WWE Reportedly “Politically Forced” Into Signing Zoe Hines

Zoe Hines’ WWE signing was reportedly politically influenced due to ties to Robert F. Kennedy Jr..

On April 29, WWE announced its latest Rookie Class, which included Zoe Hines, a former college softball player for Boston College. She is also notably the niece of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and it now appears that her familial ties to the White House may have played a role in her signing.

During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer claimed that WWE faced political pressure to sign Zoe Hines due to her connection to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the move compared to the hiring of Simone Johnson, who ultimately took on the role of NXT General Manager as Ava after a brief in-ring stint.

“I certainly heard a lot about Zoe Hines I would say six months ago, and it was very much this is one that was politically forced on them. It’s not like when she had her tryout. She’s a real athlete, she’s a softball player. When she had her tryout, it’s not like she knocked them dead or even knocked them even. It was very much said it was a forced hiring because of who she was and because of Robert F. Kennedy and Linda McMahon both being in the cabinet. And you know, she wanted to try. It’s like Simone Johnson, the same thing. She was not a good wrestler, they eventually used her as Ava and everything like that and used her in a different role. I had heard people very much dreading knowing this. As far as like the hiring of her, I would say it was probably known easily a year ago that it was inevitable that this would happen. And 6 months ago, it was already known from the tryout that it was one of those where the people who knew and seen had told me it was a hire they were dreading because it was a forced one.”

-Dave Meltzer

The move comes at a time when WWE are facing increasing criticism over the company’s perceived political alignment, with Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque currently serving on Donald Trump’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, while Linda McMahon serves as United States Secretary of Education.

Beyond Zoe Hines, WWE’s latest Rookie Class also includes former model Alyssa Daniele, Grand Canyon University lacrosse player and June 2025 NIL signee Garrett Beck, and Sacred Heart University volleyball player Nicholas Panicali.

With the next generation looking to make their name as WWE Superstars, the company debuted a number of fresh faces on this week’s episode of NXT. One of those names was UK standout Will Kroos, whose debut was reportedly kept under wraps by the company. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on WWE’s latest Rookie Class heading to the Performance Center as soon as we hear more.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to WrestlePurists.com for the transcription.