Ex-WWE wrestler says she was once made to perform at Ron DeSantis's request

Former WWE superstar Steph De Lander, who wrestled for the company under the name of Persia Pirotta, claimed that she was once asked to perform at an impromptu show requested by Ron DeSantis.

WWE's developmental class, the Performance Center, is based in Florida where DeSantis, who is currently campaigning to become the Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 election, just happens to be governor.

During an interview with Vice Australia and New Zealand, De Lander said that she and a few other wrestlers were called in on a Saturday because DeSantis had asked for a wrestling show for his family.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

She said: "I’ve wrestled in front of him. I’ve wrestled for DeSantis.

"I did meet him, yeah. He came to the PC once. We got called in on Saturday that Ron DeSantis wanted to have a wrestling show for his kids.

"So him and his family came in, and they sat front row, and we all beat each other up on a Saturday morning because he wanted to take his kids to see the wrestling.

"It is funny. If he becomes president, then I’ve technically wrestled in front of the president."

26-year-old DeLander competed for WWE under their NXT brand but was released in April 2022. The Australian has since gone on to wrestle for AEW, MLW, Impact, GCW and recently made her debut for DDT in Japan.

In terms of Republicans, WWE is often more associated with DeSantis's opponent Donald Trump, who frequently appeared on WWE television prior to his political career and was inducted into the company's Hall of Fame in 2013.

Meanwhile, DeSantis, despite the backing of Elon Musk, is struggling to gain momentum in the Republican race with Trump often gaining the upper hand thanks to his timely putdowns.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.