10 Last WWE Cruiserweight Champions, Ranked From Worst To Best
WWE's Cruiserweight Championship was beginning to lose its sparkle by the time the title retired in 2007. The championship was a permanent fixture for the best part of five years that featured heavily on the SmackDown brand. WWE's predecessor, the Light Heavyweight Championship, was a failure. But the Cruiserweight Championship did marginally better.
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Ultimately, the Cruiserweight Division became one of the best things about SmackDown with the fast-paced style of wrestling that was on display. Sadly, the Cruiserweight Championship didn't have a positive ending and the magic on the division had waned a long time ago. Nevertheless, the final 10 holders of the Cruiserweight Championship had mixed success with the championship with some memorable and forgettable title reigns.
This list will not reflect the NXT Cruiserweight Title, which also once went by the name of the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
10 Hornswoggle
It became abundantly clear by 2007 that the Cruiserweight Championship was no longer going to be given the respect it deserved. At The Great American Bash, Chavo Guerrero defended the title in a Cruiserweight Open. Before the bell sounded, Hornswoggle appeared in the ring and ran out.
Hornswoggle reappeared in the closing stages, and he humiliated Jamie Noble by pinning him for the title. It was a shocking moment, which was the death knell for the Cruiserweight Championship. Hornswoggle was the final and youngest Cruiserweight Champion in history but the title was vacated in September.
9 Kid Kash
Kid Kash joining WWE in the summer of 2005 was a welcoming addition to the Cruiserweight Division. Kash was a diminutive figure but he certainly packed a punch, making up for his small stature. At Armageddon, Kash executed his jaw-dropping Dead Level on Juventud to capture the Cruiserweight Championship.
Kash could have had a lengthy run with the title, but for some reason, it just did not work out for him in WWE. He dropped the Cruiserweight Championship a month later to Gregory Helms in the Cruiserweight Open at the 2006 Royal Rumble.
8 Nunzio
Nunzio made a name for himself in ECW as Little Guido but once he joined WWE, he ran his mouth a lot as the leader of the Full Blooded Italians. Nevertheless, Nunzio had two forgettable reigns as Cruiserweight Champion in 2005. Nunzio defeated Paul London for the title on an episode of Velocity in August for his first run with the championship.
He held the title for 63 days before he lost the title to Juventud at No Mercy. However, Nunzio reclaimed the title on a House Show in front of his hometown fans in Rome, Italy. Nunzio did nothing to elevate the championship with Juventud regaining the title a week later on SmackDown in Sheffield, England.
7 Funaki
Funaki was a member of Kai En Tai during the Attitude Era, and he had a comical run alongside Taka Michinoku. Nevertheless, Funaki remained with WWE and he had a stint as SmackDown's number one announcer, where he would engage in backstage interviews.
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However, at Armageddon 2004, Funaki defeated Spike Dudley for the Cruiserweight Championship, which came out of nowhere. Funaki wasn't a great Cruiserweight Champion, but he deserved a brief run with the gold considering his stint with WWE. His run lasted two months, with Chavo Guerrero once again prevailing in a Cruiserweight Open at No Way Out 2005.
6 Juventud
Juventud's stint in WWE was sadly underwhelming. The Juice had a lot of issues going on behind the scenes, which is why his run did not last as long as expected. Nonetheless, Juventud is one of the all-time great Cruiserweights, and he managed to become a two-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
The Cruiserweight Championship was like a hot potato, and Juvy traded the title with Nunzio a couple of times. Juventud was quite reckless in the ring at times, which ultimately led to his abrupt departure. Kid Kash ended his second Cruiserweight Championship reign at Armageddon 2005 with Juve's reigns lasting 58 days.
5 Rey Mysterio
No man has won the Cruiserweight Championship more times than Rey Mysterio across WCW and WWE which is a magnificent achievement. The Ultimate Underdog is an eight-time Cruiserweight Champion overall but his final reign with the title was one of his weakest.
Mysterio defeated Chavo Classic for the Cruiserweight Title in June 2004, but it wasn't a memorable run by any stretch of the imagination. A rejuvenated Spike Dudley, who Mysterio paired up with sporadically, defeated him a month later on July 29 to become the new Cruiserweight Champion.
4 Paul London
Paul London may be best remembered for his lengthy WWE Tag Team Championship run with Brian Kendrick, and for smiling backstage during a Mr. McMahon segment. Not a wise decision but London actually captured the Cruiserweight Championship from Chavo Guerrero in an eight-man Battle Royal on the SmackDown before WrestleMania 21.
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There's no denying that London had untapped potential, but he was not afraid to speak his mind to Mr. McMahon. The highlight of London's forgettable Cruiserweight Title run was that he retained the title against Chavo at Judgment Day 2005. His reign lasted a respectable 127 days, but it could have been longer had he adhered to McMahon's reasoning for banning certain moves.
3 Chavo Guerrero
There's something about Chavo Guerrero and No Way Out that goes hand in hand. Chavo captured the Cruiserweight Championship at No Way Out three times in four years between 2004-2007. Ultimately, Chavo's final two reigns with the Cruiserweight Title were average for his standards.
Guerrero recaptured the gold at No Way Out 2005 but his reign only lasted a month with Paul London ending his run in a Battle Royal. Moreover, Chavo was the penultimate Cruiserweight Champion, but he only retained it once on pay-per-view against Jimmy Wang Yang at Vengeance: Night of Champions. Chavo deserved to bow out as the final Cruiserweight Champion instead of Hornswoggle, which summed up the sad state of affairs of the Cruiserweight Title in its final few months.
2 Spike Dudley
In March 2004, Spike Dudley needed a change of scenery which certainly happened when he got drafted from Raw to SmackDown. Spike was one of the few talents that benefitted from the draft, as he quickly won the Cruiserweight Championship from Rey Mysterio.
Spike unveiled a side to him that had never been seen before as he became the leader of the Dudley Boyz as "The Boss." Spike's run as a heel Cruiserweight Champion was underrated, and he led his brothers to victory in a six-man tag team match at SummerSlam. Spike had some decent matches, and he held the title for 135 days which was the best championship run of his WWE career.
1 Gregory Helms
The Cruiserweight Championship began to flounder for a couple of years but Gregory Helms rescued the championship. At the 2006 Royal Rumble, there was a Cruiserweight Open for current and former Cruiserweight Champions. Helms represented Raw, but he was eligible to enter the match.
Helms shocked the world when he captured his third Cruiserweight Championship under a third different persona. Helms moved over to SmackDown, and his heel run was some of the best work in his career. Ultimately, Helms' Cruiserweight Championship reign lasted a whopping 384 days but sadly the Cruiserweight Title diminished when he dropped the title to Chavo Guerrero at No Way Out 2007.
