Eddie Guerrero, cruiserweight wrestling, and me

All fans of professional wrestling have that match or moment where everything changed. A switch flips, the planets and stars align just right, and everything suddenly makes sense. For me? I had this moment during the main event of WWE No Way Out on February 15, 2004. The reigning, defending, heavyweight champion of the world Brock Lesnar versus the charismatic, lying, cheating, stealing Eddie Guerrero for the WWE title. I was three months from turning four, it was late, and I was tired, but I couldn’t miss this match for Eddie. Ever since I could remember, I thought Eddie was just the coolest person ever. Sure sometimes he cheated in matches but he made it cool. Eddie was really cool, and in my four-year-old mind, there was nothing cooler than hanging on the ropes to taunt your opponent.

But what was really cool to me was Eddie’s fighting style. I loved it. I loved watching the flips, I loved his top rope moves, I loved his speed, I loved the way he could slip away from the bigger guys. Eddie wasn’t a big guy, he was classified as a “cruiserweight” meaning he was too much of a little guy to be considered a heavyweight - guys like Brock Lesnar, Triple H, John Cena, Undertaker, and Edge were heavyweights. But they weren’t cool like Eddie.

I watched through blurry, sleepy sight as Eddie and Brock wrestled, David and Goliath personified clashing in the ring. Brock used his size advantage over Eddie throughout the match, attempting an F-5 and knocking down the referee. Lesnar then attempted to take advantage, going to the WWE title to hit Eddie - a classic Eddie move that he’d do in his own matches to win. Goldberg, a wrestler who had feuded with Lesnar for a while at that point, came down into the ring and speared Lesnar. Goldberg retreated, and Eddie countered Lesnar's second F5 into a DDT on the title, kicking the belt out of the ring, and performing his Frog splash to pin Lesnar and - One! Two! Three! - Eddie wins the WWE Championship. Confetti reigns, Tazz and Michael Cole are losing it, and I’m losing it.

Photo credit to WWE

David defeated Goliath. Eddie slayed the Beast. The little guy, against all odds, won. Even now, I can hear Tazz and Michael Cole’s commentary on the match. I can hear them screaming about how Eddie was fighting back, how Eddie pinned Brock Lesnar, how Eddie did it, Eddie did it! I remember their commentary somehow made the moment even more special for me. They were thrilled for Eddie.

I think this match has had a profound impact on me ever since. If you know anything about me, you’ll know a few things: I love pro wrestling, Eddie Guerrero is my favorite wrestler of all time, and I absolutely love cruiserweight wrestling. You’ll also know I’ve watched wrestling my entire life. My dad got me into wrestling, his dad got him into wrestling, and so on. For years until they passed away, I would call my grandparents so I could tell my papaw what happened during WWE pay-per-views. My papaw bragged to anyone who would listen that I was his personal commentator.

I’ve been obsessed with cruiserweight wrestling ever since I can remember, it started with Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, and today it’s guys like Mustafa Ali, Cedric Alexander, Tony Nese, and Drew Gulak. My Twitter bio mentions it, I’ve had the same icon for years - Homer Simpson edited to wear gear for 205 Live, and the majority of my tweets during the shows are about the cruisers. My love for cruiserweights is arguably what I’m most known for on Twitter, other than my love for the New Day and Jon Moxley.

In WWE a “cruiserweight” was later defined as any wrestler classified as being 205lbs or less. Cruiserweights fascinate me. I notice even when I don’t mean for it, I tend to like cruiserweights the most. In another life, Xavier Woods competed in the Super Junior Tag Tournament with Kota Ibushi; Kenny Omega, also tagging with Kota Ibushi, won the DDT Pro-Wrestling Junior Heavyweight title (Kenny is now considered a heavyweight, but when I first discovered him, he would be considered a cruiserweight); from the moment I saw him, I’ve thought Tyler Breeze had all the makings to be a megastar; like many kids, I wanted to be the one Rey Mysterio gave his mask to; in my opinion, Kip Sabian is one of the most underrated wrestlers in AEW. I gravitated toward them without a second thought. This isn’t to say I don’t like heavyweights - there are some that I like! Jon Moxley, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston and Big E, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn, for example, are all heavyweights that I am a huge fan of. But there’s just something about cruiserweights that I love especially.

Photo credit TheSportster

The original Cruiserweight Championship, originally a WCW title, operated from 1996 until 2007, with Hornswoggle as the final champion. In those eleven years, there were a recognized 36 champions and a combined 34 reigns with Rey Mysterio holding the record for eight reigns total. “The Hurricane” Gregory Helms would hold it for a record 385 days, the longest-reigning cruiserweight champion in history. The championship would be without a champion multiple times during the ten years, with the first vacancy due to a technicality: Dean Malenko won a title shot dressed as Ciclope, not himself.

Hornswoggle would hold the title for 65 days after winning it in a Cruiserweight Open against Funaki, Jamie Noble, Shannon Moore, and Jimmy Wang Yang. The championship would be vacated on the aired September 28, 2007, Smackdown! tape delay by acting General Manager Vickie Guerrero. She claimed that Hornswoggle’s recently being revealed as Mr. McMahon’s long-lost son and his small stature would eventually jeopardize his well-being, so she took the title away for his safety. The title was then retired without an official announcement. The cruiserweight division wouldn’t have an official title for nine years.

The Cruiserweight Classic, a 32-man tournament, happened in 2016. Tournament qualifying matches took place in various promotions of the indie circuit, including well-known promotions such as Revolution Pro Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, and Evolve. Cruiserweights around the world fought for the chance to qualify for the Cruiserweight Classic. During the final matchup, the winner of the tournament would become the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Champion, defending the title on the Raw brand. This championship would be standalone from the previous one, keeping the two titles with an entirely separate history and reigns. Ultimately, TJ Perkins would win the tournament against Gran Metalik, marking him the first Cruiserweight Champion in almost a decade. The division eventually got its show exclusively for cruiserweights as a stand-alone in 2018 called 205 Live.

Photo credit WWE

In my personal opinion, WWE never utilized the new cruiserweight division the way they should have. The cruiserweights always felt like an afterthought - they were never given much time. Their segments were shorter, matches were considered unimportant, and the wrestlers were never shown. This was largely disappointing to me and others that had watched the Cruiserweight Classic. The crowd begged for certain wrestlers to be hired even though they had lost the tournament - notably, chanting “Please sign Cedric” after Cedric Alexander lost his second-round match against Kota Ibushi. Despite this, WWE seemingly did not consider the cruiserweights nor their title as important as the other wrestlers.

Until the seventh and ninth champion, Enzo Amore came around: suddenly the division was used. People talked about them. People were tuning into 205 Live weekly. Even though Enzo eventually vacated the title, it still felt like WWE was starting to care, because another tournament was held for the division. The title would even be fought for on The Grandest Stage of Them All…. but after that, it was almost like you could feel their care for the division diminish. Slowly, you watched as the ropes for the division - which would be changed from Raw’s red ropes or Smackdown’s blue when the division was shifted to Friday nights to 205’s purple - wouldn’t be changed. WWE wouldn’t show the cruiserweights at all on Raw or Smackdown, or if they did their storylines were considered unimportant. Eventually, WWE took who was considered 205 Live’s heart and soul, Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali, and shipped them off to Raw and Smackdown. It is my opinion that this was the beginning of the end for 205 Live and the cruiserweight division as a whole.

205 Live was discontinued in February 2022, rebranded as NXT Level Up, and the cruiserweight title would be unified with NXT’s North American Title. While there are wrestlers still considered “cruiserweights” they, once again, have no title to fight for. But, despite this, they remain my favorite part of wrestling. Because it isn’t the title reigns, or the storylines, or how important the company sees them - my love for cruiserweights has always been about the wrestlers.

Ever since I watched Eddie Guerrero, I’ve been drawn to cruiserweights for the same reason. I love watching the flips, I love top rope moves, I love their speed, I love the way they can slip away from the bigger guys. Not only that, but many of the modern cruiserweights remind me of Eddie in other ways. Eddie had this magic when he spoke: you glued your eyes to the screen. He made you believe. Few wrestlers can do that, and cruiserweights have that effect on me. One cruiserweight in particular, who in my opinion is incredibly underrated in the eyes of some WWE fans, has this pull arguably close to Eddie.

Photo credit WWE

Mustafa Ali. The heart of 205 Live. In my opinion, Mustafa is one of the very best that WWE has to offer right now. I’ll go as far as to say Mustafa Ali could be one of the top wrestlers in the world if given the chance. I’ve been fascinated by Mustafa ever since I first saw him in the Cruiserweight Classic, and I can’t believe I almost was never introduced to him. Mustafa was an alternate in the tournament after Brazilian wrestler Zumbi had issues with his visa; Lince Dorado, who was already in the tournament, vouched for Mustafa. He would replace Zumbi in the tournament. Mustafa didn’t win the tournament - he lost in the opening against Lince in less than 6 minutes. But in those 6 minutes, he convinced me to be a fan.

I loved watching his flips, I loved his top rope moves, I loved his speed, I loved the way he could slip away from the bigger guys. Mustafa had this smile on his face during his matches - he was confident not because he thought he was better than you. But because Mustafa knew how good he is. Eddie smiled the same way - though sometimes Eddie’s smile came from a place of cockiness, it was always fueled by his belief in himself. Mustafa reminds me a lot of Eddie in many ways, and I mean that in the most sincere, genuine way possible.

But do you know what really reminds me of Eddie? Mustafa’s promo skills. When Mustafa speaks, I am glued to the screen. I believe everything he says. Whether he’s talking about his heart versus Cedric Alexander’s soul, his reason for chasing the light, or his reason for starting Retribution, I’ve always believed in what Mustafa has to say. He has this pull, you can’t look away from him. When he’s given a match, Mustafa can light a spark. If you give him 5 minutes, he’s going to use every second of it to give one of the best, if not the best, promo of the night. Luckily, it seems WWE recently has rediscovered just how talented Mustafa is, as seen by him recently returning to Raw after not being seen since November. He is currently in a storyline with The Miz and the new United States champion Austin Theory.

Cruiserweight wrestling has been something that I’ve been obsessed with since I can remember. It’s always been my favorite form of wrestling. And I place all of my years of obsession and love for it on watching Brock Lesnar versus Eddie Guerrero when I was a kid. That match is the first wrestling memory I have. Eddie Guerrero fundamentally shaped the way I watch and enjoy wrestling, as he did for many, many other people in the world.