Last night on 205 Live, Daniel Bryan announced that due to Enzo Amore “abdicating” the WWE Cruiserweight Championship and leaving 205 Live, that a new champion will be crowned. But he stated that the decision on how the next WWE Cruiserweight Champion will be determined would be decided on by the new Cruiserweight Division General Manager, who would be announced next Tuesday night on 205 Live. With many speculations and discussions online over the past week (since it was first rumoured to be a possibility), there was one man who threw his name into the hat for consideration: Shane “Hurricane” Helms. And whether he’s kidding or serious, he’s actually the best candidate for the job.
Hey @WWE @TripleH @StephMcMahon @VinceMcMahon I know a guy! 😁👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/Hphp1gPiEG
— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) January 23, 2018
The 205 Live GM: A Case for Hurricane Helms
Shane Helms has been one of the world’s top cruiserweight wrestlers since he first debuted with WCW in 2000 as part of 3-Count, the boy band faction that also included Evan Karagias and Shannon Moore. Despite their cheesy pop music gimmick, the three wrestlers were brimming with explosive offense and athleticism. Not surprising that two of them – Helms and Moore – had come in from OMEGA Wrestling in North Carolina, the indie promotion owned by Matt and Jeff Hardy. In the dying days of WCW, Shane Helms was one of the bright spots in their Cruiserweight Division – Helms holds the distinguished record of being the final WCW Cruiserweight Champion before being bought by WWE.
He was one of the few of the WCW roster to make the jump to the WWE after their acquisition of the company in 2001, where he underwent a slight name change to Gregory Shane Helms. Following his loss of the title to Billy Kidman, Helms was soon repackaged in a superhero gimmick, The Hurricane, which became his most popular character to date. Combining high flying athleticism with comedy highspots, Helms became a hit with indie purists and kids alike. He would win the WWE Cruiserweight title (the WCW Cruiserweight title had been merged with the WWE Light Heavyweight title during the Invasion storyline) as well as the WWE Tag Team Championships, once with Kane in 2002 and again with his protegee Rosey (late brother of current WWE Superstar Roman Reigns) in 2005.
In 2006, he’d returned to Gregory Helms and at the Royal Rumble that year won a 6-Man Tornado Match for the WWE Cruiserweight title, defeating champion Kid Kash, as well as Funaki, Jamie Noble, Nunzio (Little Guido) and Paul London. Helms would carry the title for 385 days, the longest reign of any WWE Cruiserweight Champion to date. In fact, following the lineage back to WCW’s Cruiserweight title, Helms’ 385 day reign still ranks #1 overall – the next closest is Tajiri with 162 days. His combined reign of 532 days in three reigns is also tops of all Cruiserweights (both WWE and WCW) ahead of the likes of Rey Mysterio Jr. (486 days), Billy Kidman (334), Chris Jericho (231) or Dean Malenko (188).
But it’s not just his in-ring work that could be a benefit to his position. While Hurricane Helms finally left the WWE in 2010, he’s remained active on the indie circuit ever since. But from 2015 through 2017, Helms worked for Impact Wrestling as an agent backstage, working with X-Division. He was even used on camera to help build rebuild the division, even working as the manager of a faction called the Helms Dynasty, that featured X-Division Champion Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett. Helms left Impact Wrestling in June of 2017, seemingly after a falling out with new creative director Jeff Jarrett.
Helms’ mind for the game is as sharp as they come and his agent/producer role with Impact could be a perfect addition to his resume as role of 205 Live General Manager. He could actively use that experience to assist the 205 Live show itself, working behind the scenes when his authority figure isn’t on screen, offering advice that only a 20+ year veteran could impart. And WWE loves it’s nostalgic throwbacks, so having someone who was a huge part of not only the end of the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era, but the Ruthless Aggression Era as well (not to mention actual ties to WCW’s fabled Cruiserweight Division), could be just the kind of help 205 Live could use as it looks to rebuild a brand that has suffered more setbacks than advancements in the past year – including the departures of three of it’s top stars in Neville (walkout), Rich Swann (suspension) and Enzo Amore (released), all the past few months. And it’s more for the man behind the characters in general, as he’d be a far bigger benefit behind the scenes of the show as he would on-screen as the GM. Almost like the role William Regal has in NXT, where he’s a talent scout, motivational speaker, trainer and on-screen leader.
So WWE, if you haven’t considered Hurricane Helms as the first GM for 205 Live, we have one question for you…
https://twitter.com/CedricAlexander/status/956265617547497472
Considering your MULTIFARIOUS background as a CRUISERWEIGHT in a SLEW of various ORGANIZATIONS, you'd make a DELIGHTFUL GM on the Plane identified as @WWE205Live..
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) January 25, 2018
