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WWE: Cruiserweights Who Have Main Evented WrestleMania

By AJ Balano

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Ric Flair made interesting comments in regards to Finn Balor, one of the more eyebrow-raising was that he didn’t think cruiserweights could main event a WWE Wrestlemania. However, there have been instances of smaller guys headlining the Show of Shows.

Pro-wrestling is a big man’s game. The general idea is that the bigger you are, the more larger than life you are, the more likely you are to become a big attraction, which leads to main events, sell-out crowds, and championships.

On his podcast, Ric Flair took aim at Finn Balor; while he generally praised Balor’s work, Flair did not believe that Balor and talent built like Balor, presented like Balor would ever have a chance at headlining WWE’s biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania.

The statement caused a stir within the pro-wrestling community, with some agreeing with the two-time hall of famer, and some accusing Flair of being out of touch. While his opinion on Balor is his own, Flair may have overlooked the notion that WWE has indeed had cruiserweight-type talent main eventing the grandest stage of them all, whether it was a marquee match or the last match on the card.

The first and most obvious example is also the most recent, as well as the one that most of Flair’s detractors seem to point to. At Wrestlemania XXX, Daniel Bryan competed in not one, but two matches (the opening and the closing), ultimately at the end of the night, hoisting the WWE World Heavyweight Championship above his head. Daniel Bryan himself would most likely categorize himself as a cruiserweight, as evident in his desire to have wanted to be an in-ring competitor taking part of the Cruiserweight Classic that he happens to commentate.

Two years prior to Bryan’s moment of glory, fellow Ring of Honor alum CM Punk defended the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho in one of three main events at Wrestlemania XXVIII. While Punk would always begrudge not being able to close out a Wrestlemania in the last match of the night, the WWE Championship title match is almost always ubiquitously regarded as a Wrestlemania main event, despite its placement on the card.

must read: WWE: Does Ric Flair Make Valid Points About Finn Balor?

At Wrestlemania 22, perhaps the most well-known and successful wrestler synonymous with the term ‘cruiserweight’ in the states, Rey Mysterio, defeated Randy Orton and Kurt Angle in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Although the bout itself was relatively short (ironically like its eventual winner), Rey’s win was monumental for not only cruiserweights, but also luchadors, proving that they and their style is more than capable of being considered a main event at Wrestlemania. To date, Rey is possibly the smallest main event champion WWE has ever had.

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Wrestlemania XX saw two former members of the Radicalz, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, defend and win the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Title respectively. Prior to Guerrero and Benoit’s run in WWE, the two were largely recognized for their work in WCW’s Cruiserweight division, alongside Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko.

Eddie Guerrero defeated the challenger Kurt Angle in one of the more underrated WWE Championship matches in Wrestlemania history, while his best friend Chris Benoit took on the two founding members of D-Generation X and beat them in what many still consider to be the finest triple threat match in history.

The main event of Wrestlemania X8 featured Chris Jericho, WWE’s first Undisputed WWE Champion close out the show against Triple H. Jericho was another pivotal and prominent member of WCW’s Cruiserweight division. WCW placed a glass ceiling over Jericho’s head and never saw him as anything more than a cruiserweight, which would be the catalyst in him jumping ship to Raw to become arguably one of the greatest of all time in WWE.

Perhaps the most ironic thing about Flair’s comments is that the man who idolized him as a young boy and would go on to eventually end his WWE career at Wrestlemania XXIV, Shawn Michaels, is by and large considered to be a cruiserweight by today’s standards. Although the term didn’t exist in WWE during the early to mid 90s until WCW introduced the format to western audiences in the United States, Shawn Michaels based on his size alone, contradicts Flair’s belief.

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Shawn Michaels headlined six Wrestlemanias: XI against Diesel; XII in a historic 60-minute Iron Man match with fellow “small guy” Bret Hart, which is still oft regarded to be one of the greatest matches of all time; XIV against Stone Cold Steve Austin (XI, XII, and XIV were for the WWE Championship); XX in a triple threat match vs. Triple H and Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship; and finally XXVI in a retirement match against the Undertaker.

Bryan, Punk, Mysterio, Guerrero, Benoit, Jericho, Michaels, Hart, hell even Flair’s opponent at Wrestlemania VIII, Macho Man Randy Savage, from a height standpoint, could arguably be considered cruiserweights who have main evented a Wrestlemania. Not only that, the matches those men took part in are also looked at as some of the better and more memorable matches in the history of the event.

With Triple H essentially being groomed to lead the company into the future and based on what he has done with his work in NXT, where he put the NXT Championship on cruiserweights such as Neville, Sami Zayn, and Finn Balor, one can only assume that he will do it again in upcoming Wrestlemanias, especially in particular, Zayn and Balor. Zayn and Balor have proven to be valuable, more-than-capable main event performers with loud and devoted fan bases, who will almost certainly each main event a Wrestlemania card in their career.

Of the two, Balor one-ups Zayn in regards to visibility; while Zayn’s work in ROH as El Generico was highly respected and touted, Balor, as Prince Devitt reached a level of popularity on the international stage that is rarely seen in today’s WWE-dominated wrestling world, as evident in the amount of money Balor’s brainchild, The Bullet Club, made in merchandise alone.

It’s true that Balor’s promo skills need work, but that alone should not restrict him from reaching the main event of Wrestlemania. It didn’t stop Bret Hart or Chris Benoit, why would it stop Finn Balor? Outside of his mic skills, which can be easily remedied through the pre-taped technique that WWE has applied to Brock Lesnar, Balor has the unique look in The Demon King paint, and the in-ring skills necessary to produce Wrestlemania main event quality matches.

Next: Finn Balor Defeating Seth Rollins at WWE SummerSlam Would Be an Upset

Although Triple H may not on record disagree with his idol Ric Flair on his comments, Triple H’s track record and work with Sami Zayn and especially Finn Balor, who carried the NXT brand for the duration he was there, proves otherwise.

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