WWE has once again cracked open the Olympic Rolodex and said, “Give us your medalists, your record-breakers, your judo throwers yearning to suplex.” This weekend, the company announced the signing of three decorated international athletes—all of whom look like they were built in a lab to body-slam your childhood heroes.
🥋 First up: Shady Elnahas
Gold medals in judo? Check.
Grand Slam wins? Check.
Commonwealth domination? Also check.
Born in Egypt, raised in Canada, and now headed to Orlando to trade his ippon for dropkicks, Elnahas is about to find out that the Performance Center doesn’t give out black belts, but it does hand out reps, drills, and the occasional awkward promo class.
🥋 Second: Aaron Fara
Represented Austria in judo at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has a gold medal from the 2023 IJF Grand Slam, which makes him only slightly less terrifying than his fellow countryman GUNTHER, who once chopped a man into dust live on television.
Fara now joins the “Austrian suplex pipeline” and is presumably required by law to look angry in every photo going forward.
🥏 And last but not least: Francois Prinsloo
A discus-throwing machine from Worcester, South Africa, Prinsloo hurled a plate 63.51 meters to win the NCAA Division I title before hurling himself into the Olympic arena in 2024. Now he’s entering WWE, where the only thing spinning faster than his discus will be Corey Graves’ commentary when Prinsloo debuts.
The trio of elite athletes signed developmental contracts, meaning they’ll join NXT’s roster of hopefuls, dreamers, and 6’3” CrossFit monsters in training for TV debuts and inevitable faction betrayals.
This comes hot on the heels of JC Mateo (f.k.a. Jeff Cobb) debuting at WWE Backlash, and just two weeks after a round of unfortunate talent releases—because as we all know, WWE giveth and WWE cutteth.
With Elnahas, Fara, and Prinsloo in the mix, the Performance Center might soon need its own Olympic podium… or at least more squat racks.