Why WWE Must Bring Back the Cruiserweight Championship in 2025

Given WWE‘s current stride for global expansion, there is one defunct championship that could actually mean something beyond the marketing buzzwords—the World Cruiserweight Championship. Once a showcase for innovation and international flair, the title has been sitting on a shelf collecting dust somewhere since the end of its last run in 2022.

But now, in 2025, with WWE’s recent acquisition of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and a renewed spotlight on Lucha Libre on WWE television, it might be the perfect time to bring this championship back into the fold.

The Cruiserweights Stole The Show In WCW

WWE Has Struggled With The Division

• WCW’s cruiserweight division was fast, flashy, and critically beloved.
• WWE failed to recreate that same magic across multiple eras.
• High-flyers like Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero made the belt feel like main-event gold.

The WCW Cruiserweight Championship was a staple of the brand in the mid-to-late ’90s, but WWE has never been able to recapture that magic. The division was more than just a mid-card pit stop; it was a weekly destination for professional wrestling fans. High-flying, breathtaking talents like Rey Mysterio Jr, Eddie Guerrero, and Juventud Guerrera seemed more like living video game characters than real-life performers. The matches were always fast, fluid, and packed with style. The Cruiserweight Championship wasn’t just a belt—it was more like a 200 mph art exhibit:

When WWE acquired WCW in 2001, the championship came along, but it wasn’t until Raw and SmackDown were separated in 2002 that the division really had an opportunity to flourish again. It had its moments under the SmackDown banner starting in mid-2003, but due to a lack of credible cruiserweight talent and some pretty awful booking decisions, the championship was scrapped in 2007.

WWE wouldn’t try again until 2016, which would begin the “205 Live Era” for the championship. Fans got a lot of gems out of that run, from cruiserweight superstars like Buddy Murphy, Cedric Alexander, Enzo Amore (nZo, real1), and Neville (Pac), but the show felt like a third or fourth wheel to WWE’s Raw and SmackDown. The division lacked visibility out on an island of its own, the championship itself arguably looked goofy, and so the WWE/NXT Cruiserweight Championship faded away like WWE’s 2020 pyro budget.

The appetite for high-flying cruiserweight wrestling, however, has never gone away. If anything, the current wrestling climate, with fans embracing high work rates and international styles, as well as WWE’s purchase of AAA and their renewed interest in the Lucha style, has made it more relevant than ever.

WWE & AAA Could Build A Bridge With The Cruiserweight Championship

Lucha Libre Could Meet Modern Wrestling With The Title

• WWE’s acquisition of AAA creates the perfect cross-promotional platform.
• The Cruiserweight Title can become a shared spotlight for Lucha talent.
• Potential dream matches could headline international events.

WWE’s newly minted ownership of AAA opens up the (forbidden?) door to something fresh. We’re talking mask-wearing, rope-walking, crowd-hyping Lucha Libre madness clashing with WWE’s style. It’s not just a good business move or bolstering the roster, it’s a cultural fusion between WWE and AAA. What better way to glue these two styles together than the resurrection of the legendary Cruiserweight Championship, defended across both promotions?

Picture this: AAA’s Laredo Kid defending the cruiserweight title against Dragon Lee at a WWE PLE, or Santos Escobar, a former NXT Cruiserweight Champion who is hungry for the chance to be WWE’s next top Hispanic superstar, returning to his roots in a high-stakes Lucha showcase in Mexico City. This isn’t fantasy booking—it’s marketing gold and match-of-the-year bait rolled into one. WWE wants international expansion? Cool. Let’s start by putting one of the world’s most respected styles of wrestling back in the spotlight.

WWE Needs A Showcased World Cruiserweight Championship

It Can’t Be Buried On NXT Level Up Like It Was On 205 Live

• Nostalgia is a money printer—if done with respect and visibility.
• A unified title defended across all brands gives it instant credibility.
• The style thrives elsewhere, so WWE needs to capitalize now.

Nostalgia can be quite a money-maker in wrestling, but it’s easy to miss the mark(s). So a revival of the World Cruiserweight Championship wouldn’t just stand on its own, it would have to be a full-blown handshake with lapsed fans of the division, from whatever era they enjoyed the most. A foundation built on wrestling history. The WCW Cruiserweight division was what gave many wrestling fans their first taste of international wrestling flavor, and that spark has reignited at times in WWE, but now is the time for the Cruiserweights to shine once again.

It’s got to be done right this time. It can’t get buried on WWE NXT Level Up or set out to drift like 205 Live. It needs TV time, stakes, and strong creative. If it is treated with the prestige it deserves, fans will care. Leave out the “WWE” and “NXT,” just call it “The World Cruiserweight Championship,” but combine all the previous lineage and open up the division to everyone within the weight requirements, from AAA, NXT, TNA, and the main roster of WWE on Raw and SmackDown! It would be a nice touch to bring in Mike Tenay to call all cruiserweight matches, as well. The division could serve as another proving ground for the right superstars when they arrive at any of these brands.

Cruiserweight wrestling has clearly continued to thrive in indie promotions, New Japan, AEW, and, of course, Lucha Libre itself for all of this time. So why shouldn’t WWE platform this style with its own division?