10 First Years In WWE That Went From Amazing To Awful
3. The Cruiserweight Division (2016)
WWE had done a pretty good job murdering the Cruiserweight Division by 2007, but chipping away at its exhumed corpse nearly a decade later has been quite something to behold. Especially considering the reincarnation attempt that was 2016's sensational 'Cruiserweight Classic' tournament.
The global showcase was an unmitigated success, opening a window to a host of talents from all over the world that had never (and may never again) get the sort of exposure a WWE telecast can potentially offer. A number of the key talents signed contracts with the company for a permanent vehicle, and those that returned to the independent circuit upped their status and value exponentially for the experience.
Those values only increased when it became painfully apparent exactly what the permanent vehicle would entail. Drab matches on Monday Night Raw gave way to equally lousy efforts on the Network schedule-filler 205 Live, a show that's drawn comparisons to NXT Redemption, a legendarily awful cult WWE production that buried just about every talent anywhere near it six feet under.
An island of misfit toys that occasionally do nice arm drags or the odd flip, the wrestlers neither gain respect or disdain, with Cruiserweight Champion Neville so far ahead of his chasing pack that a title loss at this point would only serve to elevate him back to the main roster where he belongs.