WWE has signed seven new recruits from China to developmental contracts, TheWrap has learned.
Big Boa, Gu Guangming, Gao Lei, Zhao Xia, Wang Xiaolong, Yifeng and Cheng Yuxiang were all discovered earlier this year during a four-day tryout held in Shanghai and will begin training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, in January.
The seven new recruits will attend the WWE Live China event at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on Sept. 10 and witness history as fellow Chinese recruit Bin Wang makes his WWE in-ring debut against Bo Dallas.
“WWE is dedicated to finding the most talented athletes and entertainers from around the world,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE’s executive vice president of talent, live events and creative. “The seven athletes identified at WWE’s first-ever tryout in China will be given the opportunity to train at the WWE Performance Center in the hopes of becoming the next big WWE Superstar, while also helping to inspire future WWE Superstars and continue the global success of WWE.”
In June, WWE announced an exclusive multi-year content distribution agreement with PPTV to deliver its flagship shows Raw and SmackDown in Mandarin, as well as distribute WWE shortform content throughout China.
Read bios on the seven new Chinese recruits below
– Big Boa (192cm and 100kg) is a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was named the 2016 Brazilian jiu-jitsu China Open Gi/No-Gi champion and represented China at the 2013 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships.
– Gu Guangming (203cm and 130kg) is an amateur boxer from Mudanjiang, ranking among the top amateurs in his weight class since 2012. He won the National Men’s Championship in his weight class in 2014.
– Gao Lei (178cm and 145kg) is a champion in various Beijing traditional wrestling promotions and was the team leader of Mongolian University’s wrestling team.
– Zhao Xia (162cm and 62kg) has trained in martial arts and is the co-founder of her own fitness studio. Zhao has multiple first place finishes in various martial arts and fitness competitions including, the Second World Traditional Chinese Wushu Championship, Nike Challenge Competition and First China Throw Down: Battle on the Bund.
– Wang Xiaolong (190cm and 110kg) of Beijing, studied at the Shandong University of Technology and the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy for music production.
– Yifeng (188cm and 108kg) is an actor from Shanghai, and a graduate of the Shanghai Theater Company. Yifeng was most recently featured in the movie Lady and Tiger in 2014.
– Cheng Yuxiang (188cm and102.5kg) is an expert level fitness trainer from Beijing, certified by Beijing Zhuo Zhonghua International Fitness Academy. Cheng also participates in various Chinese boxing competitions across the country.