How to Build A Light Heavyweight Division In The WWF Part 1: The Roster

This Could Be A Big Deal.
Photo Credit: Stock Image

There was a time, maybe in the heyday of WCW, where the Light Heavyweight or Cruiserweight Title was a supremely important belt. Through a combination of WCW's gigantic talent budget, and their affiliations with New Japan and AAA, the end result was that the championship seemed like a huge deal even with what was WCW's dismissiveness towards it. But with the demise of WCW, and the confusion about who could step into the breach,  one thing died.  And that was the relevancy of the Light Heavyweight Title. Sure, WWE paid lip service to the idea for a little while but since, at its core, WWE is run as a "big man's territory" it was only too long before the cruiserweight champion became a joke.

But I want to fix it. I want to make it work again. Sure, this is probably a 1-man crusade. But it's my crusade. Want to join me?

Firstly, before we get to the division roster, we need someone to shepherd the thing through the tough waters and make sure it becomes what we want and need it to become. Firstly, there has to be a firewall between this person and Vince McMahon. I'm talking full-on authority to create storylines, bring up the talent that he needs, and generally run the division with the hand it needs. Now do I expect him to have the authority to hire and fire, like bookers did in the territory days of the sport? No. That would be with talent relations. But since HHH has a more "modern" view of the sport, I think that would work out. Who's the person I'm thinking of? Jim Ross.



Now then, with that little piece of business out of the way, let's get down to sculpting this division. The first thing you need is the Ace, the standard-bearer. And lucky for the WWE, that guy is already on the roster.



Do I wish he was as electric as he was in this video? Yes. But he's not. And he can't be again. All of those wonderfully electric performances you see there, where he snaps off ranas as easy as you and I might tie our shoes, came with a price. But because he's so good, he altered himself into more of a traditional american-style babyface who can still do some reasonably athletic things when his knees are feeling good. And, because of that fluid skill, he'd be perfect as the ace of a rebuilt cruiserweight division, as the guy who accomplished so much but wants to leave a legacy behind as having helped to rebuild something.

But to do that, he needs his rival. Liger had Benoit, and Sano, and Samurai. Tiger Mask had Dynamite Kid. Heck even Tajiri, someone who at his peak isn't nearly as good as Liger or the Original Tiger Mask, had Super Crazy to bounce things off of.

But here's the question? Where do we find that rival? Where is the guy that we trust to get the absolute best out of Rey, to push him like no one else has been able to push him since his days in Mexico with Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera. The answer to that question?



Could you turn the erstwhile Matt Sydal heel? I guess, if you really wanted to. And WWE probably would, of course. But you don't have to. The point is that they're rivals. You can make it a rivalry of competitive respect between two men who need, who crave, to find out who the better man between the two of them is. That is a thing you could book an entire series on. Maybe even the old best-of-5 series like the NWA used to do. But those are the 2 stars, the two kingpins. Any good division needs depth.

Here's our depth. Sin Cara & Yoshi Tatsu can be the young babyfaces who are the "future of the division". And who knows, maybe we get a young exciting babyface tag team out of the deal. Tyson Kidd has a place as the feelgood story, Zack Ryder as a face Scotty Flamingo could be all kinds of fun, Trent Barreta as the scrappy overachiever, Justin Gabriel as the pretty-boy to draw in the girls, and those are just the faces.

The heels? Hunico as the cocky high-flyer, Jinder Mahal as the foreign menace, and maybe, just maybe, we turn Seth Rollins heel and put him up with a manager. Hell, let JTG be the street-wise tough guy who brings that brawling aesthetic to the division.

I hope you enjoy this look at the division. The next time I write this I'll talk about who I might bring in as outside talent and special attractions.