9 Mistakes WWE Made With The Debut Of The Cruiserweight Division

One of the most appealing aspects of the Cruiserweight Classic was the novel presentation that the show adopted, and a key component of that was the pre-match video packages that aired without fail for each Cruiserweight Classic competitor.

These vignettes gave the show a more authentic feel, while it also established some context regarding each wrestler’s character and in doing so helped fans become more invested in the matches.

Again though, when the division debuted on Monday Night Raw, we didn’t get this. Instead, ahead of the arrivals of Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander and Brian Kendrick, we got Mick Foley reading from cue cards as if he himself had no idea about the backstory of these guys. That’s hardly the best way to introduce new faces to the casual fans.

Admittedly the commentary team shared some nuggets during the subsequent entrances and there were some brief in-set promos as well, but it all felt like a bit of an afterthought and was a far cry from the way these guys were being hyped during the Cruiserweight Classic.

In both the short- and long-term, this lack of character development presented another inhibition on the debut of the division.