WWE Issues A Cruiserweight Survey To Fans

[Jack-Hammer]

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE recently issued a survey in which they asked fans if they were interested in seeing cruiserweights return to the company and in what capacity. WWE asked if fans would like cruiserweights to have their own weekly show on the WWE Network, which was something WWE was planning to do at one point, if they'd like them to be used as part of NXT, be used on Main Event or be used on Raw & SmackDown!.

I figured I'd go ahead and create this thread because it'd only be a matter of time before someone else did.

This is something that's been talked about and debated for years and I don't see anything new to be brought into one side of the argument or the other. On the Monday Night Wars episode "Flight of the Cruiserweights", I think it was Arn Anderson who was speaking, in which he was talking about how great the cruiserweights were, how innovative, how exciting, etc. but also pointed out a big problem: the term cruiserweight itself. It's one of the only times I've seen someone actually working for WWE commenting that labeling someone a cruiserweight is sorta detrimental. During the show, they played some clips of some matches where commentators were talking about the cruiserweights in something of a derogatory manner in the sense that they weren't credible going up against guys like Scott Hall or Kevin Nash.

When you look at the main and NXT rosters, a hefty amount of talent can be classified as cruiserweights, junior heavyweights, light heavyweights or whichever term you wanna use. Limiting certain wrestlers to a specific weight class became pretty contradictory in American pro wrestling when you had guys like Eddie Guerrero, AJ Styles, Christian, Rob Van Dam, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan winning World "HEAVYWEIGHT" Championships. Right now, Seth Rollins is in the middle of a big push and he's billed at 217 pounds. Dean Ambrose is billed at a scale tipping 225 pounds. Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, Hideo Itami, the soon to be debuting Finn Balor are all in the 180-210 pound range.

IF WWE reinstated cruiserweights, I'd be okay with it if they weren't ultimately treated like a bunch of scrubs who're relegated to be only in one specific spot on the roster. However, at this particular point in time, I think that's a big if because we all know that Vince does sometimes like to label wrestlers based on outdated clichés. We've seen him do it in the past when WWE had the light heavyweight & later cruiserweight divisions, we've seen it with wrestlers who're Hispanic or African American and we've seen it with women.

 

[L@RISANO]

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head there,JH.

There is enough talent at current for a Cruiserweight division and it would probably improve programming in some ways as well by giving it such a division to showcase some high-flyers who might not be too high on the card.

That said;
Where do you put the cutoff point in terms of size? How will such a title fare given that the other existing titles are merely insignificant props anyways?


I always remember when I was in high school and Mysterio who was the most popular cruiserweight at the time won the WHC, loads of casual fans(amongst my friends,etc at school) basically couldn't believe how a guy like that could ever win the Main title....
I think that was because he was pigeon-holed into such a division for so long that many casuals especially just couldn't buy him challenging the top guys.


At this point, I'd much rather a Network/TV title in the MidCard and do away with the US title in the process after Rusev is done with it.

 

[ford f150]

no cruiser weight title already too many belts though I don't know why a lot of these NXT guys and gals aren't on the main roster yet

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

WWE already has a cruiserweight division its called the diva's division - use it to its fullest potential and it will rival wcw's cruiserweight division in popularity.

 

[360_no_scope]

I think it would be a good idea to have a 'cruiserweight' division but all you have to do is not label them as cruiserweights. Have guys like Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel, Ziggler, Zayn or anyone other wrestler who is capable of putting on those fast paced high flying matches fight over the intercontinental championship (its value is basically dead anyway)
There is plenty of talent already so they wont have to worry about running out of "smaller" wrestlers to feud with and if they are really that good in the end they can step up to fight some of the bigger guys.
long story short: keep the IC title on the smaller guys, Bigger guys can fight over the US title and those who are good enough will surely find their way to the top prize.

 

[DCLXVI]

Too many undervalued titles as it is. I think the line is blurred nowadays anyway when a lot of the successful/promising future talents are already 220 or below and we've seen guys like Punk/Bryan.

 

[Aquaman6686]

no cruiser weight title already too many belts though I don't know why a lot of these NXT guys and gals aren't on the main roster yet

This has to be a joke. It literally has to be. WWE has abandoned and retired almost all of its championships, and there's "too many belts"? Yeah ok.

As for the topic at hand, I'm all for the return of the Cruiserweight Division. WWE DESPERATELY needs more championships and there's too much of the roster sitting around doing nothing. The Cruiserweight division would create more opportunities for more wrestlers to have storylines and meaningful matches. There's no downside to it.

 

[kadroan]

They don't need a cruiserweight division. They can barely book the IC and US divisions despite the number of wrestlers they have.

I wouldn't mind seeing random cruiserweight style wrestlers facing off against each other in random matches on RAW/Main Event/Smackdown but as far as making it a focus - no.

 

[Punk_Aries_Daniels_Bryan]

maybe instead of naming it the Cruiserweight title you can call it a light heavyweight title. That would those people who do not fit in the weight category for cruiserweight can compete for a light heavyweight title. Option number 2 would be to unify the Intercontinental and US Championship and then have a third title that would be for cruiserweights

 

[theblasterkid]

maybe instead of naming it the Cruiserweight title you can call it a light heavyweight title. That would those people who do not fit in the weight category for cruiserweight can compete for a light heavyweight title. Option number 2 would be to unify the Intercontinental and US Championship and then have a third title that would be for cruiserweights

This is what I prefer to have happen. Rusev's turning the title into the Russian title could be another way to get rid of it after he's done, or just have him unify the US and IC titles. Maybe his next target, after he is done with Sheamus (rematch clause), he could go after Ziggler. He has already beaten him anyway. He could prove that he is better than him, or he could simply say he wants to dominate intercontinentally now since he already dominated the US. He's route could be simply US-IC, US-IC unified, then WWEWHC (World). At least that's the way I would book him.

 

[Alastor]

I don't mind a Cruiserweight division but the danger is always the fans. A dominant cruiserweight will be hyped to the point fans want to see the cruiserweight wrestler cross over and face someone in the heavyweight division. Then either one will lose credibility. The bigger guy could be hurt like Kane during Rey Mysterio's run as a main event winning against Kane all the time. Or the smaller guy loses the dominant momentum.

 

[Zycho32]

To me, a Cruiserweight Division can really only work if it's a genuine Proving Ground, as opposed to an Iron-Locked Weight Class- so more X-Division of TNA than WCW if you get my drift.

At any rate, if Cruiserweight still coincides with a low-to-mid card area, then here's what I would do; I'd take one of the current midcard belts (US Title preferrably, once Rusev finally drops it and it falls back to obscurity) and devalue it to the 'Low' card section. The jobbers and rookies and the Buried, basically. There's virtually few wrestlers in that section who are above a certain weight, so you're not quite hurting for warm bodies. You can even still work with the giants that are there, but we'll get to that later.

When I was creating this concept for the Low Card, I was thinking this; a bare minimum of a 15-20 minute match on Smackdown, as many as six wrestlers at once. Actual contendership lists, which include qualifiers in places like Superstars and Main Event and even NXT from time to time. Treat it like a genuine division, where the cowards can't hide and the talents can get over more on talent than character if at all possible.

In short, here are the perks;

-Given the bare minimum of guaranteed TV Appearances, the low card gets more coverage and something relatively important to sink their teeth into and maybe prove they can get over.
-This also serves as a springboard opportunity for NXT talent that may be ready but may not be over enough for a genuine Midcard push. Hell, it can be purgatory for a young buck who is kayfabe dismissed as a loser- seems tailor-made for the likes of Sami Zayn who keeps having to claw his way upwards in his storylines.
-With a supposed lack of Main Event storylines swallowing these guys up, the booking can be straightforward and isolated. You don't need to do the same crap as seen up in the top card to generate drama because really, these guys just need to get over naturally first before they can even THINK about going the drama route.
-At the same time, if you have a dedicated Low-Card booker who doesn't screw with and doesn't get screwed with, you can mess with the fans directly. Imagine that; Zach Ryder re-winning the US Belt and bringing back the 'Woo Woo Woo' shit, Kofi Kingston kicking and backflipping the hell out of the division like he was on sterioids, Heath Slater taking a clean victory, Great Khali terrorizing the division for months on end.... wait, what?
-Yes, even the giants and monsters can have a place here, though it'll be more difficult to show them as anything but the heels the smaller guys have to overcome, but much like Titus O'Neil in NXT, a power guy can threaten to break the Cruiserweights into pieces and be worth something more as far as the story is concerned.

But the key thing to make such a division work is that it has to be a proving ground, where someone who is genuinely a winner and supremely over with the fans can elevate himself into the Mid Card. There has to be that light at the end of the tunnel, or it's WCW all over again. You can't simply say, 'he's good enough for the cruiserweights and that's it', no, you have to say, 'he's good enough for the cruiserweights right now and let's see if he proves he deserves to be higher'.

 

[mrfantastic111]

I like it. I personally think that guys like Heath Slate, Sin Cara, etc shouldn't hold a midcard title as they are now, so giving that group of wrestlers a low-card title might actually give meaning to the little fluff matches we sit through each week on Raw, SD! and Superstars.

WWE doesn't need two midcard titles right now because half of the midcard are really just low-card wrestlers who get matches that mean nothing. Atleast if you give them a low-card title it stops devaluing the US/IC titles, but it also raises the stock of the talent who we all know won't get to that level but should atleast have SOMETHING to aim for.

 

[laodaron]

So, I think it could work perfectly if it was introduced as it's own show, a show to rival Lucha Underground. Everyone on the show is a Lucha or a flyer or what we generally call a Cruiserweight. Allow for some more spots, allow for some extra flying stuff, and put chain wrestling bullshit into it.

What I would loathe to happen, though, would be for the WWE to put Cruiserweights and the CW Belt back onto the main roster. It doesn't fit the current WWE product, and it just doesn't match the tempo of a Raw or a PPV.

But imagine that instead of Smackdown on TV every week, there was a Monday Night Raw for the main roster, a Wednesday night NXT (minor leagues) and a Friday night Lucha episode for cruiserweights, flyers, and Luchas.

Now, being on the Lucha show doesn't preclude that wrestler from being main roster, but it brings back something the fans like without watering down the main roster tempo.

 

[Punk_Aries_Daniels_Bryan]

This is what I prefer to have happen. Rusev's turning the title into the Russian title could be another way to get rid of it after he's done, or just have him unify the US and IC titles. Maybe his next target, after he is done with Sheamus (rematch clause), he could go after Ziggler. He has already beaten him anyway. He could prove that he is better than him, or he could simply say he wants to dominate intercontinentally now since he already dominated the US. He's route could be simply US-IC, US-IC unified, then WWEWHC (World). At least that's the way I would book him.

hell yes bring back the gold belt! Use it as a European title or world title. Only problem is I suppose they wouldn't want to interfering with the major title. But remember when both the WWE Champion and world heavyweight champion big deals? when guys like Batista and Undertaker World Heavyweight Champion and the guys like John Cena and Randy Orton WWE Champion.if the two titles are unified you should just stay at the Intercontinental Championshipand then the third title should be the light heavyweight championship

 

[Mustang Sally]

One of the important matters WWE has to determine in looking to establish a cruiserweight division is......how many of the people who watch their product are actually fans of professional wrestling?

Personally, I believe many of them are interested only in seeing the big names they've heard of; these "fans" would rather watch some big ox fumble & stumble his way through a match....rather than see Adrian Neville work in his unique style.....because they've "heard" of the big name ox.

Fans of the cruiserweights would presumably be fans of wrestling....and I don't know if there would be enough of them to support this new division. Maybe that's what WWE was trying to find out with their survey.

 

[laodaron]

One of the important matters WWE has to determine in looking to establish a cruiserweight division is......how many of the people who watch their product are actually fans of professional wrestling?

Personally, I believe many of them are interested only in seeing the big names they've heard of; these "fans" would rather watch some big ox fumble & stumble his way through a match....rather than see Adrian Neville work in his unique style.....because they've "heard" of the big name ox.

Fans of the cruiserweights would presumably be fans of wrestling....and I don't know if there would be enough of them to support this new division. Maybe that's what WWE was trying to find out with their survey.

Besides being condescending, your post is generally wrong. Most of the cruiserweights that I've watched in my 25+ years of being a wrestling fan are chain wrestling choreographed spot monkeys, the exact opposite of a professional wrestler. Those big "ox" guys you're talking about are actual wrestlers, the flipping and flopping and diving out of the ropes is not wrestling, but more or less a floor routine in gymnastics.

That doesn't take away the value, skill required, or the love for being a wrestler from the little guys, but they are no more "professional wrestlers" than the big muscle guys.

 

[zwbruno]

NXT already is a "cruiser weight" show without the stigma. Hopefully they don't mess with it too much, because NXT is OAF... Over as, well you know.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

This will be one of those things that everyone pines and begs for and talks about how great it would be, and then dont support or watch when the WWE gives it to them.

Has happened at least twice before. Does the WWE finally let them open up and work a different style? Maybe, and then maybe it takes off. Probably not.


Itll just be little guys working your average WWE match again. Won't get over, wont be sustainable.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

I say Retire the US title, and bring back the Cruiserweight title, Wwe seems to just be using that belt as a prop for the person holding it now days. Ambrose had it, to make the Shield seem more dominant, Sheamus had it, because he has been directionless lately, and now Rusev is using it to get his character over.

The only issue I have with bringing it back is guys like Neville, Zayn, Breeze, Kenta, etc would be stuck in that division for a while. Similar to Mysterio, I would fear that when they finally reach the main event no one would take them seriously. Maybe if Wwe mde the CW championship an equal to the IC title, and once in a LONG while have the then CW champ defeat the World champ in a champion vs champion match.

I don't know, but I'm all for a return of the cruiserweight/or a similar division. I also found it weird that during the PG era, WWE took out the most popular division (that doesn't sound like the right way to say it, but oh well) that's easily gets over with the kids.

 

[joey414]

If the bring the crusier strap back, have it on smackdown, between 2001-2004 the division made smakedown OMG tv and i was gutted when they relegated the belt to that bloody midget, bring it back and make the blue brand watchable again

 

[alaricrose]

To be honest, I think that it depends on how they present it. Currently, they have a problem making the title belts that they have relevant, with the significant exception of the World Heavyweight Championship. They do have a large number of high flyers and smaller wrestlers to populate the division. But they would need to focus on the cruiserweights over a long period, which I have little faith in this concept. They do seem to have a problem with focusing on anything other than John Cena. The other issue that they have is how they would portray them. If they stay within their own division (a la the early X-Division and WCW Cruiserweights) and are given the proper time to perform and storylines, it can be a tremendous boost. On the other hand, if you use them as fodder for Rusev, Kane, Ryback, etc., then what is the point?

 

[Wainy]

I'd like to see the WWE adopt a similar mentality that TNA has/ had/ has/ sometimes has towards the X Division. Basically, while it would be focused on smaller guys, any wrestler able to put on a fast paced, high risk style match would be able to compete, regardless of their size. Kofi Kingston exceeds the standard cruiser/ light heavyweight limit, but he'd be ideal, same with R-Truth, same even with Kevin Steen, & if they sign him, Uhaa Nation.

The name for this title? Well, considering they own it, and they're showing it on the Network, why not bring back the ECW Title? For all the hardcore violence and bloodshed, ECW made it's name on match quality/ excitement from the likes of Rob Van Dam, Rey Mysterio, Psychosis, Super Crazy, Tajiri, The Eliminators etc. All of them high flyers, but not all of them Light Heavyweights...

 

[87wcw87]

Id love to see a cruserweight division with a new belt. Call it maybe "WWE high-definition championship" something fresh. WWE has the majority of top cruiserweights in the world. Id have them on raw and smackdown not their own show. Some awesome talent in www

High definition championship

Sammy zayne
Adrian nevill
Fin balor
Hideo atami
Sin Cara
Kalisto
Solomon crowd
Justin Gabriel
Xavier woods
El torito

Also time and again can bring slightly bigger guys in for more fueds like

Rollins
Kids
Kingston
Fandango
Ziggler
Bryan etc

Good way to start if the division is, I've heard mysterio wants out of wwe. Have wwe crown a new cruiserweight champion with new belt at mania 31 pre show. Have mysterio pass the torch to zayne, nevill,atami or balor.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I'd be okay with it if they weren't ultimately treated like a bunch of scrubs who're relegated to be only in one specific spot on the roster.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. If the Cruiserweight Championship came back, a lot of the wrestlers competing for it might get stuck in that division never getting a chance anywhere else. Then there's the whole issue of how the championships currently in use are being booked. What would the Cruiserweight Championship truly offer that the US Championship cannot? Would the WWE treat it with any ounce of respect at all? I'm open to a return of the title, but at the same time am skeptical of it. It wouldn't hurt if done right.