What’s the story?
The WWE Superstar shake-up saw a lot of brand moves that have been expected for a while, and arguably the most sensible saw Kalisto move from SmackDown Live to RAW. Cageside Seats is speculating that the Lucha Dragon has moved to the flagship show in order to compete in the Cruiserweight division and to give 205 Live a boost in the process.
In case you didn’t know...
Formerly known as Samuray del Sol, Kalisto signed with WWE in the summer of 2013 and found himself on NXT a year later as part of a tag team with El Local. Kalisto achieved success in NXT alongside Sin Cara as the Lucha Dragons before moving to the main roster in February 2015.
Kalisto competed in the tag team division for the first ten months of his main roster tenure, before branching out as a singles competitor at the beginning of 2016. Success came almost immediately in the form of two United States Championship reigns, but since losing that title to Rusev, Kalisto has been something of a non-entity.
The draft saw him confusingly move to SmackDown Live, the masked Superstar providing a memorable moment on draft night in the shape of a terribly embarrassing promo.
The heart of the matter
When Kalisto was drafted to SmackDown Live in July 2016, swathes of the WWE Universe couldn’t make sense of the decision. Surely the high-flying masked superstar needed to be a part of the then-new cruiserweight division? Kalisto to RAW was almost a foregone conclusion, but for reasons that still don’t make sense, it did not happen.
Kalisto unsuccessfully challenged for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at the 2016 Survivor Series, and The King of Flight has been spinning his wheels ever since. His move to RAW was long overdue, and it will surprise nobody if Kalisto begins competing in the cruiserweight division right away. In fact, it will be more surprising if he doesn’t.
With Kalisto on board, the Cruiserweight division looks stronger than it has been since it was revamped in the summer of 2016.
What’s next?
We won’t have to wait long to see what the future holds for El Guerrero Más Ágil en el Ring. The first RAW of the new era is just a few short days away, and whilst Austin Aries is the current number one babyface in the Cruiserweight division, it would be no surprise to see Kalisto take his first steps between the purple ropes this coming Monday.
Tony Nese or Ariya Daivari should get ready to take a Salida del Sol.
Author’s take
That this is even a discussion in April 2017 is utterly ridiculous. Kalisto being separated from the Cruiserweight division made absolutely no sense in July last year and it makes no sense now. Better late than never, however, and The King of Flight is finally where he belongs.
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