WWE News: Rich Swann becomes new WWE Cruiserweight Champion on 205 Live debut episode

Swann put on a great fight to beat Brian Kendrick for the title

WWE Network’s latest attraction, 205 Live, has received a major boost on its debut night with the WWE Cruiserweight Title changing hands. In the main event which saw Brian Kendrick put his title on the line against Rich Swann, the latter emerged victorious and was crowned the new champion.

Although the rest of the show was pretty average, the Cruiserweight Championship match that ended the night finally gave the fans at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina something to cheer about. Here is a video of the preview for 205 Live:

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The match began with the customary handshakes which have been a feature of the Cruiserweight division.

However, Kendrick was quick to resort to the ‘dirty’ tactics he has displayed in recent times and tried to target Swann’s neck so that he could apply the Captain’s Hook submission manoeuvre on him.

The challenger Rich Swann was up to the task, however, and defied everything that the champion threw at him. Not only did he manage to avoid being counted out, Swann also broke Kendrick’s Captain’s Hook submission hold by getting to the ropes just in time.

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In the closing stages of the encounter, ‘The Brian Kendrick’ connected with his Sliced Bread #2 finishing move but Rich Swann kicked out of it, much to his opponent’s astonishment.

Swann finally finished off the job with the Trifecta Kick. He then proceeded to pin Kendrick, thereby becoming the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

An emotional Rich Swann dedicated the title victory to his mother, whom he had lost at the young age of 16. The former champion Brian Kendrick, meanwhile, vowed to ensure that Swann’s title reign was a small one.

Catch up on some of the action from the hard-fought title clash in this video:

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