The WCW cruiserweight division changed wrestling with in-ring work that was far ahead of their time. Many future stars like Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles and Sasha Banks were influenced by the work of the cruiserweights when making their rise in wrestling. Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero became legendary figures after their star in the cruiserweight division.
RELATED: WCW Cruiserweights: Where Are They Now?
WCW had a controversial reputation for the backstage element often leading to drama for most talents. The landscape of WCW featured iconic legends from prior eras holding top spots and using their power. Cruiserweights found their names in drama or news behind the scenes during their time there. Find out what exactly went down with the cruiserweight division backstage in WCW.
10 Eric Bischoff Wanted To Unmask Luchadors
Eric Bischoff deserves credit for bringing international stars to bolster the cruiserweight division. However, that doesn’t mean he was always great at utilizing the talented wrestlers to their full potential.
RELATED: The First 10 WCW Cruiserweight Champions, Ranked
Bischoff had a phase when he wanted to unmask the luchadors from Mexico with no real long-term plan. Rey Mysterio fought it off once, but he eventually had to lose the mask under Bischoff’s tenure. Juventud Guerrera also lost his mask with no real push coming from unmasking.
9 Lenny Lane Was Forced To Vacate Title
One of the more unlikely wrestlers to win the Cruiserweight Championship was tag team specialist Lenny Lane. The duo of Lenny and Lodi played gay characters that often crossed the line with stereotypes in the Vince Russo era.
Turner’s standards and practices demanded Lane drop the belt and gimmick without an explanation. The title was vacated due to this controversial reason and Lenny started a new gimmick parodying the standards and practices team with Lodi.
8 Syxx Joined nWo To Dominate Division
WCW hiring Sean Waltman was a great move to add depth to the early stages of the New World Order. The goal was for the nWo to take over WCW in every area of the product. Hulk Hogan winning the WCW Championship and The Outsiders winning the WCW Tag Team Championship started the momentum.
A major boost from Syxx joining the faction was his ability to work good matches. The cruiserweight division ended up being the ideal place for Waltman to represent the nWo strongly and have impressive performances against fellow work rate stars.
7 Juventud Guerrera Fired For Crazy Reasons
Juventud Guerrera was among the most talented performers in the cruiserweight division. Fans loved Guerrera’s high-flying moves and strong matches. Unfortunately, the backstage antics of Juvie started to gain him heat.
WCW reached the point of no return when Guerrera got a little too wild during a tour in Australia. Juventud was accused of running around a hotel in the nude screaming at the top of his lungs and terrifying hotel employees. WCW released him once they returned to the United States.
6 Dean Malenko Was Most Charismatic Backstage
The technical wrestling skills of Dean Malenko made him the most dominant cruiserweight star. Malenko grounded and pounded his way to success against the high-flyers of the WCW roster in a contrast of styles.
The promos of Malenko held him back from moving up the card with the knock of him lacking charisma. Malenko had a different reputation backstage according to Chris Jericho and many others. The humor and personality of Malenko was shown when the cameras were off.
5 Kevin Nash Sabotaged Their Booking
One of the biggest critics of wrestlers in the cruiserweight division was Kevin Nash in WCW. Nash thrived as a top star breaking out early in the New World Order. However, his input backstage started to grow when having a role in creative.
RELATED: The 10 Worst WCW Cruiserweight Champions Of All Time
Smaller wrestlers were buried by Nash using the term “vanilla midgets” when claiming they’d never draw money. Talents like Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio eventually proved Nash wrong in WWE, but he fought against their pushes outside of the cruiserweight division in WCW.
4 Shane Helms Viewed The Title As Job Security
The end of WCW led to wrestlers scrambling to find any way to remain relevant. Shane Helms admitted that he started to feel the doubts of the company’s future when rumors started to run wild about new buyers.
The momentum of Helms in the cruiserweight division led to him holding the title at the right time. Helms was ecstatic to be the final Cruiserweight Champion when WWE purchased the company since it meant they would likely bring him in for whatever they decided to do with WCW.
3 Vince Russo Ignored Division Rules
The cruiserweight division started with the weight limit as the reason for existing. Only wrestlers under the 210-220 pound limits at different times would be allowed to compete for the Cruiserweight Championship like in boxing or other sports with weight classes.
Vince Russo joining WCW saw that change for the worse when he didn’t care at all about the rules. Ed Ferrara’s Jim Ross parody as Oklahoma saw him pushing the weight limit. Russo didn’t pretend to care about the division at all by turning the Cruiserweight Championship into a comedic prop.
2 Booker T Buried Them To Their Faces
WCW benefited from having the cruiserweight division deliver strong matches, but that didn’t lead to other wrestlers wanting to work with them. Chris Jericho revealed that the cruiserweights were viewed as lower than the rest of the roster.
Booker T was specifically named as someone who didn’t want to work with them. Jericho claimed that Booker would rant in front of wrestlers like Dean Malenko about having to work with them. The years would see Booker change when enjoying working Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero in WWE’s upper card.
1 Eddie Guerrero Wanted Out Of Division Due To Chris Benoit's Success
The WCW matches of Eddie Guerrero always delivered, but he didn’t enjoy being pigeonholed in the cruiserweight division. Guerrero was not shy about his desire to move up the card into a bigger role when getting over as a heel.
Eric Bischoff revealed that Chris Benoit working with names like Diamond Dallas Page and Sid Vicious gave Eddie hope of the same success. The two were best friends with similar sizes and skill sets. Guerrero never getting a fair opportunity played a huge role in the decision to leave WCW.
NEXT: The 5 Best WCW Cruiserweight Title Matches (& The 5 Worst)
