WWE signs its 1st wrestler from China
WWE is tapping into the Chinese market like never before.
The organization has signed its first native Chinese wrestler - 22-year-old Bin Wang - to a development contract, WWE announced Thursday in Shanghai. Wang will relocate from eastern China to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando to hone his wrestling skills.
"If things work out, we think having Bin would lead to people here talking about the product more," Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE's executive vice president, told Darren Rovell of ESPN.
"Once the NBA found Yao Ming, they didn't even need to find a second or third or fourth guy. Once fans got hooked, they followed the same stars as other fans did. He would open the door for them to learn more about our other guys like John Cena and Seth Rollins."
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Wang spent two years training under WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki in Japan.
WWE signs 1st wrestler from China, Bin Wang, to developmental contract. Here, the 6-3 Wang stands next to Yao pic.twitter.com/TrgwznsX04
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 16, 2016
Wang's signing coincides with WWE reaching a deal with Chinese streaming service PPTV to distribute "Raw" and "SmackDown" in Mandarin.
WWE also announced Thursday that it will host its first live event in Shanghai in more than three years on Sept. 10.