Meltz:
WWE made official the story we’d been reporting on regarding a light heavyweight television tournament as a WWE Network exclusive.
The show, called the Global Cruiserweight Series, will be a ten-week long tournament airing on Wednesdays at 9 p.m., immediately after NXT, starting on 7/13, with the championship final on 9/14.
The show will be a 32-man single elimination tournament with all wrestlers under 205 pounds. As noted here, at one point the idea was for all 32 wrestlers to be unsigned wrestlers. Later, the idea was to have both wrestlers under contract but who had not appeared on NXT yet, as well as unsigned wrestlers invited, with the tournament being something of a tryout to see how well they do and how audiences react to them.
At least at one point, the tournament was designed as a vehicle to introduce Manny Andrade, the former La Sombra.
Paul Levesque said the company has always had the philosophy that you either work for WWE or you don’t, but this tournament is an example of softening that. “We are going to allow (non-WWE talent) these guys to come in. I’m not just trying to find the cruiserweights that are the obvious ones. I think those guys will be there, the top guys in the world. But I’m trying to find the undiscovered diamonds someplace else that will blow people’s minds, someone who maybe hasn’t gotten the opportunity yet to be seen.”
He said that William Regal is looking at talent all over the world, to find both wrestlers people know and those who people aren’t aware of yet. “We want to put them in this and let’s see what they can do.” He in specific said that while they can’t use talent with New Japan (and this would apply to TNA as well as those contracted to ROH or Lucha Underground, whether ROH will allow non-contracted guys to appear or WWE would use guys who work for ROH is a question that time will tell on), they are looking at people from Progress, Evolve and Revolution Pro.
He categorized the tournament as both a recruiting tool for WWE, but also a platform for the talent to increase their name value if they aren’t signed and stay on the independent scene.
The matches will all be taped in conjunction with the NXT tapings at Full Sail University.
While the primary objective is to try out the idea of a cruiserweight show, doing a “Tough Enough” type thing with undiscovered talent that are actually already good wrestlers as opposed to untrained people with good looks, a secondary objective is to send word to talent that may have thought size would hinder them in WWE to not sign with New Japan, ROH, TNA or Lucha Underground. A few months ago, when we were first told about this concept, we were outright told to get the word out for wrestlers who if are under 205 pounds and feel they are talented, not to sign anywhere.
Levesque did an interview with PW Insider saying the majority of the wrestlers in the tournament would be people who are not under contract to WWE. He said he wants the best guys in the world, and to not eliminate potential top guys because they are already under contract (the original idea was all non-WWE talent). He said they are looking at the U.K., Japan and China for the best talent. The show is looking at being probably three or four matches per week, and with personality profiles to introduce the talent. They will be announcing and promoting the talent prior to the first episode airing.
While at this point there is only a plan for this as an experimental series, Levesque is hoping it becomes a recurring network show.
Either someone in the E is trolling him, or he's trolling all of us.
