WWE To Hold Two-Day Tryout at IMG Academy This Week

Sports Illustrated reports that WWE will hold tryouts at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida this Wednesday and Thursday. The company is attempting to recruit more former college athletes, and this is part of that plan. The tryout will include between 30-35 athletes.

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

The IMG Academy is usually used as a training and competition facility for amateur and pro sports teams. This wil be the third large tryout for WWE this year but there are plans to make them an annual thing. WWE offered eighteen developmental contracts at its Wrestlemania tryout and then fifteen at the Summerslam tryout. Their next tryout will be in Lagos, Nigeria in February, part of “The Search for Africa’s Next WWE Superstar”. The next US tryout will be in late March before Wrestlemania 39.

Kimball will be joined by his recruitment and development team, along with Big E. The second day of the tryout will fall on the one-year anniversary of the launch of WWE’s NIL – Next In Line program.

Kimball added: “E is such a critical part of what we’re doing. 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. NIL is such an opportunity.Our first NIL signing was Gable, and since then, we’ve built around the program. We’re making waves, and there are ripple effects to what we’re doing. It’s helping raise the profile and awareness of WWE among the athletes, as well as among fans. We’re building. This a long-term investment strategy, and we’re all really excited about the potential.“