My Cruiser-Greats!

Hey guys,

My Wednesday mornings consist of watching Smackdown and then getting excited to see my Cruiser-babes on 205 Live after the too short matches they have on RAW! I'm one of the few people who can happily say that 205 Live is the best hour on television and there isn't one thing I hate, the stars and the presenters are perfect and everything I wanted - even if a lot of people may not agree with me. 

For me, the superstars themselves are the reason I'm so invested in this Division and I don't think there's another roster where I pretty much love the entire roster so this post was hard to do. Welcome to Sonal's top 5 Cruiserweight superstars!! (I am excluding Neville because he wasn't brought in just for 205 Live but he is one of the best)

TJP (or TJ Perkins)

The first ever Cruiserweight champion (in this era) and probably one of my favourite EVER superstars! TJ's character is really fun and easy to get behind whether he's a lovable face, follower, heel or just an arrogant bastard who we all love to love. Wait, is that just me? oh well. He has his gimmick nailed to a tee and, even though it's like marmite to the WWE Universe, it's great for his entrance, selling merchandise and for fans. One of the things I love most about TJ is his experienced wrestling style because, as the clip below says, he isn't defined by one; he's catch wrestling (as seen by his involvement in Evolve Catchpoint) but also a high flyer, style but paired with a lot of substance and charisma with a lot of character - a perfect package barely touched by WWE when he first arrived. He's also great at interacting with fans which has made him a fan favourite of die-hard cruiserweight fans, the self-identified Cruiser-great knows how to treat his fans with pictures, advice and the odd witty and sarcastic reply on Twitter. He's also easy on the eye but that's just me being shallow! So, whether you love or hate him, you have to admit that he does what he does with style, grace and ease and just needs to be utilized properly by WWE.

2. Tony Nese

Nese just used to be the muscle of 205 Live and something for people (especially Corey Graves and Austin Aries... and me) to stare at in awe. Nese has now taken that physical attribute and actually managed to make a character out of it that really gets people interested and makes him memorable. The counting of the abs and the 'Insert quote' is probably one of my favourite character phrases at the moment and its hilarious seeing Tony (and his fellow cruiserweights) marvel at the Premier Athlete. It's really given Nese a spotlight and made me take notice of him when, previously, I didn't really care much for his character and just thought he was good in the ring. He's now elevated his character and bringing it out in his ring work as well as his entrance and promo's and I love the chemistry with Drew Gulak and can imagine them as a true threat to other tag teams in WWE because they compliment each other so well both in ring and character wise. I can really see Tony Nese as a future, long reigning champion with the potential to be the first Cruiserweight to fight both in 205 Live and on the main roster and possibly be the face of a different type of Cruiserweight. Also, who can resist those abs?

3. Drew Gulak

Now onto Drew Gulak (aka Tony's boyfriend ehem I mean best friend) and fellow ex-Evolve Catchpoint member with TJP. Drew, like Tony, started off with a pretty stale and generic gimmick or character and really wasn't known for anything but his unique 205 Live in-ring style which was massively different from the high flying styles of those like Gran Metalik and Rich Swann. This took a turn for the better once Gulak got into a feud with Mustafa Ali with his 'No Fly Zone' campaign that literally became a WWE phenomenom with his fancy suit, new haircut *YAS DREW BOY* and slogans galore. It gave 205 a breath of fresh air with a proper storyline that got fans invested as Gulak battled against Ali who is known for his high risk, high flying moves. His desire for a 'better 205 Live' gave his character a purpose and showed us that, as well as being a great wrestler, Gulak has a personality and great promo skills. His alliance with Tony Nese makes them a faction not to be messed with and it's good to see a heel wrestler who really hasn't done anything mean, he's just trying to change 205 Live in his own image. He may have lost the fight of ideologies with Mustafa Ali but it's nice to see that he's carrying on this campaign and ma it never end.

4. Mustafa Ali

In another world, Mustafa Ali wouldn't even be on this list because he was only a substiture - thank god! Initially Ali seemed like he had a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, we didn't know how the audience would react to a Muslim wrestler in the current climate. Luckily, WWE let him be himself and the crowd took to him like a duck on water because he was everything we wanted and needed in a babyface: inspirational, positive and self-assured. He is doing what he set out to do: breaking down barriers and challenging stereotypes with his in-ring ability and personality. As well as being one of the nicest guys around and giving positive messages to people, his in-ring ability is one of my favourites. His high flying offence with high risk manouveres makes him endearing to watch and some of those moves he pulls out makes me speechless. I have never seen a 450 splash executed so well on a regular basis and it's definitely a thing of beauty, on par with Neville's Red Arrow and other finishing moves. His ring skills and out of ring presence makes him a superstar that WWE and the WWE Universe really needed in a time where the world is going through some hard times and needed some positivity.

5. Noam Dar 

Yes, Noam Dar is still one of my favourites, even after that Cedric-Alicia love triangle that went on for WAY too long. I think that I sort of feel a connection to Noam because he is a lot closer to my age than any of the wrestlers I like (I'm 20, nearly 21 and he's 24) and it's nice to see someone so young on such a massive platform. I think thats why I get so frustrated at how he's being used, at least when he was with Alicia FOOOOOXXX, he was getting on screen time, now he's losing to the likes of Enzo Amore *excuse you* and is barely getting any airtime except in tag matches. Dar is the perfect example of a perfect character: wildchild, heartbreaker, cocky and confident lady's man isn't something I've seen in WWE for a while and it's refreshing. He plays the heel perfectly and I kinda feel guilty that he's one of my top cruiserweights. His in-ring style also shouldn't be overlooked as it's a lot more heavy hitting than the other cruiserweight, he's very ground and pound with a massive confidence emanating from someone so young. But what else can you expect from someone with the experience that Dar has, even at the young age of 24. He's got a lot more to prove and the future is very bright!

So, whether you are obsessed with the Cruiserweight division or not (but I mean why wouldn't you be), the roster is full of talent and I think there's so much potential for this division to be great (see my article on how WWE can help 205 Live insert link) and I can't wait to see what happens and where it goes in the next year!

Until Next Time,

Bye!