WWE Cruiserweight Champions: Ranked From Worst To Best
10. Funaki
Funaki, most famous for his late 80s/early 2000s Kaientai tag team with Taka Michinoku, was the perennial jobber before WWE suddenly decided to make him Cruiserweight Champion. He won an over-the-top rope battle royal on the December 9 2004 Smackdown to receive a shot at Spike Dudley's title at Armageddon.
Trouble was, Armageddon was just three days later, leading them with no time to build a proper storyline and get fans invested. His battle royal will had also come from out of nowhere, and fans didn't really know how to react to it. There had been no real chase or struggle. It just reeked of desperation/lazy booking.
Funaki beat Spike at Armageddon in an overly-long match that played before long periods of silence. Funaki's shock win was supposed to be a big, feelgood moment but the only one who really popped was Funaki himself. He went on to defend the belt against Akio, Nunzio and Spike on Smackdown.
The highlight of his 70-day reign was a successful defense against Chavo Guerrero in the Saitima Super Arena in Japan. Funaki lost the belt in a six-man gauntlet-style match at No Way Out 2005, the first to be eliminated after less than 90 seconds of action. Indeed.