CRUISERWEIGHT FLASH: THE NEW ERA

Are we truly heading into a New Era in the WWE? It may be, but the jury is still out.

Yes, the first RAW and SMACKDOWN after the Draft where the best broadcast of each show this year. Was that because of the brand split, or because creative actually tried to think things through? Look how the next two weeks went, then think about it.

Either way, if this is a New Era, it didn’t start with the Draft on SMACKDOWN LIVE, and it didn’t start with NXT.

Follow me here for a moment: The new era started with the CWC: Cruiser Weight Classic. No, I don’t mean the actual tournament.

The announcement of the CWC is what kicked off this New Era. Why? Because in all the shuffle of the Brand Split and Draft and claims of a New Era the only thing new (to the WWE) is the CWC Tournament. For the WWE this is groundbreaking – that is why it is the true starting point of any New Era.

NXT is not completely ground breaking, no matter how much WWE and ESPN what to hype it as such. WWE has had development areas for years (OVW, FCW, and others). In fact NXT has its roots in Florida Championship Wrestling. NXT has simply evolved into its own beast and into a phenomenon in its own right.

But NXT has being around far too long to be considered the start of the New Era.
Hell, it certainly isn’t the Brand Split or Draft. This was already done once, and abandoned years ago. How can something be considered NEW when it is a Blast from the Past.

No, the CWC is the ONLY thing new and groundbreaking within the WWE. Tournaments like this have been common place in Japan for Decades, and many American promotions also had similar tournaments (like ROH).

The announcement of this tournament sent a shockwave through the WWE that was sorely needed. The WWE, WWF, WWWF have never done anything like this. Not in a format set up similar to something like NJPW Super J Cup.

So far, the talent has knocked it out of the park. While Cedric Alexander, Gran Metalik and Kota Ibushi have stood out – like many thought – other little known talent has shined as well. Even with losing, many of these gentlemen haven’t just put themselves on the map, they’ve brunt a hole in it.

Just how high can these guys fly? They’ve already grabbed the Brass Ring by just being in the tournament. The glass ceiling is about to be shattered . . . Time to touch the sky.