Olympic champ Erica Wiebe trains with WWE
Canadian freestyle wrestler embraced 'super fun' opportunity
Canada's Erica Wiebe might be looking to add a WWE belt to her gold medal from the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The Calgary-based freestyle wrestler was invited to train at the WWE's Performance Centre in Orlando, Fla., last week after attending a women's wrestling event in Las Vegas.
"The training experience was super fun," Wiebe told CBC Sports. "Very different than the type of wrestling I'm used to but I now understand why the WWE is the global cultural phenomenon that it is."
Wiebe, who sat ringside at the inaugural Mae Young Classic on Sept. 12, praised the "contagious" energy at the event in Las Vegas. "If nothing else, they have a new fan," Wiebe added.
Different world than I'm used to....but all I can say is <a href="https://twitter.com/WWESmackDownLiv">@WWESmackDownLiv</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/MaeYoungClassic">@MaeYoungClassic</a> was entertaining AFđ„đđ„Thx for having me <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE">@WWE</a> đ đ» <a href="https://t.co/SETzMViF54">pic.twitter.com/SETzMViF54</a>
—@ericawiebe"We've always had the technique, we've always had the ability, but what the Mae Young Classic did was provide a platform to showcase [women's wrestling]," Wiebe told the WWE, adding that she met chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon at the event.
This isn't exactly Wiebe's first foray into professional wrestling. The 28-year-old heavyweight from Stittsville, Ont., competed in India's Pro Wrestling League 2, a six-team freestyle wrestling competition, in January.