In recent years, the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida has seen a surge in former collegiate and Olympic athletes. This weekend, that trend continued with the signing of three decorated champions.
Per WWE, one of the newest athletes reporting to the Performance Center is Shady Elnahas, who comes to WWE with previous gold medals in judo. Elnahas, a native of Egypt, has specifically captured gold at the IJF Grand Prix, IJF Grand Slam, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Championships and Pan American Games. He immigrated to Canada at a young age.
Like Elnahas, Aaron Fara has found success in judo, with a notable gold medal win at the 2023 IJF Grand Slam. As a former world champion, he also represented his home country of Austria (the same as "The Ring General" GUNTHER) at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Elsewhere, Francois Prinsloo, a native of Worcester, South Africa, joins WWE as well. In his case, Prinsloo is track and field star with a background in the discus throw at the University of South Alabama. His participation in the 2024 Olympics occurred after he won the Division I title in discus with a throw of 63.51 meters. All three names have inked developmental contacts with WWE.
The signings of Elnahas, Fara, and Prinsloo come two weeks after WWE released a number of main roster and "WWE NXT" stars. They also come one week after the WWE debut of former IWGP World Tag Team Champion Jebb Cobb, who is now known as JC Mateo, at WWE Backlash.
