#1 We’re gonna need a bigger show
TJ Perkins won the first ever Cruiserweight Classic, bringing tiny wrestlers from all over the world to compete under the WWE name for a tall statue and bragging rights. Probably some money, too. Honestly, TJ was a surprise win for me, beating four wrestlers i had picked to, at the very least, make it further than he did. Johnny Gargano and Kota Ibushi were my top two picks. I’m terrible at betting.
But the bigger story during the CWC was Brian Kendrick’s redemption. This is his THIRD shot in WWE, after leaving to compete on The Price Is Right, with only moderate success. Upon his return as a trainer, he was given the ungodly task of training Eva Marie. The job paid off when one day someone, maybe even Kendrick himself, was like “Dude can still GO!”
So he was entered into the tournament and pulled out one of the best matches of the whole series in the quarterfinals against favourite Kota Ibushi. He was back and looked better than I think anyone expected. He hit Ibushi with a freaking BURNING HAMMER. That move has a serious history to it. It was made famous by Kenta Kobashi. Kenta wrestled for over 25 years. He used the Burning Hammer 7 times. He won all 7 of the matches with it.
THE Brian Kendrick waited a long time to get to this point. Now is the time he wins gold again. TJ was a great choice for the niche tournament on The Network. But now, with more eyes on him at Clash, is the time for his years of work to be rewarded. Arise, Spanky, Arise!
