Authors Of Pain Reveal "Good Twist" That Will Make WES Promotion Stand Out

WES UK is still advertised to run its debut PPV this coming weekend...

Jul 6, 2022 July 6th, 2022

With many speculating whether the inaugural show for Wrestling Entertainment Series will actually take place this coming weekend, one of the promotion's owners has explained why WES will stand out from the pack.

For those unaware, WES was launched this past May by Gzim Selmani and Sunny Dhinsa, aka the Legion of Pain, fka the Authors of Pain during the pair's time with WWE. Taking place from Nottingham, England's 10,000-seater Motorpoint Arena, the company's debut WES UK event was initially set for 4 June before being pushed back to this coming Saturday, 9 July.

Many of the stars advertised for that original date - such as Adam Scherr/Braun Strowman, Deonna Purrazzo, Chelsea Green, CJ Perry/Lana and Lina Fanene/Nia Jax - have pulled out of this weekend's rearranged show, and that's left some fans pondering whether the event will again be delayed or possibly outright cancelled.

Speaking during an interview with WrestleZone's Bill Pritchard, Selmani and Dhinsa continued to hype Saturday's debut outing for the promotion and promised "something that hasn't been seen before" by wrestling fans.

As Selmani explained:

"A lot of people will see that, after our first show, it's going to be something that hasn't been seen before in wrestling. It'll have a lot of different changes to it. For example, we're going to have pre and post-fight conferences, we're gonna have staredowns the night before the fights, before the matches. It's a good twist, something new that we think the wrestling industry needs."

Previously known as Akam and Rezar in WWE, the Lords of Pain have stayed out of in-ring action since they were released by Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut in September 2020.

As for the card for Saturday's WES UK, that currently looks like:

- Alistair Overeem vs. MOOSE for the WES World Championship

- TBC vs. TBC for the WES Women's World Championship

- Legion of Pain vs. BT Gunn & Kez Evans for the WES World Tag Team Championship

- Steph De Lander (fka Persia Pirotta) & Anastasia vs. She Wolves for the WES Women's World Tag Team Championship

- Samuray Del Sol (fka Kalisto) vs. Lince Dorado

- Dean Muhtadi (fka Mojo Rawley) vs. Damo Mackle (fka Killian Dain)

- Eric Young vs. Zac Zodiac

- Levis Valenzeula Jr. (fka No Way Jose) vs. Jody Fleisch

As of this writing, the WES website still lists Lina Fanene (fka Nia Jax) as competing for the promotion's Women's Title this weekend, despite Fanene herself taking to Twitter to unequivocally state how she will not be at the event. Likewise, IMPACT Wrestling's Matthew Rehwoldt - who was to be a part of the WES commentary team - confirmed over the weekend that he won't be heading to the UK for the show, and he also added how he doubts the PPV will even take place.

Still, WES UK's upcoming Saturday special is currently available to pre-order on FITE.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

See more from Andrew