Kavita Devi and Shadia Bseiso will fly to Orlando to join wrestling franchise’s academy.
The WWE has signed its first ever Indian and Arab female wrestlers, as the brand seeks to expand its global reach.
Indian Kavita Devi, 31, and Shadia Bseiso, 30, from Jordan, have both been given developmental contracts with the franchise, the first step towards becoming a WWE Superstar, the top echelon of competitive wrestling.
Both women won their place at a tryout in Dubai earlier this year, in which 40 men and women from India and the Middle East identified as potential stars of the future were put through their paces by WWE scouts.
The signings are the latest in the US company’s run of hires from India and China, as it sets its sights on “piledriv[ing] its way into lucrative foreign markets”, says Reuters.
The talent pool was drawn not only from amateur wrestlers, but athletes, weightlifters, fitness experts and martial artists.
Devi began her sporting career as a powerlifter, winning a gold medal for India in the 2016 South Asian Games, before training as a wrestler under the tutelage of Indian WWE star The Great Khali.