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WWE head of creative Triple H congratulated Team USA’s Masai Russell for winning a gold medal in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Saturday.
Triple H @TripleH
Huge congrats to inaugural #WWENIL class member Masai Russell on taking home Olympic gold in the 100m hurdles. https://t.co/0Sa4Vx6oOM
Triple H noted that Russell was part of WWE’s inaugural Next in Line NIL class in 2021.
Once the NCAA changed its name, image and likeness rules in 2021 as a result of a Supreme Court decision, WWE decided to get involved in the NIL game by signing classes of college athletes.
While athletes who sign NIL deals with WWE are not under official WWE contracts, they enter into a partnership with the company and are granted access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
It also gives the athletes a pathway to becoming a WWE Superstar at some point should they opt to pursue it.
Russell could have WWE stardom in her future, but for now, she is the best in the world in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.
The 24-year-old made her Olympic debut in Paris after a strong collegiate career at the University of Kentucky, and she took advantage of the opportunity by winning a tightly contested race:
NBC Olympics & Paralympics @NBCOlympics
THE OLYMPIC DEBUTANTE IS AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION.
Masai Russell wins 100m hurdles gold by .01 seconds! 🤯 #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/Q65Lb7WwUr
Just one-tenth of a second separated Russell from the fifth-place finisher, and she beat silver medalist Cyréna Samba-Mayela of France by only one one-hundredth of a second.
Russell became only the fifth American woman to win Olympic gold in the 100m hurdles, and the first since Brianna Rollins in 2016.
Many high-level athletes in other sports have gone on to enjoy enormous success in WWE, and Russell could join that list at some point down the line.
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 08:37:00
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