WWE officially announced its first class of signings as part of its new Next In Line program on Wednesday. The company recently confirmed it would begin recruiting collegiate athletes to become future Superstars via the NCAA’s NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) program, allowing them to train at the Performance Center and use “resources across the organization including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations.” The first 15 athletes to sign included:ย
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- Carlos Aviles, of Ventura, Calif., a 6-foot-6, 305-pound track & field athlete from Ohio State University
- Haley Cavinder, of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno State University
- Hanna Cavinder, of Gilbert, Ariz., a 5-foot-6 basketball player from Fresno State University
- A.J. Ferrari of Dallas, Texas, a 6-foot, 200-pound wrestler from Oklahoma State University
- Lexi Gordon of Fort Worth, Texas, a 6-foot basketball player from Duke University
- Aleeya Hutchins of Toronto, Canada, a 5-foot-5 track & field athlete from Wake Forest University
- John Krahn of Riverside, Calif., a 7-foot, 400-pound football player from Portland State University
- Glen Logan of Kenner, La., a 6-foot-5, 305-pound football player from LSU
- Isaac Odugbesan of Lagos, Nigeria, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound football player from the University of Alabama
- Mason Parris of Lawrenceburg, Ind., a 6-foot-2, 275-pound wrestler from the University of Michigan
- Masai Russel of Potomac, Md., a 5-foot-5 track & field athlete from the University of Kentucky
- Jon Seaton of Hillsborough, N.J., a 6-foot-1, 285-pound football player from Elon University
- Joe Spivak of Lombard, Ill., a 6-foot, 300-pound football player from Northwestern University
- Dalton Wagner of Spring Grove, Ill., a 6-foot-9, 330-pound football player from the University of Arkansas
- Riley White of Hoover, Ala., a 5-foot-6 track & field athlete from the University of Alabama
Triple H commented on the signings via Twitter, writing, “This class of young athletes represents the development in @WWE’s recruitment process and showcases those who are next in line to become the next generation of #WWE Superstars!”
The first athlete to sign an NIL deal with the WWE was Gable Steveson, a University of Minnesota wrestler and reigning NCAA Heavyweight Champion and Olympic gold medalist. While he hasn’t competed in an official WWE match (and won’t until his final year of college is complete), he has already been drafted to the Monday Night Raw roster.ย
Stay tuned for more updates and signings from WWE’s Next In Line program as they become available!ย
