Who is NXT 2.0 debutante Tiffany Stratton?
Tiffany Stratton made her long-awaited in-ring NXT 2.0 debut on December 28, 2021. After weeks of vignettes introducing her character, Stratton debuted facing Fallon Henley. "The Buff Barbie Doll" defeated Henley in quick fashion and showed exactly what we can expect from her in the future.
This isn't the first time Tiffany Stratton has stepped into a WWE ring. She wrestled on the November 19, 2021 edition of 205 Live, defeating Amari Miller.
Her gimmick has now been enhanced to showcase the wealth and financial backing of her rich father. It'll certainly be interesting to see how she fares on NXT 2.0 moving forward.
So who is NXT 2.0 debutant Tiffany Stratton?
WWE announced the signing of Tiffany Stratton, real name Jessica Woynilko, on August 30, 2021. The company described her as 'a 21-year-old gymnast, bodybuilder and CrossFit athlete from Prior Lake, Minn. As a gymnast, she specialized in tumbling and trampoline, competing on the 2016 U.S. national team.'
All of daddy’s money has been put to good use as @tiffstrattonwwe made a splash in her #WWENXT debut! https://t.co/RIClURMgqL
Tiffany Stratton had no wrestling experience when being signed by WWE. She excelled at gymnastics, but clearly showed some potential to WWE officials during her tryouts.
WWE President Nick Khan stated earlier this summer that the company was taking a new direction when it came to recruiting. The news came alongside the revamping of the NXT brand:
"We want our system to be an easy system where people who want to be superstars, they know how to get to us, and we can get to them. It’s going to have a whole new feel, and we believe because a lot of the ‘Indie wrestlers’ if you will, have come through our system and are in our system with SmackDown and Raw now, we don’t want to just keep doing that same thing, we want to look elsewhere for great young talent." (h/t Post Wrestling)
Who else signed for WWE alongside Tiffany Stratton?
The latest class of WWE PC featuring people from football, gymnastics & amateur wrestling.
Includes Bobby Steveson (Gable Stevenson's brother), Joseph Fatu (The Usos' brother), Jessica Woynilko, Brady Booker, Ben Buchanan & Joshua Dawkins.
They're serious about the indie stuff https://t.co/Y1gYduEq75
Alongside Tiffany Stratton, WWE announced five other recruits to the Performance Center in August 2021.
The names included Bobby Steveson, the brother of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. Ben Buchanan, the son of former WWE Tag Team Champion, Bull Buchanan, also signed for the company.
Former American college football player Brady Booker signed, along with Joseph Fatu, now Solo Sikoa on NXT 2.0. Sikoa is the younger brother of Jimmy & Jey Uso.