"I would say the vast majority [of talents on the series] will be non-contracted or long-term contracted WWE talents, " explains Levesque. "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."
While the long-term future of this concept remains to be seen - Levesque is hopeful of the tournament becoming a recurring event on the WWE Network and perhaps sparking a bigger role for Cruisers within the company - for 10 weeks this summer and fall, WWE is going to throw caution out the window in order to attempt to create something unique. The Cruiserweights, like a Phoenix streaking across the night sky, will fly once more and this time, they'll have their own WWE Network series...and the focus is going be on the battles they create inside the squared circle.
"This will be in-ring [series]", said Levesque, "But there will be a lot of....if you just take talent that you don't know anything about and it's someone no one has heard of before, they can do anything they want in the ring, but it's just not as exciting. You aren't as emotionally invested into who they are as characters as performers, as people, as performers, as where they are trying to go in their careers. I want people to learn about these talents and learn about who these talents are. This is not just me saying I'm giving you a platform and you have eight minutes in the ring and 'Go get 'em, kid.' This is, 'I'm going to tell the world who you are. I'm going to tell them what you do. I'm going to tell you bits and pieces about your journey so far in your career and I'm going to give you an opportunity with someone else to really shine in the ring and show everyone who you are and what you can do' and really allow you to learn about these guys in this tournament."
WWE intends to leverage it's massive online audience to promote the talents involved and make their audience familiar with them via WWE.com and the company's associated social media platform.
"When that first [episode] airs, you will have already seen a lot about these talents on WWE.com and through that digital space, you'll be able to learn about these performers before they get into WWE and into this tournament for us."
Of course that process means that independent and international talents as well as the promotions they are working for will receive a boost from WWE in something of a trickle-down effect. With WWE building a relationship with EVOLVE and WWE NXT helping to bring some lapsed fans back into professional wrestling at all levels, WWE is enriching the independent scene. So has that been a purposeful move or just a lucky by-product of WWE creating new, unique content for their audience? Has the world changed?
"There's different ways at looking at things but the world changes on a daily basis and if you aren't willing to grow, then it passes you by. I think we all have to grow and the look changes and the approach changes, " said Levesque. "The guy that taught me that is the guy that everyone says can't do that and that's Vince [McMahon]. People don't know him and they don't know what they are talking about when it comes to him. We are...to do this business and to do it very well takes a long time and there's a lot of reps. To have guys go and have places to go and have reps and show what they can do. It's a wonderful opportunity. I'm selective as to who we want to associate with....I don't even want to say 'associate with'...who we promote and who we define things with. I know that if I go to certain groups, there are talents there working a certain style and genre and that's what we are looking for and that's what I'm going to gravitate towards. It's good for the health of the business and the more people that are excited about the business, the more people want to get into it and the more people that want to work hard to excel at the business, the better the business is going to be as a whole. I've said this about NXT. Without college football, the NFL loses it's feeder system and its a similar thing for us. I want that feeder system to be there and I want it to be healthy. I want them to have places to work and when they are ready, if its the right fit for them, if its their passion, and they are the right talent and right performer, we can give them that bigger global platform to get them to do what they do in front of the entire world. If that means making the independent undercurrent healthier, then that's what we do. I just look at it as helping the business to succeed long-term."
Still as noted before, Cruisers have not always been treated kindly under the WWE umbrella. So, why has Levesque been passionate about putting the spotlight back on them?
"At the end of the day, I was just having this conversation with my wife. I kind of approach this as I'm just a huge fan. I started out that way and I will be that way my whole life. I kind of do what I think I'm going to dig and that I'm going to like and that's the way I approach it. There's this talent that I like and I'd like to go and see what they can do. So, I push for going to see what I can do with that. I think it's important for everything to always grow and become bigger. I've looked for a long time at that population of talent in that under 205 lb. category, the Cruiserweight category and thought, 'Man, there's a lot of really talented performers' and I don't mean guys that can just do flips. Really talented performers that have characters and can speak are really good. They are underutilized to me and they don't have the platform to show what they can do. I feel like that's a miss. Not intentionally a miss, but just something that we've left sitting on the table, and I don't want to leave stuff sitting there on the table."
Of course, there are going to be doubters out there, quick to point out the sillier Minis division of the past and similar excursions WWE have gone on. What does Levesque say to those critical of this new Cruiserweight undertaking?
"I'm shocked to hear you say fans would be critical of everything, " Levesque joked. "The WWE Network, and this is one of the things that I was most excited about: it's our platform. It's our ability to change how we do business and showcase things in a way that we've never showcased them before. Whether that be the main WWE roster and live specials. Whether that be the creation and explosion of WWE NXT or whether it be something like this, The Cruiserweight series; It just allows a certain genre of wrestler a certain platform that they've never had before, rather than being just a small subsection of the company or whatever this is."
So, are we looking at a return for The Cruiserweight division? Is the goal to bring back the Cruiserweight championship that once shined as a cornerstone of WCW?
"I think it is slightly the cart before the horse," warns Levesque. "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.""
As I noted before, size has always been a premium in professional wrestling...but so has been heart. Heart is why Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage became immortal against all odds at Wrestlemania III. Heart is why Rey Mysterio, Jushin Liger, Eddie Guerrero, Dynamite Kid and others have forged legendary careers and worldwide acclaim. This July, heart may very well result in a star being born and potentially, in the rules for professional wrestling on a major league level being changed yet again.
The rules have changed. So has the landscape. So, what should we be looking to, from the past, to preview what the Global Cruiserweight Series will bring us this summer?
"It's hard to say what [one match fans should look to as a preview] because when you think of Cruiserweights, people look to Neville and Kalisto who have that amazing aerial control but that's not what being 205 and under means to me, " said Levesque. "When you start to scour all of these different places, like the U.K., there's all these amazing technical talents, just well rounded wrestlers who are mat technicians, who are amazing at what they do, who are just as exciting as someone performing a corkscrew moonsault. So, I don't want to say, watch Rey Mysterio from WCW...I feel like that's limiting. I feel like the best has yet to come for the Cruiserweights and like NXT, the thing that makes any match great is the differences in style. We're going to put that opportunity out there for these guys. It may be a bit smaller, a big faster, maybe a bit more aggressive, the pace is different. We're going to give them that platform whether they are mat-based or it's something a little different. We're not going to limit things. We're going to give you something like you've never seen before. That's what it's going to be."
While there are no concrete plans beyond the initial series, Levesque is optimistic about what The Global Cruiserweight Series will mean not just for fans or the WWE Network, but for the Cruiserweights who certainly have the skill, the heart and the passion.
"Hopefully, this expands to be more within the WWE. I'm certainly looking at it as an opportunity to see the best and brightest Cruiserweights from around the world and hopefully give them an opportunity with WWE in a bigger way, but if nothing else, just being a part of this, those 32 talents that are selected to be in this from around the world, you are opening yourself up to a platform that most of these guys have never only dreamed of doing. I'm excited about that opportunity for them and WWE, but mostly for our fans."
Different, exciting times begin this July...and perhaps, like Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat, this new breed of talents will inspire yet another generation of performers yet to come.
I am going to watch
