The Cruiserweight Classic have received rave reviews from both critics and fans alike since its debut on the WWE Network on July 13th. The 32-man tournament has brought us some of the best wrestling on WWE programming since its debut, bringing together cruiserweights from all across the world.
Several Cruiserweight Classic stars like TJ Perkins, Cedric Alexander and Gran Metalik have already been signed by WWE to be a part of Raw’s cruiserweight division.
After nearly 10 weeks and several fantastic matches, we finally have 4 men left standing – Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr, Gran Metalik, and TJ Perkins. The final episode will have both the semi-finals and the finals.
Semi-Finals
Kota Ibushi vs. TJ Perkins
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Gran Metalik
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the final four competitors and a look at the match-ups.
The competitors
We begin our analysis of the Cruiserweight Classic by taking a look at the final four competitors left in the tournament.
Kota Ibushi
Kota Ibushi is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now and the hottest free agent in wrestling. He made a name for himself in his native Japan for the Dramatic Dream Team Promotion and in New Japan Pro Wrestling where he is a former 3-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a former winner of the Best of Super Juniors tournament.
Kota Ibushi has faced current WWE Superstars Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura back in New Japan and his match with Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom 9 is considered to be one of the greatest matches in Wrestle Kingdom history.
Ibushi faced Sean Maluta in the first round and beat the relative newcomer after a good match. The Japanese sensation faced Cedric Alexander in the second round in one of the best matches of the entire tournament which he followed up with another barnburner with Brian Kendrick in the quarter-finals.
Ibushi is one of the favourites to win the entire tournament and goes into his match with TJ Perkins as the favourite.
TJ Perkins
Perkins started wrestling at the age of 13 and he was already wrestling for promotions all the way in Mexico while he was still a teenager. Perkins has wrestled all over the indies and even in TNA where he is a former TNA X-Division Champion.
There have also been hard times on the road to the WWE for Perkins who is of Filipino-American origin. He was homeless at one point in his career during his stint in WWE’s developmental system FCW when he had to live out of his car.
However, Perkins overcame his career setbacks and is now one step away from being in the Cruiserweight Classic final and winning the whole thing. He won’t be fazed by facing a wrestler the stature of Kota Ibushi having overcome much greater odds in the past and having gained momentum after beating the likes of Rich Swann and Johnny Gargano on his road the to semi-final. Perkins is also going to be a part of Monday Night Raw’s cruiserweight division.
Will TJ Perkins ‘dab’ at the end of the tonight as the winner of the first Cruiserweight Classic?
Gran Metalik
Gran Metalik is better known in his native Mexico as the luchador formerly known as Máscara Dorada, Metalik has had a fantastic tournament so far and impressed enough for WWE sign him up full-time as a part of Raw’s cruiserweight division.
Having progressed to the semi-finals after successive wins over Alejandro Saez, Tajiri and Akira Tozawa; Metalik is currently one of the favourites to go the distance in this tournament. Having made his name in CMLL, Metalik also has experience on Japanese shores wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
A luchador of the finest quality, Gran Metalik keeps the lucha libre tradition alive. His real name still unknown, the so-called ‘king of the ropes is ready to bring his unique charisma and offence to Monday Night Raw after the Cruiserweight Classic ends.
Apart from his popularity back home, Metalik has also won every title that CMLL has to offer. He is a former CMLL World Super Lightweight Champion, 2-time CMLL World Trios Champion and CMLL World Welterweight Champion amongst others. Metalik was also a quadruple CMLL champion during his time with the promotion, holding the Mexican National Trios Championship, the CMLL World Trios Championship, the CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship and the CMLL World Welterweight Championship at the same time.
Zack Sabre Jr
Like Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr has refused to commit his future to WWE. The 29-year old Brit has stated that he has a lot left to achieve outside the WWE for now but it’s obvious that he will wrestle for WWE full-time someday – he’s too good not to.
Currently considered one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, Sabre is a former winner of Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Danielson Award for Best Technical Wrestler for 2014 and 2015 consecutively. A wizard inside the ring, Sabre’s exploits have earned him success all over the world from Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan to American indie promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Germany’s WXW and PROGRESS wrestling back in his native England.
Zack Sabre Jr has had a near flawless tournament so far including victories over Tyson Dux, Drew Gulak and a stormer of a match against Noam Dar in the quarter-finals and goes into the semi-finals in form and ready to go all the way.
Match-ups
Now that we’ve taken a look at the competitors, let’s take a brief look at the match-ups.
Kota Ibushi vs. TJ Perkins
Kota Ibushi heads into this one as a favourite. Both wrestlers are at the top of their game right now by Ibushi’s extra experience and ability to mix it up with both impressive manoeuvres and hard-hitting strikes should give him the edge going into this one.
However, TJ Perkins isn’t an opponent to be taken lightly. Perkins has worked for over 15 years to get here and this is his moment. A charismatic and talented performer, he has the ability to beat anyone on his day. If Perkins wants to pull off the upset, he has to watch out for Ibushi’s kicks in this one.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Gran Metalik
Even though Gran Metalik has had a terrific tournament so far, Zack Sabre Jr has been in good form too. This is the harder of the semi-finals to call with Sabre Jr and Metalik both already internationally travelled veterans.
It’ll be an interesting mesh of styles for sure with Sabre’s technical brilliance meeting Gran Metalik’s unique offence. I doubt that Gran Metalik has ever faced a wrestler as technically sound as Zack Sabre Jr though, which could give the Brit a slight edge. If Sabre Jr can ground Metalik early by targeting his legs, he’ll have this one in the bag.
Predictions
Semi-Final #1 – Kota Ibushi vs TJ Perkins
Winner: Kota Ibushi
Semi-Final #2 – Zack Sabre Jr vs Gran Metalik
Winner: Gran Metalik
Predicted final – Kota Ibushi vs Gran Metalik
Winner: Kota Ibushi
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