What’s the story?
This week Raw came to us from Nashville, TN and brought us two cruiserweight matches. Ariya Daivari took on Akira Tozawa while Gentleman Jack Gallagher and Mustafa Ali took on The Brian Kendrick and Drew Gulak. While the action was as high-flying and hard-hitting as always, there was a notable difference from what we see, each week on the show. The purple tape never appeared, and the ropes remained red for the duration of the matches.
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In case you didn’t know...
At the conclusion of the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament last year, it was deemed that they would appear on Raw. Much like their own show on the WWE Network, 205 Live, the ropes would be taped purple through their matches to give them a distinct identity. Moreover, the lighting would change as well to differentiate the Cruiserweights from the main roster. This was a tradition WWE meticulously followed, until this week.
Also read: 5 WWE Superstars who could improve the Cruiserweight Division
The heart of the matter
As can be seen from the video posted above, the ropes remained red even during the two Cruiserweight matches. We believe that this was a cost cutting measure, and also done to save time. As we have seen recently, WWE has also stopped doing pyro in an attempt to curtail costs. This could be another step in that direction, to save costs on a weekly basis. Although the time and money saved would be minimal, it would still add up in the long run.
What’s next?
It remains to be seen whether WWE continues with red ropes even for next week's episode of Raw or not. If so, it would make further support our assessment.
Author’s take
While we are not privy to everything that goes on behind closed doors at Stamford, CT, it is not difficult to guess the reasoning behind some of WWE’s moves, and this is one such. In some ways, this may have been a good move, because ‘205 Live’ brand has fallen in grace since it was first launched. Not having the ropes change to purple may actually work in the performers' favour, over the long haul.
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