Could they have been more?

[mrbrownstone]

So it's pretty well documented that in terms of matches and in ring stuff the cruiserweights were the best that WCW had to offer, you could basically throw any two together and 98% of the time you would get a good match that would get the crowd excited.

Many feel that because of this they should have been pushed higher up the card, and the fact that they didn't push their young talent, much of which was found in the cruiserweight division, ultimately lead to WCW's demise, but should they have been moved higher? Should the cruiserweights moved to World Title contention based purely on their in ring skill or was their lack of ability on the Mic (for the most part, Jericho is an exception) and their size just too much to overcome, especially in WCW which was ruled by drama and big men. That is what I want you to tell me.

Now obviously saying the cruiserweight division as a whole is a bit broad so I will give you the five names that I hear people say deserved a push most often. They are Rey Rey, Dean Malenko, Y2J, Eddie and Benoit (yes I know Benoit wasn't really a cruiserweight but he fits in with the rest of the thread). Also I want to clarify that I am talking only WCW here, I don't want someone to come in and point out they were all pushed in the WWE (bar Dean).

So tell me, did those five men deserve a push in WCW, were their Mic skills/lack of size too much to overcome or did their amazing in ring work make up for it?

 

[ThUnDeRpHoEnIx]

I'm pretty sure Rey Mysterio said something about Eric Bischoff not wanting to push them because of their size. But they should've been pushed regardless. I've seen some of their matches and they were usually better then most of WWE today.At this point in time, I'm pretty sure WCW could've done a bit, not a lot, a BIT better then they were at that point in time.

 

[mulkeymania]

im thinking at the very least jericho and guerrero deserved a push because they were getting over with the crowd despite bischoff trying to bury them all the time and you could say mysterio probably should have because of being so popular with the kids that it couldve helped with merchandising at the least.
as far as malenko and benoit i think they were best suited being the enforcers for the horsemen and that worked well for both but unfortunately bischoff seemed to think nobody wanted to see the horsemen either.

 

[DaInstantKlassic]

Unless you’re fantastic on the mic and entertaining (ie ric flair and shawn Michaels), the main event guys have always been bigger guys. Jericho and Eddie both had the entertainment value so they were given programs but in the end wcw and Bischoff always favored the larger guys. Benoit was given a push but his lack of mic skills really hindered him. He was a part of the horseman but still never got that push b/c especially in wcw you had to be an entertaining main eventer. Had benoit, eddie and Jericho stayed in the wcw I think they would have been given a push as the Company finally realized they had to. I’m sure wcw would have preferred to push those guys instead of Steiner and Booker T.

 

[neildittmar]

The Cruiserweight division in WCW was the epitome of high-flying, death-defying excitement that added yet another layer of dynamics to what was then an extremely balanced, incredibly strong promotion. Back then Bischoff really did have it all, with his critical mistake of course being that he sacrificed and downplayed many of those dynamics (not just the Cruiserweights) to rest his laurels on the tried and true, yet aging superstars.

Should he have done more with them? Absolutely! Could they have been more? Probably. Should they have dominated the show? No way! Ask most people why WCW failed and one of the primary (if not very first) responses is that the old talent was being pushed in predictable angles with stale storylines. Imagine if the Cruiserweights had been the primary focus of WCW from about 1997 until its demise, much like the older stars were. What was once exciting and different would've eventually become passe. Instead of folks complaining about Hogan, Nash, et. al., I think you would've had people saying the same kinds of things about Rey, Psychosis, and Juvi... same guys doing the same things week in and week out. The "spot monkey" claims that folks throw around regarding some of TNA's talent immediately spring to mind.

One of the main downsides to the whole "attitude" era of professional wrestling was the business being forced to constantly one-up itself. This wasn't just true for the non-wrestling content, but for the risks performers were continuously taking inside the ring as well. Along with the potential "been there, seen that" argument, the Cruiserweights were also extremely injury prone due to the style of wrestling they employed... and that's as-is. What happens when it's Starcade and they have to "turn it up a notch?" How many different ways can you do a plancha from the inside to the outside of the ring and have it remain exciting despite the fans having seen it literally hundreds of times before? What additional risks do you have to take to make it so?

Yes, the Cruiserweights should have received more prestige and praise in WCW than they did. However, they shouldn't have taken the place of the older guys and been pushed to the stratosphere either. A more sensible balance, akin to what TNA is doing now, would've been of greater benefit to all involved.

 

[ilapierre]

WCW had way too many headliners people wanted to see over charisma lacking robots like Chris Benoit. Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko have no business being in the World Title scene and Mysterio is living proof of how ridiculous that idea is. Jericho, in my opinion, was the only credible main eventer of the five, and he was on his way up to the higher ranks when he ditched WCW. He knew he could rise up the WWE ranks quick since there was a shortage of established stars there. Benoit and Guerrero, as amazing as they were at wrestling, really had no business climbing the ladder to the World Title scene over guys like Hogan and Sting. Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit merchandise would not have outsold Hogan and Stings. They had not proven they could get the crowd behind them, they hadn't done a thing to deserve the spotlight. And nobody wanted to see them, people only wanted to see the NWO (although i'll admit Guererro was my favourite non-NWO guy). And the WZ folk here who say they got sick of the NWO and wanted to see Benoit and Guerrero, these folk are revisionists rewriting their own reason for watching WCW. We all loved Benoit and Guerrero matches, don't get me wrong, but we did not tune in to watch them main event. I loved these guys as wrestlers, they did a great job in their spot at midcard holding audience attention for the real draws. WCW did everything right in my opinion when it came to giving fans what they wanted, that is until Turner started vetoing Bischoff's power. Then WCW was shit, gave fans what they didn't want, and WWE was giving fans what WCW wasn't. It has nothing to do with pushing the real main eventers too much and not pushing mid card guys more. If those guys had been pushed years before Billy Kidman and Shane Douglas were, WCW would have fallen apart MUCH sooner.

Fans come on here and go on about what WCW did wrong in pushing the same old guys. WCW had about 100 guys employed and 15 of them were main eventers and then you had guys like Benoit and Jericho after those 15. They had way too much talent, they could have main event scenarios for years that would never get old with such variety. There was so much opportunity for guys like Benoit and Jericho to get over as they'd face the best of the best in wrestling history. But these same fans rewriting history to jab Bischoff, Hogan, Russo and TNA (by jabbing WCW) are the same idiots who subscribe to WWE 24/7 and watch every WWE DVD. They believe word for word the WWE's rhetorical take on the fall of WCW. They think WCW got stale because guys who could draw worth shit like Mysterio and Malenko weren't main eventing and beating guys like Savage and Luger, but at the same time they don't see much wrong with their WWE product where the main event over the past 6 years has consisted of the 3 same old farts and the 5 same mediocre draws: Taker, Michaels, Triple H, Jericho, Edge, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista. These guys (minus the old farts) aren't even in the same league as WCW's Top 12 from a decade ago. (Hogan, Flair, Hitman, Savage, Piper, Nash, Hall, Luger, Sting, Goldberg, Warrior, Henning) and are certainly nowhere near Rock or Stone Cold caliber. The old guys of WCW were still drawing Nitro ratings of 4 when the company fell apart which is still leagues better than today's dimsal 3s. So if WCW was a disaster what is WWE and their 3s? Where did WWE go wrong? And todays WWE guys are not in the same league because they did not have the torch passed down to them by these legends (minus Flair). The WWE guys now are similar to WCW's mid card guys: Benoit, Jericho, Guerrero, Booker T, Scott Steiner. Essentially upper mid card wrestlers who, like WWE guys now, shouldn't have been main eventing every pay per view but since there is no one better developed or around anymore they find themselves stinking up the main event scene wrestling the same guy over and over again like clockwork. WWE doesn't go off the air though even though the entertainment is WORSE than WCW at almost any point in its existence. That's because Vince is and always was invested in wrestling, Turner wasn't and has way more money from much more profitable business sectors. End of story. WCW folds because Turner has bigger fish to fry and larger sums of money to make in entertainment sectors with bigger payoff ceilings.

It's funny. Complain about the variety of legendary wrestlers in WCW over 10 years ago but conveniently ignore the more immediate pissoff that is WWE's stale World Title scene. I was just reading wikipedia's version of the demise of WCW and rarely anywhere does it quote the man who ran WCW, Eric Bischoff, but instead quotes WWE's Monday Night Wars and WWE's The Rise and Fall of WCW. Supervised by the McMahons, purposely crafted by highly paid script writers and propagandists hired to twist truth to erroneously make sense of a company they never had anything to do with. Those under WWE contract, those looking for work in a field that was essentially monopolized by WWE, and those with axes to grind with Bischoff and Hogan and all the other WWE turncoats (Russo, Jarrett, Savage etc) were the only ones coming forward to give their two cents worth (and were edited saying only what supported the video's offbase focus). The video's purpose was to paint a picture of loyal good guys like Taker, Michaels and Triple H saving WWE from the evil poisonous bad guys like Hogan and Bischoff who tried to put WWE under but instead put themselves under by overexposing themselves. Poor guys like Stone Cold, Mick Foley, Eddie, Jericho, Benoit who were underutilized or cast away for no reason by big bully Eric Bischoff and Hollywood Hogan when in reality WWE home video will make you believe that all along you all wanted to see fatass Mick Foley in a main event scene he had no business ever being in or boring Chris Benoit wrestle a 5 star match that in 1998 would have put the audience to sleep. Yet today's generation buys it, and so do a lot from mine looking back in hindsight and realigning their opinion to match the blatant WWE agenda they've read here on WZ or heard they're friends regurgitating for over a decade. It's blatant propaganda, blatant lies..its a blatant misrepresentation of history that appeals only to old WWE diehard dumbasses who have always hated WCW and today's generation of ADDers who don't know any better and can be swayed to believe whatever a higher authority with a money-making, power-maintaining agenda wants them to. Yet it still makes its way onto wikipedia as legitimate 100 percent truth that will stand forever for generations of wrestling fans. Folks, lies evolve in one decade to this point, imagine in 100 years how offbase the truth is going to be about anything anti-WWE. It's sick.

 

[TheStar]

Hold up now we all know the WWE relaunched cruiserweight and light heavyweight divisions were not that productive. But I would like everyone to stop taking an aim that the matches WWF put on at the time were not good. If you remember at the time bar minus several people WWF was featured some of the best wrestlers in the world such as Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bulldog, Pillman, Austin, TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, Mens Teioh, Great Sasuke, even a few appearances by Chris Daniels, Goldust, Taker, Furnas and LaFans. A whole wealth of talent and I am sure I missed a few others but remember a time lost and gone

 

[CuddleBuns84]

With the Five men mention, yea, I think it would of been great seeing Jericho and Guerro with World titles in WCW. Hell, they left, because they got tired of not being used in the company. So that's telling you something right there.

If the five guys that were mention, got shots at the title, I think it would of saved the company. I mean, the WWE gave Mick Foley a shot at the title and it worked at pretty well. If they gave Jericho a title shot before he jumped ship, that would of been amazing. Jericho getting a win over Goldberg. That would of did something for the company.

Not also that, but in my opinion. Diamond Dallas Page was a main eventer. A lot of my friends who liked wrestling, never understood how Diamond Dallas Page was a main eventer, and Chris Jericho couldn't move up in WCW. I think Jericho was a much better performer, and would of been great as a non-nWo guy. Instead he went to the WWF, and WCW went under.

 

[wushady]

I think all those guys especially Jericho deserved to be in the main event in WCW. The fact that all of them except Mysterio jumped ship to WWE and became upper mid card stars instantly which doesn't usually happen in WWE proves it. Besides Malenko they all became world champions in WWE as well.

However considering the main reason WCW went under was the attitude of the top guys like Goldberg, Hogan, Nash, Etc. and the fact they had creative control. Pushing those guys to the main event would have killed WCW quicker in my opinion. There's no way Hogan or Goldberg and even Nash at the time would have put over the smaller guys.

In the end they were better off leaving to go to WWE. I would have loved to see Jericho, Benoit, or Guerrero face Sting or Flair for the WCW title. It didn't happen because Hogan and the other guys with creative control wouldn't allow it to, and it's a shame.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Some of them did deserve pushes to a higher level in my view. However, for instance, look at the overall reception Mysterio has gotten after the fact that he's been a 2 time World Champion and this has been long after WCW's demis. It's been mixed at best and one reason for that is because of Mysterio's size. The mentality of American wrestling fans, even many among the IWC, historically has been to look down somewhat on the little man. It was like that before Vince and while that mentality has changed some, it still remains quite prevalent.

I enjoyed watching Dean Malenko inside the ring. The simple truth is that the man could wrestle. Malenko's problem is that he had zero personality. However, the fact that he was an all business, no nonsense sort helped him to stand out in WCW in my eyes. If I remember correctly, Malenko did have a run with the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, as did Eddie Guerrero. Malenko won the US title from Guererro if I remember correctly. Neither run was particularly memorable, but they did both have a run.

Jericho was often treated as a joke but he was still over with the fans because his ability on the mic and in the ring was obvious for anybody to see.

I think that if these men were all heavily pushed, maybe WCW would have gotten a new lease on life. Probably not as I believe that Vince Russo would have booked them as badly as he booked everything else for the year and a half he was running WCW. In a perfect world, all of them deserved more than what they ultimately got in WCW but could they have ultimately been more than they were in those days? Probably not. Bischoff didn't want to take a chance by pushing these smaller guys and would rather have put all of WCW's egges in the nWo's basket.

 

[shogunsrampage]

benoit def should be excluded fromt hat group because of of them all benoit did get that top level shot. during the last couple months of benoits wcw tenure benoit was pushed to the moon. this was likely because benoit was in the company from 93, and had the backing of higher end guys than the others had. but still, benoits departure had alot to do with kevin sullivan. the 2 had deep personal issues

 

[vampirek]

benoit def should be excluded fromt hat group because of of them all benoit did get that top level shot. during the last couple months of benoits wcw tenure benoit was pushed to the moon. this was likely because benoit was in the company from 93, and had the backing of higher end guys than the others had. but still, benoits departure had alot to do with kevin sullivan. the 2 had deep personal issues

What an eye sore that was! At least try to put it in a proper sentence or something.

Anyways from what I could gather there, in a way yes Benoit did make it and his unofficial title reign goes to show that. Had he not left the company, he was bound to have a title reign and who knows from there.

Jericho, out of all of them had the potential to break out. WCW seriously dropped the ball when it came to him and would have suited WCW's main event scene with his cocky attitude. After all did they not have Kidman in the upper card, I know which one I would have prefer to seen.

When it comes to Eddie, WCW wouldn't have a clue what to do with the man in his personal life. Whilst storyline wise I don't think WCW would have ever come up with something that suited his character to be main event material. Plus the fact it would have taken years to build him up, like what WWE did however the sad truth here is I don't think he would have even made it in WCW main event scene alive.

Rey never suited WCW title picture, saying that thought Kidman was up there but Rey was always on the small side prior to WWE (where suddenly he gained more weight.... I wonder how)

Malenko, I think he had a better chance in WCW and was majorly underused by WWE after the Radicalz split. WCW had the type of characters around that could have suited Malenko well. A pure wrestler that wasn't all that good on the mic, give him a manager and he was on his way.