WWE confirms signing of Lance Anoa’i, two former NFL players
Another Bloodline family member is officially under contract with WWE.
On Friday, WWE made a social media post unveiling its latest class of NXT signees. Lance Anoa’i — the son of Samu and grandson of the late Afa the Wild Samoan — is among those featured. The 32-year-old Anoa’i is a former member of the MLW roster and spent a few months competing for Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2023. He’s made some enhancement talent appearances for WWE over the years and was involved in an angle with Roman Reigns and Shane McMahon in 2019.
Anoai’s signing had been all but confirmed when he was recently spotted among the NXT talent at a charity event.
When he was in MLW, Anoa’i was part of a new version of the Samoan SWAT Team with Jacob Fatu and Juicy Finau. Anoa’i & Finau had one reign as the MLW Tag Team Champions.
Former NFL players Elijah Holyfield (the son of boxing legend Evander Holyfield) and Trill Williams are also now confirmed as signing with WWE and joining the Performance Center. They both had tryouts with the company this summer. Holyfield played running back at the University of Georgia, while Williams was a defensive back for Syracuse University. After college, each had a brief NFL career.
Williams made an appearance in the background of a segment on NXT earlier this week.
Also included among the recruits is Zaria — who debuted on NXT last month and is being featured on television prominently. She’s from Australia, formerly wrestling under the name Delta.
The other members of the class are:
- Camden Gagnon (football)
- Kyle Klink (football)
- Chase Kline (football)
- Tatyanna Dumas (Australian stunt performer and basketball player)
- Hayley Montoya (volleyball)
- Sirena Linton (gymnast)
- Karyn Best (track and field)
- Bayley Humphrey (acrobatics/tumbling)
- Darci Khan (track and field)