Friday 15 July 2016

The Cruiserweight Classic Episode 1

The first ever episode of the Cruiserweight Classic was shown on the WWE Network on Wednesday night and this was an event that I was really looking forward to seeing. I watch very little wrestling outside the WWE so it was a chance to see some of the best wrestlers in the world outside the WWE face off. Plus a chance to see returning stars such as Tajiri and The Brian Kendrick. Let's dive into the first episode.

Ajeandro Saez (Chile) vs Gran Metalik (Mexico)
Some impressive moves by both guys such as Metalik doing a springboard into a suicide dive and Saez hitting a shooting star press from the apron to the outside. In the end, Metalik hit an awesome  fireman's carry into a fisherman's driver to get the win. Good performances by both guys and Metalik advances to the next round.

Hoho Lun (Hong Kong) vs Ariya Daivari (Iran)
Daivari was dominant for most of the match but Lun got back into and hit a German suplex into a bridge to get the win. Not as entertaining as the first match but it was good. On a side note, I found it weird that commentator Daniel Bryan was going on about jet lag for Lun. I don't think that Lun stepped off a plane straight into a match but Bryan wouldn't shut up about it.

Clement Petiot (France) vs Cedric Alexander (USA)
 Like the last match, Petiot was dominant for most of the match almost taking off Alexander's head with a brutal discus clothesline. However, Alexander hit a back suplex into a backstabber out of nowhere to get the win. A bit of an abrupt ending but another good match.

Kota Ibushi (Japan) vs Sean Maluta (American Samoa)
This was a match that I was looking forward to seeing. I had heard a lot about Ibushi but this is the first time that I wll see him wrestle. As for Maluta, I had never seen a Samoan cruiserweight before so this should be an interesting match up. I felt sorry for Maluta at one point as he hit a codebreaker from the middle rope then almost botches a somerault into a suicide dive. Later on, Ibushi hit a pelee kick, sending Maluta off the top rope followed by a dragon moonsault. Ibushi goes to get the win after a last ride sit down powerbomb. Definitely the match of the night and it goes to show why a lot of people are considering Ibushi to be the favourite.

An entertaining first show to kick off the Cruiserweight Classic and next week, we get to see the return of Tajiri so it's looking like it will be a great tournament.

No comments:

Post a Comment