Tony Khan signs Rikishi’s student to AEW roster for 2025

A top star trained by WWE veteran Rikishi recently announced her signing with AEW. The star being discussed is none other than Viva Van. She has been wrestling since 2018. She was trained at the Hall of Famer's wrestling school, KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy.

The Hell-Bent Vixen has been one of the top stars on the independent circuit. She has wrestled in promotions like GCW, DEFY, and NJPW and many other promotions sporadically. In 2024, she was mostly active in ROH and CMLL. She made her AEW debut in 2022 on AEW Dark where she wrestled Mercedes Martinez.

In November, Vivan Van lost to Hikaru Shida on Rampage and hasn't been seen in the company since. In a recently posted tweet, the young star claimed that she signed with AEW and opened a box that she received from the Tony Khan-led promotion.

"Hey guys. This is Viva Van and this is my first box that I’ve got from AEW, since I’ve been signed, and I wanted to unbox it with you guys. (...) One more thing, my AEW shirt. Where the best wrestle. So happy to be part of AEW," she said. [H/T - Post Wrestling]

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Rikishi doesn't want his students to watch any product other than WWE

Rikishi's KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy has been named one of the major training centers of WWE ID. This is a significant achievement for the school, seeing as how few schools have received this privilege.

While speaking on Off The Tope, the WWE veteran recently claimed that he wanted his students to join WWE and therefore advised them to watch the same product.

“I’ve always wanted you kids to go to WWE. WWE is our home, we have a good relationship with the WWE and it’s always going to be there. I don’t care what new company comes up, another new company comes up, two, three years from now, WWE will never ever go anywhere," he said.

It will be interesting to see who the next student of Rikishi could be to join AEW.