EXCLUSIVE: Why WWE Didn't Sign Viral Sensation Sofia Iaderosa Following SummerSlam Tryout

WWE held tryouts ahead of SummerSlam in Cleveland, Ohio and a whole host of athletes participated over the two-day event, including Elijah Holyfield, the son of Evander Holyfield. 

The participant who garnered the most attention on social media, though, was football/soccer player Sofia Iaderosa and her profile in a tryout thread on X generated over 3 million impressions. Iaderosa later revealed that she hadn't been offered a deal following the tryouts, however. 

Speaking exclusively with Cultaholic Wrestling's Tom Campbell, Iaderosa revealed she was offered a tryout by WWE Senior Manager of Athlete Talent Strategy Brad Fernandez.

"I honestly thought it was a scam at first. I got just a DM from I guess the head of talent there at WWE just inviting me to try out. It was in kind of a weird period in my life because I'm out of contract with my last team, kind of looking at what's next, what team's next. So it worked out perfectly for me and I was like, 'You know what, I don't really watch WWE. I've never wrestled. Never even really batted an eye towards that.' So I just thought I'd give it a shot," Iaderosa stated.  

Iaderosa revealed she only noticed that she went viral after the tryout but she was "just overwhelmed with the amount of love and support and funny things I was seeing." After the two-day tryout, WWE opted not to sign the football player due to how she took bumps inside the squared circle. The company were happy with her promos, however. 

"The main feedback was just kind of basic stuff to me, athletically in terms of wrestling I wasn't where they wanted me to be. Which I understand because it was really foreign to me and I was given what to do a week before I got there so there was only really so much I could do. They just said kind of the bumps was the big thing with the neck and not being able to do the bumps properly, which also I completely agree with. It was super foreign to me. That was the main feedback," Sofia continued.

"My promos were great, which I was hoping for. That's why I was like if athletically wrestling I'm not the best at it, at least the promos would come off great and I got great feedback for that. They actually included part of my promo in Shawn Michaels' new vlog...I guess just athletically wasn't what they wanted."

Had WWE offered her a contract, Iaderosa would have accepted a developmental deal partly due to the financial instability in women's football.

"Yes, as soon as I got the offer to even try out, obviously it was something I wanted to jump on right away. It seemed like a great opportunity. Definitely would have been something I would have completely changed my life towards. So that sucks in that sense. I feel like just even with women's soccer there's not a lot of financial stability, so that was my main reason for doing it is just struggling to even pay something just because of soccer not paying well. There's no stability for anything really in women's soccer right now unless you're in an Arsenal or a Liverpool," Iaderosa added.

A pro wrestling lifeline was provided to Iaderosa from AEW's QT Marshall and he offered her an opportunity to train at the Nightmare Factory under a full scholarship. Iaderosa was non-commital about taking up QT on his offer, however. 

"Definitely something I'd maybe look into in the future. I have been kind of speaking with him to see if it's something we could maybe do together. So we'll see, we'll see in the future," Iaderosa noted. 

The Canadian-born Iaderosa previously played for Ataşehir Belediyespor in Turkey's top division and for Birkirkara in Malta. She played in the UEFA Women's Champions League when she was just 18 years old for Birkirkara.