7 Reasons WWE's Cruiserweight Division Is Failing

5. Its Treatment As A Sideshow

The purple ropes.

The different ring apron.

The lighting.

The announce team switch.

All of these things come together to slap the audience in the face and announce to the world that, yes, the cruiserweights are in fact a sideshow.

At this point, Neville and company are no different than the women were during the 2000s or the minis were during the 1980s. They are but a break in the normal action, something different for fans to "ooooo" and "ahhh" over while waiting for Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins to hit the ring in the next segment.

Rather than seamlessly inserting the division onto Raw, master visionary Vince McMahon had to go over-the-top to show the world that his cruiserweights were different. While it may have been well-intentioned, what it did was equate the Superstars in that division to clowns or sword swallowers in the circus. They are the freaks, the smaller competitors who do not work a different style than the main event stars but who are just tiny and bland enough not to deserve recognition as Raw Superstars like Rusev, Big Cass, Braun Strowman or Kevin Owens.

It is a major disadvantage for the competitors to overcome and a stigma that will follow them until they are more effectively integrated on Raw.