Ex-WWE Champion Sends Serious Message To WWE Tryout Talents

The first WWE tryout of 2026, held at the Performance Center in Orlando during the week of January 12, features a mix of indie wrestlers, athletes from other sports, and MMA fighters.

According to the different reports on the internet, Starboy Charlie (GCW/AEW indie), Jimmy House (ROH/Reality of Wrestling), Nor “Phoenix” Diana (Malaysian indie, ex-Lodestone), Bhupinder Gujjar (former TNA/IMPACT star), and Notorious Mimi (indie wrestler) are the athletes who will attend the January 2026 tryouts.

More names include “So Fly” Manny Lo (West Coast Pro), Jack Pasquale (Eye Black Jack, DPW World Champion), LaBron Kozone (DPW indie), Joshua Hillen (former U.S. Marine and strongman), Airica Demia (former NXT trainee), James Karnik (Eurocup basketball player), Bruss Hamilton (indie wrestler), and Regina Tarin (MMA fighter).

Darren Young Motivates WWE Tryout Talents

Ahead of the tryout, the ex-WWE Tag Team Champion Darren Young, aka Fred Rosser (who now works for NJPW), sent a motivational message to the athletes, inspiring them to give their best.

Young tweeted, “I hate to sound like an old timer, but I can’t stress enough how fortunate today’s men and women are to have opportunities with @WWE. Back in my day, I paid $1,000 for a four-day tryout, beat out 75 men and women from all over the world, and earned my WWE contract May 4th 2009. Make the most of it, and good luck to you all @WWEID @WWERecruit #blockthehate”

I hate to sound like an old timer, but I can’t stress enough how fortunate today’s men and women are to have opportunities with @WWE. Back in my day, I paid $1,000 for a four-day tryout, beat out 75 men and women from all over the world, and earned my WWE contract May 4th 2009.… pic.twitter.com/3mXKVZhAUP

— nodaysoff FRED ROSSER III (@realfredrosser) January 12, 2026

Young first rose to prominence in the Stamford-based promotion as part of The Nexus. Though he was later exiled from the group, he remained a regular on Raw and SmackDown, building a solid mid‑card presence.

His biggest in‑ring success came when he reunited with Titus O’Neil as The Prime Time Players. After a long push, they defeated The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) at Money in the Bank 2015 to win the Tag Team Championship, marking Young’s first and only main roster title in WWE.

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