Is the Cure for the Cruiserweight Division, No More Cruiserweight Division?
- Nossaire Errahmani
- Jun 19, 2017
- 4 min read
(Image courtesy of James Hornsby of Botched Spot)
Barring the brand split, probably the most ambitious project the WWE has undertaken over the past year is most definitely the Cruiserweight division. Despite the 'E not having the best track record when it comes to booking weight divisions, this past summer's CWC let us hope for a non leprechaun-tainted run for the cruiserweights. And sure enough, the talent was there. From the smooth TJP, the fan favorite Cedric Alexander, to the supremely talented Kota Ibushi, the future was looking bright for the sub-205 lb. wrestlers.
And then WWE happened.
Alright, so let's be perfectly fair here: WWE can get stuff really right when they want to, and the failure (or at least so far) of the CW division isn't entirely their fault. BUT, this whole experiment, while not making for the most exciting TV out there, is pretty fascinating to analyse. While a lot of fans have stuck to their guns ever since the inception of this division and continue to support it, it has seemingly, judging by the viewership numbers for 205 Live, put off a lot of its original fan base. No goalposts are being moved and no allegiance has been betrayed. We can't just blame the fans for being fickle, hypocritical or any of that. There is nothing hypocritical in not wanting to watch what is basically the shell of its former self. The cruiserweight division IS the problem. So, in my own modest opinion, the whole debacle of the cruiserweight division resides in these 3 fundamental points:
1) Weight divisions are pointless.
Having a weight division right now is about as relevant as having a "bearded people division" or a "guys who wrestle in a singlets division". It really is pointless to dilute the roster into two separate groups where one will make it so that one deciding factor in a wrestler's success is his size, despite potentially being a perfect fit for the main roster. Look at NJPW's Jr. Heavyweight division for instance. While being filled with incredible talents that "in a vacuum" would be just as talented as their heavyweight counterparts, it is still seen as the inferior division and has been known to be a stepping stone for wrestlers that were considered "too good" for it such as Prince Devitt (aka Finn Balor) or Kenny Omega. Why would you voluntarily put a handicap on a significant part of your roster and dilute its quality just because of a weight class? In all fairness, this would make sense in an MMA context, but is fairly pointless in wrestling.
2) It's not the "Cruiserweight" part of the CWC that made it so critically acclaimed.
WWE has most likely picked up the concept of a cruiserweight division after seeing how universally liked the CWC has been. However, the "cruiserweight" part of it was probably the least important factor in its success. No matter what wrestlers had been selected to participate, the tournament would have been just as much of a success as it was, and that is because of its unrestrained style. Yet, it seems that the WWE picked up the wrong message and build a whole division over what was a fairly irrelevant factor.
3) You can't expect the cheap, less-over version of the main roster to be successful.
The one thing to keep in mind when complaining about WWE limiting the cruiserweights' wrestling style, is that if WWE were willing to give a more compelling and exciting wrestling style a go, they'd have to let the main roster go at it as well. So yes, despite this division being advertised as the "most exciting hour in WWE", the wrestlers in it aren't particularly more talented than their main roster counterparts, nor are they more entitled to being given a chance in the ring. We have just been given a glimpse of what they can do in a more "free" wrestling style, but who knows if the main roster wrestlers wouldn't have been just as successful had they been given that same opportunity. So the wrestling style is kind of irrelevant here. It seems like they can't get over based on their abilities alone. So what they are at this point is just basically a watered down, cheaper version of the main roster. It is puzzling to see a storyline like the Cedric-Alicia-Dar love triangle get the green light (oh wee oh wee oh ...) with how poor and low bracket it is. They clearly haven't been dealt the luckiest hand, and we can't expect them to magically make something incredible out of it.
We are now at a pretty interesting crossroads when it comes to dealing with it: can this division become a phoenix and be revived ? Or should it flat out be canceled ?
Now, there are many people out there who enjoy the cruiserweight division. It may not be perfect, but it still has some saving graces. It isn't doomed. What IS doomed, however, is the very concept of a weight class. I believe this division could still be revived by re-branding it, rethinking what it's all about, and most importantly become very wise as to who belongs in it. The most painful thing about witnessing this division struggle is watching potentially very successful wrestlers like Neville, AA or Jack Gallagher be victims of that lack of interest, and potentially dampening their future within the main roster because of this stigma attached to this division they're trying so hard to build.
Sometimes, I guess the hardest decision is knowing if you're not trying hard enough, or if it just doesn't matter how hard you try. Let's just hope WWE makes the right decision here.
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