10 Huge Stories That Changed Wrestling In 2016

5. The Cruiserweight Classic

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WWE has been a closed shop for years. The company are notoriously insular in refusing to acknowledge their competitors’ existence, and only really started mentioning WCW when Vince McMahon bought the company in 2001. They have remained in their own bubble ever since, but after years of monopoly-induced parochialism, 2016 was the year things finally changed.

WWE opened themselves up to the wrestling world this year. They still avoid mentioning the legacies that guys like AJ Styles and Bobby Roode built in TNA, but barely a SmackDown goes by without Mauro Ranallo harking back to Styles’ time in Japan.

Nothing signifies the company’s new “open border” policy more than the Cruiserweight Classic, however. The tournament brought unsigned talent from across the globe together for a highly-successful Network-exclusive tournament. It was regularly among the Network’s most watched shows for the duration, produced some real Match Of The Year candidates, and let freelancers like Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. shine under a WWE spotlight.

The idea of WWE building a tournament around unsigned wrestlers would have sounded ludicrous a couple of years ago, but here we are. WWE have never been so in-tune with the world around them, and the theme will surely continue with the United Kingdom Title and rumoured women’s tournament in 2017.

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Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.