WWE Signs Seven New Recruits From China (Updated With Video, Photo Of Each Recruit)
As noted, WWE held their first tryouts in China this past June and signed their first Chinese wrestler, Bin Wang.
Ahead of Saturday's WWE live event in Shanghai, where Wang will make his WWE in-ring debut against Bo Dallas, the company announced today that they have signed seven new recruits from China to developmental deals: Big Boa, Gu Guangming, Gao Lei, Zhao Xia, Wang Xiaolong, Yifeng and Cheng Yuxiang, who all took part in the June tryouts. You can check out footage from the tryouts in the video above.
Below are some details on each recruit:
Big Boa (6-foot-4, 220 pounds)
Boa is a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was named the 2016 Brazilian jiu-jitsu China Open Gi/No-Gi champion and represented China at the 2013 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships.
Gu Guangming (6-foot-8, 287 pounds)
is an amateur boxer from Mudanjiang, ranking among the top amateurs in his weight class since 2012. He won the National Men's Championship in his weight class in 2014.
Gao Lei (5-foot-10, and 320 pounds)
Guangming is a champion in various Beijing traditional wrestling promotions and was the team leader of Mongolian University's wrestling team.
Zhao Xia (5-foot-4, 136 pounds)
Xia has trained in martial arts and is the co-founder of her own fitness studio. Zhao has multiple first-place finishes in various martial arts and fitness competitions, including the Second World Traditional Chinese Wushu Championship, Nike Challenge Competition and First China Throw Down: Battle on the Bund.
Wang Xiaolong (6-foot-3, 243 pounds)
Xiaolong of Beijing has a background in basketball and dance, and he studied at the Shandong University of Technology and the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy for music production.
Yifeng (6-foot-2, 238 pounds)
Yifeng is an actor from Shanghai and a graduate of the Shanghai Theater Company. Yifeng was most recently featured in the movie "Lady and Tiger" in 2014.
Cheng Yuxiang (6-foot-2, 226 pounds)
Yuxiang is an expert-level fitness trainer from Beijing, certified by the Beijing Zhuo Zhonghua International Fitness Academy. Cheng also participates in various Chinese boxing competitions across the country.