The WWE Global Cruiserweight show

[Johnny Sorrow]

Holy fuck. It's real simple. They want a guy in a cool mask who does high flying moves that little kids will love and buy his masks. Just like Rey. They thought that Sin Cara was gonna be the guy as evidenced by all the merch and his starring role in the Scooby Doo movie. Kallisto has the added part of being a little guy who's an underdog, like Rey.

[Stiva]

The 'Next Rey' is actually Dustin Rhodes. Incredible heat segments are where it's at!

[Slasher]

That's what I am saying. They want to find someone that has every attribute that Rey had. It's not as simple as finding a Mexican worker that can connect with the audience, no, they specifically want a masked guy or at the very least, superhero lookalike who can work the style Rey had done for years. If their ambitions were to just find a random Mexican worker who can get over, they'd be pushing Alberto Del Rio hard knowing he can get over on some level. The problem js I think the WWE is taking what an once in a generation type worker Rey really was and that his success would be easily manufactured with anyone they can think of and then seeing them fail and not understanding why.

[Loss]

I agree with the premise that they knew it worked, but aren't sure why it wouldn't work with just any high-flying Mexican in a mask.

[goc]

That's what I am saying. They want to find someone that has every attribute that Rey had. It's not as simple as finding a Mexican worker that can connect with the audience, no, they specifically want a masked guy or at the very least, superhero lookalike who can work the style Rey had done for years. If their ambitions were to just find a random Mexican worker who can get over, they'd be pushing Alberto Del Rio hard knowing he can get over on some level. The problem js I think the WWE is taking what an once in a generation type worker Rey really was and that his success would be easily manufactured with anyone they can think of and then seeing them fail and not understanding why.

They already did that before. There were a bunch of reports during his awful babyface run that they thought he would be able to get over as their new Latino draw to replace Rey. It didn't work because he's not that level of a star and they had absolutely no idea what they were doing with him as a face.

[Matt D]

Sombra is a perfectly serviceable flying tecnico, though I'm not sure he can still pull off some of what he was doing ten years ago, but he's way better as a cocky, asshole rudo.

[Robert S]

Does anyone else remember that 12-or-so-year period when everyone was looking for "The Next Hulk Hogan"? And what the WWF ended up with was... Steve Austin, who couldn't have been much less like Hogan if he'd tried (Steve-O-Mania bit aside). And when they went looking for "The Next Steve Austin" they ended up with John Cena who, again, wasn't much like Steve Austin at all.

Did they really look for the next Steve Austin? Who did they push in 2001 until the Cena era that was anything like Austin?

[Slasher]

 

 

Does anyone else remember that 12-or-so-year period when everyone was looking for "The Next Hulk Hogan"? And what the WWF ended up with was... Steve Austin, who couldn't have been much less like Hogan if he'd tried (Steve-O-Mania bit aside). And when they went looking for "The Next Steve Austin" they ended up with John Cena who, again, wasn't much like Steve Austin at all.

Did they really look for the next Steve Austin? Who did they push in 2001 until the Cena era that was anything like Austin?

I don't think the WWE thinks they have to find the next Austin. I don't think they were looking for the next Hogan either. They learned from the Lex Luger fiasco that they can't be so narrow in the way they want their top face booked. What worked for Hogan isn't gonna work for Austin. What worked for Austin won't work for Cena. I think they know this. So they can be rather flexible with how they book their ace, as long as they are getting over. But the Rey thing, that is something they don't understand much about. They think if a guy acts a certain way and dresses a certain way, he'd get over but it doesn't work that way. It is like when they tried to steal Yes! and give it to the Big Show. They didn't understand it was actually a Daniel Bryan thing and not the other way around (Yes being why DB got over, a laughably absurd notion).

[joeg]

So which ends up the better shows, WWE Global Cruiserweight tournament or this years Super J Cup?

[Ryan Faulconer]

They tried Sid/Warrior/Luger/Diesel/Undertaker as their next huge Hoganesque guy (either by height or width).

They did end up using Kurt Angle as de facto Austin in the feud against Austin. Even The Rock was very similar to Austin. They even used Eddy as a latino-Austin. Whoever it is that they pick as a baby face hero will be chiseled and formed into some sort of archetype that Vince is familiar with. I'm not sure where Triple H's influence falls. Maybe Cena is comparable to HHH until he surpassed him in quality and popularity years ago.

 

Oh...the cruiserweight tournament! They should use that Reckless fella or that skinny Corino dude...who reminds me of Sean Waltman

 

I'll believe the tournament when I see it. Until they DON'T throw a bunch of Scott Taylor-types into a bracket or table of three minute matches the burden of proof is in their hands.

[ElHijodeGorgeousGeorge]

I think the Cruiser Tournament will have some fantastic matches but as has already been outlined, will amount to fuck-all. Vince doesn't give a shit and Triple H, while he might very well care, isn't stupid enough to make this into a godly moment knowing that it won't go anywhere. I think those stating this ends with La Sombra as the winner aren't all together wrong.

 

As for the talk about aces, it's pretty clear Vince is obsessed with Roman Reigns regardless of his prowess. It's not about who is over or resonates anymore in WWE, it is about who appeals to the boss and sells enough merchandise to enough of the crowd to warrant the money spent on them. Sad, but true.

[goc]

But how does one sell merchandise if they aren't over?

[NotJayTabb]

First 7 guys announced. ZSJ, Noam Dar, Tozawa, Swann, Gargano, Ciampa and Ho Ho Lun. Amused and delighted to see Lun involved, saw him wrestle a few times in Coventry whilst on his UK tour and really like him. Really infectious personality. Good to see Dar involved too

[Woof]

First 7 guys announced. ZSJ, Noam Dar, Tozawa, Swann, Gargano, Ciampa and Ho Ho Lun. Amused and delighted to see Lun involved, saw him wrestle a few times in Coventry whilst on his UK tour and really like him. Really infectious personality. Good to see Dar involved too

 

The idea that a WWE sponsored series is going to use legit "indy" workers like ZSJ and Dar is so mind-blowing to someone who has watched their product for over 30 years that I can't even put it into words. What a deliciously weird wrestling world we're entering.

[Luchaundead]

Just 7 guys and it's already bonkers

I remember a ZSJ vs Dar match from like 5 years ago where Dar is like 18 already having 3 years of experience and ZSJ is the wily vet at 24 with nearly 8 years experience insane to think they are both going in to WWE in their 20s with so many years in-ring already.

[Bierschwale]

Right now there's like a 50/50 shot that Dick Togo emerges from the heart of darkness for this.

[ElHijodeGorgeousGeorge]

This feels like a huge troll or something overall because I just can't help but feel like WWE is the one place where this awesome talent isn't going to do a bit of good. It all boils down to if the booking process is left alone with one concise vision, much unlike WWE as a whole, or if Vince gets his dirty hands on it. I feel like this is a big Triple H project though and if so, I have high hopes.

[El Dragon]

This feels like a huge troll or something overall because I just can't help but feel like WWE is the one place where this awesome talent isn't going to do a bit of good. It all boils down to if the booking process is left alone with one concise vision, much unlike WWE as a whole, or if Vince gets his dirty hands on it. I feel like this is a big Triple H project though and if so, I have high hopes.

 

It's being ran during an NXT taping setup, so it surely seems like it's a Trips project completely.

[joeg]

have Sombra and Ibushi ever wrestled?

[topropepodcast]

In the 2010 BOSJ.

 

https://youtu.be/LXnH6ylf9FA

[Blehschmidt]

Apparently Lince Dorado has been added to the tournament, and unless he has improved a ton since his time in Chikara, I can only pray he goes out in the first round and doesn't screw up too many spots.

[ElHijodeGorgeousGeorge]

Yeah Lince is a big head scratcher for me as well. I think he would be good fodder for a bigger name so let us hope that is the case.

[Edwin]

 

This feels like a huge troll or something overall because I just can't help but feel like WWE is the one place where this awesome talent isn't going to do a bit of good. It all boils down to if the booking process is left alone with one concise vision, much unlike WWE as a whole, or if Vince gets his dirty hands on it. I feel like this is a big Triple H project though and if so, I have high hopes.

 

It's being ran during an NXT taping setup, so it surely seems like it's a Trips project completely.

 

Triple H with Gabe Sapolsky backstage at an EVOLVE show during Royal Rumble weekend in Orlando around the time this entire thing was starting to get rumored. Regal and Gable were also there.

[Goodear]

Yeah Lince is a big head scratcher for me as well. I think he would be good fodder for a bigger name so let us hope that is the case.

 

You have to figure with the single elimination nature of the tournament, you can't load up too hard or you will end up making your crowd want the guys who are already eliminated. Throwing in a few guys who will be solid but not spectacular is a solid strategy.

[joeg]

Solid yet not spectacular is the majority of the Evolve roster. Lince Dorado is a train wreck and everything wrong with independent wrestling.