How to Help the Cruiserweight Division

Hey guys,

205 Live and the Cruiserweight division has been up and running for pretty much a solid year and something that started with loads of momentum. Unfortunately, it's not stayed and it's only a fare few hardcore CW fans (like me) who seem to be fully invested and interested in this amazing division. I don't think it's anything to do with the superstars themselves that go out, night after night, and before to the best of their ability because they are some of the best competitors out there. It's not there fault that there's a lack of a connection between them and the fans, it's WWE's and they need to sort it! But how?

1. Better character development

We have some great characters in this division from Gentleman Jack and the Wizard of Odd Brian Kendrick whose persona just leaks out. But what about those stars who haven't decided on a niche? Well WWE have already ruined a good lot of 205 Live stars with their character development or lack of development. I think TJP is the best example. TJ is a star in his own right whose travelled the world and had his USP (unique selling point) but WWE had to give him this gaming gimmick, which was fine and made for an awesome entrance and great merch. They then decided to turn him heel but did NOTHING with it. Nobody knows and I don't even know if the company know what direction to send him in. They need to put more effort into the development of the stars to get the crowd behind or against them. They've shown they can do it with the likes of Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese and Drew Gulak but what about the rest? Let us see more promos, let us see their personality in the ring so we know who they all are - especially in RAW or PPVs.

Credit to TotalDivaseps on  Tumblr

2. More airtime and longer matches on RAW 

I know that the cruiserweights have 205 Live but you can only watch this on the Network, WWE relies on RAW to get the crowds excited to actually want to watch 205 Live every Tuesday after Smackdown. With maybe 1, or if we're lucky 2, matches that only last about 5 minutes in a 3 hour show, how does WWE expect fans to become invested in these new superstars that they nothing about. With matches this short, how can the likes of Gran Metalik, Mustafa Ali and Rich Swann (to name a few) show off their unique style that defines most of the cruiserweights. WWE are just treating these stars like they used to treat the divas: an afterthought. It's not helping the brand at all!

3. Pay-per-view push

I can't remember a PPV where the cruiserweight title match was on the main card. Summerslam - pre-show. Wrestlemania - pre-show. It's getting stupid and is literally showing how little WWE care about this division, I mean they can't even give them a good spot when they put on amazing matches time after time, especially in the case of Neville v Austin Aries at WM. If you put a match on the main card, it gives it seem important as well as reaching out to more people because, otherwise, the pre-show matches can only be seen on YouTube or the network. The matches are a nice length, great quality and full of excitement so I don't get why they wouldn't put it on a main card, especially after some of the positive reactions those matches are getting.

4. Integration with the main roster

By bringing Titus into the 205 bubble with the Titus brand, WWE made a step to really integrate 205 Live into the WWE universe. The segregation of the cruiserweights makes it seem if they aren't as good as the main roster when a lot of the WWE stars, like Finn Balor, are in the same weight class and as talented, if not more than the heavier guys. I say, let them fight with some of the main guys on the main roster because their weight won't stop them putting on an amazing match with guys twice their size, it'll just make it better. Neville was proof that smaller guys could fight the big guys when he was on RAW and I'd love to see him against AJ Styles or Finn Balor or maybe Tony Nese and Drew Gulak v The Club. By integrating them, it lets them show their potential but will also help fans get into the division because it'll be more familiar to them. 

So, as a crazy 205 Live/ Cruiserweight division fan, I just need WWE to do something with them thats really going to get crowds as excited, interested and invested as I am in every storyline and every match! The superstars are so talented that I think they deserve the respect they're not getting.

Do you agree with me or do you think WWE have made the division a lost cause?

Until Next Time,

Bye!