards, of New Zealand, a 6-foot-2 independent wrestler who has trained in the Ring of Honor Dojo
- 6-foot-3, 285-pound former college football player Joe Maples. He made appearances in three Bowl Games as a member of the University of Missouri football team
- Haley Tipton, a 24-year-old model and former Junior Olympics beach volleyball player
- Rawle Chichester, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound wrestler with six years’ experience
- Abigail Burgdorf, a college track athlete who is also an active powerlifter
There is no word yet on whether or not any of the talent is under consideration for a contract.
Thank you to PWInsider.com for releasing this report. Stay with us here at PWP Nation for more information on the world of professional wrestling.