Stuck Between a Brock and a Hard Place

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. As a Californian, I should be expected to watch the game being as there is a Californian team (for those of you who live under a rock, the San Francisco 49ers), but I would much rather be engrossed in wrestling, because as football goes away for a couple months, wrestling entertainment will always be here, and I can always entertain you fine folks who read!

With that said, Brock Lensar has signed another deal with the WWE, lasting all the way through Wrestlemania 31. Rumor has is that the deal inked is similar to what he is currently signed up for, showing up sporadically throughout the next two years and being paid an exorbitant amount of cash for his appearances.

Just another part-timer.

Brock Lesnar has signed a new contract to last
all through Wrestlemania 31
Courtesy of WWE.

Take this with a grain of salt; sure, the WWE has other "part-timers" like The Rock (current WWE Champion), Chris Jericho, Triple H, and at the current rate, the Undertaker. Yet with the amount of money going out into Brock's pocket and the money going into the WWE on an individual basis, is the contract necessarily worth it? And secondly, with the amount of time Brock has invested in the organization with actually making appearances, is it really effective enough to be engrossed in Brock Lesnar, the character? Lesnar made less appearances than Pay Per Views last year, randomly picking fights with John Cena and then Triple H for not being the corporate "Yes Man" as Laurinaitis was at the time and allowing to let Lesnar run a muck within the WWE. Eventually, Brock broke the Game and "left" as the newly crowned "King of Kings" and Touting to the WWE Universe that he didn't need to be a part of the WWE any longer, and took his leave with Paul Heyman in tow.

However, Paul E. Dangerously came back a few months later in September with a new protege in mind; CM Punk. Heyman's alliance with then then-current WWE Champion propelled CM Punk into a chorus of boos and major heat, as Heyman himself, known over years of wrestling to be "the" bad guy from his days of ECW. Paul Heyman portrays a new level of extraordinary persona of the heel character, and instilled a partial of his own sans-credibility to Punk. CM Punk went on for a record of 434 days as champion, with three of those months with Paul Heyman at his side. Heyman even had newcomer Brad Maddox, and the fresh faced stable "The Shield" work under him to ensure Punk's continual reign as champion... and all these elements could have worked even longer, save for an intervention from Vince McMahon himself. All of these elements ooze heat by Paul Heyman, and he knows exactly how to work the crowd. This writer believes that Heyman himself is one of the better, if not the best, promoter-slash-booker. As Eric Bischoff stated as a title of his biography, "Controversy Creates Cash." Paul Heyman is the embodiment of it. Genius.

Paul Heyman "pleads" with Brock Lesnar last Monday night
to cease his attack on Vince McMahon
Courtesy of the WWE

But now, CM Punk lost the WWE Championship to Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson. What else is there for Punk? And for that matter, where does Heyman go from here? The result? Punk gives The Rock an opportunity for a rematch (what a twist!), and Heyman has been transitioned ever so smoothly from Punk to Brock with a "vicious assault" to Vince. Always known to be a "Paul Heyman" guy, Brock comes back at the right time to restart a feud with Triple H (part-timer extraordinaire, future embedded via Hogan-esqe ability), with the F-5 to the Chairman. And looking deeper into the scheme of things, Vince McMahon "screwed" CM Punk (aligned with Heyman) out the title. Heyman calls upon the Next Big Thing to take care of things with Vince, which will then connect everything down to the Executive Son-in-Law, igniting a repeat of last year's Summerslam for Wrestlemania. Part-timers then go their separate ways and leave the scraps to the active mid-carders.

Granted, this build up (which we haven't seen something this monumental and drawn out for some time) leaves for good storytelling, and there are so many elements and angles brought into this. CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, The Shield, even possibilities for Cena, the Rock, Triple H, Vince McMahon, and many more. All of these wrestlers are tied in with this story one way or another.

Courtesy of the wrestlingtruth.com; WWE

And stuck in the middle of everything, is Paul Heyman.

A Division Divided; the Cruiser Paper Weight

WWE Crusierweight Championship, now lies within the WWE Vault
Courtesy of WWE.

Ladies and gentlemen... I am talking about the ill-fated Cruiserweight division, and the lack of a title thereof. As the (now-defunct) titles of the 220 pound limit have long been past, I will be mainly focusing on the "Cruiserweight" division of WCW to WWF/E. Understandably, the Light Heavyweight championship does have some merit within the World Wrestling Federation, but did not happen to originate and become officially recognized in the states until 1997.

So, what exactly happened to the Cruiserweight Division? This gave smaller sized individuals an opportunity to be revered in the spotlight and allowed to be given some relevance to a show's card nearly every night. The Cruiserweight title brought stars such as Chris Jericho (future six time heavyweight champion, first ever Undisputed Champion), Eddie Guerrero (another cruiserweight-turned heavyweight champion), Billy Kidman (seven time Cruiserweight champion), and Rey Misterio Jr. to be household names. And this is a very short list, but the Cruiserweight Division polished stars who had amounts of potential into what we know them of today.

What had happened to the Crusierweight Division went away with the last "relevant" champion; Chavo Guerrero. Guerrero would end up losing the title in a "Cruiserweight Open" at the Great American Bash (2007) to Hornswoggle, by a gross technicality! Granted, technicalities are very well versed and can be amazing when used in a proper sense, and Hornswoggle was in the right place at the right time with such a creative swerve. Now, if he was utilized the right way, Little Bastard could have been a legitimate champion, but the WWE has maintained Hornswoggle as nothing but a comedy act, year after year. He's nothing more than a valet assistant to The Great Khali and Natalya (another amazing potential buried within comedy). The Crusierweight Championship (and the division as a whole) became a mockery, and devalued what many previous champions had done for it over the sixteen years of its inception. It was defended and retained by use of comical usage of fire extinguishers, pies, interference by other superstars, and other lamed attempts to try and keep Hornswoggle as a consistent champion. Vickie Guerrero axed Hornswoggle, the belt, and the division soon after.

Brad Maddox would be a shining example
of what the Cruiserweights of today
could accomplish.

Is it time to retrieve the Cruiserweight Title from the WWE vault? It has been over five years since we've laid eyes on the mid-card gold, and there are more than enough contenders that would fair well within the Cruiserweight lines. As it has been said before countless of times, Evan Bourne would make an ideal Cruiserweight champion with his high-flying abilities, along with the likes of Epico and Primo, Justin Gabriel, and even newcomer Brad Maddox. Maddox could pull away from the Shield and make a shining example of himself as a qualified cruiserweight, face or heel. I'm thinking more along the lines as a "Paul Heyman" cruiser weight possibly for an interesting run. Maddox has proven himself to have charisma, the looks, the ability to cut a decent promo, and that he could have a positive run in the near future.

It is in the opinion of this writer that the Cruiserweight title should be brought back, and defended to give a meaning to these wrestlers who are stuck in kayfabe-limbo without any real purpose from the creative team at the WWE. With such prestige established from great cruiserweights of the past, opportunities cannot and should not be wasted.