This week, the 10th week and grand finale of the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament was wrapped up with the crowning of the winner, and the new Cruiserweight Champion- T.J. Perkins.
As happy as fans were with this development, they were also equally disappointed with the fact that the show, which revolutionized wrestling as we knew it, would no longer make our Wednesday Nights magical.
But all of us can take consolation in the fact that there are several contenders from the tournament, who will now head to Monday Night Raw and make the red brand completely red-hot. Many fans on the internet, have bemoaned how the Cruiserweight Division will suffer, under the ever-watchful eye of Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
But we believe, when all’s said and done, that Raw will definitely benefit from the arrival of the Cruiserweights. Read on and find out why we think so.
#5 A new championship to fight for
Grudge matches can be made exciting with good writing, of course. But the writing in WWE recently has been anything but good (remember Jericho and Ambrose fighting over potted plants and expensive jackets?).
Therefore, the only stakes that make sense in the current product are championship belts, that stand for passion and hunger among the competition to make it to the top. This angle invariably works because it’s a shoot, ie. it’s based in real life.
Every wrestler does enter the business to win titles, and establish themselves as the face of their own division. Therefore, to have these Cruiserweights compete for the ultimate prize in the industry will make it a must watch segment on both Raw & on PPV.
#4 Fresh faces for the roster
Let’s be honest. We’re generally excited during the Raw after Wrestlemania, because we see new talent being called to the main roster. There’s nothing more exciting for a wrestling fan, than to see something new happen in a show that we’ve been watching for over 20 years.
The Cruiserweights will shake things up for sure and because we’ve seen them work, we know that each one of them is a distinct personality, with a different character and a different style.
And even though the two biggest names in the competition, Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. did not sign with WWE, the remaining roster gave us some of the best wrestling we've seen in recent memory, across any promotion, worldwide.
#3 Lesser filler content on the main roster
Darren Young. Titus O’Neil. Jinder Mahal. Bo Dallas. All of these names are synonymous with nightmares, in our case. As wrestling journalists, we endure many, many torrid hours of Raw to give you, the reader, our expert opinion of WWE shows.
And while we do love wrestling, and absolutely adore some of the names on the Raw roster, there are others (like the names we mentioned) who waste our time for no good purpose at all. How many times will we see Darren Young vs Titus O’Neil honestly?
That segment can be replaced by a thrilling, nail-biting cruiserweight match, thereby letting us allow what made us fans of professional wrestling in the first place- the actual wrestling.
#2 Main roster talent can be utilized better
Sure, there's a whole new bunch of Cruiserweights coming to Raw. But that doesn’t mean that there were no Cruiserweights on the red brand, prior to their arrival. Some of the best Cruiserweights in the world are being wasted on the main roster because there’s no space for them.
There’s Neville, and Sin Cara. Heck, even Sami Zayn and Xavier Woods could benefit from the arrival of the Cruiserweight talent. Now that Kevin Owens has become Universal Champion, Sami Zayn’s role feels unimportant and thus, he’s being put into filler feuds with Chris Jericho.
Neville hasn’t been used at all, since his arrival. Sin Cara was jobbing to Braun Strowman, not too long ago. Everyone on the roster benefits from the Cruiserweights coming to Monday Night Raw.
#1 Most of the world still doesn’t know what the cruiserweights can do
Raw, on an average, still has 3 million live viewers every single week. On the contrary, a much smaller population watches the WWE Network, where the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament was aired.
Our minds were blown, time and time again with the skill, agility, talent, charisma and worksmanship for the division. However, much of the world has no clue what awesomness lies in store for them.
Once they see what the Cruiserweights are capable of, they will chant ‘this is awesome’, far more often, we honestly believe.
