We’ve all felt like this was coming for a while. Candice LeRae made it to the quarterfinals of the Mae Young Classic. She’s already appeared on NXT. She’s married to NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano. Perhaps most importantly, she’s one of the most talented and popular indie wrestlers of any gender on the independent scene, and these days WWE seems to want everybody they can get.
Well as of Tuesday, it’s official: WWE has signed Candice LeRae. The announcement on WWE.com follows the day’s previous news that they’ve also signed Ricochet and War Machine.
LeRae is perhaps best known for intergender wrestling, whether on her own or as part of the World’s Cutest Tag Team with Joey Ryan — their 2015 hardcore match against the Young Bucks in PWG is the stuff of legend. WWE, of course, doesn’t usually smile upon intergender wrestling, but they don’t shy away from mentioning it in their announcement about signing LeRae:
Standing at just 5-foot-2, LeRae is known for not backing down from anyone, no matter how much bigger they may be. The spunky Superstar has even battled heavyweights like Kevin Owens and Cesaro.
It’s interesting that Candice is coming in right now, because one immediate question is whether she might show up in the Women’s Royal Rumble. She’s an in-ring veteran and has worked with WWE more than once, so she probably doesn’t need a lot of hours in the Performance Center before she’s ready for prime time, and if anybody in the women’s division has the immediate name recognition to get the AJ Styles debut spot, it’s Candice LeRae.
