Gabe Sapolsky: “WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series Will Break the Mold of Cruiserweights”

Several wrestlers have already qualified for the “Global Cruiserweight Series” that will be airing this summer on the WWE Network.

Performers such as Rich Swann, Rich Swann, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, Zack Sabre, Jr., Noam Dar, Ho Ho Lun among others will be a part of the series.

Very recently, Gabe Sapolsky spoke with Uproxx about the series and it will feature his promotion EVOLVE. For the interview, Sapolsky discussed the relationship between EVOLVE and WWE, but also about how the “Global Cruiserweight Series” is going to break the mold of what he know about cruiserweights.

You can read the full interview right here. Below are some of the highlights:

 

How did the working relationship with WWE begin?

“WWE got into a very progressive mindset when it came to the independents and started looking into where talent was coming from. When they did this, they looked at Evolve and guys like Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, Kalisto, Neville and several other talents that came from Evolve, and they looked at me personally from my time at ROH when I booked guys like Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and CM Punk going way back… so they looked at the track record and realized it was in their interest to support us and make sure this independent undercurrent of talent keeps flowing.”

How is the term ‘cruiserweight’ going to change? 

“It has been a lower-card term through the years, but now it’s about emphasizing wrestling. The fact that the cruiserweights are getting their own tournament and not relegated to a certain match on the show, that’s a significant investment from WWE. For them to put that kind of spotlight and emphasis on it means it’s gonna be taken very seriously and that these talents are gonna be showcased at their best.

Usually, cruiserweight refers to “high flying wrestlers,” or something like that, but when you look at a guy like Zack Sabre, Jr., he’s not a high flyer, he’s a guy that’ll twist someone’s body into a pretzel and make him tap out. That’s just an example of the new style of cruiserweights that’s gonna be featured in this. The old perception of a cruiserweight just doing a couple dives off the top rope in a three-minute match is gonna be completely changed by this tournament. It’s really gonna break every single mold that the term “cruiserweight” had before and take it in new directions.”

Are you excited to see the Global Cruiserweight Series this summer?