WWE recently conducted another round of tryouts at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, focusing primarily on Black men and bodybuilders.
Participants included Starboy Charlie, Leon Lokombo, LaBron Kozone, Manny Lo, Jariel Rivera, Manny House, Jack Pasquale, Blade Brown, Tyler Jordan, Jeremiah Lakhani, James Karnik, Bruss Hamilton, Ben Finnesseth, and Bhupinder Gujjar.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this targeted approach was likely a response to criticisms of WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque for his handling of Black talent. Critics have suggested that he does not adequately promote Black wrestlers, a point also raised by MVP concerning the booking of Black athletes.
Meltzer indicated that the simultaneous call-ups of Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Je’Von Evans suggest that WWE is actively addressing this criticism. Triple H even spoke about Black representation during the WWE Crown Jewel post-show press event in late 2024.
In a related note, Fightful Select issued a correction regarding Notorious Mimi and Airica Demia, who were previously reported to be part of the tryouts.
In fact, they were training at Natalya’s Dungeon. Other women who participated in the tryouts included Elly Finch, Alyssa Daniele, Regina Tarin, KJ Johnson, Sallie Grace, Casey Scharoff, and Nor “Phoenix” Diana.
