WWE Network to Air Global Women's Tournament Featuring 32 Competitors

WWE announced Saturday it will hold a Women's Tournament on the WWE Network this summer featuring 32 competitors from 17 different countries.

The wrestling company confirmed the details of the event, which follows the over-the-top network's successful Cruiserweight Classic and United Kingdom Championship Tournament specials, as part of the WrestleMania Week activities in Orlando, Florida.

All three of the WWE women's champions—Raw's Bayley, SmackDown's Alexa Bliss and NXT's Asuka—helped Triple H and Stephanie McMahon make the long-expected announcement.

"I speak on behalf of all of us, not just the champions standing before you today, but the entire women's division. It's truly an honor to be part of another significant movement in WWE history," Bliss said.

Andrew Lynch of Fox Sports relayed plans for the tournament from Triple H, who spoke about it during an appearance on the Wrestling Compadres Slamcast with the outlet's Dale Rutledge in January:

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The women, we're probably going to do this summer, is what I'm hoping, and a lot of women performers just [reacted] when I said that, but that's the plan anyway. And you know, again, much like cruisers, it's to go scour the globe and maybe find the girls that are out there doing this that no one's heard of, that no one has seen, that are like these diamonds waiting, and bring them up. And let's see what they can do, and entertain people with the tournament, and let them be exposed to this new talent. And at the same time, just massively increase the opportunity and the talent pool for us, and for everyone, really.

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The Cruiserweight Classic brought an international flair to the network's programming last summer. T.J. Perkins won the 32-man event to become the first holder of the reincarnated cruiserweight title.

That showcased yielded several other WWE superstars, including Jack Gallagher, Brian Kendrick, Noam Dar and Tony Nese, who now appear on Raw and the 205 Live standalone show.

It's sounds like WWE is hoping to find a similar wealth of talent for the women's division. Depth is certainly needed with the brand split and plenty of WWE Network hours to fill.

McMahon discussed the importance of the company's women's revolution in a post on the Players' Tribune during WrestleMania Week last year:

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The role of women in WWE has continued to evolve. For the first time in WWE history, Sasha Banks and Bayley became the first women to main event an NXT pay-per-view, and they tore the house down. In fact, their match the month before at NXT TakeOver was voted "match of the year" by our fan base. And earlier tonight, at WrestleMania, Charlotte, Sasha and Becky competed in a triple threat match, which ultimately saw Charlotte leave as the champion.

Our female performers are world-class athletes, actors, public speakers and philanthropists. They're role models, inspiring and empowering women and girls to be confident and strong. They dedicate themselves to WWE, achieve great success and earn the same respect as their male counterparts.

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WWE didn't immediately announce a start date or any of the competitors for the women's tournament.