WWE hosting tryouts at IMG Academy this week

[Chris]

WWE has announced its next tryout for college athletes.

As first revealed by SI.com, 30-35 athletes will be taking part in a two-day tryout on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The event will be held at IMG Academy, a state-of-the-art facility located in Bradenton, Florida. The 600-acre boarding school campus serves as a training ground for professional and amateur sports teams as well as sports camps.

The tryouts will be the third such event WWE has held this year. 18 athletes were offered developmental contracts following tryouts in Dallas during WrestleMania week and another 15 were offered deals from tryouts in Nashville when the company was in town for SummerSlam.

WWE has another tryout scheduled for Lagos, Nigeria in February titled “The Search for Africa’s Next WWE Superstar.” Tryouts in Los Angeles are expected to take place during the week of WrestleMania 39 as well.

“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,” said WWE’s head of talent operations and strategy James Kimball. “That’s what we’re trying to create here, a true talent development pathway into WWE for college athletes.”

“We want a clear calendar,” Kimball continued. “Moving forward, we’re going to emulate what we’ve done in 2022. It’s really important there is a clear schedule, as college athletes have so many options. For wrestlers on the independents, that system is in place and that pathway to WWE is well known, so our resources are allocated to building a new pathway to collegiate sports.

“We’re just scratching the surface. We’ve been working on this for a year, and it’s going to take years, but we’re growing. We’re adding quality and depth, and the work is just starting with college athletes nationwide.”

Big E will once again be present for the tryouts, as he was in Nashville this summer.

“E is such a critical part of what we’re doing,” Kimball said of the former WWE Champion's participation. “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.”

WWE hosting two-day tryout at IMG Academy this week

30-35 athletes are expected to take part.

www.f4wonline.com

 

[#Waddles]

IF the WWE can sign a couple of people here that would be great. IMG is a national powerhouse in football. Any athlete would be an asset to the WWE down the road. This was a good idea all around.