WWE have confirmed six new signings have reported to the Performance Center this week.
Less than two months after seven new recruits signed, a new class of Performance Center recruits has been announced – including former IMPACT stars Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz, who made up two thirds of The Rascalz, as well as Alex Zayne, Jiro Kuroshio, Ryan Taylor and Anriel Howard.
WWE.com confirmed the signings ahead of this week’s NXT.
The latest class of recruits to report to the WWE Performance Center include independent wrestling standouts @DezmondXavier, @zachary_wentz and @AlexZayne. 👀 @WWEPChttps://t.co/iGzqKroV0R
— WWE (@WWE) December 2, 2020
Dezmond Xavier, real name Deveon Everheart Aiken, has almost a decade of experience having wrestled for IMPACT most recently, Warrior Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
Zachary Wentz, real name Zachary Green, is the tag team partner of Dezmond Xavier. Wentz is 26 years old and also has MMA experience.
Alex Zayne is a name who will be familiar to followers of independent wrestling, too. Zayne, real name Alex Brandenburg, is a 15-year veteran who has wrestled in Game Changer Wrestling, Black Label Pro and Ring of Honor.
Jiro Kuroshio, AKA Sojiro “Ikemen” Higuchi, trained under former WWE United States and WWE Tag Team Champion Tajiri. The 26-year-old Japanese star has competed for Wrestle-1 and All-Japan Pro Wrestling.
Ryan Taylor, AKA Russ or Rust Taylor, is another well-traveled independent star, having competed in Germany, Japan and the United States.
Meanwhile, one star who may not be known to the hardcore wrestling fans is 23-year-old Anriel Howard – who was selected in the 2019 WNBA Draft, and played professionally for the Seattle Storm after competing at college level for Mississippi State and Texas A&M.
Back in October, WWE confirmed the previous class of recruits, which includes current NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff.
It had previously been reported how the signing of The Rascalz was merely a formality following their IMPACT Wrestling departure. Interestingly, though, while Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz have signed, the status of Trey Miguel is yet to be confirmed.