WWE Signs Another Olympic Gold Medallist

Kurt Angle was the first Olympic champion in WWE history when he joined the company in 1999 but now a brand new one has joined the company’s ranks.

Tamyra Mensah-Stock won gold in wrestling when she competed as part of the women’s freestyle 68 kg competition in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – which were held in 2021. By achieving this feat, Mensah-Stock became the first Black woman in history to win gold in Olympic freestyle wrestling and only the second American woman to win gold in the sport.

ESPN reported that WWE had confirmed that the 30-year-old Mensah-Stock had signed with the company after continuing her amateur career when she only placed third in the 2021 World Championships. Mensah-Stock explained that it was that result that drove her to postpone her WWE aspirations:

“I didn’t want to end my career on that note. So I did another world championships, I wiped the floor with everybody, and I was like, ‘Man, this is not fun anymore. I need a change.’ Something in the back of my head that’s just been itching at me, a dream of mine for I don’t know how long. I just wanted to be in the WWE.”

Tamyra Mensah-Stock has already begun working in the Performance Center and has her sights set on making it to the WWE main roster within a year. That would be in stark contrast to fellow 2020 Olympic champion Gable Steveson who joined the company in 2021 but has yet to make his in-ring debut for the company. Steveson has returned to the amateur ranks and could be making a play to return to the Olympics in Paris in 2024.