For 10 nail-biting weeks, fans of the athletic aspect of sports entertainment were treated to some of the best wrestling in the history of WWE. Daniel Bryan does not exaggerate when he exclaims during every single match- ‘Oh my God! I’ve never seen anything like this!’. Even as seasoned wrestling journalists, we saw things during this tournament that were simply extraordinary.
The action was so fast paced at times, that we had to struggle to keep up. So while we catch our breath, you go on and read 10 things we learned from the CWC.
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10: TJ Perkins will be the face of the Cruiserweight Division
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After AJ getting the big prize, we now have TJ as the face of the Cruiserweight division on Raw. Once homeless in real life, Perkins worked hard to rise to the absolute summit.
He’s the ultimate babyface, with an inspiring story of proving his detractors wrong, and even winning over the Full Sail crowd after defeating and eliminating crowd favourites. We can’t wait to see how he leads the division into the future.
9: Triple H has opened WWE’s eyes to independent wrestling
Vince McMahon has often looked for bodybuilders, football players and even television stars as his future WWE superstars. Triple H has opened his eyes to the wonderful talent that exists in the world of independent wrestling.
The wrestling audience is changing, and thanks to Triple H, WWE is changing as well.
8: ‘Cruiserweight’ does not always mean high-flying
The term ‘cruiserweight’ has often equated to simply ‘high-flying, nail-biting action’. But thanks to the CWC, we found out that is a common misconception.
Whether it was submission wrestling or even strong style, the cruiserweights proved that they’re well-rounded athletes.
7: But sometimes it does mean ‘high-flying action’
The cruiserweights can go! This is 2016, and the wrestlers are in better shape and condition than ever before. From the first episode to the last, they took risks that made us exclaim ‘holy ****’ aloud.
6: Raw will never be the same again
An entire division of the most skilled wrestlers on the planet heads to Monday Night Raw. They will be led by the Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins. If anything can help pick up the pace of the show, Cruiserweight wrestling can.
We can’t wait for Monday.
5: A sports format sometimes works better than ‘entertainment’
In 2016, few believe in ‘kayfabe’ anymore. So in our opinion, the entertainment aspect of wrestling can be toned down for actual in-ring excellence. After all, people tune into a wrestling show to watch wrestling. And our complaint even with the main roster hasn’t been the wrestling but the cheesy writing.
More action, less entertainment...is the ideal recipe.
4: Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan are the ultimate commentary unit
Sorry, Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. In our opinion, Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo are by far, the best commentary duo in wrestling today. With the passion both of them have for professional wrestling, in addition to calling the matches as babyfaces (without a color commentator), they provided the soundtrack to some of the best wrestling we’ve seen in recent times.
This just goes to prove that you don't need 3 commentators at the booth. Also, no JBL makes everything feel amazing.
3: WWE has to make a botch every time
WWE got most things right with the Cruiserweight Classic. Right up till the end when Triple H unveiled the belt, and it was blue in color. Does this mean that the rumblings we've heard so far are true, and Smackdown might have its own Cruiserweight Division? But, even that is far down the line, and the least WWE could have done is create a red Cruiserweight championship title. Even one as ugly as the Universal Championship would have honestly made more sense.
2: There were some really tender moments in the CWC
Of course, TJ Perkins winning the grand finale of the CWC was a truly touching moment for one and all. But, there were several other moments that did move us. When Brian Kendrick was eliminated from the competition knowing he may never have another shot in wrestling, we were heartbroken.
Daniel Bryan added his own touch by hugging his best friend in the middle of the ring. Cedric Alexander’s elimination was gut wrenching as well.
1: Wednesday nights will never be the same again
Thank you for 10 weeks of sublime wrestling entertainment, CWC!
