wrestling / News

WWE Announces New Performance Center Class: Usos’ Brother, Bobby Steveson, More

August 30, 2021 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

The WWE has announced a new class of WWE Performance Center recruits, including the brother of the Usos and more. The company announced the class of recruits on Monday, which features Joseph Fatu, Gable Steveson’s brother Bobby, Bull Buchanan’s son Ben and more.

The full announcement is below:

Second-generation hopefuls among new WWE Performance Center recruits
Six athletes reported for training today at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., to begin their journey to WWE Superstardom.

The new class of recruits features second-generation Superstars, including a member of the legendary Anoa’i family dynasty, as well standouts from football, gymnastics and amateur wrestling.

Minneapolis’ Bobby Steveson, the brother of 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, stands 6-feet tall and weighs 220 pounds. He wrestled at the University of Minnesota, the same alma mater as his brother, former World Champion Brock Lesnar and Raw Superstar Shelton Benjamin.

Twenty-year-old Ben Buchanan is a former Alabama state high school wrestling champion from Ranbourne, Ala. He was undefeated in the 285-pound weight class during the 2019-2020 season. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder is also the son of former WWE Tag Team Champion Bull Buchanan.

Brady Booker comes to the Performance Center from the world of college football, having played middle linebacker at the University of South Dakota. Also a skilled archer, the 21-year old hails from Lasalle, Ill., stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 245 pounds.

Jessica Woynilko is a 21-year-old gymnast, bodybuilder and CrossFit athlete from Prior Lake, Minn. As a gymnast, she specialized in tumbling and trampoline, competing on the 2016 U.S. national team.

Joseph Fatu of Las Vegas is the younger brother of SmackDown Tag Team Champions Jimmy & Jey Uso and the son of WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder has two years’ experience in sports-entertainment and played football in college.

Twenty-three-year-old Joshua Dawkins of DeBary, Fla., is the latest trainee of WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley to be signed to the WWE Performance Center. The 6-foot-1 recruit is also the nephew of NBA legend Darryl Dawkins.