goc Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Personally I don't really see what the point of a cruiserweight division is in 2016. What's the hook? What makes it stand out from the rest of the matches in WWE? Does WWE really need a "flippy do/workrate division" when half the guys in the company do some kind of dive? At a period when the pace of most WWE matches is faster than ever I don't see how the CWs can stand out. I don't see any positives to it and all it seems like it will do is limit guys' career who start in that division as it kind of sticks them with a "can't hang with the rest of the roster" stink. If they wanted to bring something completely unique to Raw they should have raided AAA for minis and brought back El Torito to build a whole division around him. It's something that has never really been done in American wrestling (yes there used to be a lot more midget wrestlers in the territories but they were attractions only used a few times a year) and would have been something totally fresh. El Torito managed to have some damn good matches with Hornswoggle of all people, putting him in a division with 5-6 other guys that can really go would have been great. Not to mention the fact that it would have led to far more marketing opportunities and likely would have been a hit with kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachchaos Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I'll co-sign this. When (one of) your World Champions is a top cruiserweight it makes zero sense to have a separate division. A serious minis division would be a whole new brand. Hell, they could've marketed them as cruiserweight to keep things proper. The cruiserweight division as it stands is about as effective as calling a show "Clash of Champions". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stomperspc Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Dorada, Perkins, Tozawa to an exent, ect. bring things to the table that either guys like Seth Rollins or other guys pushed as heavyweights do not/cannot do or cannot do as well. Besides for guys like Neville or Kalisto (who should be pushed as cruisers), its not like regular members of the roster can do the top rope hurricanrana to the outside that Perkins did last night. That was a legit great move that cannot just be repeated by anyone. Dorada has a done of them. I would argue that some of the quickness and smoothness that certain guys can bring also cannot be replicated on a regular basis by guys elsewhere on the cards. The bigger issue is whether the cruiserweights will be able to do the stuff that separates them. Last night, Kendrick and Perkins didn't do enough. If all the matches are like last night, I agree with you that the division will be a waste. Its less of a "they don't bring anything new" problem and more of a "they might not be allowed to stand out the way they can stand out" problem (or they might not sign guys that do stand out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I wish they had come up with something different to call them. The word "cruiserweight" has a stigma that I don't think can be removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fando Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 It was interesting seeing how much more captivating the women's title match was far as the presentation with the ring introductions and crowd support compared to the CW title match. I really don't think it's gonna work on a large scale trying to clone it off that as some kind of "support the little guys" yay sportsmanship! deal. They really should let these guys be opening half hour material and let them go crazy like a Nitro opener to at least put the audience on notice but they're probably never going to have time to book more than one match per show either. Same with the woman; you get a title match and a Nia Jax squash every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMKK Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Anything can be a good idea of it's booked an presented well. Almost anything. However, I understand the concerns when so many of the supposed 'heavyweights' like Rollins are spotfest workers. Cruiserweights should be as they were in WCW, something to add variety to the cards with a different style of wrestling and looks of the wrestlers. The radical and interesting thing to do would be for WWE to reform weight divisions altogether so that each title is as important as the next and wrestlers compete in weight classes. We know that isn't going to happen but at the very least, a serious commitment to a cruiserweight division should be an opportunity to reform and scale back the working style on the rest of the cards. More selling and playing to the crowd, less spots and kickouts. Then the cruisers can flourish and WWE can sort out these main events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I still think the IC belt should have a ten minute time limit on TV (longer on PPV) and they should have some slightly different rules for cruiserweights. Maybe the Smackdown Title should be 2/3 falls on PPV, to help make up for the smaller roster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Are Finn Balor and Neville going to be put in the cruiserweight division? If not, it looks like Perkins, Kendrick, and the like aren't good enough to hang with the real stars. If so, it'll seem like a demotion, especially considering that Neville has been basically enhancement talent for a while now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Of course Balor isn't going to be in the Cruiserweight division, he was being pushed as one of the top guys in the company when he got injured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted September 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Of course Balor isn't going to be in the Cruiserweight division, he was being pushed as one of the top guys in the company when he got injured That's really just another reason the idea of a Cruiserweight division doesn't work because he's not really any bigger than TJP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I think if the Cruiserweight division is condemned to failure it's because it's on the poorly executed weekly Raw slog and won't be presented in a way that will get anyone over, and not really because of the size of the guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 We know how Vince thinks. This may be his way of proving that it doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 It's PR. They have a pat ourselves on the back "We. DID It!" division for the women, seems like they just want one for the guys too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raul Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 the presentation makes them look like such a side show. what were they thinking? it's reminding me of those lucha matches in early 97. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I've been underwhelmed by it so far. TJ Perkins does nothing for me and I'm just not getting in to his matches at all. The matches so far on Raw feel like random TNA X Division matches from the weekly PPV days when they just throw random indy guys out there and the crowd's had no reason to care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZThomas Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I'll co-sign this. When (one of) your World Champions is a top cruiserweight it makes zero sense to have a separate division. were you saying that when Benoit or Eddie was World Champs, we live in a times when majorty of guys are cruiserweights or borederline cruiserweights you got US and IC as secondary to the World and Universal so why not have a title exclusive to the division that guys can eventualy outgrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I'll co-sign this. When (one of) your World Champions is a top cruiserweight it makes zero sense to have a separate division. were you saying that when Benoit or Eddie was World Champs, we live in a times when majorty of guys are cruiserweights or borederline cruiserweights you got US and IC as secondary to the World and Universal so why not have a title exclusive to the division that guys can eventualy outgrow Benoit was never presented as a cruiserweight in WCW and neither Benoit or Eddie were presented that way in WWE so I don't really see how that's relevant. The only guy that managed to get anywhere after in WWE after the company put a cruiserweight label on them was Rey and even though he was the biggest draw on the Smackdown brand a lot of the time he never really got pushed as a serious contender to the World Title. And we all know how his title reigns played out. It just seems like putting a hurtle in place for guys all to create a division that I don't think can even stand out as something special or unique as compared to the rest of the matches in the company. This isn't 1996 WCW where the cruiserweight matches look completely different from your Hogan vs. Piper type main event match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmmnx Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I have no idea what they were thinking bring in 10 new guys at once without a lick of build up or character development for any of them. I could've see Neville, Kalisto, and 3 or 4 new guys getting the division off the ground, but 10 new guys at once with Kendrick being the only one audiences are familiar with just seems dumb. Bryan winning the world title and becoming the most over guy since The Rock should've been the end of any crusier weight division thoughts. Also what's the point of NXT if they're going to bring guys in straight from the indys? They have Tony Nese on Raw and Shinsuke Nakamura in developmental while drawing record low ratings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Guys like Nese, Gulak, Dorado, Cedric and Swann are on NXT. And Cedric is getting over about as well as Nakamura would on Raw. I think TJP winning the title is a mistake. Should have been Dorada. The main roster fans don't know TJP's story and even then, TJP would be a better heel. Nothing about him is likeable. At least compared to Kendrick's story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 I think it's too early to tell. A year ago the Divas Revolution looked like a mistake and look at it now. I think they're still finding their footing and it could turn out okay. My only real question is why they put the belt on TJP. He's a little bland to build a division around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 If you watched the CWC it's impossible to argue that those guys can't do anything to distinguish themselves from the smaller heavyweights. The question is whether they will be allowed to work like that on the main roster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZThomas Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 I think it's too early to tell. A year ago the Divas Revolution looked like a mistake and look at it now. I think they're still finding their footing and it could turn out okay. My only real question is why they put the belt on TJP. He's a little bland to build a division around. I think the Womans Division was alot better over all before the 4 horsewomen got called up, Its been ok on the main roster but Not to the level of the Revoloution in NXT. I do think Smackdown has built up a better roster of women by basically giving everone a fresh start , Raw is too top heavy with Sasha & Charlotte. I dont get all the pesemism about the CW division other than the fact that historicly they dont give it enough focus long enough to really make it mean something. I think its great that its brand exclusive , I thought the womens division shouldve been brand exclusive at first but I glad its not since Smackdowns division is pretty enjoyable right now. I dont watch RAW or Smackdown so I dont know how well its getting over but I thought the CW match at the PPV was nice and they got a nice reaction, I thought it was nice that the first major title match didnt feature high flyers . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 It's PR. They have a pat ourselves on the back "We. DID It!" division for the women, seems like they just want one for the guys too. I don't think it's PR? I don't think they would invest all this time and money to appease a few fans who wanted a CW division (the world wasn't exactly crying for it). I think it is just a case of trying to add some variety to a massively long show. Will it last? I predict not, for reasons already set out in this topic elsewhere. I enjoyed the CWC a lot, but they haven't upheld the pace / style from that and the presentation certainly does not benefit from a larger (and at time indifferent) crowd. I wish them all luck and hopefully some guys can get to live out some dreams and make some money, but I'd say enjoy it whilst you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broke Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 TJP got mega mainstream coverage back in the Philippines. If WWE plans to tour that part of Asia this gives them another name to push. If nothing else he can turn heel in a few months after Tony Nese wins the belt and give him a Duterte gimmick of calling his opponents sons of whores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Saw this interesting quote from Dave back in the summer of 95: The WWF's two most popular wrestlers right now, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, are really junior heavyweights so it's proof that in 1995 nobody needs to create a division for 215 pound guys because fans won't take them as believable against larger men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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