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While none of their matches are likely to out-do anything featuring The Great Khali in this year's "Worst Match of the Year" awards, if there was a feud in 2008 that was destined to fail, it was the one which involved Rey Mysterio and Kane.
I'm not even referencing the aborted storyline in which Kane had supposedly "mutilated" Rey, but instead the idea of having the heavyweight "Big Red Machine" routinely wrestle a man over 12 inches and 100 pounds lighter than him. There may be few better stories in sports than that of the victorious underdog, but when it is "entertainment" you're aiming to provide, there are undoubtedly better opponents on both sides of this match-up.
This series of bouts -- not to mention the fact that Rey now seems to have moved from a program with Kane, to one with Mike Knox -- caused me to once again lament the absence of a true place for Mysterio's unique skills. Notwithstanding the occasional match with, say, Randy Orton or Edge, the San Diego native is clearly in more regular need of talented opponents of a relatively similar size. So, one wonders, why is the WWE so adverse to a Cruiserweight division, which would make the most of one of the most popular babyfaces in the entire organisation?
It's now over ten years since the Cruiserweight Division in WCW became THE place for the finest wrestling almost anywhere on the planet. Fought in a fast-paced Japanese-Lucha hybrid that most North American fans had never seen, it was revolutionary. While Hollywood Hogan, Roddy Piper et al plodded through their main event outings, the likes of Mysterio, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Ultimo Dragon, and Chris Jericho were the highlights of so many episodes of Nitro, and a great many pay-per-views of the era.
It took WWE until 1997 to make a serious play for what they called their Light Heavyweight division, although the company's interest in the genre was largely cut short by the fact that their nominated top star, The Great Sasuke, never signed a full-time contract, leaving the opponent he defeated at In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede, Taka Michinoku, to carry the mantle. Though Michinoku then won a tournament in December to crown a new champion, with Sasuke's return to Japan, the title was a dead duck. And a year later, it was no more than comedy fodder for Duane "Gillberg" Gill.
So although the initial Light Heavyweight project wasn't an immediate success, because the company has Mysterio -- the world's most popular Light Heavyweight -- on its books, there seems little reason to not position him to have the best matches possible. Looking at the WWE roster, there are many performers who seem much more attractive opponents for Mysterio in a Light Heavyweight division; without even adding to the roster for this purpose, Santino Marella, Jamie Noble, Brian Kendrick, Gregory Helms, and Evan Bourne all immediately fit the bill.
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Though it is easy in 2008 to blame the WWE writing team for all and sundry, ultimately it is Vince McMahon who has vetoed a strong push for Cruiserweight wrestling as a whole. The reasoning is clear, just by looking at his history of bringing up talent from the developmental territory -- McMahon prefers heavyweight superhuman-types over all else. But a time when WWE is searching for new stars, they shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. As things stand, Mysterio is currently an exceptionally popular wrestler, whom far too often is having unpopular matches.
A promoter of McMahon's experience should be savvy enough to look beyond his own preferences, to find what is best for his company, especially at a time when interest in the WWE product has never been lower. If he believes that no-one wants to see smaller athletes, he could do worse than remind himself of the immense popularity WCW's Cruiserweight division held, despite rarely being the object of television time to build the matches.
Not only that, but he should also make a point to watch the replay of the 147-pound boxing bout between Oscar de la Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao. For that contest took in $17 million at the box office, and promoter Bob Arum believes that when all the pay-per-view buys are counted, the bout could draw as many as 1.8 million viewers, all paying $60 each. (Early numbers are showing 1.2 million buys.)
No-one needs me to pick out the differences between boxing and professional wrestling, but in the former, there isn't a Heavyweight match that can even come close.
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Brian Elliott is a British journalist covering soccer, MMA, and pro wrestling. If he had his way, WWE would have a Light Heavyweight division, and Pro Wrestling NOAH's KENTA would be the champion.