The WWF Light-Heavyweight Division - Going to Waste

The current state of the Light-Heavyweight division can be perfectly summed up by it's current champion - Duane Gill. To be perfectly honest, as a wrestler, Duane Gill is crap, and he only beat the previous title-holder, the gothic-like Christian, due to interference by the so-caleld Job Squad, Al Snow, Bob Holly and Scorpio.

The current champion of this division really says it all about it's current state. For year, I believed that this was where the WWF lost out against it's opposition. Guys like Hakushi and the then named 1-2-3 Kid screamed out for a division of their own. Most of the time, these men were matched against opponents that outweighed them by some fifty pounds, and although they were, and still are, able competitors, they didn't do that well in the long run.

So I applauded the powers that be when they introduced a light-heavyweight division a little over a year ago. Finally, the WWF could now compete with WCW on every level. After an 8 man tournament, the final between Brian Christopher and Taka Michinoku proved to be a great match, and in Taka, the WWF seemed to have a great light-heavyweight champion.

But slowly, it seemed that the Federation began to lose interest in this division. Contenders for this new title seemed a little thin on the ground, what with Brian Christopher now teaming with Scott Taylor, becoming the Two Much tag-team, Taka competed against his fellow Kai-En-Tai countrymen, and soon joined forces with them. Once more, interest seemed to fade in this division.

Then, at a recent pay-per-view event, Taka defended his title against Christian, team-mate of the vampiric Gangrel, and brother of newcomer Edge. Christian was wrestling what turned out to be his first WWF match, so he had never really earned a reputation for fighting other contenders in this division, mainly because there wasn't really any, because Taka had defeated them all. So, in what could only be considered an upset, Christian defeated Taka.

But who could Christian defend against? He wasn't given any re-match against Taka, his only real contender. No. Once more, the tiele belt was gathering the proverbial dust for weeks, as it went undefended.

That was until the last edition of Monday Night Raw, when, for some unknown reason, Christian was forced to defend his title against Duane Gill, who, on his only other match since his WWF return, had been soundly defeated by Mankind, in the Survivor Series Deadly Game tournament. CHristian was easily beating Gill, but due to interference from the Job Squad, Gill beat Christian.

So who will Gill defend against? Whoever it is will probably beat him, because he's just so crap. But that is not the point. The point is that this division is in trouble, and I have a few ideas who this division can be saved.

1) The current weight limit is 215 pounds. By increasing it to, say, 230 pounds, this would allow athletes as X-Pac, Owen Hart, and should he return from injury, Shawn Michaels to compete in this division should they so wish.

2) Begin another recruiting drive, and try to attract the best light-heavyweights in the world to the WWF. By bringing in the best, those currently competing in the Federation would raise their own game, making it a far better division. Below is a list of a few wrestlers who could help do this.

HAKUSHI - This native of Japan had a classic series of matches against Bret Hart during his last stint in the WWF. However, his greatest mistake was hooking up with perennial loser Barry Horrowitz, during the moron's short-lived winning streak, mainly against Body Donna Skip. Given his chance, he could hold the title for a long time.

JUSHIN "THUNDER" LIGER - If truth be known, I have only seen this Japanese legend wrestle a few times, and a couple of times in Britain years ago, before he donned the mask. This man is a legend, who has held the IWGP and WCW light-heavyweight titles on a number of occasions. Put him in the ring with the likes of X-Pac and Hakushi, and those matches would be classics.

THE GREAT SASUKE - I only saw him wrestle twice, in matches against Taka, and I believe that if he had hung around, and not returned to ECW, he would have gotten to the tournament final and beaten Taka or Brian Christopher.

REY MYSTERIO JUNIOR - A lucha libre legend, and several time WCW cruiserweight holder, this man's talents are now sadly being being wasted by Eric Bischoff. Perhaps I only like him because he's smaller than me, at only 5'3", but that is not the point. This man has all the talent in the world, and if he ever got away from Atlanta, he could go all the way.

CHRIS JERICHO - The current WCW TV champion, and former cruiserweight champion, but unlikely to leave WCW - yet. When I first saw him, he reminded me a lot of a young Shawn Michaels, in terms of talent and cockiness. Maybe one day McMahon will tempt him.

CHRIS CANDITO - Another who used to compete in the WWF, as Body Donna Skip, he returned briefly, but went back to ECW. A former tag-team champion, perhaps now would be a good time to return to the big stage and show his talent.

SABU - The protege of the legendary and blood-thirsty Shiek, and a man willing to take risks. Once again I admit to only seeing him a few times, but I liked what I saw. Willing to take risks, and risk serious injury to get the job done.

I could really go on all night about those I would like to see compete for this title - Rob Van Dam, Eddy Guerrero, the list is endless. But this is just my view. This will probably never happen, and I believe that, sadly, the WWF light-heavyweight tournament will gradually grind to a halt. A pity.