Adam Scherr, the wrestler formerly known as Braun Strowman, and former UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem will do battle in the main event of the first Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES) event in Nottingham, England on June 4.
The WES revealed the card for its debut show on its official website, and it’s heavily populated by names well known to pro wrestling fans:
- Lina Fanene (Nia Jax during her time in WWE) vs. C.J. Perry (Lana while in WWE)
- Legion of Pain (known as the Authors of Pain in WWE) vs. Blake and Maclin
- Killer Kross (an NXT Champion as Karrion Kross) vs. Samuray Del Sol vs. Jonah
- Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood vs. Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green
- Dean Muhtadi (formerly Mojo Rawley in WWE) vs. Lince Dorado
- Mike Bennett (Mike Kanellis while in ROH and WWE) vs. Biff Busick (Oney Lorcan while on NXT programming)
- Dirty Dango vs. Levis Valenzuela Jr. (Fandango and No Way Jose, respectively, during their time in WWE)
But arguably the two most intriguing participants are the ones who will go on last. Scherr enjoyed great success during his WWE stint as Strowman, and his release last June caught many fans and industry observers off guard. He and EC3 started their own wrestling promotion, Control Your Narrative, which has held several events and has another slated for Orlando on June 11.
Overeem is an MMA and kickboxing world champion who was a mainstay of the UFC heavyweight division from 2011 through 2021. He hasn’t competed in an MMA match since losing to Alexander Volkov in February 2021, and was released from his UFC contract the next month. His participation in the WES is especially eyebrow-raising since he has made disparaging comments about pro wrestling in the past, particularly in an interview with Ariel Helwani last August.
The WES is the creation of Gzim Selmani and Sunny Dhinsa, who wrestled under the names Rezar and Akam as the Authors of Pain in NXT and WWE. They haven’t wrestled since their WWE release in September 2020, but have promised WES shows in Europe and the Middle East for later this year.
Tickets for the inaugural WES show at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena are on sale now, and the event will be broadcast live on PPV by FITE TV.