Both had been heavily rumored in the past few months, but on Tuesday night it was made official. WWE had indeed signed indie legend Mercedes Martinez and West Coast sensation Jake Atlas and they had reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
A relatively small class at only seven recruits, the bulk of the seven were athletes, with Martinez and Atlas representing the indie scene.
Mercedes Martinez & Jake Atlas Headline January 2020 Class of PC Recruits
Mercedes Martinez
One of the undisputed pioneers of women’s wrestling for the past 20 years, Mercedes Martinez finally signs a contract in her 20th year in the business. She’s worked for nearly every major indie, including SHIMMER, Shine Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, Pro Wrestling EVE, and many more, over a career that saw her become a 2x SHIMMER Champion, Shine Champion, 3x Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) Champion, and much more. Mercedes Martinez competed in both WWE Mae Young Classics, having one of the standout matches of the 2018 edition, where she fought Meiko Satomura. She also appeared for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) twice in 2019 – as part of the Women’s Casino Battle Royale at All Out. She later appeared on a November 2019 episode of AEW Dark, teaming with Big Swole.
Jake Atlas
While Mercedes Martinez is a 20-year veteran, Jake Atlas joins WWE in his only his fourth year as a pro wrestler. Trained on the West Coast by the Santino Brothers, Atlas exploded on the West Coast a couple of years ago, with the likes of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Bar Wrestling, All-Pro Wrestling (APW), Alternative Wrestling Show (AWS), and PCW ULTRA. After debuting with Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) at their first California show, he saw his stock and national attention rise exponentially, as he began working the East Coast with the likes of Ring of Honor, Beyond Wrestling, Glory Pro, and more. This past September, he competed in his first PWG Battle of Los Angeles.
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