Ranking Every WWE Cruiserweight Champion Since 2016
8. TJ Perkins
The Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 featured many amazing matches and star-making performances from Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr., Cedric Alexander and The Brian Kendrick, yet it was TJ Perkins who ended up capturing the championship.
That's not intended to be a knock on Perkins' talent, as he shined in all of his outings throughout the tourney as well, but he wasn't exactly everyone's pick to win the whole thing. It was a memorable moment when he was awarded the title by Triple H, but the rest of his reign wasn't nearly as remarkable.
In addition to the debut of the division on Raw being botched big time, fans unfamiliar with the Cruiserweights were never given a reason to care about Perkins as champion. It didn't help that he felt miscast as a babyface, so despite having one successful title defense against Kendrick under his belt, it was hardly a surprise he lost the strap soon after.
It's interesting to note that Perkins was never again pushed as the face of the division for the remainder of his run with the company. He instead settled into an enhancement role for the next two and a half years before being let go in February.