TJP? Bad choice or baddest choice?

Hey Scott,


Yes, I understand that the site has a bit of a doom-and-gloom reputation, but was TJP the absolute worst choice as first Cruiserweight Champion or what? I’m not saying he shouldn’t be part of the division or should never hold the belt, but as a first choice he’s awful. They’ve got a lot of eyes on them and they need to shine. Put forth the best guy they have, the most interesting, the flashiest, the guy that represents what you want the cruisers to be. How is TJP any of that? TJP isn’t the flashiest worker, or even the most solid worker, he doesn’t have the best psychology, he wasn’t the most over, he’s a bad promo, his character isn’t much, he played a heel in the ring then switched to babyface at the last moment, a role he is outclassed in (heel and babyface) by multiple other people in the division?

If you want the cruisers to succeed, why did they pick TJP to be the face of the division?

​From what I understand, it mostly came down to him being the guy that was actually available to work full-time after the tournament and wasn’t committed to other stuff. Guys like Metallik and the Brits still had a bunch of dates to work and wouldn’t be able to jump onto TV, so it was pretty much gonna be Perkins or Kendrick. Just the realities of the contract situation. ​