WWE Smackdown's Forgotten & Controversial "Juniors" Division, Explained
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Over the years, WWE has tried to experiment with many creative ideas. Some have worked and some failed to the point where it's forgotten. One of those ideas that has been mostly forgotten was the juniors division on the SmackDown brand in 2006, something that WWE fans who grew up during the Ruthless Aggression may not remember. With that said, some might be asking what came about WWE's forgotten juniors division and why did WWE pull the plug on it soon after its creation?
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WWE's Creative Experiments During The Ruthless Aggression Era
Despite many years having passed, WWE's Ruthless Aggression is still looked upon with fondness as it was a generation that featured a new crop of talent showcased in the main-event scene while featuring many of the top superstars from the Attitude Era. WWE's weekly program, SmackDown, especially shined through the Ruthless Aggression Era, as SmackDown was at its best during the early 2000s when the brand extension first began in mid-2002, having the reputation of featuring the critically-acclaimed "Smackdown Six" in 2002.
However, even a show like SmackDown would soon have to experiment with strange creative ideas on its show. Even if it doesn't work and is somewhat controversial, every WWE generation featured weird concepts that didn't pan out so well on TV, like the Brawl for All tournament during the Attitude Era in 1998. Regarding the Ruthless Aggression Era, during its later years, WWE decided to showcase a juniors division exclusively on the SmackDown brand in 2005, although it didn't last long.
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The Concept Of Midget Professional Wrestling
Some professional wrestling fans may not know this, but midget wrestling has been featured in the professional wrestling business for many decades. Going far back to when midget wrestling was prominent during the 1970s and 1980s, it's no wonder WWE felt it was a good idea to establish a juniors division on SmackDown. Not long before WWE revised midget wrestling in late 2005, the company also featured junior talent wrestling each other during the late 1990s, although nothing much came of it.
With or without a juniors division, WWE has featured junior wrestlers as prominent performers on its programming. For the most part, WWE fans still remember Hornswoggle's decade-run in WWE. Making his debut in 2006 as Finlay's "Little Bastard," Hornswoggle established himself as a legendary name in the professional wrestling business, despite being much smaller than the rest of the WWE superstars.
El Torito was another junior superstar that got prominently showcased when he made his WWE debut in late 2013 along the Los Matadores. And although someone like Hornswoggle got remembered for his on-screen personality, part of El Torito's appeal was that he was a gifted luchador in the ring, pulling off over-the-top high-flying maneuvers even toward heavier wrestlers. If someone like El Torito can impress modern WWE fans, then one could argue that WWE's Junior division on SmackDown could've succeeded among the fans from the Ruthless Aggression Era.
WWE Launches The Junior Division For SmackDown
On October 2005, WWE launched the Juniors division for the SmackDown brand, with matches from the division also appearing on WWE Velocity. Among the talent WWE signed for its Juniors division was international star Mascarita Sagrada, the former AAA luchador making his return to WWE since his first run in the company in the late 1990s.
Although junior wrestlers, in general, were capable of putting on a clinic in their matches, WWE's junior division didn't get taken seriously, especially considering the backstage comedic skits they got involved in. When establishing the juniors division, no one had any expectations that it'd be the main attraction of SmackDown. However, one could argue that one of the reasons why the juniors division failed so abruptly was because their matches were portrayed as a joke. The junior division getting treated as a joke just for simply wrestling in the ring also didn't make WWE look good regarding its image, as there's a reason why the division got canned in early 2006.
RELATED: British Bulldog Vs Triple H: A Forgotten, But Hilarious Classic On WWE Smackdown, ExplainedIn March 2006, WWE canceled SmackDown's juniors division and many of the talent were released because of the cancelation. Unlike other creative misfires, WWE's juniors division from the Ruthless Aggression Era has a legacy of being among the most forgotten gimmicks in the company's history.
