4 Tournament Ideas for WWE in Wake of Cruiserweight Classic Success

With the success of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, officials are likely looking to follow up with another unique tournament to keep interest in the WWE Network high.

For 10 weeks, competitors in the CWC tore the house down at Full Sail University with incredible wrestling that featured the kind of high-risk style WCW used to feature on Nitro every week.

The event not only produced numerous Match of the Year candidates, but many Superstars who competed will also continue to appear on Raw as part of the cruiserweight division.

Guys such as T.J. Perkins, Cedric Alexander and Gran Metalik weren't known to the casual WWE fan before a few months ago, but this tournament gave them exposure on a grand scale.

This slideshow will look at a few ideas for tournaments WWE could use to replicate the success of the Cruiserweight Classic.

Women's Tournament

The cruiserweights aren't the only wrestlers to see a resurgence in WWE. The women's division has also undergone major changes for the better over the past two years.

The injection of talent from NXT and a serious effort by management to improve things for the women have made the entire product better.

Holding a special tournament to highlight women from around the world would not only help the company scout more talent, but it would also show WWE is dedicated to keeping the women's division going strong.

WWE could use a few up-and-coming Superstars from NXT such as Asuka and Billie Kay, familiar names such as Leva Bates and Tessa Blanchard and international talents who are good in the ring but who have yet to be exposed to the general public.

It might even give WWE Performance Center coach Sara Amato an excuse to suit up one more time as Sara Del Rey and show fans what they were missing by not watching the independent scene for all the years she was active.

Tag Team Tournament

WWE may already have the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but it is meant to highlight tag teams from NXT. Holding a different tournament for established duos from around the wrestling world could be a big hit for the WWE Network.

With the exception of TNA, it seems like WWE officials are more willing than ever to work with other promotions to exchange talents.

For the first time ever, we could see teams like The Young Bucks or The Briscoes in a WWE ring alongside TM-61 or Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

Singles matches are the bread and butter of the wrestling business, but tag team wrestling has a large and devoted following, making a CWC-like tourney featuring tag teams almost guaranteed to be a success.

Since WWE has three sets of tag titles between the main roster and NXT, the prize for the winner could be something more along the lines of a title shot or guaranteed contract.

Make King of the Ring Special Again

For fans of WWE in the '90s, few things were as anticipated every year as the King of the Ring tournament.

The KOTR helped give legends such as Bret and Owen Hart, Steve Austin and Triple H boosts before they were given runs with the world title.

However, the tournament has lost all its luster in recent years. Sheamus and Wade Barrett, the last two winners of the tourney, fell flat with their cheesy king gimmicks, and the event wasn't treated like a big deal.

Bringing back the tournament with a new focus and higher stakes could help some deserving Superstars make that important jump from the midcard to the main event scene.

WWE could hold a few weeks of qualifying matches on Raw and SmackDown before finishing with the classic three-round tournament in a single night for a special WWE Network pay-per-view.

The winner should not be forced to carry around a crown and scepter once it's over, and to give the whole thing even more prestige, a guaranteed title shot should be the grand prize. 

International Tournament Without a Weight Class

The greatest thing about the CWC was how many international talents were given chances to show off their skills in front of a wide audience.

Unfortunately for many Superstars around the globe, the cutoff was 205 pounds. Some guys like Alexander lost weight to qualify, but a lot of talents are just too big.

WWE needs to replicate the CWC model with a tournament featuring wrestlers of all shapes and sizes so that the casual fan can see how many amazing performers work in the industry.

Imagine seeing Adam Cole and Ricochet in a WWE ring or Christopher Daniels taking on Jushin Thunder Liger. The possibilities are almost limitless.

With WWE only having three divisions, options for different kinds of tournaments are limited, but if WWE only does one every so often, management can stretch these ideas out over a long time to keep things fresh.

What do you think? Which one of these four tournament ideas would you like to see come to fruition?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.