7 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Sept 19)

3. Cruiserweights Get Time To Shine

cruiserweights raw
WWE.com

When Mick Foley brought four of the new cruiserweights out and announced they would be facing each other in a #1 contender’s match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, there was an immediate relief that this match meant something and wasn’t simply a showcase. It was then followed by a concern that this could get short-shrifted like so many cruiserweight matches years ago did.

Those concerns were quickly proven unfounded, as Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander and The Brian Kendrick had plenty of time to showcase their talents and reintroduce fans to cruiserweight wrestling. Thankfully, that did not simply consist of highspots and contrived moves. Sure, there was the typical high-flying action, but we saw a few submission moves, some power moves, and just a straight chop-fest between Alexander and Swann as they went toe-to-toe.

For a first match, this was a great (re)introduction for fans. Hopefully as the weeks go on, we’ll see the wrestlers have storylines and characters develop, rather than just being a showcase of awesome wrestling. But again, this was a great start for the new division.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.