Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who captured gold at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, has officially made her in-ring debut for WWE.
Mensah-Stock first appeared for WWE at the SummerSlam 2021 Premium Live Event, where she was part of a segment with fellow Olympic champion Gable Steveson. In April 2022, months after Steveson had signed with WWE, it was reported that WWE had its eyes on adding Mensah-Stock to the roster. Sure enough, Mensah-Stock signed with the promotion in May of 2023.
Mensah-Stock’s NXT Debut
Mensah-Stock made her in-ring debut at the NXT live event on March 30. The Olympic Gold Medalist defeated Breanna Covington in singles action. The fact that WWE already trusts Mensah-Stock in singles matches certainly bodes well for her future in the ring.
#NXTMelbourne bears witness to the debut of the first female Olympic gold medalist in WWE: @MensahTamStock, victorious against BreAnna Covington. pic.twitter.com/PDZnwNUqfL
— Jeff Reid (@JeffReidUP) March 31, 2024
WWE’s Olympic Superstars
Mensah-Stock is the third Olympic Gold Medalist under contract. The first was Kurt Angle, who made his on-screen debut in 1999. It would be over two decades later that WWE would sign Gable Steveson following his victory in Tokyo.
It’s not just Gold Medalists who WWE has signed over the years. Bad News Brown captured a Bronze medal for judo in the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal. Mark Henry competed in powerlifting during the 1996 Atlanta Games (the same in which Angle won his gold) but came nowhere close to winning a medal.
After competing in the 2004 Athens Games, Ronda Rousey won bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games, becoming the first American woman to win a medal in judo. Four years later, Chad Gable would represent Team USA in wrestling at London 2012.