WWE News: Olympic Silver medalist Jaime Espinal, Stardom's Io Shirai and former TNA wrestler Wes Brisco attend tryouts at the WWE Performance Center
What’s the story?
WWE continues to scour the globe for new future stars for the company, often holding tryouts at the WWE Performance Center to gauge what type of talent these men and women bring to the table.
According to WWE.com, the latest tryouts hosted several big names including Olympic Silver Medalist Jaime Espinal, Stardom's Io Shirai and former TNA wrestler Wes Brisco.
In case you didn’t know...
Jaime Espinal is best known as an Olympic Silver Medalist, winning his medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. He became Puerto Rico’s first Olympic medalist in wrestling, as he won the medal in the 84 KG (185 pounds) division in freestyle wrestling.
Io Shirai is a former stablemate and tag team partner of the recently signed Kairi Hojo. She is the current World of Stardom Champion for the World Wonder Ring Stardom wrestling promotion in Japan.
Also read: 5 Indians that the WWE should totally sign up
Wes Brisco may be best known for his time as a member of the Aces and Eights stable in TNA Wrestling.
Brisco was previously signed to the WWE developmental territory FCW in 2009. He won the FCW Tag Team Championships with Xavier Woods in 2010. Wes is the son of WWE Hall of Famer, Gerald Brisco.
The heart of the matter
A photo gallery from the most recent tryout was posted on WWE.com this week. In the still images, Espinal, Shirai and Brisco could all be seen performing drills under the instructions of coaches at the WWE Performance Center.
Notably, there were also several other female wrestlers from around the world at the tryout. WWE may be using the tryout to more closely evaluate these women as they prepare for the rumoured upcoming women’s tournament.
The full gallery from the tryouts can be seen here.
What’s next?
It will be interesting to see if any of the three main talents that attended this tryout are offered contracts.
Author’s Take
It’s always a good thing when the WWE brings in talent to evaluate them during tryouts. Io Shirai should absolutely be offered a contract immediately, as she is widely considered to be one of the best wrestlers in the world, regardless of gender.
Jaime Espinal is a relatively unknown commodity at this point, but we have seen several instances before of amateur wrestlers making a seamless transition into professional wrestling. I am very interested to see if the WWE signs him, as it would mean that they see something in him.
Wes Brisco is a very interesting case. From what I remember of him from his time in TNA, he was just average from an in-ring standpoint. He has a tremendous look, and the pedigree is there. If any situation would be capable of unlocking Brisco’s true potential, it would be working in the Performance Center.
Send us news tips at fightclub@sportskeeda.com