The WWE was actively recruiting, globally, for the April 2015 Performance Center class. Some made it to the main WWE roster and are still active, some achieved main roster superstardom and succeeded outside of WWE, while others didn’t make it beyond NXT. Let’s break down the WWE Performance Center class of 2015 and see what they are up to today (2023).
🇦🇺 Australia
Cassie McIntosh aka Peyton Royce aka Cassie Lee (Born in Sydney, resided in Melbourne, Australia)
Cassie McIntosh got her pro wrestling training with Pro Wrestling Australia in 2009 and also trained with Lance Storm at his now defunct academy, in 2012.
She got her spot in the 2015 WWE Performance Center class after a WWE tryout was held in Australia in 2014. Cassie, going under the name Peyton Royce in the WWE, would compete in NXT from 2015 to 2018 before being called up to the main roster.
She was released from the WWE in 2021, along with her IIconics tag team partner, Jessica McKay. They both appeared on Impact! Wrestling later that year. She performed under the name Cassie Lee as one half of the IInspiration.
She is currently taking time away to care for her newborn with AEW WWE NXT superstar, Shawn Spears.
Update: May 17, 2024
Certainly! When interviewed by Ring The Belle, Cassie Lee (formerly known as Peyton Royce) expressed openness to potentially returning for the WWE Royal Rumble. She stated:
Yeah, I’m open to it, for sure. I would love that. It’d be so good to catch up. I mean, it’s the Royal Rumble. We said no last time because we were still pretty hurt about [getting released]. But I feel healed now, and I feel like I’d love to do that if the opportunity came.
source: Wrestlezone
Status: Inactive
Jessica McKay aka Billie Kay (Sydney, Australia)
Jessica McKay also trained with Pro Wrestling Australia and started her journey in 2007. In 2008, she made the excursion to the United States for perform for independent promotions: CZW, ROH, Chikara, Shimmer, and Shine.
She received a spot in the 2015 WWE Performance Center class after attending a WWE tryout in Australia in 2014. Jessica, going under the name Billie Kay in the WWE, would compete in NXT from 2015 to 2018 before being called up to the main roster. Jessica, along with Cassie, were both released from their WWE contracts in 2021. She made a brief appearance with her IIconics partner at Impact! wrestling in late 2021.
She is currently modeling and acting, per her Instagram.
Status: Inactive
🇨🇦 Canada
Nhooph Al-Areebi Aka Aliyah (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Nhooph Al-Areebi started her pro wrestling training with Squared Circle in 2011. Her background is in acrobatics where she learned her skills at the Toronto Circus School from 2008-2012.
She received a spot on the 2015 WWE Performance Center class and would perform under her real name until January 2016 when she was renamed Aliyah. She made her WWE main roster debut in 2021 for the Smackdown brand.
She is currently on the WWE Smackdown roster but hasn’t been used for quite a while.
Update: Aliyah was released from the WWE in 2023 of September
As of today I am no longer apart of WWE.
— NHOOPH Al-AREEBI (@NhoophAl_Areebi) September 21, 2023
Status: Inactive
🇩🇪 Germany
Axel Tischer Aka Alexander Wolfe (Dresden, Germany)
Axel Tischer was trained in 2004 at the GWF (German Wrestling Federation) school and has wrestled all over Germany and Europe before joining the PC. From 2005-2007, he served in the German Army and achieved rank of Private First Class.
Axel was given a spot on the 2015 WWE Performance Center class and made his debut in the same year for NXT. He would go under the name Alexander Wolfe in 2016 and joined the stable, SAnitY. Having success with the group, he was called up to the main roster for Smackdown in 2018 and wrestled for them until 2019 when he was reassigned to NXT UK. He was released from his WWE contract in May of 2021.
Axel Tischer can be seen on the independent scene in Germany, Europe, and the United States.
Status: Active (Independents)
🇲🇽 Mexico
Oscar Vasquez Aka Magno (Ciudad Juarez, Mexico)
Oscar Vasquez trained in Juarez in the lucha libre style of wrestling by Hector Rincon, who was the childhood friend of the late, Eddie Guerrero
Oscar accepted his 2015 WWE Performance Center spot in April and cagematch.net lists his NXT house show matches in 2015 and 2016.
It’s assumed he was released in 2016 based on his match history. He has been performing for Lucha Libre Elite and various independent promotions in the United States in Mexico.
Oscar aka Magno’s status in the industry is unknown.
Status: Unknown (last match documented was from May 5, 2022 for Lucha VaVoom)
🇷🇸 Serbia
Radomir Petkovic Aka King Constantine from Belgrade, Serbia
Radomir was a two-time Greco-Roman and Freestyle bronze medalist at the 2009 Mediterranean Games and also a 2010 European Wrestling Champion.
He trained with the WWE Performance Center in 2015 and was released a year later.
Status: Inactive
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peter Howard (Exeter, England)
Peter Howard was a former collegiate Rugby player in the UK. After an injury shortened his career, he pivoted to discus and became a regional champion.
His first tryout was in the U.K. in 2014 which an MMA friend also attended and got him the opportunity.
As of February 2016, he was released from the WWE Performance Center and no other information is available regarding what he’s up to today.
Status: Inactive
🇺🇸 United States of America
Kenneth Crawford Aka Montez Ford (Chicago, Illinois/Anson County, North Carolina)
Kenneth Crawford aka Montez Ford was a high school athlete holding records in the 200-meter, 400-meter, and 4x4 relay at North Carolina South Piedmont and Anson High School while also named Anson High School Athlete of the Year in 2007. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from September 2008 - September 2012 and achieved a perfect 300 score in the United States Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test.
Kenneth’s tryout came after his wife submitted pictures on the WWE Recruit website in 2013. He earned a spot in the 2015 WWE Performance Center class shortly thereafter.
From 2016-2019, Kenneth Crawford, now going by Montez Ford, gained success tag teaming with Angelo Dawkins. Their tag team would be called the Street Profits.
In late 2019, the Street Profits would be called up to the main roster where they remain today, splitting time with Raw and Smackdown.
Montez Ford appeared on The Pivot Podcast along with his wife, Bianca, to discuss storylines, Wrestlemania 40, marriage, training, and more.Status: Active (WWE)
Thomas Kingdon (Traverse City, Michigan)
Thomas Kingdon, a former bodybuilder who won the super-heavyweight category at the 2013 NPC Central States Competition, applied for a WWE tryout through the WWE Recruit website. He was part of the WWE developmental system until 2016, when he was let go. His current whereabouts and involvement in the wrestling business are unknown.
Status: Inactive
Sesugh Uhaa Aka Apollo Crews (Atlanta, Georgia)
Sesugh Uhaa aka Apollo Crews was a high school standout in soccer, football, and track and field in the state of Georgia. He began his training at the WWA4 wrestling school in 2009 and got his big break with Dragon Gate in 2011. From 2011-2015, he was on their roster and eventually landed a spot with the 2015 WWE Performance Center class.
Apollo Crews was called up to the main roster in 2016 and remained until the summer of 2022, where he now wrestles on the NXT brand.
Status: Active (WWE)
Levis Valenzuela Jr. (Durham, North Carolina)
Levis trained with CWF Mid-Atlantic in 2013 and wrestled mostly for them until 2015 when he earned a spot on the 2015 WWE Performance Center class.
He debuted as No Way Jose on NXT in 2016 and got called up to the main roster in 2018. He was eventually released from the WWE in 2020.
He made a brief apperance with Impact! Wrestling and has been seen on a few independent shows.
Status: Active (Independents)
How did the 2015 WWE Performance Center trainees do?
Out of 11 performers…
- 2 are active in the WWE
- 18% of that class are currently active in the WWE
- 7 are inactive or status is unknown
- 64% of that class are currently not active in the pro wrestling industry
- 2 are active on the independents
- 18% of that class are currently active outside of WWE