British Indy Promotion Turned Down By CM Punk, Gets Rob Van Dam Instead

5 Star Wrestling, the British Independent Promotion who famously offered CM Punk $1 million to compete in a 128-man Tournament only to have their offer rejected, has announced a replacement of sorts: Rob Van Dam.

The former WWE and ECW Champion joins other former WWE talents like John Morrison, Carlito and Chris Masters. Morrison, who is the Lucha Underground Champion, is also the current 5 Star Wrestling Champion.

The tournament begins on June 10 and does not end until December 30. That's what happens when you have 128 men in a tournament. It tends to take a while.

Here is the full press release:

“Promotion Who Offered CM Punk $1m To Join Tour, Announces Former WWE and ECW Champion Rob Van Dam Has Joined The 5 Star Wrestling Tournament”

5 Star Wrestling announces former WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam to appear in the largest professional wrestling tournament in history.

Hot on the heels of making worldwide headlines with their public $1 million offer for CM Punk to join their roster, 5 Star Wrestling have announced that former WWE and ECW World Champion Rob Van Dam will take part in the biggest tournament in wrestling history that starts at Liverpool’s Echo Arena on June 10th.

The company were the talk of the wrestling world and beyond last week as their public pursuit of CM Punk was spotlighted across media outlets such as TMZ, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, The Lad Bible and The Bleacher Report.

Adding Van Dam to their expanding roster is yet another clear signal of the company’s intent to offer the grandest wrestling shows in the U.K.

RVD is one of the most innovative wrestlers to ever compete in the squared circle, pioneering a style that combined world-class martial arts with the toughness of hardcore wrestling to create an aura that nobody in wrestling has come close to matching since he rose to prominence.

The native of Battle Creek, Michigan can count the WWE and ECW World Championships as well as a record breaking reign as ECW TV Champion as his accomplishments. He is now keen to come to the U.K to show that he remains a match for anyone in the wrestling world.

5 Star Wrestling creator Dan Hinkles couldn’t hide his excitement at being able to announce Van Dam’s participation. “It is our aim to bring in the greatest stars from around the world to compete in our 128-man tournament. We have shown repeatedly that we will invest what we have to in order to bring the best possible show to our fans across the U.K. In Rob Van Dam, we have secured not only one of the greatest wrestlers on the planet but also one of the most idolized. We know that RVD will generate huge excitement when he enters the tournament and we urge fans to get their tickets now to see him and the rest of our roster of superstars in action.

Fans can expect more big names to be announced in due course. Our public pursuit of CM Punk for instance is not just for show. It demonstrates our commitment to put on the best possible events we can and we will continue to invest towards this goal.”

The tournament will see the very best unsigned names from around the world come together. There are some massive announcements to come across the next few weeks, but already announced for various dates across the tournament include:

– 5 Star Wrestling Champion and movie star: John Morrison

– Former WWE stars Carlito, Chris Masters,

– Former NFL star and current IMPACT Grand Champion: Moose

– IMPACT wrestling star & current World of Sport (WOS) Champion: Grado

– ITV WOS stars Zack Gibson, El Ligero & Kenny Williams

– Lucha Underground stars Angelico & Shane Strickland

– British stars such as Jack Jester, Kid Fite, ‘Showstealer’ Nathan Cruz, Flash Morgan Webster, BT Gunn & many more

The tour starts on Saturday 10th June at Liverpool Echo Arena and culminates at the Manchester Arena on Saturday 30th December with a massive, year-ending show. The 30 dates will run right across the UK, with the cities set to host this ground-breaking events including Liverpool, Blackburn, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Belfast, Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham, Dundee, Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester & London.

Tickets for many of the events are already on sale with the rest being made available every day.

Over the 30 weeks, fans will witness the biggest wrestling tournament in history along with the formation of exciting new championship divisions and some truly huge match ups, as 5 Star Wrestling strives to become the UK’s largest wrestling promotion.