What is the appeal of Cruiserweight wrestling?

[ad21k]

Cruiserweight wrestling essentialy is two guys doing acrobatics, and hitting there spots. And seems to most as a competition between two guys to see who can hit the better more impressive looking move.

This is not wrestling.

Wrestling is about storytelling something which crusierweight wrestling seems to completely ignore.

Crusierweight matches are unlike other wrestling matches, they don't appear to need a build up, charisma, or creative storylines. They are usually just a spot fest which equates to primitive enterainment for the most primitive of wrestling fan.

What on earth is so good about this style of wrestling, that has the IWC frothing at their mouths?

 

[Shocky]

There's nothing wrong with Crusierweight wrestling. There is nothing wrong with having a little bit of diversity on your wrestling show. This is why WCW worked so well for so long. The cruiserweights were given a fair amount of time at the beginning of shows, but that was it. They were a pace setter and a nice side show.

Anyone that thinks that the cruiserweights/X-Division (looking at you TNA guys) are the focal point of any of the big American shows, or should be the focal point, is sadly mistaken. I don't understand why people feelt hat their shouldn't be any diversity in the business. Yes, we get the story telling and all of that, but there is no point in beating that horse to death allt he time. That's why it worked in WCW.

I relate it to the circus, some go to watch the clowns tell a story with their actions, while others go and watch the acrobats defy death, nothing wrong with either choice.

 

[klunderbunker]

Put simply, it's flashy. There's rarely any depth to a Cruiserweight wrestling and there's not a thing wrong with that. They're very entertaining matches that are built off of high spots. Take a look at the wrestling gear that a lot of Cruiserweights used to wear in WCW. Bright, colorful, weird masks etc. They got people's attention. It's meant to be fast paced action mainly built on flashyness.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

I just am more entertained by cruiserweight wrestling to be honest. Really it's a personally preference but I would rather watch a Styles Vs. Bounre spot fest, than a HBK/Cena hour long match. Maybe it's because I have a short attention span, who knows.

And while I really enjoy watching guys do flips and jump around I as a fan know Crusierweight wrestling will never be the top draw. Just like the women's division I see it as a side act to the big named guys like Cena, Batista, HHH, ect, in the WWE anyways. Most people enjoy the story telling in wrestling, the beatdown, the comeback, and everything in between. People enjoy seeing the crusierweight do their stuff but they are not paying to see them.

So really the appeal is just people's personal prefrences. What I enjoy might not be the same as what you enjoy and that's fine. Cruiserweights put on fast, paced, entertaining shows, but people are not paying to see this and in the WWE at least cruiserweights will continue to be a side show to entertain fans.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I've enjoyed a number of cruiserweight matches in the past. It's fun to watch a little guy do a mid-air hurricanrana to counter say a crucifix powerbomb from the second rope.

Some of the Rey Mysterio/Psicosis matches from the old ECW were great. They had a long drawn out fued for the better part of the summer one year (i think it may have been '95).

Chavo and Chavo Classic were fun to watch together, as was Matt Hardy v.1 and Shannon Moore, and Tajiri was always fun to watch. I enjoyed Taka Michinoku back in the day as well.

If you watch the Japanese match on ECW Barely Legal, they have an awesome match that goes on a good 15-20 minutes, and they have some very good storytelling throughout, and they were just flown over for that match, on that night.

What's the appeal of Cruiserweight wrestling? I think you mean, what's the appeal of high flying, lucha libre style wrestling don't you? Jamie Noble is a prime example of a cruiserweight who is a technical/brawling cruiserweight. Tajiri did a lot of springboard stuff and the tarantula, but didn't fly over the ropes a lot did he? Spike Dudley was the ultimate cruiserweight and the only flying he did was when he was thrown out of the ring. Jerry Lynn was also a great cruiserweight that didn't fly around a lot.

What's the appeal of mat based wrestling? What's the appeal of hardcore wrestling? Nothing in particualr, it's just nice to have some diversity in your television show, as Shocky pointed out.

 

[NSL]

I'm sure I'm beating a dead horse, but the appeal is always the flashiness of the matches, and the daredevil moves most of the guys do. Every company features the big, bad bruisers as their main eventers, so to see the "spotfests" is a great change of pace.

If the wrestlers in the match truly know what they're doing, it doesn't come off as a spotfest. Look at older matches for guys like Rey Misterio Jr., Psicosis, Ultimo Dragon, Billy Kidman...They all have their spots, but they're not telegraphed 4 moves ahead of time. I'm a big Jamie Noble fan, because he's a cruiserweight, that avoids most of the spots. He's a mat wrestler and technician, and his contract with most of the guys he was wrestling was a great dynamic to have at the opening of a show.

I think the Cruiserweight Title should make a return, because the WWE has a ton of guys that can put on some great openers, and they're not using them.

 

[Miko]

While cruiserweights arent what people pay to see sometimes it's nice to have some floating around. It's a quicker pace setup that can get you pumped up for what follows, although I dont miss the cruiserweight title at all it still offered a good contrast compared to the Heavyweight belt. Plus it kept Rey Mysterio in the division he belongs in.

While I agree that most cruiserwieght matches lack the storytelling that makes the Main Event matches so great many at least transition well enough between spots so it doesnt look like they are flying for the sake of it.

So basically what I am saying is you dont care about the wrestlers in the ring, their matches are entirely forgettable but at least it looks cool while their doing it.

 

[The Hiphopapotamus]

To me, cruiserweight/ x division wrestling is more entertaining and pulse racing than a "regular" wrestling match, but lacks the depth and charisma.

Personally, if i came to a show to be entertained by incredible manouveurs and death defying attacks,cruiserweights are the thing.I would be more inclined to say "Holy shit a somersault plancha" than "Holy shit a suplex".

But if I came to go away thinking that was awesome,what a classic,Heavyweight is the shit.Because in heavyweight wrestling,when a wrestler hits a move,it gives them the opportunity to register with the crowd.In a spotfest, they're usually to hurt too much by their own move to even get up. In an X division match you don't care who's on top or whos winning,you focus on who does the sickest spots.The opposite of heavyweight wrestling.

So to summarise,Heavyweight wrestling is about a story, it's an amazing journey.

While cruiserwight wrestling.That's the rollercoaster ride.

 

[Skillz]

Cruiserweight wrestling is just an alternative style of wrestling. The majority of cruiserweights are very athletic and fast, which means they are able to pull off various types of high-flying moves, counter-holds and reversals that are very pleasing to the eye. In this day and age where ring psychology and selling seems to be flushed down the toilet, the majority of cruiserweights only know how to work one style of match, the spotfest.

A match between two cruiserweights, who do lots of flips and flops can be perceived as a very entertaining match. But it can never be considered a great wrestling match, unless they start selling properly and learn how to use psychology properly. There is a big difference between an entertaining match and a great match. A spotfest, while fun to watch, is just a series of moves with no real purpose and no depth. Most cruiserweights, when they are wrestling, don't look like they are trying to hurt each other. It looks like they are trying to execute a series of chain wrestling moves and reversals, that look completely choreographed and unrealistic. This can never be considered great wrestling because it defeats the purpose of what pro wrestling is supposed to be about.

Obviously, there have been matches between cruiserweights where they have used great psychology and sold well (Eddie vs. Mysterio, Halloween Havoc 1997), but these matches are a very rare occurance.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a fun fast-paced cruiserweight spotfest. It's just human nature to be impressed by the abilities of people who are athletically talented. But, what we must understand is that this type of wrestling is not necessarily quality wrestling, nor does it attract fans to watch the product. Fans are interested in charisma, larger than life characters and gripping storylines, not 175 pound men doing acrobatics.

 

[Pimpin]

Cruiserweight wrestling to me is an alternative to heavyweight wrestling. Cruiserweights in my opinion are more entertaining than the heavyweights(not saying that the heavyweights aren't entertaining). They bring a breath of fresh air & a different style of wrestling like the high flying style or the luchadore style than what the heavyweights bring to the table. Do I think cruiserweights will be a main attraction. No but it was in TNA's early days. In reality cruiserweight wrestling is always gonna be second to the heavyweights but there are gonna be some people out there who love cruiserweight wrestling more than heavyweight wrestling.