Report: WWE Scouts Indy Talent Over WrestleMania Weekend

WWE didn't just focus on recruiting college athletes over WrestleMania 39 weekend, with the company having held tryouts in Los Angeles, California ahead of the Show of Shows on April 1 and April 2.

According to Fightful Select, Gabe Sapolsky was in attendance at several Game Changer Wrestling shows over WrestleMania 39 weekend to scout independent wrestling talent. One show, in particular, he was spotted at was Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 9 on Thursday, March 30, which featured the in-ring return of Kota Ibushi after 18 months out of action. 

Bloodsport featured several talents who WWE would already be familiar with in Jon Moxley, John Hennigan, and Timothy Thatcher but the likes of Alex Coughlin, Bad Dude Tito, Calvin Tankman, and JR Kratos also competed at Josh Barnett's event. 

GCW held their traditional slate of WrestleMania weekend events, including Spring Break, Big Gay Brunch, and For The Culture. 

WWE have primarily looked to recruit college athletes since late 2021 but the company do retain an interest in independent wrestling talents, having expressed an interest in signing The Kingdom, Bandido, and Komander over the past several months. The Kingdom and Bandido ended up signing with AEW, while there is no word on Komander's status beyond that he continues to wrestle for AEW. WWE also tried to sign Jay White but he also ended up joining AEW. 

WWE did manage to sign Dragon Lee, though, and he made his in-ring debut at NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday, April 1.