Let me start off with this title change. I just feel like it is going to be one of those short title reigns. Kendrick will likely win it back this week or the next Raw PPV. The title change only really happened to create some buzz for the new show.
Onto the new show. 205 Live. They had it after Smackdown last week. And it may not have worked out the way the WWE would have hoped. A lot of fans left after Smackdown ended. They did not stick around for the cruiserweights. One of my favorite tweets from someone that was there that night mentioned the fans leaving, but also mentioned a lot of fans still there around him being drunk. Yeah, that's how I picture a lot of wrestling neckbeards. You can say that all the WWE has to do is schedule things better, but the problem may be deeper than that.
I mentioned that the cruiserweight division is getting some momentum, but is it organic? Or is the WWE kind of forcing this? Wrestling fans tend to love this style of wrestling. But has the WWE really done enough to get this thing over with the wider audience. A show on the WWE Network is not going to do it. The WWE is just preaching to the choir. Wrestling fans that have been subscribing already saw the Cruiserweight Classic. They are already invested. What does the WWE gain from 205 Live? This will likely not be a long-term show. It will be like Mick Foley's recent show on the WWE Network. It will be around for a few episodes, then get rotated out for something else.
This show is just not likely to draw in new subscribers for the WWE. Fans that would be interested in these cruiserweights are the same ones that are hooked on NXT. They are the ones that would want to be watching the main roster PPVs to see guys like AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. The WWE already has their $9.99. How much more are they really gaining? If someone is paying the WWE $9.99 to subscribe for a month, the WWE has their money whether they watch just the brand PPVs or everything else on it. They have their money whether they use the WWE Network once a month or several times a week. It is really just fan service.
I do not think the WWE even knows what a fair opportunity looks like. This is a company that is guilty of not giving their own workers fair opportunities in the past. There is no denying it. Workers have gotten over and found themselves in the same position they were in as if they never succeeded. Meanwhile, workers that were not connecting well with the audience have been forced down throats to make them look great. You sometimes see failing agendas continue to get pushed, not just individuals. To top it all off, you have had people that got over organically and not get the better push for themselves be used to put over the WWE-backed individuals not getting over. It is just a terrible situation that led to failure.
The WWE is taking things that smarks like and just treating them like they are big successes. I am not just talking about certain individuals, like AJ Styles. I mean agendas, like the women's revolution and the cruiserweight resurgence. Giving these things a chance doesn't just mean you treat it like it is established already. You have to give these cruiserweights a chance to get over with more than just smarks. If they do that, then you give them 205 Live. That way, they are more likely to draw in a wider audience for the WWE Network. It isn't about just rewarding them. It is about properly creating and utilizing draws.
The WWE needs to stop treating these cruiserweights like they are something different. Stop with the purple stuff. Yeah, it is great that the division is back, but just incorporate it into the show. Treat them in a more organic manner. They might have an easier time working out that way.
Let me close by just focusing on one specific cruiserweight. Where's TJ Perkins? This is the first Cruiserweight Champion of the new title. I have said in the past that having someone make history like this should be justified. Perkins was not a big name prior to the title win. He wasn't extraordinarily over. The only way you can justify his big moment is if the WWE legitimately put an effort in to get him over and make him into something great. I don't think they did a great job of that during his title reign. And they have not followed up with him properly since he lost the title. Would it have been so terrible if he was the one that got the title shot last week and won the title back. Since he is the first man to hold this title, he should be treated as the centerpiece of the division, until he flops, something better comes along, he does something terrible, or he leaves the company. The WWE just did not give him a good opportunity so far. He might be a good centerpiece. But the WWE isn't helping him.
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