Article: Inside the Invite-Only WWE tryout in Detroit to pick their next big stars
An exclusive look at WWE's tryouts in Detroit, where some of the best, young athletes in the country competed for their shot at pro wrestling glory
Three nights before WWE's premiere event of the summer, a group of prospective pro wrestling hopefuls gathered in a small theater one mile away from the bright lights of Detroit's Ford Field, eager to start their own journeys.
A group of 40 young men and women — all of whom were recently-graduated collegiate athletes — converged Wednesday on the Garden Theater, a spot mostly used for wedding receptions now, for a day of physical training and mic work. The Messenger had exclusive access as the organization searched for its next big stars.
WWE held similar tryouts before the previous two WrestleManias and last year's SummerSlam in Nashville, but this year's crop, ahead of Saturday's SummerSlam in Detroit, was praised by the training staff — including head WWE Performance Center trainer Matt Bloom and VP of Global Talent Development William Regal — as being especially impressive.
The promising WWE hopefuls
The list of attendees included former University of Arizona and Texas Tech linebacker Colin Schooler, former San Diego State University defensive lineman Anthony Luke, former USC track and field athlete and Team USA member Destinee Brown and former Texas Tech and University of Central Florida track and field athlete Kaylor Harris, the daughter of former NFL wide receiver Rod Harris.
WWE will sign an undetermined amount of performers to contracts after the tryouts conclude.
Among the standouts was Troy Yearwood, a former track and field star at the University of North Carolina. While the 22-year-old admitted his pro wrestling knowledge was almost exclusively limited to video games, he impressed with his athleticism throughout the day.
As he explained, it was no coincidence.
"As soon as I received the initial invitation, I got right to work," he told The Messenger at the end of the tryout. "I went to my strength coach, who put together a training plan. I wanted to figure out how I could bulk up, but still stay explosive."
Yearwood said he "absolutely" came to the tryout with a clearer focus than most of his competitors, but he wasn't concerned about looking over his shoulder.
"It's not about them, right?" he continued. "I'm here to do what I do. I put in the work, I prepared and I think I'm going to have a good turn out because of it."
Former Arizona State University hurdler Keira Christie-Galloway came into the tryout looking to model her career after a woman who's made quite a name for herself in WWE in a short amount of time.
"Bianca Belair," Christie-Galloway said, without hesitation. "She was a hurdler, so it makes sense."
In fact, that experience came in handy when it came to hitting the ropes, which Christie-Galloway described as the most challenging part of the day.
"It's kind of like hurdling," she explained, "so I was doing the rhythm in my head. I was like, 'One, two, three.' I eventually got a hold of that. By the second time I got in the ring to do it, things were a lot smoother."
Former Eastern Michigan University track and field star Angel Gazaway grew up watching WWE with her birth father, so when she was contacted by WWE in the middle of her senior season about trying out, she knew she had to accept for a very personal reason.
"The first person I called was my birth dad," she said. "He has Stage 4 lung cancer. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona. I called him and said, 'I just got this opportunity to try out for WWE,' and he was like, 'Do it! You got this!' I'm here not only for myself, but I'm also here for him."
When it came time for the second portion of the day — in which all 54 attendees were tasked with giving an in-ring promo about themselves — Gazaway knew she had dramatic material in her back pocket, but she decided to go in another direction.
"I didn't use a sob story," she noted. "I could have said a whole bunch of stuff and had everybody in here crying. Everybody has a story. Everybody has a background. Do you let it pull you down? Do you have a chip on your shoulder? Are you mad at the world? Or, did you take time to ground yourself and to heal yourself and use it to motivate? That's what I did."
Looking for the 'It' factor
When it came time for promo training, Grayson Waller, who has made a big name for himself on the mic since being called up to the WWE main roster in May, said he was "the perfect person to come in and test them a bit, to show them what we do is legit."
Waller said you "know within 10 seconds" if somebody has the necessary "it" quality.
"You can feel it when they walk in the ring," he explained to The Messenger. "You can feel it when they start talking."
Waller further contended that, despite the tryout's ability to suss out and nurture talent, an innate charisma and star power already has to be there.
"I don’t think you can teach it. I really don't," Waller said. "You can tell somebody to get better at talking and to give better interviews, but I don’t think you can give somebody 'it.'"
Zoey Stark, who joined the WWE main roster earlier this year, agreed with Waller's assessment, saying "you can definitely tell right away" if somebody has the goods.
Unfortunately, a couple of the tryout performers rubbed Stark the wrong way in their promos after insinuating that WWE was simply an "option" for them as they figure out their next professional steps.
"That's such a pet peeve of mine," she said. "I wanted to stand up and say, 'Why the hell are you here then?' Go back on the football field if that makes you happy. That's fine. I have people who would kill to be in your very position and that's a slap in the face."
Trick Williams, who currently competes in WWE's developmental brand NXT, mentored the tryout participants throughout the day, and the former University of South Carolina wide receiver noticed similar trends amongst the different groups of athletes when it came to learning the in-ring basics.
"A lot of people with football backgrounds have been trained their whole lives to stay on their feet," he explained. "Teaching people how to roll and fall the right way is foreign to a lot of different people. The gymnasts seem to pick up on that a lot faster. Some people with wrestling backgrounds picked up on it fast. But basketball players and football players seem to struggle getting on and off the ground."
Luckily, Williams is proof of how a lot of hard work can pay off in spades — even for a guy who had to learn how to roll.
"I was here two years ago trying out, fresh off football." he said. "You can fall in love with this business. It can translate, if you put your everything into it."
