So, Triple H has spearheaded a movement to have some of the best talent in the world come together under the WWE Umbrella. Since there has been a slow move from Larger than Life Characters to Smaller, more dynamic performers, NxT has become the host to what may be the biggest tournament of the Summer. WWE is going to have 32 of the world's best wrestlers that are 200 pounds or less. The only sad thing so far is that one of the top high flyers, Ricochet, is reported via twitter to not be apart of this tournament. This is due to New Japan's yearly Juniors League tournament: The Best of the Super Juniors...and also the return of the Super J Cup Tournament.
So far the confirmed performers that are entered into the tournament include:
Rich Swann (BALTIMORE Native)
Johnny Wrestling: Johnny Gargano
The Sicilian Psychopath: Tommaso Ciampa
Britain's Noam Dar
Dragon Gate's Akira Tozawa
The Perfect Ten: Lince Dorado
Ho Ho Lun
Evolve 1
Evolve 2
Progress 1
Progress 2
Along with these participants, EVOLVE, Progress Wrestling, and Revolution Pro are having qualifiers for the tournament.
EVOLVE
Drew Gulak vs. Tracy Williams
Fred Yehi vs. TJ Perkins
PROGRESS Wrestling:
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Flash Morgan Webster
Jack Gallagher vs. Cruiserweight Pete Dunne
Revolution Pro Hasn't officially announced their qualifiers, but I would guess that Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll could potentially be involved.
Amongst the currently announced and speculated, having Gargano, Ciampa, Swann, and Tozawa is PWG shifting into WWE. Dorado was red hot in the late 2000s with Chikara, so it would be great to see him do well. Dar has long been praised on the British indy scene. Lun doesn't have a lot about him on youtube, but he has similar athleticism to Swann so it should be fun watching him. I expect Gulak and Yehi to be in the tournament. Gulak has long been praised as one of the top guys WWE has been looking at, while Yehi is an up and comer. Williams isn't entirely as polished, while Perkins (who has had a very long career) is probably seen as someone who has long passed his shot at WWE, especially spending a lot of time at TNA. I enjoy Webster....but it's just unfortunate that he's going to be facing the current holder of the 16 Carat Tournament Championship, as well as PWG's Battle of Los Angeles Tournament: The Technical Wizard Zach Sabre Jr. As for qualifier 2, as long as he's under the weight limit, I fully expect Pete Dunne to advance. He was a standout for ATTACK Pro's King of Trios team in Chikara and is a joy to watch. The only reason Ospreay wouldn't be in this tournament is if he's scheduled to be in the Super Jr. Tournament and the Best of the Super Juniors in NJPW. As for Scurll, considering he is THE PROGRESS Wrestling Champion, him at least representing Revolution Pro would also make sense. Also look to see if Solomon Crowe/Sami Callahan, Matt Riddle or (barring a miracle/agreement with CMLL) the original Sin Cara (Mysteziz)makes a quick return for the tournament as well in terms of outside talent I can think of possibly participating.
Looking at the lineups so far, the participants don't include any potential NxT or even Main Roster guys that could possibly be in the tournament as well:
Main Roster members that would have to lose weight(225 -201): Epico, Primo, Sami Zayn (by like 3 pounds lol), Aiden English, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Seth Rollins, Simon Gotch, Tyler Breeze, Xavier Woods (by 5 pounds), Zack Ryder, AJ Styles
Roster members that would fit: Enzo Amore, Kalisto, Neville (if he can return from Injury quick enough), Sin Cara (Hunico).
NxT Roster members that would have to lose weight (225-201): Austin Aries (by 3 pounds), Chad Gable (by 2), Dash Wilder, Elias Sampson, Patrick Clark, Tino Sabbatelli, Scott Dawson, Tye Dillinger, Shane Haste (TMDK...hasn't debuted yet),
NxT Roster members that would fit: Finn Balor, Hideo Itami (if he returns quick enough), Chris Girard (Biff Busick), Manny Andrade (La Sombra)
With 32 spots, there's a lot of potential dream matchups and crazy pairings that can really educate the WWE specific viewer. The only worry I have is that whomever wins the tournament or is even IN the tournament is typecast as only a Cruiserweight and nothing more, especially considering guys like Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio has proven that smaller guys can be THE dude in WWE.
When In Doubt Watch PRO WRESTLING! Next post will most likely be the NxT Takeover: Dallas Review. The NJPW PPVs as well as the WrestleMania review will be up soon as well.
UPDATE!!!!!!
1)Revolution Pro's qualifying match is Noam Dar vs. Josh Bodom.
Also, Zack Sabre Jr. and Jack Gallagher have qualified for the GCS from Progress.
So currently, the updated entrants are:
Rich Swann
Johnny Gargano
Ho Ho Lun
Tomasso Ciampa
Lince Dorado
Akira Tozawa
Zack Sabre Jr.
Jack Gallagher (admittedly surprised...but looking forward to seeing more of this dude.)
The winner of Drew Gulak vs. Tracy Williams in Evolve
The Winner of TJ Perkins vs. Fred Yehi in Evolve
The Winner of Noam Dar vs. Josh Bodom from Revolution Pro
With 1/4 of the entrants officially announced, it will be interesting to see who the remaining participants will be.
Second update!
Noam Dar, TJ Perkins, and Drew Gulak have qualified so the entrants look like this now:
Rich Swann
Johnny Gargano
Ho Ho Lun
Tomasso Ciampa
Lince Dorado
Akira Tozawa
Zack Sabre Jr.
Jack Gallagher
Drew Gulak
TJ Perkins
Noam Dar
11 out of 32 official for the Cruiserweight Classic (Name change!)
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