Gymnast KJ Johnson Did Not Receive WWE Contract Offer Following Tryout, Says There Will Be Another Tryout In Summer 2026

A detailed story about the gymnast’s tryout experience.

New Orleans-based outlet WGNO has a story up about former Louisiana State University gymnast K.J. Johnson and her WWE tryout experience.

She was part of the tryouts at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, from January 12th, 2026, to January 16th.

She said there were around 30 Division 1 athletes present, and at the end of it, it was known that five or six people would get a WWE contract. While at the tryout, she met John Cena, Kelani Jordan, WWE EVOLVE Women’s Champion Kendal Grey, and NXT Women’s North American Champion Izzi Dame.

Johnson commented on what she learned from the physical aspect of the tryouts:

“I learned that you really just need to be willing to learn the technique of taking hits and ‘bumps’ as WWE called it, and you have to be ready to push your body to its limit.”

Johnson admitted that she struggled with promos. On day one, she froze and forgot her lines. She added that she bounced back and did well with her last two promos.

Johnson said she is thankful to have finished the tryouts without a concussion or major injuries. She learned two weeks later that she did not receive a contract offer. She said the coaches were happy with her work and encouraged her to keep at it. Johnson was told that if she wanted to come back for a tryout in the summer of 2026, WWE would recommend training facilities in Texas for her to work at.

“The coaches were really proud of my hard work and encouraged me to continue practicing promos and informed me if I wanted to come back for another tryout sometime this summer in 2026, that WWE would recommend training facilities and trainers in Texas for me to train at and improve the skills I learned in Orlando.”

As of this writing, WWE is holding tryouts in Orlando at the Performance Center. A number of the attendees were seated off-camera for the 2/17 NXT show.