WWE sent out the following:
Japanese sensation Io Shirai, silver medalist Jaime Espinal attend WWE tryout
One of Japan’s top female wrestlers is attending a WWE tryout this week in Orlando, Fla.
Twenty-six-year-old Masami Odate, better known by her ring alias Io Shirai, is among eight candidates that are working out at the WWE Performance Center. Named the top female grappler of the year in 2015 and 2016 by Japanese-based publication “Tokyo Sports,” Odate currently holds the World of Stardom Championship. A 10-year veteran, Odate was also a stablemate of reigning NXT Women’s Champion Asuka before The Empress of Tomorrow signed with NXT.
Odate is not the only international female prospect in Orlando this week. Representing Norway’s independent wrestling scene are Ingrid “Kira” Hoftun and Kamilla “Natasja” Tjöstland, and luchadora Chik Tormenta also arrived from Mexico. Six-foot-five Katsiaryna Kavaleva, a championship kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter from Belarus, was invited back to the Performance Center after attending a tryout earlier this year.
This week’s mini-camp also features two male candidates. Former Olympian Jaime Espinal, a Dominican-born freestyle wrestler, became Puerto Rico’s first medalist in wrestling when he took silver in the 84 kg division in London in 2012. Espinal also competed at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio where he served as Puerto Rico’s flagbearer.
Eight-year veteran Wes Brisco rounds out the tryout field. The son and nephew of WWE Hall of Famers Gerald & Jack Brisco, respectively, Wes Brisco used to compete for NXT’s predecessor, Florida Championship Wrestling. He has also wrestled internationally, including for New Japan Pro Wrestling.