Paul Levesque states that WWE is making a commitment to Hawaii in advance of a two-night event in Honolulu and accompanying tryouts in the state.
The WWE’s chief content officer spoke on KHON 2 News regarding the events on October 16 & 17 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. After tickets went on sale for the Saturday show, a second date was added the night before. That weekend, they will also hold tryouts for aspiring wrestlers.
The obvious things are the athleticism (that we look for), the desire, the drive, but the biggest thing is charisma. In our business, charisma is king. If you have that ability to be larger than life, if you’ve always felt you’ve had something more to offer than the average person and people gravitate towards you, we’re looking for someone that can captivate a crowd, someone that is not your traditional next-door neighbor. The athletic ability, all that stuff, is important. Obviously, when we do this tryout, we are going to test them and exhaust them, and we’re going to do all the things you would expect us to do, but the reality of it is we’re looking for charisma, and we’re looking for the person who can captivate a crowd, and if you can do that, the WWE might be the home for you.
It will be WWE’s first events in Hawaii since September 2019 and Levesque indicated a heavier focus in the future.
This is exciting for us, and this isn’t a one-time deal. We’re not just coming there now; we’re going to be coming there on a regular basis. We’re going to make sure we have our feet back on the ground where they always should have been, where our roots are. Again, that’s why we are looking for that next generation too. We want to ensure that the Pacific Islands remain a home for us.
Hawaii has a longstanding history going back to promoter Al Karasick and later, Ed Francis, who ran 50th State Wrestling and held their biggest shows at the Blaisdell Arena. Later, the Maivias ran Polynesian Pro Wrestling through 1988.
WrestleTix lists 6,500 tickets distributed for the October 16 show in Honolulu, and approximately 4,500 for the October 17 show.
