50 Ups & 50 Downs For WWE's Decade: The 2010s
46. Cruiserweight Classic
A fantastic concept immaculately executed, the one and only Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 reinvented the term within WWE's auspices before they followed form with a tepid full-time roll out later that year.
Borrowing heavily from PWG, NJPW and ROH (in borrowing from the rosters in some cases) the matches were all-action outings between a host of wrestlers mostly unseen by the the company's core audience.
Nothing was permitted to sag or drag, which lay in stark contrast to how the company had booked lightweights in the past. A Full Sail location for each tournament clash did much for the atmosphere alongside a Daniel Bryan/Mauro Ranallo pairing that sounded thrilled with their spot at the commentary table. Much of the event foreshadowed WWE's experimentation with/burial of outside entities, but the quality overcame any latent cynicism.