WWE Has Left Too Much Of The World Out Of The WWE World Cup
The WWE World Cup features a cast entirely made up of American-born men, missing the idea that comes with the use of the word “world.”
Everyone loves a good tournament, and the same can be said for WWE. It doesn’t matter whether the booking is already planned; the idea of a new presentation of wrestlers with a prize in mind gives the people something to look forward to.
That was what made the idea of the WWE World Cup so intriguing. Clearly, WWE Creative was pulling ideas from other promotions around the world and it’s a great chance to feature athletes from other part of the world.
Unfortunately, the WWE failed horribly at the idea of inclusion as their idea of the “world” features only one country and dominance by one type of appearance.
John Cena, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and Rey Mysterio as scheduled to compete in the WWE World Cup during the Crown Jewel event next weekend.
Yes, this is a showcase that has clear star power as the competitors in the match have a combined 45 world title reigns to their name and a host of other belts on their mantle. But it still misses the mark as a “world” event as these men represent one country: America.
Plus, five of the six men are white, which further insinuates that one specific demographic produces the top wrestling talent in the world. It’s yet another unfortunate example of how the WWE continues to miss the mark when it matters the most.
Let’s look at an example of when the WWE got diversity and inclusion correct. The 2016 Cruiserweight Classic featured 32 men from 17 different countries. That was a true representation of top talent from around the world of wrestling.
The final-four included zero wrestlers from the United States as TJ Perkins, Gran Metalik, Zack Sabre Jr, and Kota Ibushi made it to the semifinals. The WWE was able to feature a diverse set of wrestlers in perhaps one of their most entertaining content series in a while.
The same could be said about both editions of the Mae Young Classic, as women from around the world have competed in both tournaments. Why were they unable to get it correct this time?
It would be incorrect to say that same diverse cast of characters isn’t available on the main roster. Imagine if this World Cup featured Andrade Almas, Cesaro, Tye Dillinger, Rusev, Seth Rollins and perhaps Pete Dunne.
That’s six different countries and an opportunity to push a newer talent (excluding Rollins) into the main event picture. Even still, imagine if Kofi Kingston reverted to his fake Jamaican gimmick to get into the tournament – even though he’s from Ghana – as a bit of comedy. The potential would have been exciting and created an opening to steal the show and create a special moment for a new face.
dark. Next. The WWE cannot ignore what's going on in Saudi Arabia
Unfortunately, all those moments are lost in a moment that lacks diversity and lacks the true meaning of the term: world cup. While there are some considerations with the superstars that were requested for the event in Saudi Arabia; perhaps this is an opportunity for the WWE to create a new format of match to be used in the future with names from around the world. At least there’s the chance to hang onto that golden lining.