7 Things WWE Could Learn From NJPW Dominion 6.9

4. How To Differentiate Between Divisions

Chris Jericho
NJPW1972.com

Despite Triple H's best efforts, 205 Live may still end up confined to WWE's bad ideas bin, and it won't be the first time the company's Cruiserweight aspirations have hit the wall.

The original Light Heavyweight division in 1997 was ultimately lost to the bluster of the Attitude Era but a latter-day conversion to the Cruiserweight nomenclature fared little better despite WWE gobbling up some of the decent hands from WCW's own lightweight league.

Much of the problem can be attributed to style. The smaller wrestlers in WWE are just that - small wrestlers in WWE. Very few of their flips can't be replicated by main roster contemporaries, and the skills that got them hired in the first place are reduced as part of a frustrating wing-clipping to get everybody TV-ready.

The Junior Heavyweights in New Japan may have similar restrictions placed upon them, but few seem apparent when watching the performers chase inconceivable highs and take incredible risks for the good of the audience and bad of their own wellbeing.

The legendary Best Of The Super Juniors tournament is inarguably the most prestigious lightweight tournament in the world, with this year's main event between Hirmou Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori bursting with heart-in-mouth moments wrapped in the packaging of a glorious grand finale. WWE skirted around this tension in 2016's celebrated Cruiserweight Classic, but little of that spark has since been replicated.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett