The WWE Cruiserweight division has been a complete mess. It’s not getting over with fans, the wrestlers lack the charisma of some top WWE superstars, and they aren’t given enough time to sell a storyline. What can be done to save the division?
The key to a successful program in wrestling is getting the fans on board. It doesn’t appear that they are too thrilled about the Cruiserweight division.
The casual audience doesn’t care about the high-flying, aerial, technical based art of sports entertainment. All the WWE Universe wants are the top stars such as Roman Reigns, John Cena, A.J. Styles, and so on. It’s a shame because there are some really good wrestlers on 205 Live.
How does WWE create that relationship with the casual fan? It’s quite simple, give the cruiserweight wrestlers more prominent storylines and establish top stars.
It’s obvious as to why wrestlers such as Neville and Austin Aries succeed on 205 Live and RAW. They’ve established themselves enough, whether it be prior experience at major wrestling organizations or previous WWE opportunities. They’ve been able to get themselves over, unlike other 205 talents.
Wrestlers such as Noam Dar, Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, haven’t yet gotten the preferential treatment from the higher-ups because they are still quite green in the ring and on the mic. Perhaps giving these wrestlers a little more seasoning in NXT or the Performance Center each week would benefit them.
While 205 Live has done a better job of pushing the more established cruiserweight, there needs to be better storytelling on RAW as well to get these wrestlers over to the less hardcore fan. A perfect example is that of Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali.
The two have been in a quality feud for the better part of a month. Gulak has garnered himself major heat because of his anti high-flying promos and rants. You’d think WWE would at least try to bring this to a more prominent spot on RAW to at least test the feud to the more casual audience.
One thing WWE has done right with the cruiserweights that have been working recently is bringing in established RAW stars into the fold.
At the last RAW PPV, Sasha Banks was involved in a program with Rich Swann. Titus O’Neil is currently tied up in an angle with Akira Tozawa. This has given 205 a little more legitimacy. Things like this give the casual fan the opportunity to care and become aware of the cruiserweights.
While ratings haven’t been through the roof, it’s a test to see if using more established names can draw ratings and interest. They’ve seemed to increase viewers ever so slightly over this period. It would be interesting to see what other names they bring to the 205 Live angles.
It’s too early to tell what the fate of the 205 Live program will be. The cruiserweight division has some great talent. They’ve done a better job of promoting the roster and the 205 brand in recent weeks. Let’s see if things change in the future.