WWE Reportedly Targeting A Specific Group Of Talented Athletes For Recruitment

Considering the vastness of the WWE machine, it makes sense that the company is always on the lookout for new talent. In past years, WWE recruits have predominantly consisted of independent wrestlers and NCAA athletes, but according to a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer, there is another group the company is actively recruiting: international Olympians.

According to Meltzer, WWE is scouting various athletes from around the world with the intention of signing them in the aftermath of last year's Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. The company successfully signed Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock in 2023, with the performer currently appearing on "WWE LFG" as Tyra Mae Steele.

Mensah-Stock isn't the first Olympian signed to WWE, with most fans well aware that Kurt Angle joined the company in the late 1990s after winning gold. Angle would go on to become massively successful as a pro wrestler, but WWE has not yet been able to recreate Angle's pathway from Olympic gold medal winner to wrestling megastar.

Back in 2020, the company made an effort to do just that, signing Olympic wrestler Gable Steveson to an NIL deal. However, he wound up wrestling just one televised match and a string of dark matches before Steveson was released in early 2024.

Angle, Steveson, and Mensah-Stock are thus far the only Olympic gold medal winners that have been signed to WWE. Other WWE wrestlers who have competed in the Olympics include Ronda Rousey, Mark Henry, Chad Gable, and Allen "Bad News Brown" Coage.

The 2024 Summer Olympics took place across July and August in Paris, France. Next year will bring the Winter Olympics in Italy, while the Summer Olympics will return in 2028 with host city Los Angeles, California.