Former AEW Star KJ Orso Set for WWE SummerSlam Tryout

KJ Orso, best known to wrestling fans as the masked high-flyer Fuego Del Sol, is reportedly among the names slated to work out for WWE at a tryout camp being held in Minneapolis ahead of SummerSlam 2026, which is scheduled for this weekend.

What makes Orso’s inclusion notable is that he hasn’t publicly acknowledged the opportunity, unlike several of his fellow invitees who have been open about attending. No explanation has surfaced for why he might be keeping things quiet, but it’s the kind of detail that tends to get attention in a business where tryout invites are often treated as career milestones worth shouting about.

Orso spent three years in AEW, competing under the Fuego Del Sol mask from 2020 to 2023 before parting ways with the company. Rather than shop the character elsewhere, he dropped the mask entirely and rebuilt himself as KJ Orso, trading the fan-favorite luchador gimmick for a harder-edged, villainous persona. Since then, he’s built a resume on the independent scene, including a run with GCW, one of the more prominent alternatives to the major promotions.

This wouldn’t be his first brush with WWE, either. Back in 2020, Orso appeared on RAW as enhancement talent, taking a loss to Erick Rowan in a nationally televised squash match. That kind of appearance rarely leads anywhere on its own, but it does mean WWE has had eyes on him in some capacity for years, even during his AEW tenure.

Tryouts like this one are a staple of WWE’s talent pipeline, especially around major premium live events when the company has extra bodies in town and can bring in outside prospects to work out in front of coaches and producers. They don’t guarantee a contract, but they’re often the first real step toward one, and WWE has increasingly used them to scoop up proven independent and even rival-promotion talent who might not have been on the radar through traditional scouting channels.

Orso is reportedly just one name on a lengthy list for this camp, which includes Josh Bishop, Titus Alexander, J-Rod, Colton Theron Vaught, Conan Lycan, Nigel Cawthon, Nicky Mariano, Ryan Meed, Josiah Jean, Oxx Adams, Brooke Havoc, Nate Prince, Bobby Casale, Kody Lane, Monica Monroe, Iris Reese, and Tayleigh Robertson. That’s a sizable group, suggesting WWE is casting a wide net as it looks to restock its developmental ranks.

For Orso specifically, the timing is interesting. His run in AEW ended a few years back, and his reinvention on the indies has given him a different look and edge than the character most fans remember. Whether that rebrand plays into how WWE evaluates him, or whether nostalgia for Fuego Del Sol factors in at all, remains to be seen. Either way, a strong showing at a SummerSlam-week tryout is exactly the kind of thing that can turn a quiet audition into a signing announcement down the line. We’ll be watching to see if anything more concrete develops once the dust from SummerSlam weekend settles.