The highly anticipated Women’s Tournament is starting to shape up. WWE‘s Michelle Wilson yesterday confirmed plans for the WWE Network special which will be a 32 competitor event, taking place in the third quarter of the year.
According to PWInsider.com, the plan is to begin filming episodes of the tournament in July, likely at Full Sail University in Florida (although the idea of filming it elsewhere has not been ruled out) with the finals of the tournament to be aired as a live WWE Network special on Tuesday 8/29.
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The current plan is for 8-10 “episodes” total to be released in sets, rather than on a weekly basis, culminating in the live special.
The tournament will be similar to last year’s Cruiserweight Classic, with a focus on international competitors including talent from outside the company. However, with WWE’s Women’s Division occupying increased air-time across both brands and NXT’s Women’s roster continually growing, we will likely see the acquisition of new talent as a result of the tournament, as with the CWC.
PWI reports that some talents are already going through the type of background checks that take place before WWE offers deals.
Despite the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up, the women’s division on both Raw and SmackDown has gotten a little stale. it’s clear that both WWE’s main and NXT roster could use an influx of talent in the women’s division. The lack of established stars in NXT has likely been one of the biggest reasons Asuka has not been able to move up to the main roster. There is no one outside of Ember Moon (who is also relatively green) that the audience knows to take her place.
If the Women’s Tournament can duplicate the success of the CWC, fans will come out of the episodes already invested in the competitors and pulling for them to get full-time spots with the company.
Charlotte, Sasha, Becky Lynch and Bayley put the Women’s Revolution on the track, but they need more competition to help pull it towards the finish line.
We’ll keep you posted on further details of the tournament and its competitors as they come about.
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