WWE looking for younger athletes with NIL partnership
WWE is allegedly looking for younger athletes as part of its Next in Line (NIL) program, a company executive has confirmed.
The company's hiring policy took a dramatic shift in late 2021 leading to an overhaul of WWE's developmental system. Major changes were made to both the look and behind-the-scenes work of NXT. It highlighted that the company was not only looking for athletes from outside of professional wrestling but also younger talent.
The 'Next In Line' project is the company's new initiative to find future talent, allowing college athletes to sign with the promotion even before they graduate.
WWE executive James Kimball spoke about the program in a recent interview with ESPN.
"We would like that [age] number to come down, especially on the developmental standpoint. The second you enter our developmental program and then potentially end up on NXT TV and then onto Smackdown or RAW, you want that number to be 25, not 30 or 35,” Kimball said.
IT'S POPPIN' OFF!!! #WWENXT
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WWE's new hiring policy is not reflected in the current NXT Champion
Though WWE is looking for young talent to overhaul NXT moving forward, their current champion is the oldest in the show's history.
The 41-year-old Dolph Ziggler currently reigns as the NXT Champion, pinning Tommaso Ciampa during a triple threat match to dethrone the former champ Bron Breakker.
However, Breakker is expected to regain the championship at NXT: Stand & Deliver to give the younger man the exposure of a big title win on a larger stage.
"I promise @HEELZiggler will not leave Dallas with the NXT Championship."
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It seems the company intends to use Ziggler's name value to elevate Breakker, whom it has big plans for.
What do you think of the new hiring policy? Who do you want to see signed to NIL next?