This has been a slow burn. From being completely irrelevant in a mostly ignored corner of the WWE Network to getting a spotlight shone on them with the addition of Enzo Amore, the cruiserweights are slowly starting to gain some traction. There are a lot of talented workers but it seems that the same guys who held the division together initially are the same guys doing a lot of the heavy lifting now (namely Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher, so it's cool to see them together as a unit). The others are starting to get some footing but still seem far away from being the breakout stars the brand needs.
Kalisto, in theory, would have been a great face for the brand but he had been so overexposed and undervalued in the public eye for so long that their hope of creating Rey Mysterio V2 isn't going to happen the way they wanted it to. It doesn't help that his costumes all look oversized on him which may be an attempt at making him look bigger but really just makes him look like he is too small to fit into normal clothes. It's quite distracting and so comical looking that it is hard to take him seriously.
Akira Tozawa had a little bit of hope with his surprise upset of Neville and how he has been treated like a top member of the division from day one but his association with Titus Brand hasn't exactly helped his image thus far (especially since the group is mostly made of jobbers). Plus, when he immediately lost the title back and the angle was quickly dropped, it snuffed out any flame that could have been lit. Had they built him as a major babyface and had him lose to Enzo instead then it could have been a bigger deal than the Neville loss. Hindsight I guess.
Neville, assuming he isn't already gone, becoming some sort of tweener instead of a full on heel would have some promise as well. If he fights both sides, good and bad, then he could easily create some interesting television. If one good thing has been shown from the cruiserweight project, it is that Neville went from a forgotten waste of potential to being legitimately viewed as one of the top performers in the company. I don't blame him for being upset if he really was being treated like he was a nobody by management, he easily could have walked out of the cruiserweight division and into a feud with someone like AJ Styles to launch his way even further up the path to true superstardom.
TJP and Rich Swann flopped, Cedric Alexander has been treading water, and no one else has shown any potential for being a major player since. Now, I will say, part of the problem with Cedric is that he has the potential to be a star but there is no one to make him a star. Guys like Kendrick and Gallagher may be two of the best guys in the WWE right now but neither are or have ever been main event level players. This isn't a knock on them, it is just that they don't have the necessary flame that can spark a white hot babyface.
So what needs to happen? Is it possible for the cruiserweight roster, as it is, to develop a star capable of carrying the flag and starting to make a big impact? Or does WWE need to start reaching out to other talent that can step in fresh and add some fire to the division? Or do they need to start groveling to someone like Rey Mysterio, who has all the star power and credibility necessary as well as the heritage in the division, to return in order to help bolster all of these guys up?
What do you think?
Kalisto, in theory, would have been a great face for the brand but he had been so overexposed and undervalued in the public eye for so long that their hope of creating Rey Mysterio V2 isn't going to happen the way they wanted it to. It doesn't help that his costumes all look oversized on him which may be an attempt at making him look bigger but really just makes him look like he is too small to fit into normal clothes. It's quite distracting and so comical looking that it is hard to take him seriously.
Akira Tozawa had a little bit of hope with his surprise upset of Neville and how he has been treated like a top member of the division from day one but his association with Titus Brand hasn't exactly helped his image thus far (especially since the group is mostly made of jobbers). Plus, when he immediately lost the title back and the angle was quickly dropped, it snuffed out any flame that could have been lit. Had they built him as a major babyface and had him lose to Enzo instead then it could have been a bigger deal than the Neville loss. Hindsight I guess.
Neville, assuming he isn't already gone, becoming some sort of tweener instead of a full on heel would have some promise as well. If he fights both sides, good and bad, then he could easily create some interesting television. If one good thing has been shown from the cruiserweight project, it is that Neville went from a forgotten waste of potential to being legitimately viewed as one of the top performers in the company. I don't blame him for being upset if he really was being treated like he was a nobody by management, he easily could have walked out of the cruiserweight division and into a feud with someone like AJ Styles to launch his way even further up the path to true superstardom.
TJP and Rich Swann flopped, Cedric Alexander has been treading water, and no one else has shown any potential for being a major player since. Now, I will say, part of the problem with Cedric is that he has the potential to be a star but there is no one to make him a star. Guys like Kendrick and Gallagher may be two of the best guys in the WWE right now but neither are or have ever been main event level players. This isn't a knock on them, it is just that they don't have the necessary flame that can spark a white hot babyface.
So what needs to happen? Is it possible for the cruiserweight roster, as it is, to develop a star capable of carrying the flag and starting to make a big impact? Or does WWE need to start reaching out to other talent that can step in fresh and add some fire to the division? Or do they need to start groveling to someone like Rey Mysterio, who has all the star power and credibility necessary as well as the heritage in the division, to return in order to help bolster all of these guys up?
What do you think?