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What's the story?
Respected wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer speculated on this week's Wrestling Observer Radio that it was the whims of Vince McMahon that led to Neville dropping the WWE Cruiserweight Championship last week on RAW, only to regain it at SummerSlam.
In case you didn't know...
After dominating the WWE cruiserweight division for almost seven months, Neville lost the championship to Akira Tozawa last week on RAW. The match wasn't announced before the show, and the two were headed towards a showdown at SummerSlam, so the bout and title change were a huge surprise.
This confusion was confounded when Neville defeated the new champion at SummerSlam, ending Tozawa's reign at a paltry six days. Many fans have asked what the point of the title change was.
The heart of the matter
On the post-SummerSlam edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez went in-depth regarding the many title changes at the Biggest Party of the Summer, in particular, the back and forth over the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
Meltzer went on to suggest that the title change on RAW happened simply because Vince McMahon turned up and decided to move the title to Tozawa. The main reason was less to do with Vince's opinion of Tozawa and more his desire to do something for television.
Whilst this conjecture should be taken with a pinch of salt, Vince McMahon has been known to make spontaneous decisions like this in the past. It is clear that the lessons of the Monday Night Wars have been forgotten, and giving away moments on free TV is back in fashion.
What's next?
Neville comprehensively defeated Tozawa for the championship at SummerSlam, and the rematch is scheduled for the next episode of 205 Live. It must be assumed that Neville will pick up the win here and presumably end the feud between himself and the man from Kobe.
Where does Neville go from there? The rest of the cruiserweight division is as cold as ice right now, and some serious rehabilitation is needed. One option would be to move Neville into a feud with Kalisto, but it remains to be seen whether this is the direction Vince decides to take.
Author's take
Whilst this is somewhat disappointing to hear, it also isn't entirely surprising. Vince McMahon has shown consistently over the past decades that he has no idea how to book cruiserweight wrestling. Not only this, but the WWE Network has made TV more important to WWE than pay-per-view. This may not end well.
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