Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: 205 Live Begins as Ideal Stage for WWE Cruiserweights

1. A Proper Home for the Cruiserweights 

WWE Raw, three hours and all, isn't big enough to contain the cruiserweight division.

Rich Swann, Tony Nese and the rest of the roster members under 205 pounds were getting trampled by Raw's rivalries, comedy acts, big-name guests and monologues. WWE recognized that and found a cure in a hurry.

On Tuesday, the cruiserweight showcase 205 Live debuted.

WWE rediscovered what made this division so appealing during the summer's Cruiserweight Classic tournament. 205 Live spotlighted the wrestlers' backgrounds. It allowed them to show off their individuality. Match time for the warriors ballooned.

One night in, and it's already clear that 205 Live will be the cruiserweight division's savior.

The opening match saw The Bollywood Boyz take down Nese and Drew Gulak. The bout itself was nothing special, but the audience learned more about these four men than they have in over two months' worth of Raw's cruiserweight segments.

Before the bell, WWE aired a vignette highlighting Gurv and Harv Sihra's journey. The brothers talked about their influences and goals and told the story of their blind uncle listening to their entrance during the CWC tourney. 

After the match, an angry Gulak groaned about his opponents.

WWE never provided enough of that brief mic time for Gulak and his peers before. That bit of character development, where fans saw him as indignant and ornery, wasn't a part of Raw.

On 205 Live, it promises to be a regular sight. The show's video packages and interviews will be key to fans' investment in these wrestlers. On Raw, fans often watched on silently as all the cruiserweights blended together in six-man tag matches with no stakes and no story.

There will be room for the cruiserweights to blossom now that they have their own show.

Tuesday's episode provided a great example.

The debuting Jack Gallagher outwrestled Ariya Daivari, leaving the heel tangled in his own limbs on the canvas. Fans got to see Gallagher's unique, comedy-tinted style. They watched him twirl his mustache and do a headstand in a corner before talking about his victory in a post-match interview.

On Raw, he likely wouldn't have received that amount of ring time to introduce himself. There is little chance he would have been able to speak to the crowd as he did on Tuesday, either.

Raw is loaded with storylines and stars to juggle and has rarely made time for the cruiserweights to tell their tales. 

And where Raw has tried to emulate the CWC by making the ring ropes and ring apron purple, it never quite captured the vibe of that event. 205 Live, on the other hand, looks a lot like a continuation of the summer tournament.

The vignettes and longer matches are a part of that, as is bringing in Mauro Ranallo on commentary. His voice has been missing from the division, as he's been assigned to SmackDown instead.

Tim Fiorvanti of ESPN.com praised the commentary team WWE assembled for this show:

Graves, Aries and Ranallo had plenty to rave about during 205 Live's main event. The Brian Kendrick defended the Cruiserweight Championship against Swann in a grab-you-by-the-throat thriller.

Kendrick tried to ground the high-flyer, wrenching his neck with his trademark Captain's Hook hold. But Swann battled on. He escaped, evaded and survived until his swift kicks netted him a title victory.

We have not see that kind of cruiserweight action on Raw. WWE simply hasn't allotted Kendrick and his peers the time to craft that kind of art.

Swann vs. Kendrick lasted over 15 minutes, per CageMatch.net, while Swann's battle with Noam Dar on Monday's Raw was over in three. 

The cruiserweight contests on Raw have often been hurried. The marquee show has been in a rush to get to Goldberg's arrival or The New Day's latest antics. The cruiserweights have had to settle for airtime crumbs.

That battle for a share of the stage won't be nearly as vital anymore, though. 205 Live has created a sky where the cruiserweights can spread their wings.

2. Night-and-Day Approach to Title Reigns 

Sasha Banks beat Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship on Monday's episode. Again.

These rivals have traded the gold back and forth in recent months. According to WWE.com, there have been six women's title changes since July.

WWE has treated the NXT Women's Championship far differently.

The title first won by Paige in July 2013 hasn't even had six total changes in its history.

The NXT women's titleholders before the current champ, Asuka, held on to the belt for an average of 237 days. The last four Raw women's championship reigns ended at an average of 32 days. 

Two women have held Raw's women's title. Banks has won it three times. Flair has won it three times.

WWE's NXT brand has seen five different women win its Women's Championship: Paige, Flair, Banks, Bayley, Asuka.

The Banks-Flair matches have been excellent, but Raw can learn from NXT. Each time a new champ has risen to the top on that brand, it's created a memorable moment. When title changes happen as often as they have in the Banks-Flair rivalry, the dramatic power of each victory wanes.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: WWE Superstars

One of WWE's shows faded away quietly this week. The little-seen WWE Superstars is gone.

"WWE has ended the run of their 'WWE Superstars' series," Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reported. "The series has been replaced by 205 Live."

Looking back at the intro for the incarnation of the show that began in 2009 shows off how much the roster has turned over:

Edge has since retired. Matt and Jeff Hardy moved over to TNA. Vladimir Kozlov is busy running a production company.

Kane's career, meanwhile, marches on some 24 years after his professional debut.

4. The Power of the Faction

Not all wrestlers can shine on their own.

Before Sanity was born, NXT's Sawyer Fulton was struggling to get on the air. The company seemed unsure of what to do with German bruiser Alexander Wolfe.

Then came a stable of unhinged hunters.

The Eric Young-led group has already been a major boost for everyone involved. Fulton and Wolfe are getting steady TV time. And being a part of this crazy crew has given Nikki Cross direction. She has thrived as Sanity's frenzied pit bull. 

And Sanity has been the perfect vehicle for Young.

The leadership role has put his charisma to good use. His name power will help Wolfe, Cross and Fulton get more attention. 

A well-crafted group like this is so often the cure for the struggling-wrestler blues. WWE should remember that as it looks to find ways to get the careers of guys like Neville and Apollo Crews going.

5. Cesaro the Commodity

Everybody wants Cesaro. And with good reason. The Swiss Superman is an unreal athlete.

After he griped about not being on the poster for a WWE show in his home country, others took the opportunity to invite him to somewhere other than Raw. 

SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan tweeted that his brand would treat Cesaro better:

Kenny Omega of New Japan Pro Wrestling responded to the powerhouse, too. He tweeted, "What's your shirt size, bro?" seemingly implying that Cesaro should join The Bullet Club.

It would be fascinating if Cesaro were to head to either SmackDown or NJPW. If Raw keeps finding fun ways to showcase him, as it did when he cleaned house in a bar fight alongside Sheamus, the red brand will be an entertaining home, too.

6. Taking the Revolution Further

2016 has been a year bursting with firsts for the women's division in WWE.

Banks and Flair became the first women to battle in Hell in a Cell and to main event a PPV. The Boss bested Flair on Monday's Raw in the first women's Falls Count Anywhere match. And before them, no women had headlined two editions of Raw.

Lucha Underground, meanwhile, took an even bolder move: It crowned Sexy Star its top champion.

The luchador outlasted a host of other wrestlers in an Aztec Warfare match to claim the Lucha Underground Championship in an episode that aired on Nov. 16. Her title reign ended quickly when Johnny Mundo seized the title from her on Nov. 23.

Still, the unprecedented move to name a female Lucha Underground champ had the wrestling world buzzing. And it stood as a reminder just how far outside the box the promotion is willing to go in order to entertain.

7. The Chairs Match is the PPV's Underdog

Of all the gimmick matches set for Sunday's TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, the chairs match has the least spark.

It's not Kalisto or Baron Corbin's fault. The chairs match has always been underwhelming compared to the can't-look-away action of ladder bouts or TLC contests.

Ladders offer wrestlers a chance to be creatively violent or acrobatic. A crash through a table is inherently eye-catching. Chair shots, especially now that WWE has banned ones to the head, are just not as captivating.

The star ratings Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has given those bouts over the years speaks to that.

Year	Match	Star Rating (Out of 5)
2009	Batista vs. Undertaker	2.5
2010	John Cena vs. Wade Barrett	3.75
2011	Big Show vs. Mark Henry	.25
2012	Sheamus vs. Big Show	3.25
2014	Ryback vs. Kane	.75
2015	Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger	3.25

There have been no great chairs matches at TLC. We've seen two absolute clunkers at the event. And Cena vs. Barrett and Big Show vs. Sheamus were solid.

Corbin and Kalisto are about as likely to steal the show on Sunday by swinging chairs at each other as Titus O'Neil is to win the 2017 Royal Rumble.

8. Parking Lot Brawls

Seth Rollins pounced on Chris Jericho in the parking lot on Monday's Raw. A battle ensued that saw Rollins smash his foe into the cars around them.

That brawl was certainly not the first time wrestlers have warred in this environment. Bruisers collided atop cars back when Memphis was a red-hot territory. 

Here are some of wrestling's finest fights in parking lots:

• Jerry Lawler vs. Eddie Gilbert: Continental Wrestling Association, April 2, 1988
• Steven Regal vs. Belfast Bruiser: WCW Nitro, April 29, 1996
• John Cena vs. Eddie Guerrero: SmackDown, Sept. 11, 2003
• John Cena vs. JBL: Great American Bash 2008
• Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle: TNA Impact Wrestling, June 16, 2011

This kind of fight isn't something WWE should overdo, but it's often refreshing when the warriors find unconventional arenas to fight in. Here's to other rivals taking their fights well beyond the ropes.

9. The Monster Closing In on Gold

Bray Wyatt is one win away from his first championship in WWE.

As promising a star as The Eater of Worlds is and as many titles as the company has, it's surprising that his championship drought has lasted this long. Wyatt debuted on the main roster in the summer of 2013.

At TLC on Sunday, he and Randy Orton will collide with Heath Slater and Rhyno over the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. The heels earned that right by felling American Alpha on Tuesday's SmackDown to become the No. 1 contenders.

It's time to crown him. It's time to let Wyatt sit atop a mountain.

All of his promises of destruction and dominance have grown more and more hollow as he continues to fall short in big matches.

Should he and Orton feast on Slater and Rhyno to become tag champs, the perception around him will shift. Should The Wyatt Family reign for a long time, with Wyatt treating the SmackDown tag belts like Golem did his "precious," it will paint him as a monster worth fearing.

TLC is a prime opportunity to tap into Wyatt's potential. 

Slater's Cinderella story was fun, but a tale of two dominant predators is set to take over. And it's going to be mighty compelling seeing Wyatt and Orton dig their claws into the tag team championships and refuse to let go. 

10. Lance Storm on the Hometown Curse

Wrestlers losing in their hometowns has become as prevalent in WWE as referees struggling with peripheral vision. 

The tradition continued on Monday's Raw when both Cedric Alexander and Charlotte Flair lost in Charlotte, North Carolina. And this pattern is likely to continue. WWE clearly has an affinity for seeing the hometown hero fall.

On Twitter, former WWE tag team champ Storm had a revelation:

The Dudley Boyz don't have to worry, either. WWE doesn't often make it to Dudleyville.

Ryan Dilbert is Bleacher Report's Lead WWE Writer. Follow him on Twitter @ryandilbert to hear his thoughts on wrestling and writing.