Doc Gallows Heard That WWE Wanted To Eventually Control The Independent Scene
NXT’s rise saw the beginnings of WWE’s ‘global localisation’ initiative
During the rise of NXT, there was plenty of talk from WWE about ‘global localisation’, with WWE operating NXT branches across the globe.
Part of this plan included working with independent promotions such as Progress, WXW, and ICW, whilst WWE allegedly at one point negotiated to buy Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan.
Now, IMPACT Tag Team Champion Doc Gallows has spoken of WWE’s philosophy with regards to independent wrestling, saying on the MCW Cast:
“I did hear this; I’m not gonna drop anything here but I mean I know at one point, there was a philosophy in WWE when I was working there that they basically wanted to control all the indies and have everything self-produced through them. This was before AEW had officially launched and that was kind of the plan. They were trying to buy, like say Ring of Honor for example. I don’t know if that’s one of ‘em but they probably tried. Luckily these people held out, they said no. AEW happens and now we’re sitting, it’s fruitful for everybody which is really important because if it’s a monopoly, we all know it’s boring, it’s less interesting to watch.”
With NXT being transformed into NXT 2.0, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE’s global localisation project was put on hold indefinitely in 2020.
H/T: POST Wrestling
