Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Niece Zoe Hines Signs Contract with WWE
· Yahoo Sports
Credit: Cheryl Hines/Instagram; Zoe Hines/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- WWE announced they signed Zoe Hines to a professional wrestling contract
- Hines, 23, is the niece of actress Cheryl Hines and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Some across the professional wrestling community were quick to point out WWE's close ties with the Trump administration amid speculation about Hines' signing
Zoe Hines, the niece of actress Cheryl Hines and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has signed a contract with WWE to work as a professional wrestler.
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The pro wrestling company announced Hines, 23, as one of its newest signees on social media Wednesday, noting that she’ll begin training and wrestling as part of its weekly NXT television program, which centers around the company’s new and up-and-coming wrestlers.
Hines is a former collegiate softball player for Boston College, who has also played for Team France internationally. The former college athlete first tried out for WWE in August 2025 at an open tryout held by the company surrounding its annual SummerSlam event
After the open tryout, Hines posted on Instagram that she was “honored to represent @WWE at the 2025 SummerSlam Tryout.”
Zoe HinesCredit: Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty
“Grateful for the opportunity, the experience, and the people,” the former athlete wrote in a post alongside photos of herself trying out and posing with other WWE hopefuls at the event.
Later last August, Hines shared another carousel post with photos from the tryout, writing, “More pics from the best week ever.”
Wednesday’s signing drew raised eyebrows across the pro wrestling community, however, given the company’s close ties with the Trump administration. Former co-owner Linda McMahon currently serves as the U.S. Secretary of Education, while current WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque serves as the vice chair on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Meanwhile, Trump himself has appeared in a WWE ring on occasion, including an infamous 2007 match against former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 23, which was dubbed the "Battle of the Billionaires."
Longtime pro wrestling historian-turned-podcaster Dave Meltzer said on his Wrestling Observer Radio show this week that he “heard” Hines’ signing “was politically forced” within the WWE.
“I certainly heard a lot about Zoe Hines, I would say six months ago, and it was very much, like, this is one that was politically forced on them,” Meltzer, 66, said. “She's a real athlete, she's a softball player. But when she had her tryout, it's not like she knocked them dead or even knocked them even. It was very much said that 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 just wanted to try. It was like [Dwayne Johnson's daughter] Simone Johnson, it’s the same thing.”
Meltzer said he had “heard” certain people within WWE “very much dreading” her signing.
Zoe HinesCredit: Zoe Hines/Instagram
PEOPLE reached out to a WWE spokesperson Thursday morning about the details of Hines’ contract with the company but did not receive a response.
WWE routinely adds former athletes and established independent pro wrestlers to its NXT roster each year, though many do not pan out or make it onto television. In 2021, WWE launched its “Next In Line” (NIL) program to recruit college athletes from the NCAA and train them to become pro wrestlers in an effort to increase its homegrown talent pool.
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