10 WCW Cruiserweight Matches You Should Watch

Let’s be real, Dean Malenko v. Rey Mysterio, Jr. was the first and possibly best feud within the Cruiserweight ranks of WCW. While others told a better story (i.e. Rey v. Eddie, Jericho v. Malenko), these two had great chemistry in the ring. Not many wrestlers could actually get a crowd reaction for Dean Malenko, but Rey succeeded in getting heat on Dean throughout this feud and building meaning for the Cruiserweight Title.

In what was a rubber match at the time, Dean and Rey worked their styles really well and got the chance to steal the show as the opener of Halloween Havoc 1996. Dean spent a good two-thirds of the match applying hold after hold, wearing Mysterio down. For over 18 minutes, these two did battle and built that story that held true to their partnership in the ring. Rey would hit a few high-flying moves, Dean would counter with a hard-hitting move, Rey would kick out, and Dean would continue the punishment.

Around the 15-minute mark, Mysterio made a classic babyface comeback with some pinning combinations and his springboard offense, leading to some near falls that had the crowd pulled in. In the end, Malenko countered Mysterio’s spinning hurricanrana into a gutwrench powerbomb off the middle rope for the victory. This match was a great way for them to advance into new feuds and storylines, establishing both as viable contenders for almost any mid-card title in WCW.