How would you "repair" the cruiserweight division?

[Mr. Nerfect]

It is currently being discussed that the WWE has interest in talent that generally pass as a cruiserweights. These rumours have gone hand-in-hand with words stating that the WWE has plans to pay more attention to the division.

I personally wouldn't look too much into this, but one has to wonder why the WWE has no faith in the cruiserweights. OK, granted they don't draw but people flicking channels will immediately be impressed with Paul London doing a London Calling or a 450 Splash. Or Spike Dudley falling off the top rope on top of Nunzio. This is the kind of stuff that gets the fans into the action, and always gets the commentators talking about how this action is fantastic.

First thing first, the WWE already has a good enough pool of talent. It's great to hear rumours of Jay Lethal, Jack Evans and possibly Alex Shelley joining the division, but why not use Paul London, Shannon Moore and Nunzio effectively first. Akio is going to waste, Tajiri and The Hurricane are on RAW. Steven Richards and Matt Hardy, who may not be regarded as such, but could very easily be (re)added to the division are also on RAW. Simon Dean has been forced to do a U-turn with his style.

Why bring in (awesome) guys like Jack Evans, Jay Lethal, Alex Shelley and even norw rumours of Amazing Red to the WWE, when the division has already been misused and mistreated. This isn't a case where there aren't any cruiserweights in the WWE, this is a case where talent needs to be brought in to fill in the spots, it is a case where talent is being misused.

Anyway, long story short, how would you "reboot" the division, in hopes of emphasising the crusierweights. Who would you hire and who would you fire? Are there any dead weights in the current division? Are there any people who need to be let go. How good can Scotty 2 Hotty in this day and age? Should Simon Dean be allowed to go? Is the Vertebreaker to much of a risk for the WWE to take? Are Rey Mysterio's talents better suited to the main event scene, tag team scene or cruiserweight scene? Should people like Steven Richards, Matt Hardy and even Charlie Haas be given something to do in the division? Would you even help the division?

There is all this help of bringing in cruiserweights like Jay Lethal (well there was a few days ago), yet this isn't like the current women's or tag team divisions, this is the division that probably has one of the better line-ups for their division, just not the right setup as such. How would you fix this?

[Dave Youell]

Just let Bisch book it, he pretty much created the division from scratch on WCW. Imagine what he could do with the talent he's got now

[LK]

Actually Dave I think that was Heyman. He brought the cruiserweights to America and just let them wrestle. Then Bischoff took the cruiserweights to WCW.

So anyway I would just go back to how it was before. Remember when SD was the better show and they always highlighted the cruiserweights as awesome competitors and how they were exclusive. They would really build up the division. And Ultimo Dragon should be champ.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Rep to both of you guys. :y:

Anyway, one of the questions I was going to ask is if Ultimo Dragon returned, should it be as "Ultimo Dragon" with the mask and all, or as "Yoshihiro Asai" or just "Asai" without the mask?

I'd personally lean towards the mask. It is who Ultimo is, IMO.

Anyway, I believe Heyman brought them up to American, and over the ocean from Japan in some cases, but I think it was Bischoff who actually gave them storylines. So there would be nothing without Heyman, but they wouldn't have had their own "division" if it wasn't for Bischoff.

Both guys could so wonders with the division, but I am more curious to see Heyman actually book a division. He brought them up, gave cruiserweight action life in America, but he never really came up with stories for them (from what I understand, but I am probably way off). Super Crazy vs. Tajiri may be an exception, but that was after the crusierweights were "stolen" by Bischoff.

Heyman can come up with golden storylines for anybody or anything, and he is the father of cruiserweight action, although Bischoff adopted and raised that child, and it would be interesting to see Heyman actually do something with the division.

[SuperSlim]

how to repair the cruiserweight division?

Here is a suggestion. Let off of some of those limitations on them. Let them shine. Don't hold them back. I mean watcin ECW and WCW back in the day there weren't too many limitations on them. They were allowed to fly, they were allowed to move. Really they were allowed to have a fast paced match. That is the difference between teh cruiswerweights and the other guys. Speed. In WCW and ECW they had so much speed. The action was fast paced and everything. Now that they aren't allwoed to have that fast paced action cause "they would outshine the focus of the show" the cruiserweight division has turned into pretty much every other division in the WWE. And since they can't fly like cruiserweights usually do, who are they? They all are the same. I mean really the only one that has any character now is Rey.

They have grounded everyone else and they all look the same in the ring except for their finisher. Why don't they make some trades or somethin from Raw to Smackdown. Give Smackdown the other cruiserweights from Raw that way they cna actually do something besides bein jobbed. WWE has awesome awesome talent in the cruiserweight division but unless you were a fan back then and caught them in action you wouldn't know it cause the focus is placed on HHH, JBL, Taker, and all the other big guys.

SO yeah to repair it, let them be who they are. Don't make them like everyone else.

[Dave Youell]

Actually Dave I think that was Heyman. He brought the cruiserweights to America and just let them wrestle. Then Bischoff took the cruiserweights to WCW.

Only Rey and Pyscosis and to a lesser extend Eddie and Malenko form knowledge though right?

Granted Heyman brought them over, but this was back in Late 95' it's not like they had exposure to the mainstream, Bisch was the guy who took the chance and put them on National TV and booked them week in week out and brought in more guys in the process.

[SuperSlim]

yeah it seems to go more along the lines of Heyman brought them to the states and Bischoff put them in mainstream and made everyone know who they were.

[Dave Youell]

Oh Slim, I agree with what you said 100%, let the Cruisers do what they can do, sadley however I don't think Adolf Hunter will let it happen as it will make him look bad.

Heaven forbid others get over for using there talent

[jerichoholic169]

how to repair the crusiers? let them do what they do best. at the moment they're being forced to wrestle like everyone else generally which doesn't do as well as the other guys as its not their natural style sort of thing.

If WWE just let the slow paced restictions slide on them and let them do what they do best then they'd be sorted. WWE don't even need to bring in Amazing Red, etc. with the talent they already have and the time they have in the shows.

As long as big nose doesn't have a say in what happens on Smackdown (which he doesn't at the moment does he?) then I can't see anyone else wanting to hold them down from doing their highflying stuff. For a start it'll make people want to watch it more as it's miles more exciting watching a guy doing a plancha over the top ropes than a body slam (hassan). And as Smackdown is usually cast down as the inferior product (in my view anyway) it'll hopefully boost the ratings, similar to what Bischoff did when he brought the cruisers in back in 96.

[John la Rock]

Have the Cruiserweight division on Velocity. One of the main reasons that the Crusierweight Division was succesfull in WCW was because Nitro ran 3 hours

[foodstampchamp]

I know this is as far-fetched as it gets, but I can't think of a better way to establish the division's lost credibility. First of all, I'd fiind a way to vacate the Cruiserweight title (like they did with the world title). I'd put the title up for grabs in a 16 man International Tournament. I'd make 10 of the participants WWE talent and gather the other participants from around the world. For WWE I would have: Rey Mysterio, Tajiri, Nunzio, Paul London, Funaki, Akio, Chavo Guerrero, Hurricane, Billy Kidman, and Shannon Moore. I'd get a couple of the old WCW Cruiserweights from Mexico in Juventud Guerrera and Psichosis. From Japan I'd get Ultimo Dragon and someone huge like Jushin "Thunder" Liger. For the last two I'd get two Indy/ROH guys to participate and they would be The current ROH Champion Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson.

What better way to give the title meaning than to have a WWE guy beat not only some of the best talent in WWE, but also from all over the world? I'd book the tournament to have Paul London defeat one of the international participants in the finals. I feel Paul London is the best choice to lead the rebirth of this division. He may not be the greatest on the mic, but he can mat-wrestle, fly, and is great at showing emotion during his matches. Plus, the live crowd loves the guy it seems.

My second step would be to put all of the cruiserweight wrestlers on their own separate brand using the Velocity timeslot. Alot of the appeal in the old WCW and currently TNA were their strong X/Cruiser divisions, so I don't see why a cruiser show couldn't succeed. It's the perfect way to keep them from being lost on the Diva-loaded Smackdown brand.

[Gouda]

To save it I'd bring in La Parka and have him do his little dance. That would fix ALL.

Ok, seriously though I think it should be just done away with and the cruisers moved up to tag/US title status. They'd actually have feuds and storylines and such.

In my opinion, not only would that save the cruisers it would save Smackdown.

[Corkscrewed]

I only oppose putting the cruisers on Velocity because I don't get that show. :'(

However, a tourney that allowed them to go full speed would really have me going. In fact, I think an Akio vs Paul London feud, where they showcase their skills, would really jumpstart the division, as those two are the best when it comes to crazy and cool and innovative moves these days. I'd say Rey, but he's got bad knees and doesn't fly like he used to unfortunately.

That and FINISH FEUDS! Kidman vs London was awesome, and then it died. Same with Kidman vs Chavo. Stuff like that is just irksome.

[Innovator]

Start giving the matches in the main event spot.

Say Rey wins the title again, book a program with him being pinned by..lets say Akio in a tag team match. Let Akio chase Rey for a couple weeks then book them in the main event match for the title. So often is the cruiserweight title defended in the opening match.

Seriously though Gouda, all the WWE needs is the real chairman on Smackdown. How I'd mark out if La Parka struted down the ramp one day.

[Nowhere Man]

I like Innovator's idea, and it worked when they gave Rey vs. Matt Hardy the main event slot. Here's what I'd do, though.

Obviously, the first step would be to lift the speed restrictions that have effectively neutered the entire division.

Secondly, I would integrate cruiserweights into more high-profile matches. Have Paul London and Shannon Moore win the tag team titles, for starters. Put Kidman in a feud for the U.S. Title. Since Rey is the front-runner of the pack, have him step up into the main events, with a feud with Angle or Big Show or even JBL. He doesn't necessarily have to win; the key point is that he looks like he could have. Benoit honestly got over more by losing his big Title match with Angle than he would have if he'd won, in my opinion. The same could work here.

Oh, and I'd bring Hurricane and Tajiri over to SD. There's no reason for either of them to be on Raw.

Thirdly, once the cruiserweights have gained enough status to be viewed as a legitimate division, build up a dominant heel in the group, then have him beat Rey for the CW Title and 'injure' him. Rey has always been held in higher esteem over the rest of the division, so whoever beats the man who took out Rey will be a pretty big deal (as long as they make a point of that) The heel issues an open invitation to whomever wants it, and one decently over face should emerge out of the pack to challenge him. The face chases the heel around for a bit, losing to him by underhanded means at a PPV, then getting a rematch on a later episode of SD. The blowoff match where the face wins is made the main event of that show, and is put in, say, a cage match.

Oh, and I'd have RVD and Eddie Guerrero take a more active role in the main event scenes. They're not technically cruiserweights, but it couldn't hurt.

[Aussie Skier]

Can they bring in Juventud Guerrera, cos I havent heard anything about him for ages.

I think they have a decent number of cruiserweights right now. But I would move (particuarly) Kidman and Mysterio into the US title, and I'd probably piss Shannon Moore off. I havent seen much of him, and he may be ok, but who honestly takes him seriously now?

[Aussie Skier]

Can they bring in Juventud Guerrera, cos I havent heard anything about him for ages.

I think they have a decent number of cruiserweights right now. But I would move (particuarly) Kidman and Mysterio into the US title, and I'd probably piss Shannon Moore off. I havent seen much of him, and he may be ok, but who honestly takes him seriously now?

[LK]

Can they bring in Juventud Guerrera, cos I havent heard anything about him for ages.
Heard his attitude isn't the greatest plus he has some heat with Bischoff although that probably wouldn't have any effect since they would be on different shows.

[Funky Fly]

Let



























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fly.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Just a quick question, has any cruiserweight been injured in the mainstream during a match? I mean, I don't know much about what they did in ECW and WCW, but I can't even remember any "freak-accidents" during a cruiserweight match. These guys are trained to fly, why not let them do that? You don't need to have Lita start killing herself imitating them, you just need to let the guys who are trained to do it properly, do it properly.

I agree with London being a staple of the division, since he can do everything. Billy Kidman's got A LOT of charisma now he's got a character, but they've seem to killed it off now (does he still wear the ring jacket on Velocity). Bringing Hurricane, Tajiri and Simon Dean over from RAW would be great, IMO. I don't see why they insist on keeping them on RAW. Sure Rosey and Rhyno move away from the tag division, but why not bring them back over to SmackDown! as well?

I think the division could use a little bit more character as well. Why not make the wrestlers in it seem different. Announce Akio as "Representing the Kyo Dai Clan of Hokkaido, Japan", and have Nunzio represent "The Family". Have Billy Kidman become "The Shooting Star" Billy Kidman, etc.

Why is Velocity a dumping ground for useless catch-up segments? Isn't that what Afterburn is for? Why not have 4 long cruiserweight matches instead. Don't limit them to Velocity, just have a lot of the cruiserweight undercard take place there.

[Heyman]

Unless the WWE treats them with respect (i.e. no more Spike Dudleys, Jacqueline's, or Chavo Guerrero SR's winning the title), then I say get rid of the entire division.


One thing that the WWE does a PISS POOR job of (and always have), is that they deliberately make the CW division look weaker than everything else (instead of it being implicit).

Take the Women's division for instance. Everyone KNOWS that it's inferior to every other division, but the division has still done well in the past. Why? Because - it was a "league of their own".

Dave Batista didn't have to wrestle Trish Stratus in order to prove to the fans that the Women's division was inferior.


Similarily, in boxing, Lennox Lewis never had to beat the piss out of Oscar De Lahoya to prove that the CW division was far below the Heavyweight division....it was already implicit.


What the WWE have done with their CW division, is completely disrespect it by constantly making the CW's look inferior to non CW wrestlers.


If it was up to me, I would completely get rid of the CW division in the WWE.

There would still be a place for CW's in the WWE, but they could wrestle for *MORE IMPORTANT* titles.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Unless the WWE treats them with respect (i.e. no more Spike Dudleys, Jacqueline's, or Chavo Guerrero SR's winning the title), then I say get rid of the entire division.


One thing that the WWE does a PISS POOR job of (and always have), is that they deliberately make the CW division look weaker than everything else (instead of it being implicit).

Take the Women's division for instance. Everyone KNOWS that it's inferior to every other division, but the division has still done well in the past. Why? Because - it was a "league of their own".

Dave Batista didn't have to wrestle Trish Stratus in order to prove to the fans that the Women's division was inferior.


Similarily, in boxing, Lennox Lewis never had to beat the piss out of Oscar De Lahoya to prove that the CW division was far below the Heavyweight division....it was already implicit.


What the WWE have done with their CW division, is completely disrespect it by constantly making the CW's look inferior to non CW wrestlers.


If it was up to me, I would completely get rid of the CW division in the WWE.

There would still be a place for CW's in the WWE, but they could wrestle for *MORE IMPORTANT* titles.

But then you run the risk that they'll still get mistreated and end up on Velocity, without a title to "fuel" them.

I see nothing wrong with your idea, but I don't know if the WWE's philosophy would change just by getting rid of their title. I personally think they just need to let them be in "a league of their own" as you said, and keep them removed from the rest of the roster.

[Shadow]

Funky Fly's got it dead in the black. Lift the god damn restrictions, let them fly, and put them on their own show. Seriouslly. Don't have them on SD! at all. Put them on their own show and just let them fly. That way they wouldn't outshine the focus of the show since they'd be their own show. Duuuuuuuuuuh.

[Heyman]

But then you run the risk that they'll still get mistreated and end up on Velocity, without a title to "fuel" them.

I see nothing wrong with your idea, but I don't know if the WWE's philosophy would change just by getting rid of their title. I personally think they just need to let them be in "a league of their own" as you said, and keep them removed from the rest of the roster.

True.

One problem with the "league of their own" mentality (especially with how the WWE treats their CW's), is that CW's have practically no chance in becoming World Champions (or main-eventers).

Being labelled a CW in the WWE, is almost like being labelled as a guy who "isn't main-event material"........and that's a shame.


If Rey Mysterio for example, had come to the WWE and there was no CW division, perhaps he would've been a US champ (and beyond?) by now. Atleast that's what I think.

If the WWE are serious about having a strong CW division, then they need guys like Hurricane, Taijiri, etc. to come back to Smackdown. Furthermore - they should increase the weight requirements (so that Eddie Guerrero, Christian, and Matt Hardy can also compete).

[Mr. Nerfect]

True.

One problem with the "league of their own" mentality (especially with how the WWE treats their CW's), is that CW's have practically no chance in becoming World Champions (or main-eventers).

Being labelled a CW in the WWE, is almost like being labelled as a guy who "isn't main-event material"........and that's a shame.


If Rey Mysterio for example, had come to the WWE and there was no CW division, perhaps he would've been a US champ (and beyond?) by now. Atleast that's what I think.

If the WWE are serious about having a strong CW division, then they need guys like Hurricane, Taijiri, etc. to come back to Smackdown. Furthermore - they should increase the weight requirements (so that Eddie Guerrero, Christian, and Matt Hardy can also compete).

That's true. Although I guess you could have Paul London start something with a heel, then have them put on a match during SmackDown!, and have London go over. :y:

If the WWE made some kind of resolution that they wouldn't bury small wrestlers every chance they get, then I think the division would be much better off.

[BigDaddyCool]

I would throw the whole thing away, cruiserwieghts are gay.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I would throw the whole thing away, cruiserwieghts are gay.

To be honest I had you in mind when I may this thread, because I knew you'd bring up something like this.

The crusierweights are overrated in some senses. It is completely unrealistic to have Rey Mysterio even last two minutes with The Big Show (although it's not a stretch to see someone like Jericho kicking Goldberg's ass).

I personally think they're worth the time, though. Most people are immediately impressed by the cruiserweights, and that can only be a good thing.

[juanker]

IMO they should do what TNA did a couple of times, just have a few Smackdowns a year focused on the Cruiserweights.

TNA did the America's X cup, World X cup & that cup when Chris Sabin beat Juvi, during the shows they wouldn't have to cancel storylines because (as much as I hate them) they could do backstage bits saying stuff like "i'm gonna kick your ass next week", doing this would also build up tension in other storylines.

Also, bringing in Jay Lethal, Jack Evans and Alex Shelley would be great and if the talks of Super Crazy coming in are true then that would also be great. There are also many other indy, Mexican & Japanese talent they need to try & sign.

And to re-iterate what everyone else has said: LET THEM FLY DAMMIT.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I agree, a cruiserweight edition of SmackDown! and Velocity would be great. Maybe even give them their own PPV if they get over enough and have storylines.

Another rumour I forgot to mention before is that Rey Mysterio has apparently put in a good word for Psichosis. Rumour has it that he and Super Crazy will be heading over to the WWE very soon.

Thoughts?

[The CyNick]

It should be done like boxing.

In boxing, guys can be main eventers, regardless of their weight class. If you can sell tickets, you can headline. In fact, if you look at the boxing game right now, its the lower weights where all the excitment is, the heavyweight division is pretty boring because there's only one legit fighter.

There's no reason why the WWE couldn't make the CW title on par, or just slightly below the World titles.

The problem is that big guys make Vince horny, and little guys dont, so they dont get pushed right. And they all ultimately become cannon fodder for bigger guys.

Therefore they need to eliminate the CW title. Replace it with another title that everyone can fight for (ie TV/Euro title) and let the CWs they want to keep mix in with the big guys, like Mysterio is currently doing.

[Heyman]

What if............

The WWE only had 4 divisions?

-Tag Team Division
-Cruiserweight Division
-Women's Divison
-Junior Division
-World Title Division


To be a member of each division, you would have to sign a "contract of intent" after each Wrestlemania (which would last 1 year).

So basically - if someone signed a 'Contract of Intent' to be a part of the "Cruiserweight Division", they would have to be within that Division for 1 full year. To be a part of the CW division, you would have to be below a certain weight (225 lbs?...230 lbs?).

The mandatory 1 year thingy would also apply to the tag team division.....as it would to the Women's Division.


The Junior Division would be reserved for wrestlers who have been with the company for less than 3 years.

The World title Division would only be applicable to wrestlers who have been with the company for MORE than 3 years.


The CW and Tag Team Divisions would be a part of Smackdown, while the Junior and Women's Division would be a part of RAW. Everyone becomes a free agent after ONE year.......and can sign with any show they want (depending on the division that they want to be a part of).

People in the World title Division can appear on both shows at all times.


Would a system like this work?

[The CyNick]

No, because each division would only have like 6 or 7 guys, and you'd run out fresh matches in 2 months.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That idea could work if you didn't lock them in. If you had them swap around occasionally to juice things up, things might work out OK. I think the WWE just needs to make the cruiserweights seem talented rather then sub-par.