The Cruiserweight Classic: Episode 10

The final episode of thge Cruiserweight Classic took place last Wednesday at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. Who will be the winner of the tournament? Let's take a look.

Zack Sabre Jr (England) vs Gran Metalik (Mexico)
Metalik doesn't fuck around at the beginning as he dropkicks Sabre out of the ring then hitting an over the top suicide dive. Sabre does get back into it, putting Metalik in complex stretches and submission moves. The match goes back and forth with Metalik hitting a standing shooting star press and Sabre hitting an European uppercut followed by a penalty kick.Metalik eventually manages to hit the Metalik driver to get the win. This was such an enjoyable match and I'm gutted that Sabre lost. However, I've become a big fan of Gran Metalik over the tournament so I'm happy that he won.

Kota Ibushi (Japan)  vs  TJ Perkins (Phillipines)
Ibushi tries to hit his kicks early on but Perkins blocks them each time. There was a great bit where Ibushi goes for the golden star powerbomb but Perkins reverses into a DDT then hits an inverted lungblower for 2. Ibushi does hit his finishing move but Perkins somehow kicks out, shocking everyone in the arena. In the end, Perkins avoids another golden star powerbomb and applys the kneebar. He then adds a leg cross andpulls back hard on the neck and make Ibusi submit and win the match. Wow. I honestly did not see that coming as I was convinced that it would be an Ibushi/Metalik final. This was an amazing match and a definite match of the year contender.

Noam Dar and Cedric Alexander vs Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampia
Alexander and Dar wear down Ciampia before he tags in Gargano. Alexander later on puts Gargano in an ankle lock with a grapevine but Ciampia stops it. After Alexander hits a very close near fall, Gargano and Ciampia get the win after hitting Alexander with their superkick/knee combo. This was an enjoyable match and I look forward to see how Alexander and Dar do on RAW.

TJ Perkins (Philippines) vs Gran Metalik (Mexico)
Before that match starts, Triple H comes out and announces that the winner of the match will also be crownied the new Cruiserweight Champion. Two quick things:
1) Didn't everyone know that anyway?
2) Wouldn't it make sense to announce this earlier on instead of like, 2 seconds before the bell rings.

Anyway, the match starts at a slow pace with both guys applying locka and holds. There was an awesome bit when Perkins is on the apron and Metalik hurdles the top rope to hit a frankensteiner. Perkins applies the kneebar a couple of times but Metalik gets out of it each time. Metalik does hit the Metalik driver  but, due to his injured knee, he is slow to make the cover and Perkins kicks out. In the end, Perkins getsd the win after getting out of a top rope Metalik driver getting Metalik to submit with a kneebar with a leg cross.

I have to admit that , out of the final four, TJ Perkins was the last one that I expected to win it. Unfortuantely, in the end this is a WWE product. Ibushi and Sabre turned down a WWE contract. and erkins is probably the best guy to be the face of the cruiserweight division. I do wonder tho if Ibushi would have won it if he had accepted a WWE contract.

I really enjoyed the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic. There were some amazing matches, including 3 contenders for match of the year, and it was great to see so many different styles in the matches. Hopefully, we get the same again.