Following the division's demise in 2007, fans constantly asked when we would see the Cruiserweights return in WWE. Years passed, and there were no new developments until the Cruiserweight Classic was announced for the WWE Network in the summer of 2016, and it immediately took the entire wrestling world by storm.
The 32-man tournament featured exceptional wrestling for ten weeks straight, culminating in an exciting series finale in September, with T.J. Perkins winning the trophy, in addition to becoming the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight champion. Needless to say, after what we witnessed throughout the Cruiserweight Classic, viewers could not have been more thrilled to see them resurface on Raw in September.
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The division would be exclusive to the Raw brand and help add excitement to the ever-draining three-hour program.
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Although it's only been two months, the Cruiserweights on Raw have been a bit of a letdown thus far, but it has had nothing to do with their in-ring work. Rather, due to a lack of stories and real rivalries, fans haven't been given much of a reason to care about them.
That said, the division is far from the point of no return, and there is still time to salvage it. Here are five ways WWE can improve the Cruiserweight division and get it back to its former glory.
#5 More than one story
It's weird how many similarities there are between how the Cruiserweight division is now and how the women's division once was in WWE. Among them is the lack of stories the Cruiserweights are given, outside of the main title picture.
Since the division was re-launched in mid-September, the only real rivalry we've had has been between The Brian Kendrick and T.J. Perkins over the Cruiserweight Championship. And even that feud was slightly disappointing, due to awful acting in various backstage segments and mediocre matches.
Besides that, what have the rest of the Cruiserweights been up to? Absolutely nothing. They have an abundance of talent, so they should have several stories going on simultaneously.
#4 Less tag team matches
Remember when the “Divas Revolution” was born, and all we ever received were six-woman tag team matches?
That's essentially the same thing that has happened with the Cruiserweight division, just with better wrestling. In addition to WWE Cruiserweight Championship matches, the last two pay-per-views (Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series) featured six-man tag team matches on the Kickoff show with the Cruiserweights.
Yes, both bouts were entertaining from an in-ring standpoint, but they accomplished absolutely nothing. The multi-man matches allow each of the Cruiserweights to showcase their skills, but singles matches will better help them establish identities for themselves. Having the heels win once in a while would be a nice change of pace as well.
#3 Variety of talent
As previously noted, WWE has more than enough talent to work with, in its resurrected Cruiserweight division. They may not have signed everyone from the Cruiserweight Classic, but any notable name (other than Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr.) that took part in the tournament should be wrestling for WWE full-time in the near future.
However, you would never know that based off of the few faces we have seen compete in the division in the past two months. Obviously, we have Brian Kendrick and a number of challengers such as T.J. Perkins, Rich Swann and Noam Dar, as well as the trio of Tony Nese, Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari, but the buck doesn't stop there.
WWE has advertised several stars for the upcoming 205 Live show including Jack Gallagher, Akira Tozawa, and The Bollywood Boyz. Variety is needed to really make the division work so that we don’t see the same matches every week.
#2 Character development
Those two words are integral to any successful star in wrestling, which is why it boggles my mind that WWE has yet to apply that formula to the Cruiserweights. The only thing we know about the Cruiserweights is that they're excellent wrestlers and not much else.
Sure, a case can be made that the Cruiserweights in WCW way back when, didn't have characters, but that was at a time when the world hadn't been exposed to the wrestling they were bringing to the table. Now, wrestling fans have virtually seen it all, so they need a reason to get behind today's crop of Cruiserweights.
The closest thing we have to a Cruiserweight with character development is The Brian Kendrick, who was fired from WWE years ago and has since returned to take the title. But what about everyone else? They have their own stories; WWE just needs to be willing to tell them.
#1 Moving to SmackDown Live
I was among those, who wanted nothing more than to see SmackDown Live get the Cruiserweight division at Survivor Series. If Kalisto captured the Cruiserweight Championship, he would have been responsible for bringing the entire division over to the blue brand.
Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in taking the title, when Baron Corbin interfered in his match with Brian Kendrick, causing the contest to be stopped. As a result, Raw maintains its possession of the Cruiserweights, which is the worst possible place for them right now.
Although Raw has the three hours to work with, that hasn't done them any favours so far. SmackDown seemingly knows what it’s doing compared to the flagship show, and it's there that I think they would actually be utilised properly.
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