WCW's Cruiserweight Division may not have been the reason WCW began gaining momentum in 1996 - there was also this little thing called the nWo (you might have heard of it). However, it deserves all the credit it gets for helping to make Monday Nitro an innovative show that helped transform the wrestling landscape.

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In the process, the company brought in several luchadors - whose signings were primarily facilitated by Konnan and conducted by Eric Bischoff - from promotions like AAA and CMLL. These high-flying, colorful wrestlers helped flesh out WCW's mid-card, and their matches were often the best on the respective cards on which they'd appear. However, as time went by, WCW managed to completely poison the well, ruining any appeal folks like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera, and others had, to the point where - like much of the rest of WCW's downfall - it almost seemed intentional.

7 Unmasking Rey Mysterio

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From his first appearances in ECW in 1995, American fans were mesmerized by the diminutive Rey Misterio, Jr. (which is how his moniker was stylized at the time). Even smaller than most of his fellow cruiserweights, a young Rey dazzled crowds and opponents with his acrobatics and was more like a comic book superhero than the type of professional wrestler WWE and WCW had been presenting.

6 Unmasking Juventud Guerrera

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Part of their appeal was the Mexicans wrestlers' colorful masks (a longtime trademark of their cultural heritage). Mysterio was far from the only luchador who brought the traditional gimmick to WCW;​​​​​​.

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Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis - amazing young athletes in their own rights who also attracted American eyes in a handful of ECW appearances - were among the many whose matches helped WCW offer such variety on its shows.

5 Unmasking Psicosis

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Of course, since WCW bookers didn't understand their masks - and this includes their merchandising potential (which WWE would capitalize on with Rey several years later), much less cultural significance - they were eventually going to come off. While mask vs. mask luchas de apuestas matches are almost always treated as a huge deal in Mexico - usually a blowoff to a major feud or a moment of other significance (i.e. retirement) for the losing wrestler - Mysterio, Guerrera, and Psicosis each lost theirs in an underwhelming manner.

4 Jobbing

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When it came to WCW in the nWo/Monday Night War era, there was a clear line of division between the important stars - Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Sting, Goldberg, etc... - and everybody else. Especially in 1996 and '97, when there were a considerable number of memorable mid-card matches and feuds. However, once somebody like, for example, Raven encountered a main event star such as Goldberg, the result was usually quite predictable.

The Mexican stars were no exception, and despite largely carrying the company's undercard for the better part of two years, were still expected to put over bigger stars regularly. Not only was this detrimental to them and the entire division, but it wasn't necessary. Why did it have to be Mysterio whom Nash launched like a lawn dart at the side of a production trailer during an nWo attack and not, say, Alex Wright?

3 Constantly Talking About nWo During Matches

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Split of Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio at WCW Halloween Havoc, and of Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hollywood Hulk Hogan together as the nWo.

As if it wasn't obvious that WCW's entire focus was on its main event scene - particularly the nWo and its respective feuds with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Sting and Goldberg - its commentary team, led by AEW's Tony Schiavone often spent the entire undercard of a Nitro or Thunder or even a PPV, hyping the final match.

Unfortunately, this meant that - often despite the best efforts of broadcaster Mike Tenay - legendary, five-star matches like the 1997 Halloween Havoc battle between Guerrero and Mysterio were virtually ignored as they were happening. This was more damaging than it probably seemed at the time, as constant reinforcement that the Mexican wrestlers and other cruiserweights weren't important enough to talk about during their own matches, no matter how spectacular they were.

2 Latino World Order

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We'll admit it: for a very brief moment at the beginning of the Latino World Order's emergence - led by Eddie Guerrero as a spin-off from his real-life conflict with Eric Bischoff in Summer 1998 - we thought it could have been something, especially for less notable members like La Parka, El Dandy, Silver King. Villano V, Héctor Garza, Ciclope and Damián.

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These men were all talented, but - aside from La Parka's memorable antics as the "Chairman of WCW" - they were mostly used as fodder for WCW's more important wrestlers. While a parody angle is almost always a sign of poor booking, giving these men an actual story could've been a step in the right direction. However, much like almost everything that looked promising for WCW in its later years, it failed to gain traction and was over with Eddie's severe New Year's Day 1999 car accident.

1 No Upward Mobility

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Split of WCW's Filthy Animals - Eddie Guerrero, Torrie Wilson, Konnan, Kidman and Rey Mysterio

The ultimate problem for WCW's Mexican stars - especially those with exceptional talent and ability like Mysterio, Guerrero, Juventud and Psicosis - was that there was an impenetrable barrier between WCW's mid-card and the main event. Despite all the bad booking, silly gimmicks and general disrespect directed their way over the years, those that stuck around - Eddie ultimately left (and, in hindsight, made one of the best decisions of his life) - through WCW's rapid decline weren't rewarded.

Konnan, Mysterio and Juventud remained popular with fans despite all this, but the fact that by the final Nitro in March 2001, Rey was still fighting in the Cruiserweight Division showed that he and his peers weren't going to do anything but stagnate if WCW had survived. Ironically, Mysterio in particular would go on to become one of WWE's most popular and iconic characters upon his 2002 signing, even twice becoming World Heavyweight Champion - and selling loads of replica masks.