WWE Draft 2016: Who Will Go into the Cruiserweight Division?

With the recently announced Cruiserweight division for Raw, who will go into the returning division at the WWE Draft?

On Monday Night Raw, Stephanie McMahon announced that the cruiserweight division would be returning as an exclusive to the Raw brand. For practical reasons, this move was probably done to bring balance both shows in regards to their respective championships and divisions.

This further confirms that the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will indeed be split into two yet again, a mere two years since they were unified. With Raw and Smackdown each getting either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Title, the undercards of both shows look to get either secondary championship in the Intercontinental Title or the United States Championship, followed by a third singles division, which appears to be the newly-announced cruiserweight division and perhaps the Women’s division falling under exclusivity as well (though not likely).

In the original 2002 WWE Draft, Raw was home to the World Heavyweight Title, the Intercontinental Title, the Women’s Championship, and the World Tag Team Titles; while Smackdown housed the WWE Championship, the United States Championship, Cruiserweight Title, and the WWE Tag Team Championships.

there may be more winners to come out of the CWC in the form of possible signings.

The announcement of a returning cruiserweight division is interesting given the ongoing Cruiserweight Classic. While it was initially presumed the winner of the tournament would win a prestigious trophy, news of Raw’s Cruiserweight division implies that there may be more winners to come out of the CWC in the form of possible signings. Stephanie even brought up the CWC in her opening promo and asked the crowd if they were keeping tabs on it, a possible sign that WWE wants its audience to familiarize themselves with some of the contestants should they become featured on Raw on a nightly basis as Stephanie seemingly promised.

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Does this mean a WWE return for Tajiri and The Brian Kendrick? Two veteran stalwarts who would undoubtedly prove to be invaluable as the anchor points in Raw’s proposed cruiserweight division. Will WWE sign the perennial favorite to win the CWC, Kota Ibushi, and have him become a fixture on Monday nights? What about Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, and Drew Gulak? Could they too be Raw-bound? These additions would most definitely bring some much-needed change and fresh new faces and most importantly, exciting new competition to the show. Not to mention, Raw is still running at three hours long; a change of pace towards fast, blistering action that these men bring is certainly welcome.

The cultural flair of the CWC certainly accommodates both Neville and Kalisto’s world-traveled and global appeal

Another interesting point worth mentioning is the WWE superstars o the main roster who are already considered to be cruiserweights that are not or were not involved in any major storylines. Superstars such as the recently-split up Kalisto and Sin Cara, and the injured Neville. While the specific weight limit for Raw’s Cruiserweight division was not brought up, the CWC’s limit is 205. The Raw limit will probably be more lenient and allow for heavier competitors, such as the high-flying Neville, but does this imply that Neville and Kalisto may have already become Raw exclusive due to the announcement of the Cruiserweight division? The cultural flair of the CWC certainly accommodates both Neville and Kalisto’s world-traveled and global appeal, possibly allowing them to be able to work with any of the CWC participants should they be signed in the aftermath of the tournament.

Next: WWE Cruiserweight Classic 2016: Exclusive Interview with Clement Petiot

The announcement of Raw’s Cruiserweight Division is an unexpected game changer that affects NXT and the CWC moving forward. It will be interesting to see how the Draft plays out, who it will favor more, and how the formats of the shows will be reshuffled, in particular, Smackdown’s, who will undoubtedly look to counter Raw’s new division with something of their own.

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