WCW: 6 Innovations Eric Bischoff Did To Change Wrestling

5. The WCW Cruiserweight Division

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUHF2OMu1o8 Eric Bischoff wasn't the first wrestling executive to really feature cruiserweights on his show, but he's certainly the one that gets the most credit. While cruiserweight names like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko were most known from their exposure on WCW TV, they were first known for their work in Paul Heyman's ECW. The problem for ECW was, WCW was a much bigger company and they opened up the check book, WCW was able to acquire all of those top cruiserweights as well as many others. Here's a listing of just some of the famous names that held WCW's cruiserweight from 1996 when the division was pushed the hardest: Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio Jr., Ultimo Dragon, Syxx (X-Pac), Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero and Billy Kidman among others. When WCW was at its absolute best from the summer of 1996 through 1998, cruiserweights had a prominent role on all their televisions. From Eddie Guerrero leading the Latino World Order stable of cruisers to Rey Mysterio losing his mask, cruiserweights were featured prominently throughout WCW's history. A lot of the credit for the growth of cruiserweight wrestling in American wrestling should go to Bischoff. He gave those guys a platform to shine and to give the viewers at home something else to watch instead of the plodding 6'5" guys that throw a bunch of clotheslines. Watching fast paced, high flying action led to a lot of fans turning on WCW television, sticking with it and opening the door for others to be signed too. Bischoff should be very proud of that.