Posts Tagged ‘Cruiserweight Classic’

Daniel Bryan Still Wants To Wrestle, Says It’s “Borderline Painful” To Be Around Wrestling

Former WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan spoke with The Daily World to promote his role as co-host of WWE’s new Cruiserweight Classic series, which premieres on the WWE Network Wednesday, July 13th.

Even though it’s been several months since his official retirement from the ring, it’s still difficult for him to embrace the fact that his in-ring career is over. He’s been at the WWE Performance Center this week meeting the Cruiserweight Classic competitors and will be calling the action at tonight’s CWC tapings from Full Sail, but says it’s “borderline painful” to be around wrestling.

“It has been good, but it is weird, because my life had been so busy before retirement.” he said. “Now, you have all of this extra space and time. Because I was forced into retirement and not wanting to retire, I have to keep my mind away from wrestling. It is borderline painful. OK, so how do you fill your mind when you have filled it with this one thing for so long?”

During his time away from active competition, Bryan has been keeping busy with new hobbies, including gardening, taking classes at Arizona State University and Olympic weightlifting.

Despite his efforts to move on, the reality of his situation has still not fully sunk in.

“I’ve experimented with gardening. I love it, but you don’t love it like that,” he said. “A part of my mind hasn’t accepted it.  I wake up sometimes with dreams of wrestling. This literally happened to me (the night before the speech). I was in Las Vegas and I flew in. I woke up this morning from a dream where I was going to wrestle and I’m not. I have to remind myself at times.”

He’s moving on, but said he would “drop everything” and return to the ring if WWE ever called up him.  “Realistically, no one should feel bad for me,” he said. “I am getting paid to figure out what I want to do. Who gets to do that?”

Head over to TheDailyWorld.com to read the full interview.

Cruiserweight Classic Competitors Training At The WWE Performance Center (Photos/Video)

WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic tournament kicks off tomorrow at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. The competitors were training at the Performance Center earlier today in preparation of the first taping.

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Daniel Bryan & Mauro Ranallo To Host WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic

WWE has announced Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo will host the upcoming WWE Cruiserweight Classic series, which begins taping Thursday from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.

The 10-week tournament will air every Wednesday night and culminate with a live two-hour special on Wednesday, September 14. WWE Network will also air an exclusive Cruiserweight Classic special entitled CWC: Bracketology on Wednesday, July 6 at 9 PM ET.

Here’s the official announcement:

WWE® Cruiserweight Classic™ to Premiere on WWE Network Wednesday, July 13

STAFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE(NYSE:WWE) announced today that the WWE Cruiserweight Classic will premiere Wednesday, July 13 at 9 PM ET exclusively on WWE Network. The 10-week tournament will air every Wednesday night and culminate with a live two-hour special on Wednesday, September 14.

The WWE Cruiserweight Classic will be hosted by WWE Legend Daniel Bryan® and the voice of WWE SmackDown® Mauro Ranallo.

“We scoured the globe to find 32 of the best Cruiserweights to compete in this inaugural tournament,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative Paul “Triple H®” Levesque. “These performers will be given an unprecedented opportunity to showcase their elite athleticism and unbridled passion across WWE’s global platforms.”

The WWE Cruiserweight Classic is a 32-man, single-elimination tournament that will feature the best cruiserweights from all over the world including Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano, Cedric Alexander and Tommaso Ciampa from the United States, Kota Ibushi and Akira Tozawa from Japan, Zack Sabre, Jr from England, Noam Dar from Scotland, Ho Ho Lun and Jason Lee from Hong Kong, Gran Metalik from Mexico, Tyson Dux from Canada, Da Mack from Germany, Damian Slater from Australia and many more.

WWE Network will also air an exclusive Cruiserweight Classic special entitled CWC: Bracketology on Wednesday, July 6 at 9 PM ET.

Kurt Angle Says He’s Returning To WWE, Update On Brock Lesnar’s USADA Drug Testing

– Brock Lesnar has been drug tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) five times in the past two weeks, according to the USADA website. As of this writing, no results from those tests have been made public. Lesnar returns to UFC for the first time since 2011 on Saturday, July 9th at UFC 200.

– Wrestling legend Kurt Angle called into Mark Madden’s Pittsburg-based radio show this afternoon on 105.9 The X. According to several fans tweeting about the appearances, Angle was quoted saying, “I am coming back, I just don’t know when.” Angle added that he spoke to Triple H 6 weeks ago regarding a possible return.

– WWE referee Charles Robinson noted on Twitter that he’s off to Orlando to work with WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic participants. The first taping takes place this Thursday from Full Sail University.

Cruiserweight Classic News: Sports-Like Presentation, Brackets, Backup Talent

WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic tournament kicks off later this week, with the first of 4 tapings scheduled for this Thursday (6/23) at Full Sail University in Orlando. Here are some notes regarding the tournament, courtesy of PWInsider:

– Most if not all of the 32 CWC participants are in Orlando to undergo physicals and blood tests.

– The 205 pound weight limit is legitimate and will be enforced. Last week, former ROH star Cedric Alexander revealed that he had to drop over 20 pounds to qualify.

– WWE has brought in several extra cruiserweight performers in the event that some of the previously announced performers are unable to compete.

– As of this writing, the first round brackets are not yet finalized.

– Overall, expect to see a very sport-like presentation to the show, so more “NXT wrestling” than “WWE sports entertainment.”

The Cruiserweight Classic premieres on the WWE Network on Wednesday, July 13th at 9pm EST.

Cedric Alexander Talks About WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic, Dropping 20+ Pounds To Qualify

Former Ring Of Honor star Cedric Alexander recently appeared as a guest on the Pancakes & Powerslams podcast and talked about his involvement in this summer’s WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament. Alexander revealed that he actually had to drop over 20 pounds to qualify, which he was glad to do. Here are some highlights of what he said about

Having To Drop Weight To Qualify For The Cruiserweight Classic:

“I received the opportunity from a tryout I had back in February. In my mind, I was just going to test my worth as a wrestler to see what critics thought of me, because I was still wrestling for Ring of Honor at the time. During the tryout, I was pulled aside and asked, hey, could you drop some weight, because at the time I was weighing about 225-230. They said could you drop some weight because your style fits well with this Cruiserweight thing we have in the works. I said, yeah! I’ll lose the weight as soon as I get home! I’ll start working on it asap! And from that point on, it’s been a journey of busting my butt nonstop to get down to this 205.”

Leaving Ring of Honor:

“I actually told ROH about the tryout I was having. Everything was cool, and the cruiserweight thing was just a one-time shot from what I understood, so we’ll do this, but ROH is still there. But at some point, we just decided that it’s better that I focus on one thing and not try to do [multiple] things at once. We left on good terms, and if a time ever shows up that I can come back, then I will.”

What To Expect In The Cruiserweight Classic:

“I’ll probably be one of the highest-flying, hardest-hitting guys in the ring. You can expect me to win this cruiserweight classic, because I lost 22 pounds to get in this bad boy, and I’m not going to do that for nothing. I’m coming out for a win.”

Former Superstars Returning, Former TNA Star Originally Scheduled For CWC

– WWE has been reaching out to several former Superstars about rejoining the company in the coming months. With the WWE Draft taking place in approximately one month, additional talent is needed to fill out the RAW, SmackDown and NXT rosters. No word yet on who has been contacted, but it’s worth noting that former WWE performers Tajiri and Brian Kendrick will be part of the upcoming Cruiserweight Classic tournament and could very well be part of this initiative.

– Speaking of the Cruiserweight Classic, former TNA X Division Champion Amazing Red was originally scheduled for the tournament, but had to pull out due to injury. Red recently suffered a broken ankle that won’t be healthy in time for the first set of tapings later this month.

– As reported over the weekend, Triple H stopped over in China after the UK Download festival. He was in China to oversee a WWE tryout camp.

Source: PWInsider.com

WWE Confirms All 32 Cruiserweight Classic Participants

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On Monday afternoon, WWE confirmed all 32 participants for this summer’s Cruiserweight Classic. The tournament begins taping later this month and will air on the WWE Network as a 10-week series starting Wednesday, July 13th.

Competitors hail from around the globe, including United States, Japan, Mexico, England, Scotland, Germany, China, Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, Canada, Chile and more.  Here’s the full list of everybody who has qualified, with full bios now available at WWE.com:

  1. Kota Ibushi
  2. Gran Metalik
  3. Tajiri
  4. Zack Sabre Jr.
  5. Noam Dar
  6. Da Mack
  7. Zumbi
  8. Clement Petoit
  9. Fabian Aichner
  10. Harv Sihra
  11. Gurv Sihra
  12. Rich Swann
  13. Brian Kendrick
  14. Cedric Alexander
  15. Akira Tozawa
  16. Jack Gallagher
  17. Johnny Gargano
  18. Tony Nese
  19. Tomasso Ciampa
  20. Ho Ho Lun
  21. TJ Perkins
  22. Anthony Bennett
  23. Drew Gulak
  24. Tyson Dux
  25. Lince Dorado
  26. Sean Maluta
  27. Raul Mendoza
  28. Kenneth Johnson
  29. Alejandro Saez
  30. Damien Slater
  31. Jason Lee
  32. Ariya Daivari

Noam Dar Talks WWE CWC, Representing Israel on WWE TV

Noam Dar spoke with The Jewish Journal to discuss the Israeli pro wrestling scene, the WWE Cruiserweight Classic and more. Below are highlights:

Who He Expects His Toughest Opponent To Be:

“Only a handful of competitors have been confirmed so far and most of them I have competed against. I’d say Zack Sabre Jr will be up there with the toughest of opponents, he’s also someone that’s helped me loads over the years so if things fall into place and we can square off in this tournament then that be really cool, until he breaks a limb I didn’t know I had haha!”

Being The First Israeli To Wrestle A Televised Match In WWE:

“A huge honor for sure. To be able to represent not one but two home nations is overwhelming but to actually be the first Israeli born to perform on WWE is something I’ll hold dear for the rest of my life.”

How far can you make it in the WWE?

“I’m honestly not too sure, I’m not the most overly confident guy but I do believe in keeping the head down and working away consistently. In terms of time I feel like I have many years to progress and flourish as a performer, I just hope I can do that whilst with the WWE.”

WWE Cruiserweight Classic Taping Schedule & Ticket Info

Triple H has announced the official taping schedule for this summer’s inaugural Cruiserweight Classic. The 32-man tournament comprised of athletes billed at 205 pounds or less will take place during 4 days of tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL:

  • Thursday, June 23rd
  • Thursday, July 14th
  • Friday, August 26th
  • Wednesday, September 14th

Tickets go on sale this Friday at NXTTickets.com. The 10-week series begins airing on the WWE Network in July, with the live finale airing September 14th. Confirmed participants include:

  • Rich Swann
  • Tommaso Ciampa
  • Johnny Gargano
  • Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Noam Dar
  • Ho Ho Lun
  • Akira Tozawa
  • Lince Dorado
  • Jack Gallagher
  • TJ Perkins
  • Drew Gulak

Santino Reflects On His WWE Career, Cruiserweight Classic Tapings & More

– The WWE Cruiserweight Classic tapings were previously announced for the week of June 20 at Full Sail University but F4Wonline.com reports there may be changes made to the tapings schedule. We will keep you updated on any changes.

– Santino Marella tweeted these comments on his WWE career following his release from the company:

– The latest “#MidnightWorkout” clips from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon can be seen below:

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