Haley and Hanna Cavinder.Photo:Hanna Cavinder/Twitter
Hanna Cavinder/Twitter
The Cavinder Twins have arrived in WWE, though PEOPLE has learned their future with the professional wrestling company remains up in the air.The twins, 22-year-olds Haley and Hanna, appeared on WWE television for the first time on Tuesday night during the company’s weeklyNXTprogram.
Haley and Hanna, who’ve risen to fame with 4.5 million of followers on TikTok and recently finished their college basketball careers, signed a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with WWE in late 2021. However, the twins have yet to appear inside a WWE ring as wrestlers or announce their intentions to become in-ring performers.
Before the show Tuesday night, the twinspostedon their social media pages telling their followers they may see “your new fav tag team” in the ring during the episode.
In April,The Cavinders announcedthey were forgoing their fifth year of college basketball eligibility and leaving the NCAA behind, after helping lead the University of Miami to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The twins said in a statement they were looking to “start a new chapter in our lives.”
Days later, the twins appeared onGood Morning Americaand spoke about working with WWE. “We’re excited about the future with them,” Haley said, adding she and her sister “love the WWE, their fanbase, the sport, the fitness side of it.”
Haley and Hanna Cavinder.Hanna Cavinder/Twitter
A glimpse of that potential future arrived Tuesday night when WWE brought out Haley and Hanna in front of the liveNXTaudience as an introduction to its fanbase. Later in the night, the twins ran down to the ring and lifted up WWE’s Thea Hail on their shoulders to help celebrate her win in the episode’s main event match.
A WWE source tells PEOPLE the Cavinder twins still have an active NIL deal with the pro wrestling company, but they are not currently signed to either a developmental contract or a main roster contract. Haley and Hanna were visiting WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, whereNXTis filmed, this week alongside seven other NIL recruits in order to see the facility and learn more about the company.
Haley and Hanna Cavinder.Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
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NXTis WWE’s weekly show featuring developmental talent who are still training and working their way up to the company’s main rosterWWE RawandWWE SmackDownshows.
The WWE source tells PEOPLE the company will host a tryout specifically for a number of its NIL athletes later this summer. The typical process for most WWE recruits is to begin training at the company’s Performance Center and then work their way up through itsNXTbrand, hoping to get called up to WWE’s main roster.
WWE was “thrilled” about the buzz The Cavinders’ debut created online Tuesday night, the source says. Time will tell if the buzz will turn into more for the social media stars.
source: people.com
