10 WWE Performance Center Success Stories

The WWE Performance Center officially opened on July 11, 2013.

Happy eighth birthday, WWE PC! Ya big building, you.

A state-of-the-art facility designed to create the WWE stars of the future, the PC's record for producing those stars has, over the years, been inconsistent.

Of the hundreds of recruits that report to the school in Orlando, Florida, few make it to NXT and fewer still make it to the so-called 'main roster' of Raw and SmackDown.

While many of WWE's newer stars of the last decade or so did report to the PC before moving onwards and upwards, it would in a lot of cases be unfair to give the system too much credit, as a fair few of those - such as Finn Balor, Neville and Samoa Joe - had established careers and glowing international reputations before they put donned their grey 'property of' t-shirt.

But, to give credit where it's due, the PC has created some fine sports entertainers pretty much from scratch.

While some of the names on this list may have had a small amount of professional experience prior to their stay at the PC, most of the credit for their development can be attributed to what they learned in the PC itself.

It may not be a perfect replacement for the long-gone territory system, and having millions of dollars' worth of equipment and some world-class trainers on hand isn't a guarantee for success in a tricky business like wrestling, but the WWE Performance Center has gotten it right many times before.

Here are ten of its biggest success stories.

10. Omos

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One of the PC's big strengths has been recruiting people from outside the world of wrestling, looking at other sports or areas of entertainment.

Basketball, with its naturally taller breed of athlete, is obviously somewhere that WWE have looked and is where they came across Jordan Omogbehin, AKA Omos.

A former player for the University of South Florida and Morgan State University, Omogbehin was signed by WWE in January 2019 and reported to the PC. He made his debut at an NXT house show in July, managed by Malcolm Bivens, the giant destroying Team 3.0 in a two-on-one handicap match.

Standing at 7ft3in and weighing close to 400lbs, the Nigerian-born behemoth certainly had the size to become an attraction.

As part of his training, WWE brought in a couple of other big fellas, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, to work with him and the taller prospects at the PC.

Both Big Sexy and The Bad Guy subsequently raved about Omogbehin and his potential and it was obvious then that his coachability, size and youth would ensure he showed up on WWE television sooner than later.

During the early pandemic times of 2020, Jordan got screen time as the giant ninja in Akira Tozawa's gang and then as the doorman for the short-lived Raw Underground, but he has really come into his own as the bodyguard and tag partner of AJ Styles.

Having his official WWE debut at WrestleMania 37 (no pressure, kid), Omos teamed with the Phenomenal One to beat New Day for the Tag Team Titles (which they still hold as of this writing).

He doesn't do too much in the ring - and nor should he, really - but what Omos does he does well. Watching one of the best in the world from ringside every night is sure to rub off and, in the years to come, Omos has the chance to become one of the industry's great big men.

9. Liv Morgan

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Gionna Daddio (a great wrestling name in and of itself) was a longtime fan of the business, a tomboy growing up who used to do backyard wrestling before becoming a competitive cheerleader and spending some time modelling.

She was discovered at DeFranco's Gym in New Jerysey (the same one Enzo Amore used to populate) and began training at the PC in October 2014.

Daddio spent a couple of years learning the ropes in NXT, doing a little bit of everything, before (as Liv Morgan) she was called up to the main roster as a member of the heelish Riott Squad group, alongside Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan.

After an inconsistent year-and-a-half in the Riott Squad, Liv was drafted to SmackDown, only to be drafted back to Raw six months later, with some saucy vignettes hyping her re-arrival.

She certainly made waves when she crashed the wedding of Bobby Lashley and Lana on the final Raw of 2019, and showed her versatility in the ensuing storyline (also featuring Rusev).

Since then it's been a bit topsy-turvy for Liv on the main roster, but she's now giving it a go as a singles star on SmackDown. She has every chance of becoming a major star, if given the opportunity.

Importantly, she's noticeably improving month by month and, still on the right side of 30 and with a marketable look and superstar presence, she should be a fixture for some time to come.

8. American Alpha

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WWE have had some major success in the past when it comes to recruiting, training and promoting standout amateur wrestlers.

The likes of Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin all took to pro wrestling quickly, mainly because of their physical gifts and athleticism coupled with their coachability.

Jason Jordan and Chad Gable both excelled in the amateur ranks, with Gable making it all the way to the olympics.

Jordan was signed in 2011, after being scouted by Gerald Brisco, while Gable put pen to paper in 2013.

Both trained hard and tried to make their way, Jordan forming a tag team with Tye Dillinger which, ultimately, went nowhere. In 2015, WWE saw sense and put the grapplers together, their on-screen formation taking place after a storyline that saw Gable trying to convince Jordan for months that the two should join forces.

American Alpha were a sensation on the black-and-gold brand, winning the NXT Tag Team Titles and having some exceptional matches with, in particular, The Revival.

A well-oiled unit that many likened to Team Angle/The World's Greatest Tag Team, they deservedly got their call up to the main roster, where they had some more great matches on SmackDown.

Regrettably, the team was quietly split up for no good reason, with Jordan drafted to Raw and revealed as Kurt Angle's illegitimate son, the start of what would have been a major singles push.

Sadly, Jordan suffered a career-ending injury and was forced to retire before taking a job backstage as a producer which, by all accounts, he's very good at.

Gable is still going strong, having overcome Shorty G and creative team apathy to settle into a role in Alpha Academy with Otis.

7. Alexa Bliss

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Alexis Kaufman was another recruit that, while they had no pro wrestling experience to their name, had excelled in other athletic endeavours and, crucially, had the look and youth that WWE often craves.

Active in sports from a young age, Kaufman had competed variously in kickboxing, softball, track and gymnastics, before becoming a competitive cheerleader (which inspired her early NXT look and gimmick) and participating in fitness events like the Arnold Classic.

Rechristened Alexa Bliss, she did the usual little bit of everything in her early NXT days, including being one of the hopefuls (along with Charlotte Flair & Sasha Banks) who was part of Triple H's elaborate WrestleMania XXX entrance, before wrestling in the tournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship.

She found her niche when she paired up with Blake & Murphy and then moved into the Women's Title picture, having a series of matches with then-champion Bayley.

One of the most improved and best all-around performers on WWE's books, Bliss has done pretty much everything since moving to the main roster. She's been a babyface and a heel, feuded and had matches with everyone, been in a couple of tag teams and is now aligned with a hell demon from another dimension.

Whatever she does from here, expect her to do it well.

6. Baron Corbin

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Baron Corbin, King Corbin, Big Banter Corbin - call him what you will, the former NFL prospect has been an everpresent for Vince McMahon's company since graduating from NXT to the main roster, and much of his success is down to the coaching he received at the Performance Center.

After not quite making the grade in the football arena, Thomas Pestock signed with WWE in 2012.

At close to seven feet tall and pushing three hundred pounds, he was one to watch, and caught the eye in NXT by winning short, impactful matches, amassing a relatively brief but nonetheless impressive winning streak.

Corbin didn't win any titles during his time in NXT, but he did noticeably get better and better and was always involved in notable feuds.

It was hardly a surprise to see him get the call up in 2016.

His triumph in WrestleMania 32's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal - his first main roster match - signalled that WWE had high hopes and grand plans for the Lone Wolf.

Since coming to the main roster, Corbin has, perhaps, been a tad bit overexposed.

But there's a reason he's constantly given opportunities and featured roles on the show. It's because he's good at what he does and is easy to work with behind-the-scenes.

His list of main roster accolades is certainly impressive. As well as winning the Andre trophy, Corbin has won the Money in the Bank ladder match (2017), the United States Championship and the King of the Ring (2019).

As well as being a solid worker in the ring, he's always confident on the microphone and was trusted with being Raw General Manager for a time, showing there is probably a non-wrestling spot for him when his bumping days are over.

After an age of being a villain, it looks like Corbin - no longer King - is set to have a run as a good guy.

5. Enzo & Cass

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Big Cass actually first reported to the old Florida Championship Wrestling, before the rebrand to NXT, but it was really his time on the third brand and training at the WWE Performance Centre that helped him and his partner, Enzo Amore, become one of the hottest acts in the company.

Cass, an initial trainee of Johnny Rodz, had also dabbled on the indies for a bit before getting signed in 2011, while Enzo was a DeFranco's Gym patron who made an outlandish audition tape for fellow workout fanatic Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, which impressed The Game enough to sign him in 2012.

Their early days as a team were very stop-start due to booking and injuries, but they really got over and caught on when they were allowed more creative freedom and, crucially, time to talk on the stick.

Because, though they were serviceable in the squared circle and could work a fine formula match, it was their schtick on the mic that helped them stand out.

They may have claimed that 'you can't teach that', but clearly their time in the PC promo class was well spent. Dusty Rhodes, who led the classes, was  a big booster of theirs and ensured that they got plenty of TV time.

Their time on the main roster had its moments but, ultimately, wasn't as successful as their NXT run, due to a variety of factors.

Enzo and Cass, perhaps more than any other act, should be used as examples of how the PC can nurture talent and give them the resources and guidance needed to hone their acts before going to Raw or SmackDown.

4. Charlotte Flair

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It seems odd to think of now, because she's been around and on top seemingly forever, but Charlotte Flair was, at one point, one of many female talents hoping to get one of the few spots that were up for grabs back then.

Okay, so she wasn't just one of many. I mean, she is Ric Flair's daughter, after all.

But when she signed with WWE in 2012, she may have had the lineage but didn't have any actual experience. It was up to the coaches and producers for NXT and at the Performance Center to make sure she realised her potential.

Which she did (and then some). Learning the craft as if by osmosis, Charlotte progressed rapidly and won a tournament to win the vacant NXT Women's Championship in May 2014.

A little over a year later and after a long title reign full of excellent matches, Flair was brought to the main roster as part of the women's evolution. It took her only a few months to win the Diva's Championship, setting the tone for the months and years to follow.

The standard by which all other female performers are measured in WWE (rightly or wrongly), Flair has won everything going and had countless great matches with a variety of opponents, making history by being involved in some high-profile pay-per-view main events, too.

She may be The Nature Boy's little girl, but she's duly shaken off that tag to become her own person and performer, something that was set in motion by her training at the PC.

3. Tyler Breeze

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Tyler Breeze actually started to gain notice in NXT precursor FCW, where he wrestled as Matt Clement (his real name), Mike McGrath and, finally, Mike Dalton.

A former FCW Heavyweight Champion, Clement was used mostly in an enhancement or undercard role in the early days of NXT.

Deemed to not be catching on with audiences, he was told that in order to keep his job he should come up with a new character, a process that was documented and broadcast as part of ESPN's E:60 series.

Clement came up with Tyler Breeze, a self-obsessed pretty-boy model type inspired by Derek Zoolander and the iPhone generation.

It was a hit and completely revitalised his flagging career, providing not just a lifeline in developmental but also enabling him to become one of the most popular acts on the show.

He inevitably got lost in the shuffle when called to the main roster, but turned it around when teaming with another drifter, Fandango.

As The Fashion Police or Breezango the duo were a very entertaining part of whatever show they were on. An excursion in NXT seemed to give them renewed vigour and purpose, but they were among the many released in 2021 as part of budget cutbacks.

Considering Breeze was on the chopping block several times during the course of his decade-plus WWE career, it's a testament to him and his talent that he consistently managed to make himself unexpendable in the eyes of management.

2. Rusev & Lana

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Rusev was initially trained by Attitude Era stars Rikishi and Gangrel at the Knokx Pro Academy, working a handful of indie dates before being signed by WWE in 2011 and first reporting to FCW.

His career really took off, however, when he was paired with his future wife, CJ 'Lana' Perry, a backup dancer and actress who signed in 2013, to be among the first batch of new Performance Center recruits.

The act was a natural, and it wasn't too terribly long later that WWE brought them up to the main show, receiving an immediate push on the Raw brand.

The Bulgarian Brute and the Ravishing Russian were a throwback done right, the sort of 1980's nostalgia that could be tweaked to work in the modern age, particularly in their rivalry with all-American hero John Cena.

Though they weren't together in NXT for an age, they were clearly there enough to work on their act and get it main-roster ready. For Lana, it was a crash course in sports entertainment, while Rusev's stay in developmental gave him enough seasoning that he could hit the ground running on WWE TV.

In the case of both of them, WWE's loss is someone else's gain.

1. Braun Strowman

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Professional strongman Adam Scherr was seen and scouted by WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, who certainly knew a thing or two about transitioning from that world to the world of sports entertainment.

WWE signed him up in early 2013 and he reported to the PC, retroactively saying that

With his background, size and look, it was obvious that Scherr - re-christened Braun Strowman - was going to receive a shot at the big time.

First, he had to learn the fundamentals, which he did quietly while only wrestling a handful of matches on NXT live events.

An early role as one of Adam Rose's Rosebuds exposed him to the WWE audience, but there were bigger and better things in his future, namely a spot in the creepy Wyatt Family.

Strowman was a presence and fit the group perfectly. He had his coming-out party, of sorts, at the 2016 Royal Rumble, where he eliminated five men and then helped Wyatt Family leader Bray dispatch Brock Lesnar over the top rope.

From there, Strowman continued to progress and eventually outgrew the backwoods stable, emerging as a singles star.

In the years after he went solo, Braun became one of the top stars in WWE, though many felt as though the company habitually missed the boat on him by failing to pull the trigger when he was at his hottest.

His release earlier this year was one of the most shocking cuts WWE have ever made, since he seemed perfect for the company and had improved considerably in his time on the main roster.

If nothing else, Braun is a perfect example of a talent that was made and moulded in the WWE system, which began in his days training at the PC.