7 Reasons WWE's Cruiserweight Division Is Failing

6. No Defining Match

When WCW implemented the cruiserweight division back in 1996, the likes of Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko instantly captured the attention of fans with a series of outstanding matches that made it known to management and the audience alike that they were to be taken seriously.

Outside of a Cedric Alexander vs. Kota Ibushi match from last summer's Cruiserweight Classic, which was seen only by those fans with WWE Network and those who bothered to tune in, the cruiserweight division has lacked that one defining match that forces fans to sit up and take notice.

At best, the current division has been responsible for a handful of really good matches. The problem with that? They come on a show that has lots of really good matches, featuring stars fans actually care about.

No one bats an eye at Neville and Rich Swann having a strong pay-per-view match because Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens just blew them out of the water moments earlier. A psychologically sound battle between Brian Kendrick and T.J. Perkins is meaningless because Charlotte and Sasha Banks are destined to eclipse it with an equally sound match later on the card.

Until the cruiserweights step up and deliver a match that forces audiences to recognize their contributions and how important they can be to the product, they will continue to be disregarded, the strong or even superb work elsewhere whetting the audience's appetite for great wrestling.