The crowd at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla. was treated to an amazing showing of cruiserweight professional wrestling action on Wednesday night as WWE presented the semifinals and final of one of the summer’s best wrestling tournaments, the Cruiserweight Classic.
With the likes of former WWE superstars such as Tajiri and Brian Kendrick, to the influence from all around the world that was included in this tournament, it was a shame to see such a great two-month span of fantastic cruiserweight action come to an end on Wednesday night.
However, we won’t be sad for too long. The Cruiserweight Division makes its debut on Monday Night Raw this coming Monday and we’re sure to see some of the same great action each and every week.
The stars were out at Full Sail as well to see the ending to a monumental tournament.
Here’s what went down live from Full Sail University on Wednesday night:
Semifinal Match I
Gran Metalik vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
The opening match tore the house down, figuratively at least, as both Metalik and Sabre Jr. were both so close and various times to moving into the Final later in the night.
Metalik kicked off the Cruiserweight Classic Live Finale in stellar fashion, defeating England’s Zack Sabre Jr. in the Semifinals to secure his spot in the CWC Final. Metalik stayed true to his bread and butter and went for the high-risk maneuvers right off the bat, but Sabre Jr. was able to slow him down shortly after.
The wrestling match turned into a fight until Metalik went for another high-risk maneuver and got caught in the triangle choke by Sabre Jr. Luckily for Metalik, he was able to counter and hit the Metalik Driver to send himself to the Final.
Your winner: Gran Metalik
Semifinal Match II
TJ Perkins vs. Kota Ibushi
This might have been the best match I’ve seen in the tournament, and I’m not saying that lightly. There have been a handful of five-star excellent matches we’ve seen the last two months, but the drama surrounding the entire match was spectacular. It’s as must-watch as any professional wrestling match in 2016.
The two would go back and forth most of the match, but Ibushi would finally hit the Golden Star Bomb on Perkins, which is similar to The Undertaker’s Last Ride powerbomb, and we all thought it was over. Not so fat. Perkins wasn’t ready to be counted down yet and became the first person in the tournament to kick out of Ibushi’s finisher.
Perkins locked in the kneebar, but Ibushi wouldn’t give up as he reached for the ropes. It looked like he’d eventually make it there to break the hold, but Perkins wrenched back on the surgically-repaired neck of Ibushi, and the Japanese star had no choice but to tap out.
That surprised many, including myself, Ibushi would tap out shortly after. Just like that, the favorite to win the entire tournament was out before reaching the Final.
Your winner: TJ Perkins
Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano vs. Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar
In a nice showcase match, we were treated to a sort of bonus as Tommaso Ciamp and Johnny Gargano, also known now as DIY, took on Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar before the main event. Gargano was still selling the knee injury from NXT TakeOver in Brooklyn in August as Alexander and Dar tried to exploit that to their advantage in trying to notch a win as a team.
But that didn’t happen. Gargano was able to make the tag to Ciampa and they were able to hit their finisher for the win.
Your winners: Ciampa and Gargano
Not only would Metalik and Perkins be wrestling for the chance to win the first-ever Cruiserweight Classic tournament, but they’d also be fighting for the chance to hold high a large trophy cementing their big victory.
But that’s not all. Triple H would come out before the main event started to unveil the new Cruiserweight Championship, which would be awarded to the winner of the match who would also become the first Cruiserweight Champion on Raw.
Beautiful.
Cruiserweight Classic Final
Gran Metalik vs. TJ Perkins
The Final would have a time limit of 60 minutes, and I could’ve watched these guys wrestle for 60 days in a row if it was at all possible. Metalik went for some ridiculous high-risk maneuvers that saw him land flat on his back on the outside of the ring one time when Perkins couldn’t exactly get himself into position to catch him.
A little after 10 minutes into the match, Perkins locked in his kneebar that beat Ibushi earlier in the night, but Metalik got to the ropes. Shortly after, Perkins was able to lock in the kneebar again and pulled Metalik to the middle of the ring. As the drama built from the announcers and the crowd, Metalik made one last ditch effort and countered the kneebar into a rollup on Perkins, who kicked out at two.
Metalik, who sold his knee injury well the entire match, we going for a move on Perkins from the middle rope, but his knee gave way and the two went tumbling to the mat. Perkins was able to roll Metalik over and lock in the kneebar. Metalik tried to hang on, but ultimately tapped out to give Perkins one of the best moments of his life.
Your winner and NEW Cruiserweight Champion: TJ Perkins
Triple H and William Regal congratulated Perkins as he soaked it all in.
Here’s to watching these types of matches, hopefully, every Monday night on Raw.
Follow Nick on Twitter: @nickpiccone
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