Downed On The Farm: Top WWE Developmental Prospects That Never Made It…Part 86

Brian Damage

The WWF/WWE has had some type of developmental system for years now. Whether it was the USWA, Ohio Valley, Power Pro, Heartland, Deep South, Florida Championship Wrestling or NXT…many of the company’s top superstars got their start in at least one of them. While some developmental names like John Cena, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, The Miz, Brock Lesnar and Charlotte Flair all made big stars of themselves by first training in developmental, others never got to see the light of day. This series will focus on those wrestlers…the ones that at some point were a lock to get called up to the main roster and never quite made it. What once was hot, suddenly became a “not” as a WWE superstar.

Ashley Valence

Ashley Ann Vickers was a former model and an emcee for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. Her duties with the basketball team was to hype up the live crowd at the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis and host time out and half time activities for the fans.

In June of 2010, Vickers was signed to a WWE developmental deal and was initially assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) based in Tampa, Florida. It was in FCW, where she acquired the ring name of ‘Ashley Valence’ and was used primarily as a ring announcer. Valence would then be added as a co host with Matt Striker to host the reality competition show NXT on the SyFy network. She would also ring announce on WWE’s C show WWE Superstars.

Six months into her WWE career, it was announced that her and the company mutually parted ways. She wrote on her website… “I can’t express enough how appreciative I am of the experience and friendships I’ve made during my stay with WWE, Life is about chasing your dreams.” She then announced that she was moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Ashley Vickers eventually moved back to Florida where she got married and is now the founder and CEO of an organization called The Selfless Love Foundation. The foundation helps children find families for adoption and also assists young adults who never had a family get educated and learn to become self sufficient in the real world.

For more info check out their website: https://selflesslovefoundation.org/