Indie wrestler discusses WWE tryout amid signing speculation
Nikki Blackheart discussed her WWE tryout during a recent interview.
The former CCW (Coastal Championship Wrestling) Champion spoke with O’Shea Jackson Jr. & TJ Jefferson on the No Contest Wrestling Podcast. She talked about the tryout, which was made public via her Instagram a few weeks ago, and how her participation in Bayley’s Lodestone Wrestling Seminar in December 2025 helped prepare her.
Blackheart said:
“Well the rumors are true. It’s a lot of work. Yes, you have to be ready for it. You have to be ready for it. And I will say I had 3 weeks to really prepare, but honestly because I was just in that mindset already, especially after Lodestone, like I saw how intensely we went. I mean, we were there for hours. We ended up, you know, the first day we were there with Ivy (Nile) and her husband and they ran us through a CrossFit workout and then, you know, we just changed and got in the ring right after that for hours.
And that hard work is a little glimpse of what to expect, not only in the tryout, but the training that you would get, you know, when you’re preparing to be in the PC. So, after seeing that, I was just like, “Okay, you know, there’s a lot more that I should be doing and could be doing.” revealed Blackheart.
“So, if I’m being honest, I just started really preparing from there but truly getting in the ring and doing that type of cardio probably 3 weeks in advance. But, yeah, it’s a lot of cardio. There’s a lot of in-ring cardio. Promos, I mean, your promos have to be on point, too. And then for people that were experienced, cuz they divided us into two sections.
So, there’s the independent talent that have experience in wrestling, and then we had athletes that never stepped in the ring before. So we got, you know, separated into groups. The ones that had experience, we did practice matches. and then, you know, the athletes were learning their roles, their bumps, and all that good stuff.”
Blackheart emphasized how her growth over the past year enabled her to put her best foot forward for the tryout. Had it been done earlier, she probably would not have been ready.
“So, I will say the biggest thing is just again, be ready cuz if you get that call and let’s say they’re like, “Oh yeah, you, you know, you get to try out next week.” A week is not enough time to get that, you know, cardio going. I don’t think three weeks but because I had already been in that mindset and working towards it, it wasn’t very difficult.
Yes. But I was still hanging. So that made me feel really good because if you would have asked me this like last year, I don’t know how, you know, we would have been huffing and puffing a little bit more last year.”
Blackheart made her wrestling debut in 2024 and was trained by WWE alum Gangrel at the CCW training center.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.