Greatest cruiserweight feud ever

[King Blitzkonic]

Now this thread should spark some good-natured debate. The cruiserweight division of a federation has unlocked opportunities for many wrestlers to get over with the crowd and show off the versatility of the talent. In fact, one could argue that the cruiserweight division was WCW's saving grace in the first Monday Night Wars just as many argue the X-division was the only thing keeping TNA afloat. I've been watching quite a few matches in prep for this. What cruiserweight/light heavyweight feud over the years would you consider the best?

My pick: Ultimo Dragon vs. Jushin "Thunder" Lyger. These two guys had spent the better part of 15 years wrestling against each other and tagging up, and they're considered two of the best in the world. Their matches showed off the balance of power, speed, aerial ability, and technique and were definitely pleasing to the majority of crowds. Look up their match from Nitro (12/30/96) as an example of how well they meshed in/around the ring.

Runner-up: Dean Malenko vs. Chris Jericho. Arguably one of the few times that Malenko was taken seriously as a real star, these two feuded over the cruiserweight title with Jericho weaseling out of facing Malenko in any way he could. This feud also showed off an evolution in Malenko's "Iceman" persona.

 

[Hazardous]

for me it is a tie. i agree with Jericho/Malenko. as not only did that have some really good matches, but the promo's Jericho cut were PRICELESS.

and second would be Jericho/Mysterio. (back in WCW as well) this was when both men were very agile in the ring, and did the high flying stuff. and to have Jericho attack mysterio with a hammer, then pick up where they left off 6 months later.

come to think of it, didnt Jericho start taking things from different cruiserweights he beat? he really was my favorite one in WCW, when he left, along with the other guys, they really took a hit

 

[Attitude]

I'm going to go with Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio. I didn't watch WCW a whole lot. So I'm speaking for their WWE rivalry. To me whenever these two always to give 110% against each other. I always felt that there was something special about there fued and that they were definately the two best guys in the cruserweight division. Like I said I didn't watch WCW a whole lot. I didn't start watching until the end. So I really don't know about how much they fueded then or any of their rivalry there but I would like to see some of their matches in WCW.(If they had any).

 

[King Blitzkonic]

for me it is a tie. i agree with Jericho/Malenko. as not only did that have some really good matches, but the promo's Jericho cut were PRICELESS.

and second would be Jericho/Mysterio. (back in WCW as well) this was when both men were very agile in the ring, and did the high flying stuff. and to have Jericho attack mysterio with a hammer, then pick up where they left off 6 months later.

come to think of it, didnt Jericho start taking things from different cruiserweights he beat? he really was my favorite one in WCW, when he left, along with the other guys, they really took a hit

I believe so with the taking things. I forgot about Jericho/Mysterio, thanks for bringing it up. And nice point, Attitude, with Chavo/Rey in WWE... not sure if they had too terribly many WCW matches though.

 

[TREE24K]

Its also a tie for me. Malenko/Jericho was epic. Oh my how I marked out when Cyclope (sp?) won that cruiseweight battle royal only to unmask and reveal it was Dean. That was so fucking awesome.

Malenko/Mysterio. Dean really got to shine here too. He dominated poor Rey Rey in a series of matches. Dean got to be so innovative in these matches because of Rey weight being almost nonexistant. One move in particular that was memorable. Malenko was sitting on the top turnbuckle, Dean was propped up against Dean back-to-back on the top. Dean put him in a "Razor's Edge" position. Then Dean jumped off the turnbuckle, tossing Rey over his back in midair and bringing him down across his knee in a back breaker position. So damn cool. Just an example of why Deano was one of the best EVER to lace up the boots.

 

[Dspiracy]

Well, you cant mention greatest cruiser weights without saying WCW. The greatest feud, i would have to agree Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio. Dean was one of the toughest cruiserweights our their, and not only that, he had one hell of a submission move, the Texas Cloverleaf. On the other hand, you had the true underdog, Rey Mysteriof Jr. and this is the cruiser weight you loved to see. Til this day, i dont think Rey Mysterio Jr ever had a real finisher move, the hurricarana I guess, either way, these two were the best.

 

[Hazardous]

on the topic of Rey, am i the only one who sees it a little weird that the 619 is an actual finisher in WWE? when in WCW it was a fake out move when he wanted to make it look like he was going to dive to the outside

 

[Dspiracy]

Well, you cant mention greatest cruiser weights without saying WCW. The greatest feud, i would have to agree Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio. Dean was one of the toughest cruiserweights our their, and not only that, he had one hell of a submission move, the Texas Cloverleaf. On the other hand, you had the true underdog, Rey Mysteriof Jr. and this is the cruiser weight you loved to see. Til this day, i dont think Rey Mysterio Jr ever had a real finisher move, the hurricarana I guess, either way, these two were the best.

 

[Lancer]

I like how Jericho pretty much ruled the Cruiserweight Division when he was on top, feuding with Malenko. He unmasked Juventud Guerrera, and carried the mask around with him like a trophy. He constantly berated the other cruiserweights, all the while dodging Malenko at every turn. In the midst of all this came his legendary "1004 holds" promo.

There was even a match where it was assumed to be Jericho (with Juventud's mask on) vs. Malenko for the title. Malenko got the pinfall, the title, and started to celebrate the victory. "Jericho" took the mask off and it was revealed that the whole time, Lenny Lane, a wrestler who closely resembled Jericho, was underneath. Thus the title switch was not valid.

It all came down to a Cruiserweight battle royal at Slamboree 1998, where the winner would face Jericho for the title. The final two wrestlers were Juventud Guerrera and who was assumed to be Ciclope, another masked Mexican luchador. Guerrera eliminated himself, and "Ciclope" unmasked to reveal Malenko, who had been out of action for a while. The crowd popped huge and Malenko would go on to win the championship that night.

That is an example of a well-booked feud...and also my personal favorite. It was where I really started to like Jericho and also Malenko.

 

[TREE24K]

Lancer, that battle royal is exactly the match I was referring to. It was so good to hear the crowd pop for Deano the way they did. Yeah, he won the battle royal. Then beat Jericho after that to take the belt. Remember what happened next? The next night on Nitro, Jericho complained to James J. Dillion that Malenko's name was not on the list for the cruiser weight battle royal, thus negating Dean's win and he had to forfeit the title back to Jericho. Then they took a really great feud and marred it by having the heal Jericho go over Malenko CLEANLY in the follow up rematch. I really was perplexed by the booking of that one. I didn't mind Jericho going over so much as how. A simple pull of the tights to secure the victory would have made a huge difference.

 

[donfryeismyhero]

I always enjoyed the Malenko/Mysterio fued. Their matches were pure majic. You had the shoot style of wresling in Dean vs the lucha libre style of Rey & it made for exciting match ups. Their macth at the Great American bash 96 stands out to me as 1 of the greatest WCW matches Ive ever seen.

 

[Lancer]

Lancer, that battle royal is exactly the match I was referring to. It was so good to hear the crowd pop for Deano the way they did. Yeah, he won the battle royal. Then beat Jericho after that to take the belt. Remember what happened next? The next night on Nitro, Jericho complained to James J. Dillion that Malenko's name was not on the list for the cruiser weight battle royal, thus negating Dean's win and he had to forfeit the title back to Jericho. Then they took a really great feud and marred it by having the heal Jericho go over Malenko CLEANLY in the follow up rematch. I really was perplexed by the booking of that one. I didn't mind Jericho going over so much as how. A simple pull of the tights to secure the victory would have made a huge difference.

Holy crap....I had completely forgotten about most of that...I do vaguely remember that Jericho went to JJ Dillon, but the rest was just a blur after that. With the reaction that Dean got, plus the manner in which he won the title (after the battle royal), that should have been a proper conclusion to the feud.

But alas, it was WCW. The cruiserweights weren't immune to the confusing booking, unfortunately.

 

[XgringolocoX]

Pepe! Pepe! Where is that stupid horse? LOL

BUt I gotta go with anything Malenko was involved with. Though the stuff with Jericho was fucking gold. I loved the match where Melanko was wearing...fuck! forgot his name...the dude with the skeleton suit...I remember right after I post this..but anyways..it was a fued with drama, great matches, surprises,and some humor...basicly everything. I really wish WWE would resurect a ligit and distinct cruiserweight division with title etc.

 

[Hazardous]

La Parka! haha the "Chairman of WCW" god that guy was fun to watch when i was a kid. i think the Cruiserweight's were more fun to watch then anyone else back then.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I never watched WCW ever, so I'm gonna go with a good ole' fashion WWE Criewserweight title feud.

I was a huge fan of the Rey Mysterio/Matt Hardy feud. I have always been a huge Hardy fan and at the time of the feud I was a huge Rey Rey mark. Matt Hardy's V1 gimmick was some of his best stuff and it was hilarious when Shannon was helping him cut weight.

I believe the feud culminated on Smackdown so it wasn't that big, but it was a good moment when Rey won.

 

[80s Dude]

One of my favourite cruiserweight feuds was between Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman. Back in WCW they mixed it up on many occasions, and every time, I was glued to the screen.
They fought as enemies, and as friends, but always had quite exciting matches, IMO.

 

[CyDeez]

Yeah, Jericho/Malenko was something else man... That was very entertaining. Besides the fact of how CWs performed in the ring with all the high flying and what not... This was entertaining across the board, yes the matches themselves were awesome!! But also the storyline around the feud was on another level, compared to anything else going on in the cruiserweight division then, before then and until now... The moment when Malenko removed the mask was truly epic!

On a side note here, I believe the best overall CW matches, at least IMO, was Rey Vs. Kidman... They used to tear shit up and always had a huge finish!! Props to The Filthy Animals for killin' it back in those Dinosaur-filled WCW days!! Brought the house down every time!!!!

 

[Stormlor]

Some of the better ones were in ECW of old. Super Crazy vs Tajari feuds were awesome to watch. Some of the best in the business going at it.

 

[The Undertaker_82]

If you want to talk about straight skill in the cruiser weight division then lets go back to ECW. In WCW Dean & Rey were at the top of their game, but before that they were in ECW and had classic bouts. but the feud im thinkingg of is Rey Mysterio Jr Vs. Psycosis. Their best match was prob the best of 3 falls. Their matches were classic. even at the 1st One Night Stand they put on a good match even though Psycosis took the mask off

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

jericho and Malenko...This was a feud that everyone should remember..and not only because of Jericho's 1004 hold promos...but because of their matches..it was pure wrestling and was one of the reasons I watched wrestling...I liked the fact that WCW gave these guys like an hour to show of their stuff, before gojng on to the main event scene, its why Nitro was 3 hours and I liked it...Their feud represents what cruiserweight wrestling was all about...

2nd place goes to Rey Mysterio with either Dean Malenko, Juventude or Ultimo Dragon..

 

[King Blitzkonic]

ARMBAR! The moss-covered three-handled family credenza, ARMBAR! Ah that 1004 holds promo was classic.

Props to the rey/psycosis ECW feud, this was around the time they faced off in the 1995 J-cup and I was impressed with both guys.

That brought to mind an older-school cruiserweight feud that helped cement the style in american professional wrestling: Jushin Lyger and Flyin' Brian Pillman. Long about 1992 there was a tournament to crown WCW's light-heavyweight title and these two guys acquitted themselves beyond the crowd's wildest dreams. After a short feud, the title didn't really get much recognition until the likes of Malenko, Rey, and Ultimo.

 

[fraserbee]

That brought to mind an older-school cruiserweight feud that helped cement the style in american professional wrestling: Jushin Lyger and Flyin' Brian Pillman. Long about 1992 there was a tournament to crown WCW's light-heavyweight title and these two guys acquitted themselves beyond the crowd's wildest dreams. After a short feud, the title didn't really get much recognition until the likes of Malenko, Rey, and Ultimo.

This is what sprang to mind for me too - although I wasn't sure if it really qualified as a feud or more of a rivalry. Anyway, they were having the sort of matches never seen before in mainstream American wrestling in early 1992, and definately deserves recognition. Incidentally, I liked how WCW kept reminding us of their history with the two of them teaming in the NWA Tag Title tournament later that year and then the two of them wrestled again as a showpiece on the first Nitro in 1995.