During the Superstar Shakeup a few months back, fans expected RAW and Smackdown to be trading stars, along with some NXT call ups as well. But one thing that was missing was any call ups from 205 Live.
The 205 Live brand has been doing a lot better since Triple H took over producing the show back in February. They got their own general manager, they now feature one or two stellar matches, and what I’ve noticed is that Cruiserweights are no longer being billed as part of RAW, which is actually a good thing in order to give them their own identity within the WWE system.
In addition, there are plenty of competitors that fit WWE’s 205 criteria that officially can be Cruiserweights, but they don’t necessarily have to go to 205 Live. But a number of them have either nothing left to do on the Tuesday night show or may fit the weight category, but they would fit better beyond just within 205 Live.
So here are my five suggestions of Cruiserweights that should have been included during the recent Superstar Shakeup.
T.J. Perkins (TJP)
As this backstage interview segment prior to the shakeup shows, TJP expressed interest in being drafted to RAW so he could become “the first Filipino Intercontinental Champion” in WWE history. Obviously that didn’t happen, but that would have been an interesting possibility.
Looking at the current 205 Live landscape, it doesn’t seem there is much for TJP left to do there. He’s already distinctive being the winner of the Cruiserweight Classic and the first Cruiserweight Champion, so why not? TJP vs. Seth Rollins for the IC title would have been a stellar match.
Neville
I feel as though this proposal has been beaten like a dead horse so many times, but I have to say something to make sure people known Neville is still alive. He’s technically still under contract with WWE, but his contract has been frozen and now it is reported that he is moving back to the UK. Because of that contract status, he can’t wrestle elsewhere in the world like Austin Aries did when he got his release.
This is a rather sad circumstance; Neville was a great talent and he really reinvigorated his career during his first stint as Cruiserweight Champion on 205. He’s already been on RAW, so it might make more sense for him to go to Smackdown, but now that looks like it will not come to pass.
Roderick Strong
One can surmise that if Strong was not currently enjoying a run as NXT Tag Team Champion with the Undisputed Era, he would certainly have been heading over to at least 205 Live. Strong is no stranger there, haven’t recently competed in the tournament to determine a new champion heading into Wrestlemania.
To me Strong has a unique style that is a throwback to Kurt Angle or even Dean Malenko. He would definitely be a good fit on RAW or Smackdown, where he could tussle it up with someone like Chad Gable, or Jason Jordan. He might make a better fit on the blue brand as I don’t see anyone on Smackdown that has a good mat based style at the moment.
Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick
This list is not restricted to just singles competitors. There seems to be a growing integration of competitors from WWE’s budding UK division over on 205, as many of them fit the weight category, so there might be less room for Gallagher. He and Brian Kendrick (a veteran tag team wrestler and former Cruiserweight champion) could go to Smackdown and become what Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre are bringing to RAW in terms of a bit of a jolt in the division.
While technically are smaller guys, which in Vince McMahon’s world is frowned upon, Gallagher has that British wrestling background with hard hits and submissions, and Kendrick just looks like a devious scoundrel who could inflict major pain on his opponents. They have that combination and chemistry which I think can transcend beyond 205 Live.
Plus, as talented as they are, I don’t think either would be in title contention on 205 any time soon, unless they bring in a rumored Cruiserweight tag title division (there are belt designs that got leaked), but no official word on that as of yet.
Hideo Itami
When Hideo debuted on RAW some time ago, there were some that believed some kind of rekindling of the partnership he and Finn Balor had on NXT would manifest, but that didn’t happen and he was transferred to 205 Live, where a brief partnership with Tozawa led nowhere and they are now feuding.
With already one Japanese superstar playing the heel character already on Smackdown (Shinsuke Nakamura), having two with Hideo would be problematic. Better to let the former Kenta let loose on RAW, maybe as a heel feuding with his old friend Balor?
Honorable mentions include: Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and Tony Nese (even though Dunne is primarily associated with NXT/UK, he is billed officially as 205 Ibs).
What do you think of this list? Should members of the 205 Live roster been included during the Superstar Shakeup?
Photos courtesy of WWE.com and thesportster.com
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
Recent Comments