WWE has officially signed Olympic Gold Medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock to a contract, as confirmed by ESPN on Wednesday morning. She won gold in Women’s Wrestling at 68 kilograms at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and won the gold at the World Wrestling Championships in 2019 and 2022. She technically made her WWE onscreen debut at SummerSlam 2021 alongside fellow signee Gable Steveson but put her pro wrestling dreams on hold after taking the bronze at the 2021 World Championships. She officially reported to the WWE Performance Center on Monday to begin her training.
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“I didn’t want to end my career on that note,” Mensah-Stock told ESPN. “So I did another world championships, I wiped the floor with everybody, and I was like, ‘Man, this is not fun anymore. I need a change.’ Something in the back of my head that’s just been itching at me, a dream of mine for I don’t know how long. I just wanted to be in the WWE.”
“I love watching the athletes just in the ring, just going what they do best,” she added. “I just see their personalities just shine through the television, and I see their strength. Just everything about them resembles me, and I’ve just wanted to be a part of that.”
WWE.com celebrated the news by writing, “Mensah-Stock joins an incredible list of former Olympic wrestlers to sign with WWE including Gable Steveson, Chad Gable and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.”
While Steveson initially signed with WWE in 2021, he has since returned to amateur wrestling and recently dominated the 2023 US Open Wrestling Championships. Given that this was the first step in making it to the 2024 Olympics, it looks like his WWE career has been temporarily put on hold.
“I think being able to understand that this game is different and it’s a process and I’m going to follow the process the right way and just keep moving forward,” he told MMA Fighting back in March. “…I’m young and I’m hungry. I want to be the best in everything I can possibly be. Step one is WWE and go out there and be the most physical, athletic, and dominant wrestler since probably Brock Lesnar, maybe even more than that.”
“I think that’s a discussion when that time comes and that’s a discussion for how my schedule may play out, and you never know how it may play out,” Steveson added when asked about wanting to get back in the sport of amateur wrestling. “As of right now, it’s a yes or no, but at the end of the day, I will be ready to compete and put on a good show as always.”
