From the Football Field to the Wrestling Ring: Elly Finch Reportedly Signs WWE Developmental Contract
WWE may have just added an interesting new prospect to its developmental system.
And this one has already spent a considerable amount of her athletic career proving people wrong.
Former Michigan State University track-and-field athlete Elly Finch has reportedly signed a developmental contract with WWE following her participation in the company's recruitment tryouts earlier this year.
Finch attended tryouts in January and again during SummerSlam weekend in August. According to reports circulating Thursday, October 22, she's now expected to join an upcoming class at WWE's Performance Center.
But what caught my attention wasn't simply another collegiate athlete making the transition into professional wrestling.
It was her background.
Before competing in shot put and discus at Michigan State, Finch made history as the first girl to play varsity football at Royal Oak High School in Michigan.
And she wasn't standing on the sidelines.
Finch played positions including offensive guard, tackle, and middle linebacker, competing in a sport where she frequently encountered people who believed she didn't belong.
Apparently, she disagreed.
Good for her.
In a 2024 interview published by Michigan State Athletics, Finch discussed being told throughout her childhood that football wasn't an appropriate sport for girls. Rather than allowing those opinions to determine what she could accomplish, she used them as motivation.
Now, she's reportedly preparing to enter another physically demanding industry where determination, resilience, and an ability to perform under pressure are essential.
And I think that's an interesting foundation.
However, there's something worth discussing whenever a successful athlete transitions into professional wrestling.
Being athletic and being a professional wrestler are two entirely different things.
Strength matters. Conditioning matters. Coordination, endurance, and body awareness are all valuable attributes.
But none of those things automatically teaches somebody how to wrestle.
Professional wrestling requires an understanding of timing, positioning, psychology, and communication that can take years to develop.
It's one thing to execute a maneuver.
It's another thing entirely to understand why you're executing it, when it belongs in a match, and how it contributes to the story you're attempting to tell.
That's a distinction I've always believed deserves more attention.
And it's one of the reasons I find the developmental process so interesting.
When somebody enters the business with an extensive athletic background, the physical potential can be obvious.
But the real challenge is discovering whether they can transform that athletic ability into something audiences genuinely connect with.
Can they develop a compelling character?
Can they communicate emotion without speaking?
Can they make an opponent look credible?
Can they recognize when the audience needs something different from what was originally planned?
Those are the questions that eventually separate a promising athlete from a promising professional wrestler.
And they can't be answered by looking at somebody's collegiate statistics.
That being said, Finch's history suggests she's no stranger to difficult learning environments.
At Royal Oak, she balanced football with track and field while maintaining strong academic performance. She eventually earned an opportunity to compete for Michigan State, where she continued developing as a thrower.
There's something admirable about that progression.
Particularly because she wasn't simply pursuing the easiest available path.
She was pursuing the opportunities that mattered to her, even when other people questioned whether she belonged.
And that's a mentality I can appreciate.
Professional wrestling has a way of testing people who enter the industry with preconceived ideas about what it takes to succeed.
The training is demanding.
The learning curve can be unforgiving.
And the difference between what looks impressive on television and what actually happens inside a wrestling ring can be substantial.
But when somebody approaches that process with humility, determination, and a genuine willingness to learn, there's an opportunity to build something special.
Finch's reported signing doesn't guarantee she'll become WWE's next breakout star.
It doesn't guarantee she'll even make it to television.
And I think it's important not to place those expectations on somebody before they've had an opportunity to develop.
What it does represent is the beginning of a potentially interesting transition.
A young woman who challenged expectations on the football field, competed at the collegiate level, and now appears ready to pursue an entirely different athletic career.
Whether that journey eventually leads to NXT, a championship opportunity, or something nobody can predict yet remains to be seen. And honestly, I'm a Pro Wrestler who doesn't hate outside people coming in to become Stars in WWE. WWE has a great track record for finding and creating their own gems. If anyone has a problem with WWE finding people like Elly Finch, then they should ask themselves, "what am I doing that will add value to WWE and make me a standout for their program and is worth their investment in me? Furthermore, how am I going to ensure a great return on their investment if they do bet on me instead?"
Unfortunately, not many think from a business standpoint like that...
But if there's one thing I do know about WWE signing people like Finch, and Elly herself, it's that her background has already demonstrated that Elly Finch doesn't seem particularly interested in allowing other people to decide what she's capable of accomplishing nor her value as a future WWE star.
And in professional wrestling?
That's not a bad place to start.
Wrestling Written By A Wrestler — Only on TaelerHendrix.com