The belt that is. For whatever reason, the WWE has decided to retire the cruiserweight belt.

- Credit, Rajahwwf.com

They should just have an overly big world title or overly developed fat ass title. They would probably have done something with those.

Since the Cruiserweight title came to the WWE, they have had under employment at some point, the following:

Rey Mysterio
Tajiri
X-Pac
Super Crazy
Juventud Guerrera
Psicosis
Gregory Helms
Paul London
Brian Kendrick
Nunzio
Ultimo Dragon
Billy Kidman
Jeff Hardy
Matt Hardy
Shannon Moore
Jamie Noble
Akio/Jimmy Wang Yang
Chavo Guerrero

Now I know a lot of those guys did get to hold the title at some point, or were busy with other stuff, but how the hell can WWE employ all those people at various times and be completely unable to book an entertaining cruiserweight division?

And this problem even stems over to the other belts. Where's the wide range of Intercontinental contenders? None, it's always the champion and whoever happens to be facing the champion on whatever given night. Ditto towards the U.S. title. There's no Women's division, there's the champion and whoever the challenger heading into any given pay-per-view is. The rest of the women are just there for random tag team and non-title matches. Where the fuck are the tag team divisions?

This is a problem. And it's been like this for a few years now and there is absolutely no indication that it's going to get any better any time soon.

I think it's pretty clear that right now in the WWE that the World and WWE titles are the only ones that are worth a shit and they honestly couldn't care less about any of the other ones.

Basically. I keep recalling the blog I wrote last year going into Vengeance: Night of Champions where I broke all the champions and belts down. I could easily do that same format of an article every couple of months.

An article like that would be very enlightening. I'd appreciate seeing it once in awhile.

It may sound like I'm bitching -- and I am -- but if WWE took the three shows they have and made them into ONE show where they actually used their talent versus some of the dumbest storylines known to wrestling history, they could make a product worth seeing. I've never understood the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Heavyweight Championship, the WWE World Tag Team Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship.

And the ECW? It is NOT the ECW...it's WWE's ECW.

And would someone please explain the push of Big Daddy V and The Great Khali?

[B][I][U][SIZE=14]I DON'T GET IT![B][I][U]

Big Daddy V has the biggest tits on the roster. We know how much WWE likes their T n' A.

I can't explain it. Big Daddy V has proven useless as a top tier guy in the past. And The Great Khali is just terrible.

I'm glad to know it isn't just me.

I used to watch Andre the Giant and loved him.

But he was THE giant. There wasn't anyone else even close and that made him unique.

Khali and V surely must know how to wrestle but when they are up against guys less than half their size, it's a little difficult to do.

I liked V better in his former persona if he just has to be on the air.

I don't understand when people think that Big Daddy V or Khali have to wrestle whatsoever. It's not the point, it's not the draw.

Not saying it's my cup of tea, but it's the way it's always been for the most part.

Big Show has some talent. I really like Kane although I hear he will be retiring in a few years and Undertaker, even though I don't consider him a "wrestler" anymore, is a big draw.

I don't see V or Khali as a draw at all. V's character right now just plain stinks and I'm not sure Khali even has a character.

Or am I being too picky?

No, Khali has no drawing power whatsoever. There is a collective yawn in the arena because people know they are about to watch a boring squash match with poor looking offense, and the burial of a superior worker. Personally, I roll my eyes every time he heads to the ring.

First off I didn't say they were a draw. I said that "wrestling" isn't their draw. Which means that people don't pay money to see them wrestle.

Once again Rowe, the WWE isn't hiring simply for your taste. Or for people who love wrestling first.

:blink: Where'd that come from? I never claimed to think that they should. I don't see how it's unreasonable to hold the opinion that Khali is a worthless addition to the roster, because he does nothing but discredit his opponents and bore the crowd. I don't think it's so much that I don't like his work, but I don't think anyone does. It would be one thing if his sqashes were effective in their brutality, but they usually are just him standing there while a smaller wrestler runs into his outstretched fist or boot, then he locks on a vice grip, and then hits that sloppy double chokeslam. There is no entertainment value in that at all, and it's how 90% of his matches go down. When he comes out through the curtains, I get the impression that the crowd is thinking "Damn, it will be at least two minutes until something cool happens, let's just get through this match first."

I agree with Samoa Rowe's assessment of the Khali matches.

It isn't just his taste or my taste WWE should be worried about...it should be the wrestling fans as a whole.

Why? Most net fans have quit watching. The WWE is only concerned with a mainstream audience. There is no wrestling fans as a whole.

Khali's matches might be terrible, but he's effective. Bottom line is the guy had the World title and was main eventing PPV's. Say what you want but the fact of the matter is that if NOBODY cared they certainly wouldn't have put him in that position. Although he was just a transitional champion he still was put in the position for a reason.

What makes you think most net fans stopped watching? Because you did? I don't know if you visit sites like Youtube, but wrestling net fans are thriving over there (and lots of clashes between the "smart" fans and "marks).

Yes, I know that WWE is concerned with their mainstream audience. That is incredibly obvious (Mayweather, movies, divas, etc). I'm trying to say that NOBODY likes Khali or finds him interesting (or marvel at his incredible size) regardless of what part of the fanbase they are coming from. And I've noticed a growing size of TNA casual fans that flat out laugh at WWE for having slugs like Khali on the roster.

Yeah, Khali had the world title and main evented a handful of pay-per-views last year. You might notice that he isn't doing that anymore, the shows he headlined did poor buyrates, and the only reason he won the title was because Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, and Edge were on the sideline and they wanted Batista to chase someone.

I get why WWE thinks it's a good idea to push Khali and I get their reasoning for putting the title on Khali last year, but it still sucks and I'm not sure why you are continually defending him.

Because that's what I hear everywhere. I NEVER stopped. So that's not it either. There are people here that don't watch anymore, as well as many other places that I visit. It's not that MOST people stopped watching it's just that a lot of them did, and the WWE is so far away from doing anything most net fans would like that it's not even funny. Therefore, they honestly don't care about the net fan whatsoever.

#1) A lot of the mainstream audience consists of children. It's not that people like or dislike Khali either. He's been excepted by their audience. Plus, like I mentioned before he main evented PPV. That PPV didn't tank as bad as half of them did for example in 1997 when they had guys that everyone "liked".

#2) TNA casual fans can't laugh at anything. This is the company that brings in people like Roaddog, Billy Gunn, and Judas Mesias. Vince Russo books for them, and they've never made a dime in the wrestling business. Keep laughing it up TNA fans.

Yeah, but he still won it. Regardless of the reason they put the title on him. As much as you me and everyone else loved someone like Owen Hart, they never put him on that level either. Also Kane won the title and never won it again either. Does that mean that he's obviously terrible? No. It just means that he was depushed after his run and never got back there again. I still say that when Khali was champion he wasn't as bad as half the people made him out to be. I've said it once I'll say it a thousand times, people LOVE Andre but hate Khali. Why? Andre wasn't good during most of his career but people act like he's great because that's what they've been told forever. Andre was important because he was a draw and was NEVER that good.

I continually defend him because people don't understand how the wrestling business works. Technically I'm not defending him at all. I'm just explaining shit to people that they don't seem to get. It's not really that complicated.

Well, you and I obviously know different people, but the only people I know who still watch it in any capacity are the net fans. I know numerous casual/mainstream fans who stopped watching (and those who still tune in scoff at Khali) and the few casual fans I know who are current wrestling fans also claim to watch TNA.

#1 Yeah, children will buy into Khali. They buy into most stuff. I'll give you that. Also, you do know that current pay-per-view buyrates now include foreign buys, which wasn't the case in 1997? When Khali's One Night Stand pay-per-view main event does something like 300,000 buys, that's not good news, because that probably means only 170,000 or so of those buys are in the U.S. I'll admit that all the pay-per-views are doing pretty pathetic business, but are you really going to defend a 40 dollar pay-per-view with a seven minute Khali match in the main event that doesn't satisfy anyone?

#2 TNA fans can laugh because Mesias, BG, and Kip all have more business in the ring than Khali could ever claim, and they didn't become World champions. There are plenty of reasons to mock TNA fans that don't include attacking their amusement that a company they don't like (WWE) would make a shitty wrestler the World champion.

They aren't comparable. Andre was a much better worker throughout the 70's than Khali could ever dream to be, and by that point he had achieved legendary status and was booked in an effective role when he was breaking down in the mid to late 80's. Plus, as you said, Andre was a draw. Khali isn't.

That might actually hold up with WWE had ever gotten something positive from having Khali in the company. Thus far they haven't. This isn't the same thing as defending a poor worker like Hogan because he was a draw. If Khali was over and sold tickets, then I wouldn't be complaining like this.

I've seen enough wrestling in my life to know that what TNA is doing right now is some of the worst stuff ever. Seriously, it's a company that gets very good ratings but they have HORRIBLE buyrates on PPV. So basically people will watch it for free, but won't spend a nickel on it. It's a bad way of doing business. Also I don't know ANY mainstream fans that watch TNA in any capacity.

Sure current PPV's include foreign buyrates too. Also back in 97 the PPV's aired for free in a lot of foriegn markets. That ended I think in 2005. Khali didn't draw the One Night Stand buys though. He was part of it along with Cena (who he wrestled), Edge/Batista, and Vince/Lashley (which I would argue was really the draw considering it easily dominated the most TV time at that point). So I don't see how the bad buyrate is strictly Khali.

Yeah a washed up doper, a admitted steroid user who was NEVER good in the ring (Yes, I mean Billy Gunn), and a guy who has never done anything positive outside of Mexico have a lot of business in a ring. But then again I guess Vince Russo, Jeff Jarrett's terrible title runs, all of the terrible PPV, the everything on a pole matches, etc all have a place there though. And PacMan was a champion in the company so I'm thinking that their titles aren't really worth that much either.

Honestly, in the ring they are comparable. How much of Andre's 70s stuff have you seen by chance? I've seen good amounts of it and it's honestly nothing that great. He had a great deal of chemistry in the ring when it relates to the crowd but it's not like the guy was a great technical wrester or anything of the sorts. Andre's legendary status is the fact that he drew. I'm not saying Khali is fucking Jumbo Tsuruta, but the fact that people love Andre and don't see the point of Khali is just fucking hilarious to me.

Khali is something that NO other wrestling company in the world could offer. He's a wrestler thats legit OVER seven foot tall. That's all he is and that's why they want him. It's something that sets the WWE apart and honestly you can say that about guys size in the company in general. That's the reason why when you go to a WWE show you are impressed with the size of most of their guys. But when you go to ROH you realize that you see people on a daily basis that would tower over the majority of their roster.

Actually, it was pointed out to me by someone on another board, that considering TNA Impact does around a 1.1 rating, their ppv buys are sometimes a big percentage of their television audience. Sometimes they also bomb (like putting Team 3D in the main event of Victory Road last year) but their stronger buys are impressive considering their fanbase size.

I can see that point of view. Sure. (Not being sarcastic).

BJ, Kip, and Mesias are all more competent in the ring than Khali, regardless of their obvious flaws. And yes, the Pacman Jones tag title reign was shitty indeed.

I've seen tapes, youtube videos, and downloaded Andre matches from the times and he was more than capable in the ring. And he had the psychology down. Khali hasn't had either. And again, at least Andre was a draw.

Oh boy, he's seven foot tall. That's sooooo cool. Let's go to a live show and marvel at his size. If he was the first giant in wrestling, I could maybe see the appeal, but it's 2008, we've already had Andre, Big Show, Gonzales, etc, and his miserable ring work kills the size appeal. And so what if ROH guys are my height or shorter (Hell, I stood next to Austin Aries once and I was looking down on him) none of that really matters during their matches. I know there are people out there who have this "ooo, he's big, I'm impressed" simple minded outlook on wrestlers, but who cares.

Let me just wrap it up like this: If the Great Khali was fired today, the quality of the shows would improve. No one would miss him. No casual fans, nobody. Business would not go down, and in fact it might go up a little bit now that they don't have a miserable worker to sacrifice superior workers to. Remember how hot Jeff Hardy was last year? Imagine how hot he might have been if he hadn't been murdered by Khali a few times. I know Hardy fucked himself over since then, but at the time there was no reason to do that to him.

Rowe, I'm not saying that he's the most important focus of the show or anything like that. I'm also stating the WWE's policy on hiring, not mine. I'm just saying the fact of the matter is that as far as the WWE is concerned that bigger is better. They are also clear on the fact that they are entertainment and obviously care about that more than wrestling. That's why Khali is used and what he is there for. I'm not saying I like it, but it's a proven fact at this point that they have a business model in place and it works for them. Regardless of how many people have stopped watching wrestling or at least stopped paying to watch it that they have a model to make money hand over fist. There is no other type of wrestling or wrestling company that's catching on with the masses. Although I'm happy that TNA seems to be doing better financially (although I'm still saying that there buyrates and merchandise sales are obviously way smaller than what the WWE receives) it's going to take a long time for them to catch up. They're still a company that is national on a TV scale but not on a touring one.

Also, I'm hearing a lot of potential for the TNA game even though that's completely unrelated, I'm just saying it here because I'm too lazy to post it elsewhere.

I don't want you to think I'm being a dick Rowe, I'm just actually bringing this up.....

But last night people seemed to dig the Khali/Show stuff they seemed to be setting up.

Although Show should win 110%.

I could get Big Show facing Khali much easier than I could see some of the matches Khali has had lately.

Andre the Giant was a fan favorite whether he was a face or a heel the audience loved him. But he was the only true "giant" in wrestling then. King Kong Bundy couldn't equal Andre and Andre knew the fans and how to get reactions. He made it look easy.

Khali does not have that talent. I know that a lot of this is showmanship and perhaps Khali believed that he would receive the same reaction in the States as he did in India. He did not and that may be part of why he is having such a problem.

And Andre spoke, even though it was with a French accent. I understand that Khali can also speak English but for whatever reason WWE isn't allowing him to do that. Even broken English might help him get over a little with the fans.

Andre wasn't the only "true" giant at all back then. Giant Baba gets very little credit as he was the best used big man I've ever seen. He NEVER went over people he shouldn't have and really made stars out of a lot of people. Another cool thing is to see him team with Andre in the early 90s in the Real World Tag League. They didn't win the tourney but they managed to hold a win over the team that won the whole thing.

I never saw Giant Baba in action (at least not that I can remember). I'll have to look around for some old videos to see how he did.

IF you can, try finding some of his 70s All Japan work. There's some good stuff there.

Haha, yeah I saw that. I was sitting there thinking "Dammit, there goes my fucking argument." :P

Good. Now I guess I can quit my position of writing TV for the WWE.

Wish me the best in my future endeavors you fucking assholes!