From the WWE Rumour Mill : WWE reportedly planning a Latin American Tournament for this summer
What’s the story?
According to the latest report by Planeta Wrestling, following the success of the Cruiserweight Classic, The Mae Young Classic, and the UK Tournament, WWE is all set to host a Latin America Tournament this summer exclusively on the WWE Network.
In case you didn’t know…
The WWE Cruiserweight Classic was the first ever tournament produced by the WWE for superstars weighing under 205 pounds in order to crown the first ever Cruiserweight Champion in WWE’s modern history. The tournament consisted of 32 Cruiserweight superstars from around the world and on 14th September, 2016, TJP eventually became the brand new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
The Mae Young Classic was a special event promoted by the WWE, which consisted of 32 women wrestlers from the notable wrestling promotions around the world and WWE’s developmental territory NXT. Much like the CWC, the Mae Young Classic also consisted of 32 performers and the inaugural winner was Kairi Sane.
The WWE UK Championship tournament was held in order to crown WWE’s first ever UK Champion and it was held between 16 of UK’s finest men’s wrestlers. The UK Championship tournament was held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool and was won by Tyler Bate, who became the inaugural WWE UK Champion.
The heart of the matter
Planeta Wrestling has recently reported that WWE is currently planning to tape a Latin American tournament for the WWE Network this summer. As per the report, it seems like NXT General Manager William Regal was really impressed with his recent scouting trip to Chile at the end of last year and the WWE management in overall, was also amazed by the live crowd at the Movistar Arena during WWE’s last trip to Chile.
As noted, the Latin American tournament will consist of entrants from Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and other South American countries. The finals of the tournament is currently slated to take place in Chile by the end of August.
What’s next?
WWE apparently will not be awarding a new champion by the end of this tournament and as per current plans, the winner of the tournament wouldn't even be offered a full-time contract with NXT.
Author’s Take
With the Latin American tournament, WWE will definitely expand their market in South America, however, I feel the winner of this tournament should be offered with some sort prize and a contract with NXT seems the perfect choice as of right now.