There is such a thing as too much too soon. Moderation is a tricky thing, something that requires a person to be consistently mindful of balancing the bigger picture with the here and now. Often, though, people struggle maintain this balance everyday, and it's human of them to do so. It's hard to limit yourself to something that you like, or not overindulge in a Netflix show that's hooked you, it's undoubtedly hard not go full-throttle on something that clicks.
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Professional wrestling is no different.
The Cruiserweight Classic was an unmistakable success, as wrestlers from all over the world entered the competition, even without signing long-term WWE contracts. It felt different, and something that was a long-time coming — like the "Divas Revolution" from 2015, fans were ready for change.
But Vince McMahon and the WWE got ahead of themselves. They didn't limit their indulgence in the cruiserweight division, or balance finding a workable concept for the division right now while also mapping out how a CWC-like concept could stand on its own in a weekly program that was shown exclusively on the WWE Network. Instead, the powers that be, wanted their cake and to eat it too, even if it wasn't a prudent or wise decision to do so. Instead of keeping a few cruiserweights from the CWC to fill two segments on Monday Night Raw each week, similar to how the women's division on Smackdown Live operates, the company created the unmitigated disaster that is 205 Live.
You can see, in, say, five years or so a time when the cruiserweight division has established itself enough on Raw to warrant giving the stars of that division their own one-hour wrestling program. But that was never something that was going to work from the start. Unfortunately, like most things in life, it required time and patience. Time for the larger WWE audience — not the die-hard fans who didn't miss a second of the CWC on the WWE Network — to get to know TJP, Akira Tozawa, Rich Swann, Kota Ibushi, Gran Metalik, etc before splitting them off from one of the main shows. It was arrogant and shortsighted to believe this division was ready to carry its own program in its infant stages, but the blame for its poor ratings thus far is sure to fall on the wrestlers and writers and not the decision-makers who foolishly put them in this inoperable position to begin with.
And this all could have been avoided.
As I was watched Smackdown Live last Tuesday, I saw a wrestling program that took its time making the women's division one of the staples of its show and that is now reaping the benefits of that prudence. The ropes were never changed, the division never didn't immediately get its own spin-off show, and it has become the most-interesting division on one of the main shows for the company. And they've done it with nine wrestlers in the division. Nine.
205 Live employs 16 cruiserweights in its division, but it feels more like four: TJP, Neville, Austin Aries and Rich Swann. Sure, there has been some The Brian Kendrick, Noam Dar, Cedric Alexander sprinkled in there somewhere, too, but a division that felt so fresh in 2016 has become staler than Amy Schumer's shtick in 2017. Overexposure and the too-much-too-soon dynamic is undefeated in killing interest in anyone or anything. Becky Lynch and Natalya have probably competed against each other in more one-on-one matches than TJP and Rich Swann have, but it certainly doesn't feel like it. How can Lynch feel so fresh and so new years after her main roster debut, while TJP already feels like he's been in the company longer than Gregory Helms was Cruiserweight champion? It's incredible, really.
Had the Smackdown Live's women's division gotten in its own spinoff show to follow Smackdown Live each Tuesday, instead of 205 Live, it's unlikely the division dominates the main program like they did on Tuesday's show and it still feel fresh and intriguing. The division has slowly but surely worked its way in becoming an important and serious fixture on Smackdown Live, and that should be celebrated and appreciated. The addition of Charlotte Flair in the Superstar Shakeup earlier this year was the final piece to establishing this division on the blue brand.
Something similar could have happened on Raw, where only six or so cruiserweights were signed from the CWC, and the company built from there. Giving them one or two segments and matches a week as the fanbase of the non-smarky variety got a chance to get to know the characters and wrestlers gradually. It was a division that should have started with TJP, Neville, Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, The Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa and grown from there. Had they elected to follow this path rather than the perilous one they ultimately chose, one could see the division having its own Money in the Bank Ladder match at a Raw-exclusive PPV in 2018 and it be a big deal because it likely would have featured six characters the fanbase had gotten to know over an extended period of time. Time for them to love Akira Tozawa and time for them to despise Neville as the King of the Cruiserweights, similar to Lynch and Flair in the Smackdown Live women's division.
It may not even be too late to save the sinking ship that is the cruiserweight division, but it has to include divisive and necessary adjustments — like cancelling 205 Live, eliminating the purple ropes, releasing a few performers and getting back to the basics on Raw. Wrestling fans are notorious for their short memories, and although it may not be the best look for the company to go that route, but it's the right course of action given the circumstances.
The women's division on Smackdown Live has been a smashing success, and the cruiserweight division Raw could be as well, but it requires the WWE to admitting failure and looking at why the former works and how the latter could work.
