Missed Opportunity: The WWF Light Heavyweight Division

Anyone watching WWF programming during the Attitude Era may have a few hazy memories of the light heavyweight championship. Christian winning it in his debut match, perhaps. Or Gillberg’s 453 day reign. Maybe even a particularly enjoyable match between Dean Malenko and Scotty 2 Hotty at Backlash 2000.

The chances are that anyone who does remember the light heavyweight championship won’t remember much more than that because it wasn’t a title that was really featured too often. It was seen very rarely after 1998. Pay-per-view appearances for the championship were practically non-existent once 1999 hit. For that matter they weren’t all that common before then.

Some may wonder why the company had a light heavyweight championship in the first place. It’s a well-known fact that the Fed was the home of the big men, with Vince McMahon having little time for smaller guys. The answer’s obvious though. The light heavyweight title was introduced to combat the cruiserweights on the other channel.

World Championship Wrestling had had a great deal of success with its cruiserweight division. They’d discovered that the smaller guys put on great matches that excited viewers, the ideal thing for an opening match, and that they didn’t need an abundance of storyline. Two guys could just be put into the ring, leaving the booking team more time to focus on writing for the more important (read “higher paid”)guys like the nWo and Goldberg.

The WWF put on a light heavyweight tournament, crowned a champion, and booked a few defences on RAW and pay-per-view. When they didn’t see ratings spike in these light heavyweight segments they took it as a sign that their fans weren’t interested in smaller guys having high quality matches and demoted the championship. Within a year of its official debut as a title (it had been floating around Japan and Mexico for sixteen years prior to the crowning of the first in-house champ) it was practically meaningless. It would enjoy a brief resurgence in the first half of 2000 when Malenko joined the promotion but it wouldn’t last. The WWF light heavyweight championship was ultimately always destined for oblivion.

This needn’t have been the case. Had a greater effort been put into the light heavyweight division in the summer of 1998 it could have been established as a highlight of the period along with Austin, DX, Mick Foley, The Rock, and a heavy-on-storylines mid-card.

There are six combinations for singles matches amongst these four guys alone.
And that's discounting Yamaguchi-San.

The company had the talent, it was just a matter of utilising it. In June of 1998, around the time the company seemed to decide the light heavyweight division was a waste of time, Kaientai were at full strength. That’s Taka Michinoku, Sho Funaki, Men's Teioh and Dick Togo, four guys who could have had great singles matches with one another had they just been split up. A number of Mexican wrestlers were being used on an infrequent basis. Aguila, who would later be signed and win the championship as Essa Rios, had challenged for the gold at WrestleMania XIV. Pantera had done the same the month before, at the amusingly named No Way Out of Texas pay-per-view. Super Crazy, as Super Loco, had wrestled a single tournament match the previous November and would appear again later in 1998.

Also affiliated with the company at this point were the Hardy brothers. In the summer of ’98 the Hardys were still a year away from becoming TV regulars with full contracts but they’d been working as enhancement talent for years. Both were good enough to work in low-card matches where the focus was on match quality as opposed to promos and storylines. They’d have been an ideal fit for the light heavyweight division. Well, Jeff would have been. Matt wouldn’t have been ideal, but he’d have been a solid addition.

Under contract at this point were Scott Taylor and Brian Christopher. They’d been put together as a team earlier in the year (peculiarly, they had debuted as a pairing at WrestleMania XIV) but they were still a while off of becoming Too Cool. They were well placed to work as the lead heels of a light heavyweight division. Christopher, being thicker than most of the men mentioned here, would have been a good fit as the bruiser of the division.

They had Sean ‘X Pac’ Waltman too, of course. He would go on to hold the light heavyweight championship in 2001 but was nowhere near it in 1998. I suspect that was because he was presented as a high profile signing and was associated with the ultra-hip, super-cool D-Generation X. It’s likely that the feeling was that the light heavyweight championship was beneath the gang. Plus X Pac was injured for a significant portion of the year and when he was healthy he was competing for the European strap.

Dean Malenko, perhaps  thinking about what could have been.

Splitting Kaientai and signing the guys they were already sporadically using would have provided a solid roster. Granting the guys one match a week on RAW would have been enough exposure for the division to be taken seriously and would have provided ideal opening match material. Carrying the approach over into 1999 and signing one or two new names would have kept things fresh and the division alive for the signing of Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero in January 2000.

The division would not have lasted long term, of course. The average size of WWE wrestlers has significantly reduced since the Attitude Era came to a close. The light heavyweight scene would have been faded out as this become more apparent. WWE wouldn’t have wanted guys going from the light heavyweight championship to the WWE championship because it would have highlighted the shift away from larger guys.

But they could have gotten far more mileage out of the concept than they did. It’s depressing to think how close the WWF came to having a really good light heavyweight division. Just a bit of effort would have allowed them to play WCW at their own game. But it wasn’t to be. It’s just one of many things on the long list of WWF and WWE missed opportunities.

Cruiser-vision

A show focusing exclusively on cruiserweights has long been rumoured for the upcoming WWE Network. Can a company that famously favours tall, muscular workers over smaller, more athletic men really produce a worthwhile programme that only features lightweights? I think they can, as long as the right people are put in charge.

In order for a cruiserweight show to work Vince McMahon and Triple H would need to limit their involvement. Both men are driving forces behind WWE’s bigger is better attitude and while I’m sure they appreciate the skill and athleticism required to work the style synonymous with smaller wrestlers they don’t enjoy watching it themselves. That means they don’t promote it in the correct way.

The company should look to hire two or three writers to work exclusively on the cruiserweight programme, ideally people who actually appreciate the style. The hiring policy they have used for the past decade or so is to look for writers who have television experience, with an interest in wrestling said to be a disadvantage for the position.

Personally I don’t like this approach but it’s unlikely the company will change the habit for a show focusing on smaller guys. However, it’s not too much to hope that WWE brings in a keen, knowledgeable fan or someone with wrestling and TV experience to work on the show. A cruiserweight show is something completely different for WWE viewers and should have a different feel to RAW, SmackDown and the rest of the promotion’s output. The best way to do that is to have someone working on the show that would not usually be considered for a writing gig.

The format of the new NXT would actually be perfect for a cruiserweight show. The smaller venue of Full Sail University promotes a more intimate atmosphere and attracts a knowledgeable and respectful crowd. I think those fans would be very appreciative of an all cruisers TV taping.

Even if WWE didn’t want to use Full Sail (which would be understandable, too many shows in one market would risk burning the audience out) I’m sure a similar venue could be found somewhere in the United States. Universities seem a good idea for WWE tapings. There must be dozens who would be willing to enter into a similar partnership with a company that can offer what WWE does (revenue, TV experience for students, etc.).

Rey Mystterio could benefit an all cruiserweights show with sporadic appearances

Not having any backstage segments (or at least keeping them to a bare minimum) at all allows for the action to take centre stage, exactly what a cruiserweight show should be about. Storylines on NXT are based around winning and losing. Simple and effective. That approach would benefit this hypothetical show (and RAW and SmackDown as well for that matter, but that won’t be happening anytime soon).

As far as announcers go I think WWE would be wise to go with a three man unit. One veteran announcer who can keep up with the action and lead the trio, one colour commentator, and one fresh hire who can be groomed for a larger role within the promotion at some point in the future. The obvious candidate for the veteran position is Jim Ross. He always does an outstanding job and has helped make NXT a phenomenal viewing experience.

Personally I wouldn’t pick him though. WWE has the ideal commentator already under contract: Joey Styles. He is wasted toiling on the company’s website, is well versed at calling fast paced matches and would be able to pass his own experience and wisdom onto the crew. Styles, more than JR, is perfect for calling faster matches featuring a plethora of moves rarely seen on RAW and SmackDown.

The new hire obviously isn’t someone that can predicted, but they should be keen on a career in the wrestling business and passionate about making the best show possible. That may seem an obvious thing to say but we’re discussing the company that happily promotes Michael Cole as its lead broadcaster.

The colour commentator could be almost anybody on the roster who would be interested in a commentary spot. Wade Barrett has worked in the role during his time in FCW. Christian seems a natural choice for a commentary gig too. WWE could even reach out to Rey Mysterio, easily the most successful small guy to ever work for the promotion, and see if he would be interested in a broadcasting job. His involvement could really enhance the show.

Something I think that should be avoided is the reinstatement of the cruiserweight title. Introducing a championship as soon as the show starts would take at least some of the focus off the wrestlers. We should get to know the men (and perhaps women) wrestling on the show long before we start caring about which of them has a championship.

Give it six months or a year and then think about a tournament to crown a champion. By then the best workers will have risen to the top and the audience will have chosen their favourites. Those are the wrestlers who should be at the top of the card and they can only get there with time.

The roster is obviously something that people are going to be very interested in, but we won’t know who’s going to be appearing on our screens until closer to the show’s (and the Network’s) launch. A hefty portion should be newcomers though, wrestlers signed from the independents based on their ability to work a fast, entertaining match.

Inevitably the show will need big, established names. I mentioned Rey Mysterio above in relation to a commentary spot. I don’t think he should be a regular wrestler on the show, but the occasional match here and there, such as on the debut episode, would help draw ratings and expose the less famous talent to the audience.

Alex Shelley is expected to join the show. He’ll be a good hire. Other names that could be considered are Jimmy Rave, Jack Evans, Homicide, PAC, Akira Tozawa, El Generico and most of the members of Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, and Ring of Honor’s locker rooms. WWE is not above scouting those companies for talent to use on its new shows.

If and when a WWE cruiserweight show rolls around it will have the potential to be great. There’s a lot that can go wrong with the venture (mainly because, as stated above, the promotion has a long history of dismissing smaller guys) but if done right I think it could help WWE create plenty of new stars and encourage a healthy viewership. Follow the outline above and it could be a highlight of the WWE Network.