WWE has officially announced a Global Cruiserweight series that would see 32 talented grapplers under 205 lbs go at it to determine who the best in the world in the weight class is. Below is the official statement by WWE:
For the first time ever, WWE invites cruiserweights from all over the world to compete in the inaugural Global Cruiserweight Series. Thirty-two of the greatest in-ring competitors under 205 lbs. will descend upon Full Sail University in Orlando and collide over 10 weeks to earn the right to call themselves the best cruiserweight in the world.
Triple H opened up about the major announcement and said that he would be watching the show as a fan and not the one calling the shots. He also revealed that the full list of participants – who would be a mixture of known indy wrestlers and NXT talents – would be made known to the fans on the WWE website and through social media channels.
Here is what the Game had to say to PWInsider:
“I would say the vast majority [of talents on the series] will be non-contracted or long-term contracted WWE talents. We haven’t finalized the selection process, watching tapes and seeing who we want to work with and all of that. It’s going to be a discovery process. Look, I want to have the best in the world. I don’t want to negate anyone from that process because they are under contract to us.
At the same time, I’m looking for the best in the world and the brightest around to give them a platform that they’ve never had. I’m certainly looking at the vast majority from being from the outside [of WWE.] When I say Global, I mean Global.
We are recruiting from everywhere. UK, Japan, China, to find the best talent. That doesn’t mean we are going to find someone everywhere, but we are really trying to turn things over and really find someone from every part of the globe to be part of this and show the world who they are and what they can do.”
On the possibility of the cruiserweight title returning to WWE TV, Triple H wasn't sure of it but didn't close the close the door on it either.
By wanting the tournament to be a continuous thing in the company and also commenting on possibility of the retired cruiserweight title coming back, Triple had this to say:
“I think it is slightly the cart before the horse. I think..I want this to be something that is repetitive. I would like this tournament to be a recurring thing where we take the best talent from around the world and let them do their thing.
Does that morph directly into a Cruiserweight division right away? I don’t know about right away…and it might…but we’re clearly looking at all the guys in this tournament and saying, ‘who do we want to work with long-term? Maybe we give this guy a year and we’ll work with him long-term next year’ and who are all these talents.
I think where it lands is sort of a work in progress. If you look at this tournament, it’s going to be a platform where somebody and it could be more than one person, is going to be seen as one of the best Cruiserweights in the world or the best Cruiserweight in the world. It’s a hell of a platform and it’s going to get bigger and better but just not sure 100% what that is.”
