By Mr. Mal Occhio 

Long-ignored, or at the very least, seldom-pushed, the WWE cruiserweight division has long been the bane of fans who enjoy seeing performers outside the heavyweight ranks perform on a regular basis.

Established back in the late 90’s as an answer to the surging WCW cruiserweight division (the WWE initially billed their roster of workers as Light Heavyweights) the promise of exciting, high-flying, technically-sound action has too-often given way to four minute lid-lifters for the likes of several talented performers (that frankly deserve far better treatment).

From the Great Sasuke and Taka Michinoku, later to Brian Christopher and Blue Panther, on through Essa Rios to today’s Kid Kash, Super Crazy and Nunzio – talent has never been the issue: it’s been the exposure and willingness on behalf of the WWE to give the division time to establish itself with real feuds that are given half a chance to develop.

A big step at doing just that was re-upping with former “Hurricane� (now Gregory) Helms. It is being reported that – like Samoa Joe in TNA – Helms has likewise signed a long-term deal of his own with his current employer, the WWE.

Inking Helms gives the division instant clout. Not only can can Helms work a good match, he’s drawing heat in his new role as an arrogant, self-assured champion – boasting he is looking to become the longest reigning cruiserweight champion of all time.

The booking of his character has also been strong of late. The braggadocios Helms drew the ire of nearly the entire cruiserweight roster two weeks ago on Smackdown with his claims, and was later the victim of an entertaining beat-down from the fore mentioned Nunzio (aka Little Guido), Super Crazy, Psichosis, Funaki, Scotty 2 Hotty, Paul London and Brian Kendrick – each man attacking Helms after his match with each performing their own finisher on him to a nice pop.

A wild card in this mix is that of one Kid Kash. Prior to an injury (which, apparently, Kash is now working through, given that his is booked to appear at the upcoming No Wa Out PPV against Helms along Scotty 2 Hotty, London, Kendrick, Super Crazy, Psicosis and Funaki) Kash was also beginning to stretch his wings as a definite cruiserweight contender – his cocky heel persona making definite inroads with fans in establishing himself as someone the WWE could book in real feuds, with a real title, outside of the heavyweight division. Former ECW star Kash can go, and can talk a little, too. Adding Helms to this mix on a regular basis bodes well for the division’s future.

Then again, it is the WWE, and Mr. Mal Occhio admits he has been fooled into thinking this way before. Nonetheless, having recognized the potential in one Rey Mysterio and feeling vindicated in seeing Rey-Rey get over no matter what division he may be booked into, he remains confident that a well-booked cruiserweight division can most-definitely become one of the better reasons to watch Smackdown (and not just more filler for shows like Velocity and Heat).

sources:
www.lordsofpain.net
www.wwe.com
www.obsessedwithwrestling.com 

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 25th, 2006 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Musings from Mal Occhio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.