Welcome one and all, I am Tybo! and by now you should know that I am the ‘Five Star General’ of this operation we call SLTD Wrestling.
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship, was formerly known as the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship. Following its introduction in 1991, a tournament was held to determine the inaugural champion. On October 27, Brian Pillman defeated Richard Morton in the tournament final to win the title. After WWE bought WCW in 2001, The title was renamed and replaced the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, and became a Smackdown exclusive title after the WWE brand split. On September 28, 2007, the title was vacated after the final champion, Hornswoggle, was stripped of the championship by SmackDown General manager, Vickie Guerrero.
Gregory Helms was the longest reigning champion, with 385 days.
I think it would be crazy not to mention TNA’s X Division while talking about the Cruiserweight Title. Say what you want about the state of TNA at the moment but a few years ago the X Division Title was must watch TV. The X Division was the only place on TV (especially on UK TV) where Cruiserweight wrestlers got a proper showcase. Don’t get me wrong, there have always been high flyers on both WWE and TNA TV, but the WWE without a doubt has been lacking in showing off a completely original Cruiserweight bout. TNA capitalized on this and made the X Division Title an integral part of the TNA brand. In my opinion, the X Division is where TNA had some of its best matches. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles is still one of the best matches in TNA history. Then there was Doug Williams, who added a whole new dynamic to the title when he stopped the ‘no limits’ style and turned it into a title of class and all about grappling and real old school wrestling. This added something to the title that it had not seen before. Then came Austin Aries, ‘The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived’ and the creator of option C, if you are unfamiliar TNA have an X Division PPV called Destination X. Option C was created so that’s whoever was the X Division Champion going into the PPV you could trade in the X Division Title for a shot at the TNA World Championship.
This to me was a great move on TNA’s part and was maybe one of the best things to come out of the time Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were in the company (and that they made Bully Ray the TNA World Champion) Option C made the X Division title mean something, and legitimized whoever was carrying it and a formidable opponent for the TNA World Champion. Not only that but it was the platform to have a strong mid-card wrestler to be catapulted to the main event, this especially worked with Austin Aries.
Although I would not call the X Division in TNA, the Cruiserweight of that company, I think Cruiserweight wrestlers in general have a really good presence in TNA, especially with the likes of Tiger Uno (the current X Division Champion), Rockstar Spud, Manic, Crazy Steve, Kenny King etc…
That’s not to say that WWE could not have a strong Cruiserweight presence if they brought back the Championship, with the insurgence of NXT and Indy wrestlers the talent pool in WWE is large enough to have add a new Championship, and the Cruiserweight seems to be the best fit. Of course if you ask any wrestling fan they all want the Hardcore Title back, more specifically many fans would love to see the Hardcore Title back with the 24/4 rule. I don’t think I need to explain why this will not happen. With the WWE product being PG programming, and no longer have head shots… but that is a different Tybo Talks…
So, what is my idea for how to bring the Cruiserweight Title back? Well firstly I would look at rather than adding a new title to the ‘main roster’ and it becoming an afterthought in a few weeks, or adding it to NXT and it becoming lost in the mix of the hour long show. I would say the most obvious thing to do would be to make the Cruiserweight Title a ‘Superstars’ exclusive championship. Before you dismiss this let me explain.
Superstars is a barely watched show, I would go so far as to say I have maybe watched two in its existence (and it’s been around a good few years) It is full of jobbers and guys who never really make it to the main roster, or if they do they are not involved in any major story-lines. If WWE was to make Superstars, Cruiserweight exclusive they already have the resources to create the show every week, and it would get more people watching Superstars. I think the best way to start this new division would be to have a WWE Network special with a Cruiserweight Title Tournament. This would be full of smaller guys and high flyers from both the main roster and NXT, maybe even bring in a legend or two who is known for carrying the title back in its hay day, possibly Ray Mysterio or as they have just signed him to a contract WWE could use Jushin Thunder Liger in this tournament but ultimately have a main roster wrestler win the championship. This right of the bat adds legitimacy to the returning title and makes fans want to see the title defended on the newly revamped Superstars show.
Personally, I think the perfect first champion would be Neville. He is established in the main roster enough to be believable champion and would carry the title well, but his is also a former NXT champion so he could jump between both the main roster and NXT to promote the new championship while defending to all comers on Superstars. This could also be a great way for NXT stars like Tyler Breeze or Enzo Amore to get main roster exposure, and would get main roster talent like Neville, Kalisto, Bo Dallas and Stardust more interesting rivalries.
I think if WWE brought The Cruiserweight Championship back with Superstars as its exclusive home, they could over time create a whole new brand. Much like they have dome with NXT, I don’t think anyone seen the success of NXT happening (except maybe Triple H) and this could happen again with ‘Cruiserweight Superstars’. If WWE was to put someone who knows what they are doing at the helm, my obvious choice would be to have Paul Heyman running the show and booking, I think without a doubt this could be a success for WWE and create another brand with must see TV.
So there we have another Tybo Talks in the bag! Do you agree? What are your thoughts on The Cruiserweight Championship? Would you watch a Cruiserweight exclusive show? Let me know below.
Owner and operator of www.SLTDWrestling.com, host of SLTDRadio at www.SLTDRadio.co.uk and on Spreaker
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