The WWE announced in October that a Women’s tournament would take place, and that it would commence toward the start of 2017. Fast forward to January however, and The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported a major change to the air date...
What’s the story?
The WWE announced in the fall of 2016 that there would be an imminent women's competition airing on the WWE network at some point during 2017. Though no official release was given, it was believed to originally be January of this year. However, the network special appears to have been pushed back to May.
In case you didn’t know
In October, the WWE announced that a Women’s tournament would take place on the network in a similar vein to the successful format of last year’s Cruiserweight Classic. The short, competition style of matches, with little to no storyline to muddy it, appealed to the WWE Universe in such a way that it appears the company are keen to emulate the success by creating the inaugural Women’s competition. Bearing in mind that the CWC earlier this year introduced us to such captivating talent as; Jack Gallagher, Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, The Bryan Kendrick and TJ Perkins, it is potentially a very exciting time in Women’s wrestling.
The heart of the matter...
Though no official airing date was specified in the original announcement by WWE, it was believed to be originally slated for a January start. However, with the announcement of a UK Championship - airing on the Network on January 14th and 15th - it is believed that the company were loath to deliver too much content in a single month. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter have reported the following;
‘Regarding the women’s tournament that at first was scheduled to start in January, because of the decision to do the U.K. thing coming up so quickly (even though the claim it was in the planning stages for a year, yet nobody heard anything until recent weeks while the women had been told months back about their tournament), the women’s tournament series network special is tentatively earmarked for a May start.’
What’s next?
With no real concrete airing date, it is unclear what is coming next for the women, especially as it seems that the WWE have thrown their weight behind the UK tournament seemingly in lieu of the Women’s Championship. However, for the women taking part, the extra 4 months waiting time is nothing compared to the opportunity this could provide for them.
Sportskeeda’s take
Though the date change is a shame, it is still intriguing to see how this competition plays out. It is an exciting time to be a follower of WWE, with more content than ever being thrown our way; with the UK Championship and the Women’s tournament. However, it is also with trepidation that we look forward to this. Just last year, we went from having an outstanding tournament in the CWC being overshadowed by the horrendous and often baffling booking of the stars that made their name in it. If it is with this heavy-handed lack of care that the women that star in this tournament are treated, then we may be looking at a repeat of the Cruiserweights on RAW debacle.
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