Eli Knight, Mike Cunningham and JhaQuan McNair join WWE ID program

WWE announced three new additions to its Independent Development program on Wednesday night, introducing Eli Knight, Mike Cunningham and JhaQuan McNair during the October 29 episode of WWE EVOLVE, which streamed on Tubi. The recruits were presented in an in-ring segment at the show, which was taped at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

All three prospects were among participants in WWE's SummerSlam-week tryouts in New Jersey, the company said. Eli Knight comes to WWE ID after competing for Reality of Wrestling, 4th Rope Wrestling and Game Changer Wrestling, and has trained at Booker T's Reality of Wrestling, Ace Steel's Harley Race Foundation and The Dungeon under Natalya and TJ Wilson. Mike Cunningham is a product of the Nightmare Factory; he has been singled out by Cody Rhodes as one of the school's standout students and has wrestled for promotions including 1FW and CSW. JhaQuan McNair trained at the Team Fearless Training Academy under Brad Lodi and brings a collegiate wrestling background as a former NCAA Division I competitor at Gardner-Webb University.

WWE launched the ID initiative last year to create a structured pathway for independent wrestlers to develop...