Sanjana George is just one of the most recent WWE Performance Center recruits that were announced last week. Although she has prior experience in MMA, she is open about being new when it comes to wrestling.
While speaking with Times of India, George had the following to say about starting her training as well as how she went about getting signed.
“I have no prior experience in wrestling, so they are training me, from scratch. It’s a challenge, but I have the best coaches in the industry, and I’m getting better every day.”
She continues, “When I heard about it, I was very curious, signed up, and thought I’ll give my best, and even if I don’t get selected it would be an experience for me. There were 3,000 applicants, it was a four-day tryout in Mumbai.”
George is also very outspoken on representation and wants to make her country of India proud.
“Very rarely do Indians make it to big platforms and actually do well there. I want to make my country proud. I want to share with the world how vast and beautiful India really is.”
At the current age of 24-yo, George discusses her background that includes kickboxing which led to wanting to get into MMA.
“I happened to try out a kickboxing class and in no time, I was addicted. I felt taking up MMA would also help me defend myself or protect my sisters if required, and I went for it. They (her family) weren’t sure how safe it was and was very hesitant to let me pursue it. But I didn’t give up. I’m an absolute introvert and it was often tough for me to voice what I wanted to say or stand up for myself. MMA gradually gave me the confidence and respect I wanted, and over time, my family too became more and more supportive.”
She credits The Rock and Ronda Rousey as inspirations.
The complete WWE.com introduction of George reads as follows:
Sanjana George is a 24-year-old from Bangalore, India. In addition to her passion for running grueling obstacle courses, George also holds a 5-1 record in mixed martial arts.
This most recent International recruitment class is being headlined by Sarray who has already made her official NXT debut last week. She faced Zoey Stark in a very competitive match-up and walked away with her first victory.
Sari Fujimura – who debuted on NXT television as Sarray, is a 24-year-old with nearly a decade of experience in the ring already. Competing under the name Sareee, she made her mark in the Japanese Joshi circuit for promotions like Meiko Satomura’s Sendai Girls, JWP Joshi Puroresu, and World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana.
Other recruits include Jennifer Michell Cantu Iglesias and Stephanie De Landre.
Jennifer is a 23-year-old champion powerlifter from Monterrey, Mexico.
Stephanie of Sydney, Australia, has a background in dance and soccer, and has been a standout on the independent wrestling scene down under.
It was previously rumored/reported that De Landre signed back in March.
Congratulations to all of these ladies from everyone at Diva Dirt.
