When Stephanie McMahon announced that Monday Night RAW would be adding the Cruiserweight Division to its rank, fans immediately became excited. The cruiserweights have always been an exciting element of WWE television but this year may be the best.

The Cruiserweight Classic tournament has allowed the WWE Universe an insight to wrestlers a lot of them may never have watched perform before. Now, they’ll get to watch a number of their favourites on a regular basis. 

Over the past few weeks, vignettes have aired during Monday Night Raw proclaiming the Cruiserweights are coming and now we have what should be the first influx of performers.

The initial list includes Cedric Alexander, Tommaso Ciampa, Noam Dar, Jack Gallagher, Johnny Gargano, Brian Kendrick, Gran Metallik, TJ Perkins, Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa

One name that isn’t on that list but has been rumoured to have signed a contract with the WWE is Tajiri. It is unknown whether or not he will be joining the division. 

All performed well in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, including Metallik and Perkins who are set to take part in the live finale next Wednesday against Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi respectively. 

Both Sabre Jr. and Ibushi reportedly rejected deals from the WWE and aren’t likely to join the Cruiserweight Division. 

Competing in NXT

It is reported that all of the Cruiserweights are also expected to compete for NXT too, but this is more toward house shows and less of NXT Television.

Some performers are still expected to appear on NXT Television but those names are unknown as of yet. 

It is quite possible that the most popular Cruiserweights from the tournament are those likely to appear on NXT TV to give the NXT Full Sail audience some of their favourites to watch, as more NXT superstars are promoted to the WWE main roster. 

Those names would include the likes of Cedric Alexander and Jack Gallagher who both put on incredible matches during the tournament.

Photo: The Wrestling Realm. 

Representing the UK Scene

The professional wrestling scene in the United Kingdom is continuing to have a resurgence and the WWE Universe has been able to see three top performers. These aren’t likely to be the last. 

Zack Sabre Jr. isn’t joining Noam Dar and Jack Gallagher as the UK contingent in the Cruiserweight Division but both could be top stars for the WWE. 

Gallagher got huge support from the NXT crowd thanks to his different gimmick and incredible performances and will be looking to continue this into the future. 

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About the author
Connor Bennett
Everton editor for VAVEL UK - contributing since 2015. Premier League accredited journalist. Journalism graduate from Liverpool. Writing about Football, eSports and the NFL. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: ConnorBennett14