from WCW Magazine November 99
by Mark Madden
The first match on the first Nitro was a cruiserweight
bout matching the late Brian Pillman and Jushin Liger. WCW kicked off its
most important telecast with two lightweight competitors.
WCW obviously considered cruiserweights to be very important. And they have remained an integral part of the company.
Cruiserweight wrestling is a different kind of grappling. It doesn't involve the power, brutality and sheer violence of a heavyweight match. It is a display of grace, skill and plenty of high flying. Some would rather watch the cruiserweights than anyone else.
WCW's cruiserweight division seems prepared for even bigger and better things. Most of the division's all-time greats are still on hand, namely Rey Mysterio, Jr., Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera and Psychosis. Lenny recently made a big splash by winning the cruiserweight belt. Kaz Hayashi seems ready to finally realize his potential and make a swift run through the cruiserweight ranks. And Lash LeRoux is a promising youngster.
Rey Mysterio, Jr. probably is the king of WCW's cruiserweights. He has held the belt a record of five times and has established that he can beat anyone at any weight. Witness his "giant killer" win streak against Kevin Nash, Bam Bam Bigelow and Scott Norton.
But Mysterio doesn't mind being considered a cruiserweight first and foremost. "I have no problem being a cruiserweight," he says. "I want to go out and have good matches and entertain, and the cruiserweight matches are usually the most entertaining matches on a WCW show. We're so evenly matched that we can go out there and really do a lot of things for 15 minutes."
Asked to name WCW's top cruiserweights, Mysterio responds with usual group: Kidman, Guerrera, Psychosis and Eddy Guerrero, "when Eddy wants to compete in that division."
Mysterio thinks cruiserweights should wrestle frequently against bigger competitors. "Yeah, because you don't want to get stereotyped," he says. "Personally, I want to show I can fight bigger guys. And there are some bigger guys who wrestle like cruiserweights, big guys who use the same style. Look at Hugh Morrus. He does a lot of the stuff we do. I would love to wrestle him. "I really loved it when I beat some of the bigger guys. It did a lot for me. After Nash beat me in the rematch, I didn't get as many matches against the big boys. But I want to wrestle them again."
If Mysterio is the king of the cruiserweights, Kidman is the crown prince. He has held the cruiserweight title two times and has teamed with Mysterio to win the world tag title. Kidman's Shooting Star Press maneuver may be the most electrifying move in wrestling.
Kidman doesn't see being a cruiserweight as merely a matter of size. He also views it as a matter of skill, style and substance. "In fact, it's really style even more than size," Kidman says. "Cruiserweights provide a lot of action and a lot of high flying. We always have a good match.
"But I definitely agree with Rey about it being important that we wrestle bigger guys, too. I'm a big believer that anybody can beat anybody on a given day. With the high-flying stuff we do--and a lot of it comes out of nowhere--we can catch a big guy off-guard. And the fans like to see a little guy wrestle a big guy. I bet a lot of people showed up to watch David vs. Goliath."
Kidman cites Mysterio as WCW's best cruiserweight: "It was great winning the tag titles with him and it's always great to wrestle him," Kidman says. "He's probably the best opponent I've had--him and Juvi."
Guerrera is as talented as any cruiserweight. He's a three-time world cruiserweight champ, and he has a great 1-2 finishing punch: the Juvi Driver and the 450 Splash. He also brings a lot of personality to the division as a "bad guy."
"Juvi's tremendous," Mysterio says. "We've wrestled each other hundreds of times dating back to when we were both in Mexico. He's as tough an opponent as I've ever faced. He's strong, he's tough, and he knows how to wrestler. He has so many moves, and he can do anything in the air."
Psychosis may be the most underrated of the cruiserweights. Another former holder of the cruiserweight belt, Psychosis' long, lanky build gives him added leverage against shorter foes. He's very adept on the mat or in the air, and he has a quick temper that servers him well.
"Psycho's awesome," Kidman says. "He maybe doesn't get the credit he deserves, but he will--he's too talented not to. He's kind of tall for a cruiserweight, which gives him a little edge."
Kaz Hayashi was virtually clueless during his early days in WCW. The Japanese youngster barely spoke English and had few friends. If you can't function in society, you can't function in a wrestling ring, and Hayashi struggled. But Hayashi is more comfortable in America now, and he seems ready to compete at a level befitting his awesome skills. A cruiserweight title reign likely is in his future.
"Kaz Hayashi is the hardest working wrestler in WCW, because he is the most appreciative wrestler in the company," says Sonny Onoo.
Lenny recently won the WCW cruiserweight title for the first time. His despicable hairstyle, bad taste in eyewear and weird relationship with his brother Lodi aside, Lane can wrestle.
"I'm very, very uncomfortable wrestling Lenny," Kidman says. "There's something about him that's very strange, something I can't put my finger on, something I don't want to put my finger on. It was one thing when his body was covered in that stupid ab spray, but now it seems to be covered in some kind of lubricant. I can't take away from his talent, but like I said, I'm very uncomfortable wrestling him."
Lash LeRoux is another up-and-comer.
WCW recently signed more than a dozen top cruiserweights who were working the independent circuit. You probably are unfamiliar with the likes of Joey Matthews, Christian York and Shark Boy, but you will get to know them. They are the next generation of cruiserweight stars.
And WCW's close ties with wrestling interests in Japan always leaves open the possibility of a Japanese cruiserweight legend such as Jushin Liger, Koji Kamenoto or Shinjiro Otani joining the company.
The cruiserweight division helps set WCW apart from its competitors. Aside from Japan, no other promotion has fully recognized the excitement, skill, color and entertainment value of the cruiserweights. In many ways, Liger vs. Pillman started it all. And the stunning moments have been delighting fans ever since.
Nobody does cruiserweights better than WCW. And nobody wrestles better than WCW's cruiserweights.