While this month marks the two-year anniversary of the premiere of the Cruiserweight Classic, the division that the tournament spawned is still one of the most puzzling parts of WWE programming.
From a rough start, to it becoming the Enzo Amore show, to it being rebooted when Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over as showrunner, 205 Live has been constantly changing and never able to fully find its footing since it debuted in November 2016. And though the new direction has made 205 Live better than it’s ever been, it’s still hard to say that it has realized its complete potential.
That hasn’t been due to the quality of the matches. On the first episode of this month, Mustafa Ali and Buddy Murphy put on a no DQ match that may end up being one of WWE’s five best main roster matches of the year.
Last week brought the announcement of the first four wrestlers who will be participating in WWE’s Mae Young Classic this summer. Toni Storm, Princesa Sugehit, Lacey Evans, and Sarah Logan will help make up a diverse 32-competitor field from all around the world.
It was this time last year that similar announcements were being made for an almost identical project. And while WWE hopes that the Mae Young Classic will further the cause of women’s wrestling, last year’s cruiserweight tournament still leaves behind an undefined legacy.
The Cruiserweight Classic was at first an unmitigated success for WWE. The series itself remains some of the most inspired programming that the company has ever produced. But, while unsuccessfully trying to replicate some of the aspects that made the CWC stand out and totally abandoning others, Raw’s cruiserwei
Though the malaise of three-hour Raws and seemingly constant content often made it difficult to appreciate in the moment, 2016 was a transformative year for WWE that featured high points in diverse in-ring action.
Some of the same problems that have long existed still remain as we enter the New Year. Raws are, indeed, too long. Main event booking on the flagship show has been as stale as ever with the same handful of talents being shuffled around without a compelling direction. And even with the influx of new talent into the company last year, many of them haven’t been used to their full potential.
But those problems don’t outshine what was the best year in company history in terms of match quality. WWE has never before had as many excellent matches in a given year. The roster has never had so many talented workers.
Where WWE succeeded most in 2016 was making a genuine effort to present their product in different ways. The most obvious example of that has been the quality of SmackDown since the company once again attempted a brand split in July.
SmackDown wasn’t totally useless prior to the WWE draft. The show usually featured good matches, but it existed mostly as a watered-down two-hour version of Raw without signature moments or much angle advancement.
The brand split changed that. SmackDown (and Talking Smack after the show) became a legitimate must-see program every week. Led by the otherworldly performance of AJ Styles both as a character and inside of the ring, the show has consistently utilized nearly every talent on the roster to their strengths. Styles boosted the brand’s pay-per-views and TV shows by wrestling every match seemingly in an attempt to prove that he’s the best wrestler in the world and capable of carrying the company.
Styles’ main events and WWE Championship programs helped carry the brand, but other talents have thrived as well. The Miz has done the best work of his career. Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss have been solid women’s champions. The Wyatt Family has once again become a compelling act with Randy Orton joining the group. Baron Corbin has shown a lot of promise. Even Heath Slater and Rhyno were a bright spot on the show for a brief period.
In addition to its women’s title programs, SmackDown has been able to always juggle more than one feud within the division at once with Nikki Bella, Natalya, Carmella, and Naomi also doing good work at times. WWE’s 2016 might ultimately most be remembered as the year that the women’s revolution finally took hold on the main roster.
It wasn’t always perfect. The rivalry between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks went on for too long. They had too many pointless title switches. The redeeming qualities of their Hell in a Cell main event — the first time that a women’s match has ever closed a WWE PPV — were at least equaled by the low points. But just being able to main event a PPV with a women’s match that didn’t at all feel out of place was a considerable achievement.
Despite the problems, Charlotte and Banks were often the best part of Raw. The existence of meaningful women’s matches has tremendously helped programming while making an actual attempt to appeal to all portions of the audience.
WWE presented a unique product that the company never would have in previous years over the summer with the Cruiserweight Classic airing on the WWE Network. For a few months, the CWC was some of the best programming that the company has ever produced. WWE seamlessly integrated the diverse styles of lightweight wrestlers and allowed some who didn’t even end up signing with the company to shine.
Led by the instant classic between Cedric Alexander and Kota Ibushi, the tournament produced some of WWE’s best matches and moments of the year. Raw’s cruiserweight division and the early introduction of 205 Live haven’t had the same success. But Rich Swann being given a shot as the division’s champion, along with Neville’s stellar work in the first few weeks in his new role as a heel seem to suggest that better days are ahead in 2017.
The plethora of other options and a lackluster year for the brand overall made it so NXT’s role in the diversification of the WWE product in 2016 was mitigated. NXT was home to the best tag team wrestling in the company with The Revival always delivering in big matches and Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa serving as their best opponents to date. Their two TakeOver matches in Brooklyn and Toronto were among WWE’s best of the year and stood above everything else NXT did in 2016.
With SmackDown serving as a more effective alternative to Raw and 205 Live featuring many of the wrestlers who otherwise would have made their way through NXT, it might be best for NXT to carve out its identity by embracing its role as developmental going forward. Fans want to watch talents improve and develop over time. They want to get invested in their journeys. If stars like Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe aren’t immediately going to be placed on the main roster, fans want to watch them have short runs in NXT before being promoted to those deserving spots.
While the use of Nakamura, Joe, and Bobby Roode may have helped ticket sales as NXT attempts to become a viable touring product, it’s undeniable that buzz for the brand cooled off considerably last year.
The announcement of the United Kingdom Championship tournament and whatever is to come of that seems to indicate that the diversification of the WWE product will only continue into 2017 and the years to come. Triple H has said that they don’t expect fans to watch all of the content they put out as it’s happening, and it seems like we’re heading into an era where programming on the Network that appeals to niche audiences will make it easier for fans to pick and choose what they want to watch based on personal preference.
That won’t change many of the flaws inherent in WWE programming. Though there were better episodes towards the end of the year, Raw will still be too long. Much of the creative will still be uninspiring. Part-timers will still be heavily featured as we enter WrestleMania season. The company will still have problems creating legitimate mainstream superstars.
Those flaws shouldn’t be overlooked. But the transformation of WWE should only continue into 2017. The company will produce more great matches. More of the best wrestlers from around the world will sign with WWE, while many talents on the roster will get chances that we didn’t think were possible even a few years ago. And WWE will continue to find new ways to present a diverse variety of content. Things aren’t perfect, but they’re undeniably getting better.
One of the most striking things about WWE these days is not just that they struggle to avoid repeating past mistakes, but their complete inability to understand their successes.
Their efforts to build on the buzz generated by this year’s Cruiserweight Classic is yet another example of this as, at every turn, they’ve misunderstood what made the tournament such a highlight of the pro wrestling summer.
The fundamental mistake was them believing the positive reception to the CWC was due to the program being focused around cruiserweights. And while it made sense to focus on smaller wrestlers because of the deep talent pool, the CWC’s true strength was in the booking and presentation, the very things that WWE refuses to replicate with its current push of the cruiserweights.
Here’s five strengths of the cruiserweight division WWE isn’t capitalizing on:
Strength #1: Fresh Matches
One commonly overlooked truth about WWE is that its roster is far too small to effectively produce as much product as they’re currently contracted to do. This leads to them being forced to book rematch after rematch which lends a sense of staleness to the product. After all, AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose are great but if I see them wrestle one more time, I’m going to scream.
The decision to bring on unsigned talent from the American independent scene and foreign promotions for the CWC radically altered this calculation. Every matchup presented in the tournament was one that WWE fans had never seen before.
It goes without saying that this is something WWE has failed to do with the new cruiserweight division where we’ve already seen Brian Kendrick and T.J. Perkins wrestle four times in less than two months.
Strength #2: Variety of Styles
The CWC further capitalised on these fresh matchups by moving away from the WWE “house” style. That everyone is forced to wrestle in the same way, with the unique strengths and weaknesses smoothed over in favour of a style that primarily consists of exchanging punches and power moves is something that further adds to WWE feeling stale.
The CWC was a breath of fresh air because it allowed performers to be true to their own individual style with wrestlers showcasing the best of strong style, lucha libre, English grappling, and more. Again, this is a lesson WWE hasn’t learned with the cruiserweight matches by deciding to either conform to WWE style particularly true of the Kendrick-Perkins matches) or simply come off as a poor imitation of a WCW cruiserweight division tag team match with no-name cruiserweights doing dives for no reason.
Strength #3: The Tournament Format
Kendrick’s quest for redemption illustrates the biggest strength the CWC had over mainstream WWE. Due to the tournament format, the storyline of Kendrick needing to win to secure redemption actually made sense. With each victory, he got closer to winning the tournament whereas a defeat would end his quest to return to the major leagues.
On RAW, there’s no consequences to a defeat; Kendrick will still be there the following week as a major player in a shallow division. This is the great strength of a tournament format as it acts as a shortcut to making wins and loses matter. With each matchk, we knew that somebody would win and continue to be featured while somebody would lose and go home. It’s a simple and effective way to give real stakes to a wrestling match.
Strength #4: Presentation
The benefit of the fresh matches, variety of styles, and tournament format were all maximized by the presentation. There was nothing revolutionary about the production, but it was a crisp, efficient presentation of a serious wrestling show. There were no long promos, goofy comedy sketches, or histrionic angles. Rather, we got short video packages explaining the background and personality of the competitors. Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan effectively highlighted the key storylines, both outlining people’s journey to a particular match and explaining key subtleties of the action.
Strength #5: Recording Schedule
One of the underappreciated strengths of the CWC, NXT, TNA, and ROH is that recording a block of television shows far in advance of their airdate forces a promotion to plan ahead. It is impossible to book week to week if an entire month’s television is already recorded. Likewise, prerecording pro wrestling allows for matches to be improved in the editing process (as apparently happened with the Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander match) and for the overall television to move at a faster pace.
It’s therefore typical that WWE has chosen to make its new cruiserweight program a weekly live show, something that will surely lead to the same rushed and incoherent booking, and baggy presentation.
None of the Cruiserweight Classic’s key strengths are exclusive to cruiserweight wrestlers. Likewise, throwing random cruiserweights into the mainstream WWE product doesn’t magically recreate the CWC just because they change the ring apron and ropes. They could easily arrange for a quarterly tournament that brings together WWE, NXT, and outside talent for thirteen weeks.
They’re already organising a women’s tournament and there’s the talent to do a great tag team one as well. Additonally, tthe Wrestlemania season could feature the return of King of the Ring as an openweight tournament to rival G-1.
Rather than flog the cruiserweight horse, the WWE should be seeking to build on what actually made the CWC successful.
Will Cooling writes for Fighting Spirit Magazine, the UK’s biggest and best combat sports monthly. This month he looks at how the WWE have mishandled Dean Ambrose.
Cruiserweights are once again coming to the WWE Network.
WWE announced on Wednesday that “205 Live,” an hour-long weekly in-ring series showcasing the cruiserweight division, would be premiering on Tuesday, November 29th at 10 p.m. ET.
Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, Akira Tozawa (billed as Tozawa), Jack Gallagher, Gran Metalik, Noam Dar, Lince Dorado, The Bollywood Boyz (Harv & Gurv Sihra), and HoHo Lun were advertised as part of the series. Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves will be on commentary for the show.
“205 Live is a natural progression to showcase the depth of our roster,” Paul Levesque (Triple H) said. “With world-class talent such as Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, and Rich Swann, 205 Live will be a must-see program on WWE Network.”
The addition of the series comes after the Cruiserweight Classic proved to be a success over the summer. WWE previously teased the show in a survey sent to Network subscribers and mentioned it as a possible addition to new pricing tiers that were being considered.
UPDATE: Dave Meltzer notes that the new show will be done live from the SmackDown tapings on Tuesday nights and Talking Smack will now air at 11 p.m. ET. At this point the cruiserweights will still work Raw and shoot angles for the show the next night.
Though he’s been wrestling for over 15 years, Wednesday night was almost assuredly the biggest moment in TJ Perkins’ career.
Perkins capped off an eventful night by defeating Gran Metalik in the Cruiserweight Classic finals to win both the tournament and the new WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Perkins worked over Metalik’s leg for most of the match, and finally made him tap out to a kneebar after countering an attempted Metalik Driver off the top rope.
Before the match began, Triple H joined both competitors in the ring and made the announcement that the winner of the match would also become the first champion of Raw’s cruiserweight division.
Perkins defeated tournament favorite Kota Ibushi in the semifinals by making him tap out as well. And Metalik won his way to the finals by picking up a win over Zack Sabre Jr. in the night’s opening match.
After losing in the semifinals, it seems likely that Ibushi won’t be signing with WWE imminently.
It saddens me to admit that modern pro wrestling has held very little for me over the last decade. As a fan since the late 1970s, it’s been hard to watch WWE, especially Raw, for a long time. I have found quite a bit of joy, and even passion, in being a historian of pro wrestling, often discovering new nuggets of gold in my journey such as the pioneer era of wrestling and the rich history of lucha libre.
As time has gone by, I often wondered to myself if the story of pro wrestling had simply been told. All good stories have an ending, and even TV shows eventually have a series finale. Had professional wrestling outlived its ability to tell a meaningful story?
Then, to my amazement, the promotion I expected it the least out of surprised me the most with this summer’s WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament.
Know that I am not a workrate mark. I cut my teeth on Ron Fuller against Bob Armstrong, and Jerry Lawler verses the monster of the month as these programs had far more to do with interesting storytelling than in-ring action. I was hooked on larger than life characters telling stories of athletic conflict through ring battles for championship belts and personal pride.
In the modern era, these elements have often been missing, replaced by seemingly endless monologues about heel general managers, and silly, often never followed up on, stipulations left me empty and uninspired. I just want to see two people fight over something they feel is important enough to fight over. In general, pro wrestling and storytelling is not that hard — simply a conflict over something important. But, modern pro wrestling often forgets that “something important” part.
Then, along comes the CWC that is full of people I’ve largely never heard of. Going into it, I figured it was modern “flippy floppers” doing largely three minute matches without any psychology. I became amazed that a company that endlessly pushed Roman Reigns down people’s throats and produces the never ending Raw every week put together such an utterly perfect show.
For starters, the show is the perfect length.
I get just the right amount of pro wrestling in an hour that leaves me wanting more. The CWC is the first pro wrestling show in decades that has left me excited and anticipating the next show. There are no endless monologues taking up valuable time, no dead crowds draining the life out of the show, no commentators being force fed soundbites for the next video game release. Rather, it is excitement literally from bell to bell; an atmosphere of fun and energy with modern graphics and style.
The Cruiserweight Classic has done a tremendous job getting me to care about people I had never heard of previous to seeing them on the show.
I have been told seemingly forever that it takes years to make a pro wrestling star and to “get over” as the verbiage goes. Yet, I know from nearly 40 years of wrestling experience that I can immediately think of dozens of big stars who took only a few years or less to be giant stars like Lex Luger, Nikita Koloff, Sting, Magnum T.A., Bill Goldberg, the Road Warriors, and so many more. A simple video package before each match tells me all I really need to know about each person. By the time episode five aired, I cared more about Cedric Alexander than Reigns by at least a million times over.
The diversity of wrestling styles on this one show is amazing and refreshing.
I have long struggled to enjoy the “WWE style — a bland one-size-fits-all formula made to fit nicely into a three to five minute TV match. But on the weekly CWC show, I have seen such diverse styles as the amazing Jack Gallagher with his escape artist moves, Gran Metalik and his full fledged lucha libre style, Kota Ibushi and Akira Tozawa with their strong style influenced wrestling, and more mainstream wrestlers like Brian Kendrick nicely added into the mix.
And then, there was episode 5.
This was one of the best single episodes of a pro wrestling show I have ever seen. The story of Alexander was perfect, and the best example I have seen in years in how to get someone over by losing. Even though he was eliminated, I was on my feet at home cheering him and chanting along with the crowd to sign THE PERSON WHO LOST THE MATCH. Thank God there is still someone writing wrestling that understands how to do this. When Triple H came out, hugged Alexander, and gave the crowd a thumbs up, it was one of the most emotionally charged moments I have seen on a wrestling show in years.
Keep in mind that was only the second time I had ever seen Alexander wrestle in my entire life. What an absolutely great job.
I would be remiss if I didn’t brag about the commentary of Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo. This duo has done a straight up excellent job calling this tournament without hyperbole or pretentiousness. I have actually learned a lot about the wrestlers and the psychology of the matches from listening to them. Imagine that!
I am very happy to say that I finally have faith in modern pro wrestling again. All it took was the WWE Cruiserweight Classic to do it.
A WWE doctor told Samoa Joe and William Regal that Joe still isn’t cleared to compete in storyline after he suffered undisclosed injuries in his TakeOver match against Shinsuke Nakamura.
The Revival attack Tommaso Ciampa
Tommaso Ciampa was being interviewed by Charly Caruso about Johnny Gargano’s injuries when he was ambushed by The Revival. Ciampa tried to take on the tag champs on his own, but The Revival got the better of him as they spilled out into the ring.
And Gargano was nowhere to be found as his partner got beat up.
Liv Morgan vs. Aliyah
With so many members of NXT’s women’s division being called up to the main roster, Liv Morgan and Aliyah got a chance to fill their spots in a match on last night’s episode of NXT TV. And it was Morgan who got her first singles win on television in the match.
The Era of Strong Style
Nakamura appeared at Full Sail University for the first time since winning the NXT Championship. The fans gave the new champion a huge reaction, and he proclaimed this the era of Strong Style.
Liv Morgan is ready to take advantage of her opportunity
Morgan said her win earlier in the night represented an opportunity for both herself and her family.
CWC Video Highlights —
Gran Metalik vs. Akira Tozawa
The quarterfinals of the Cruiserweight Classic kicked off on the WWE Network last night. And Gran Metalik was the first competitor to advance to the semifinals after defeating Akira Tozawa in a match where the conflicting styles of both men meshed well.
Metalik will face either Zack Sabre Jr. or Noam Dar in the next round.
Kota Ibushi vs. Brian Kendrick
And in the show’s main event, the fairytale story of Brian Kendrick’s CWC journey came to an end after losing to tournament favorite Kota Ibushi. Kendrick looked impressive in the match, even hitting a Burning Hammer.
Ibushi will face either Rich Swann or TJ Perkins in the next round.
After it was over, Kendrick’s friend Daniel Bryan came down to the ring and the two embraced as the show went off the air.
Gran Metalik reacts to his win
Speaking in Spanish with interviewer Andrea D’Marco, Metalik reacted to his win.
Akira Tozawa wants to compete for WWE — and become best friends with Sasha Banks
Tozawa said he was disappointed by his loss, but his biggest dream is still competing in a WWE ring. And in response to a question about former WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks, Tozawa said he wants to be best friends with her.
Brian Kendrick & Daniel Bryan share an emotional moment
The moment inside of the ring wasn’t the end for Kendrick and Bryan, as Bryan joined Kendrick in an interview after the match.
With tears in their eyes, the two discussed their friendship. Bryan congratulated Kendrick for doing a great job and said he wouldn’t be the wrestler he is without Kendrick because he never would’ve pushed himself in the way that he did without Kendrick pushing him.
After Bryan left, Kendrick said a big part of him died when Bryan was forced to retire and he sometimes wakes up crying after dreams where him and Bryan are wrestling. He hoped Ibushi would go on to win it all because Ibushi is the best wrestler in the world now that Bryan is retired.
Kota Ibushi feels the effects of his match with Brian Kendrick
Despite advancing to the semifinals, Ibushi wasn’t happy that his win wasn’t convincing and was still feeling the effects of the match.
Kota Ibushi undergoes medical testing
After his hard-hitting match with Kendrick, Ibushi was checked out by doctors for possible injuries.
I’m here at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL for the Cruiserweight Classic quarterfinals.
Dark Match —
– Hideo Itami defeated Curtis Alexander
Enhancement talent Curtis (not Cedric) Alexander did a lot of comedy and they had a fun match. Hideo Itami clobbered him with a GTS for the win.
Cruiserweight Classic Taping —
Quarterfinal matches were announced as having a 30-minute time limit.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Noam Dar to advance to the semifinals
Great match, started slow with a lot of grappling. Crowd was pro-Zack Sabre Jr. and got very into it during the second half of the match. Intense leg work by Noam Dar on ZSJ. They traded submissions and the crowd was going crazy by the end when Sabre had an arm submission locked in with added punches.
– Gran Metalik defeated Akira Tozawa to advance to the semifinals
Another great match, they exchanged chops and dives to get the place going. Huge top rope rana for a near fall by Gran Metalik and a delayed German suplex by Akira Tozawa for his own near fall. Crowd was going wild for the finish, which was a Falcon Arrow by Metalik
– Cedric Alexander defeated Oney Lorcan
This was seemingly a showcase match for Cedric Alexander to prepare for his Raw debut. Crowd wasn’t making noise early on even though the work was good. A handspring spin kick by Alexander got the people going. Oney Lorcan hit a huge uppercut.
Alexander finally hit the lumbar check for the win. Post-match, he looked in the camera and said “I ain’t going nowhere!”
– Drew Gulak & Tony Nese defeated Kenneth Johnson & Lince Dorado
Tony Nese hit a 450 on Kenneth Johnson in a showcase match for Nese and Drew Gulak.
– TJ Perkins defeated Rich Swann to advance to the semifinals
Yet another great match, they showed their athletic ability yet kept the pace slow early to allow the match to build. There were taunts and dance moves, Rich Swann dabbed on TJ Perkins — which lit the crowd up.
Swann sold a leg injury halfway through and it built to the finish where Swann tried everything he had, but could never get the pin fast enough due to his bad knee. TJP locked in his leg submission for the win. Crowd wasn’t happy with this finish since Swann was the favorite. The two embraced post-match to show how important this was.
– The Bollywood Boyz defeated Sean Maluta & Ariya Daivari
Cool down match to allow The Bollywood Boyz to finally team up together. Fast-paced action and everyone got their big moves in to showcase themselves. Two splashes by The Bollywood Boyz for the win.
– Kota Ibushi defeated Brian Kendrick to advance to the semifinals
Crowd was unsure what to do early on. Brian Kendrick used a neckbreaker on the exposed metal rod between the buckles, and Kota Ibushi was actually counted out. The place went nuts with anger. William Regal came out and said Kendrick used an illegal move and the match must be restarted.
Full Sail lit up and and the match started going into dangerous near falls, Kendrick hit a nasty Burning Hammer-looking move where Ibushi’s neck bent, crowd was furious with this. Kendrick kept going for the Bully Choke for near submissions. Ibushi hit a middle rope German suplex for a near fall and finally got a sit-out powerbomb for the win.
Post-match the two embraced, “Thank you Kendrick” and “Please sign Kendrick” chants until Daniel Bryan made his way down to hug Kendrick. A great moment to finish the round.
We are back on September 14th for the semifinals and to crown the winner of the CWC.
While much of the call focused on NXT and the upcoming TakeOver Brooklyn: II special this Saturday, Triple H was more than happy to talk about the Cruiserweight Classic and Raw’s upcoming cruiserweight division.
Triple H said the project is something that he’s wanted to do for years. He felt that it was something that needed to happen and gives talent in that division an ability to shine that they maybe wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
The first question of the call asked Triple H about the process of creating Raw’s cruiserweight division. Triple H said Raw was the right place for the division given that it’s a three-hour show and needs more content. He said it provides something different for the lengthy show.
“We’re signing a lot of cruiserweights right now and I’m, you know, basically I’m creating a division. So, I’m going around and signing guys and I’m also keeping an eye towards the future as well, I don’t need to have every single cruiserweight right now, I just need to have a decent amount. And they will be working NXT, they will be working NXT live events, and they’ll also be working Raw as cruiserweights. The opportunity is there to do both.” Triple H said.
Kota Ibushi has been one of the cruiserweights that has earned significant praise in the CWC, and our Dave Meltzer asked about his contract status on the call.
Ibushi had insisted that he was interested in working for the WWE while continuing his work elsewhere as a freelancer, but while saying they’re open to different things, Triple H seemed to reject that idea.
“I think when it comes to the cruiserweight division we’re looking for something solely WWE and keeping it in-house.” Triple H said.
Later in the call, Triple H was asked whether we would see a cruiserweight champion crowned on the CWC final but said we’d have to wait and see. He concluded the call by praising many of the competitors in the tournament, noting that they’ve created something special. He said that they’re still deciding what the next opportunity is.
Over the last few years, the UK has become one of the hottest places in the world for wrestlers to work. No longer solely reliant on American or Japanese imports to draw strong crowds, promotions have been developing wrestlers, matches, and storylines that have intrigued fans and drawn them to their products.
This continues to be evidenced by the strong British influence and involvement in New Japan Pro Wrestling, EVOLVE, PWG, TNA, and WWE.
We have seen this take another step by the presence of three UK based wrestlers in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic: Zack Sabre Jr., Noam Dar, and Jack Gallagher. All three are UK stars, and have spent the last couple of years spreading their wings into new pastures while developing their skillsets.
I was fortunate to catch up with Gallagher as we get ready to see his first round match in the CWC tonight.
We spent around 25 minutes discussing his start in the business, traveling to the US for a seminar with legendary grappler Billy Robinson, how he found out about his CWC involvement, life pre- and post-CWC (including an appearance at this year’s BOLA), his memories of the late Kris Travis, his amateur MMA career, and much more.
The first round of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic comes to its end tonight, and it features the round’s most anticipated matchup with tag team partners Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa going at it for the right to advance in the tournament.
Tonight’s episode will also feature the tournament debut of European stars Jack Gallagher and Noam Dar, as well as Rich Swann’s first appearance in the CWC as he looks to find his footing in WWE.
In order to help get you familiar and/or learn more about the competitors, we brought together some of our talents that have expertise in covering many of the wrestlers’ home regions and promotions.
“Johnny Wrestling” was initially thought to be a favorite to win the entire tournament, but with a tough draw against tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa, there is no guarantee that he even advances past the first round.
Gargano will face-off against Ciampa in the first round’s toughest matchup, and unfortunately, that means that one of NXT’s brightest rising stars isn’t going to get a chance to continue to showcase what they can do as a singles wrestler in the tournament.
Both Gargano and Ciampa debuted as a tag team in NXT in 2015. They were initially used mostly as glorified enhancement talents, but after signing with the company, they have been on an impressive win streak lately and are looking to take the NXT tag team titles from The Revival.
The still 28-year-old Gargano has become one of professional wrestling’s most promising young stars, and it’s his versatility that really makes him stand out.
He is good at almost all aspects of the game. In just the lead-up to this tournament, Gargano has had an incredible match in PROGRESS with Mark Haskins, grappled with Zack Sabre Jr. in AAW, and brawled with EC3 and Drew Galloway in Evolve. Working all over the world has made him so good at so many different styles, he’s only gotten better as he’s gained more experience. Along the way, he has even developed the skills to deliver a more than competent promo.
Gargano has been arguably the top star in Gabe Sapolsky’s World Wrestling Network promotions, and has become the face of Evolve in the last few years. After getting his start in Cleveland, Gargano has worked for AIW, CHIKARA, Dragon Gate in Japan, and PWG in addition to his role in WWN.
His future has always been bright, but Gargano might have already become even better than most expected. He can become one of the NXT’s biggest stars, whether it’s tagging with Ciampa or as a singles wrestler. And with the WWE always becoming more open to showcasing smaller talents, there’s no reason that Gargano can’t succeed on the main roster.
Whether he is able to win the CWC or not, this is only the beginning for Gargano.
Ciampa should be well known to those who follow NXT as he’s been a regular on the roster since last year.
Along with tag team partner Johnny Gargano, Ciampa has been dominant in NXT’s tag team division with a title shot looking very likely in the future if he and Gargano can continue their momentum.
An interesting part of Ciampa’s past is that he’s a former developmental talent from another era, working in Ohio Valley Wrestling from 2005-2007. When he was released from his contract, that didn’t deter him as he continued working in independents until joining Ring of Honor in 2011 where he started to build his reputation by being a part of their roster until last year.
Ciampa chose to leave the promotion and began working all over the world, later getting dates for NXT. While Ciampa has been a part of WWE developmental off and on for years, he’s proven to be one of the most well-versed talents in this tournament.
But an interesting twist here is that he’ll be facing his tag team partner Gargano in the first round. Whether or not he makes it past Gargano, Ciampa is one of the better seasoned athletes on the roster that can bring it if the occasion calls for it.
The first thing you’ll notice about Gallagher is what he looks like as his throwback look and distinguished moustache certainly do catch the eye.
The second thing you’ll notice is that he’s possibly the most talented hold-for-hold mat wrestler in the world. Zack Sabre Jr. deservedly gets that hype, but Jack is every bit as good.
What you might not notice straight away, but what will come to be, is that “The Extraordinary Gentlemen” is one of the best babyfaces in the business. His connection which he can establish is unique and he is set to become one of the most popular guys on the indie scene (the recent announcement that he’ll be in Reseda for BOLA won’t hurt matters). You can’t help but root Gallagher on.
The Manchester resident cut his teeth in the North of England with his home base of Future Shock Wrestling giving him great opportunities against the likes of Davey Richards early in his career.
Gallagher traveled to Japan seeking both personal and professional growth and ended up acting as the resident shooter in the Zero-1 dojo. His shoot-style abilities come from training under the legendary Billy Robinson in the snakepit and that has lead to a burgeoning MMA career in which he’s off to a winning start.
2015 was a big breakout year on the UK indie scene with PROGRESS making him one of their regulars. He’s had a bunch of great matches there including his outstanding win over Pete Dunne which qualified him for the CWC.
Austria native Aichner is a five-year veteran wrestling under the name Adrian Severe.
Aichner learned his craft from second-generation wrestler Alex Wright of WCW fame. When you first set eyes on him, you’ll assume that his main attribute will be his brute strength, but don’t let that fool you. He is capable of performing some truly death-defying maneuvers.
He is also a fundamentally sound wrestler, one of the rising stars of the vibrant resurgence of wrestling promotions in Germany and Austria.
In my opinion, Aichner will be one of the wrestlers who will catch people’s eyes as a virtual unknown that surprises fans. As he faces Jack Gallagher in the first round of the CWC, this will be Aichner’s first time wrestling in the United States.
Any 22-year-old that has had well over 400 professional matches tends to have figured out how to work.
Noam Dar, a Scot of Israeli descent, began his professional wrestling career as a 15-year-old in 2008 for British Championship Wrestling, the Ayrshire promotion where he learned the ropes under Colin McKay and Lionheart.
That he still works for BCW today, when the demand for his services is higher than it has ever been, is a testament to the man and the men who trained him, who also produced Grado and gave Drew Galloway some of his earliest opportunities.
Within a couple of years, Dar’s career picked up and he earned some high-profile outings for Dragon Gate UK and the dying 1PW, making his first trips overseas to work for wXw where he acted as an alternate for the 2010 16 Carat Gold Tournament.
Dar’s style — a mix of mat-based technical wrestling with some high-impact classic cruiserweight moves — blends with an unaffected cool that comes off as very unrehearsed. All of that made him an attractive prospect for what would become the UK’s current big four promotions (PROGRESS, RevPro, ICW, and PCW) where he won titles and faced some of the best on the indie scene.
Dar has faced AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, and Chris Hero, not to mention Johnny Gargano, Brian Kendrick, Jack Gallagher, and Sabre Jr. from this year’s CWC.
In the summer of 2014, Dar tried out for TNA’s British Bootcamp reality series, becoming one of six finalists who made it through to the US tour portion of the show. Although Mark Andrews won the show and got the TNA contract offer, Dar impressed in outings against Austin Aries and Al Snow, and was part of the promotion’s 2015 UK tour.
Despite bowing out of PROGRESS last summer, which many took as a re-orienting of his career to more Scottish-based promotions, Dar recently won the PCW heavyweight title from Sha Samuels on that company’s first iPPV and has lately become a regular with London-based RevPro once again.
The CWC is a fantastic stage for the Scot to show his wares and few should dismiss his chances of causing an upset. Fluent in Hebrew, his value for an ever-expanding international company cannot be understated, and it may not be too long before that skinny 15-year old from Ayr signs a WWE contract.
Gurv, the older Sihra brother, entered wrestling after first being trained by Michelle Starr, Scotty Mac, and Vance Nevada. He first started wrestling for BC’s Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling.
He has since taken the same road as his brother with their Bollywood Boyz team having some success all around the world. Currently, they are the Global Force Wrestling tag team champions. Known primarily as a team, they bring not only a lot of experience, but also a lot of charisma to the CWC. Both brothers are very well-rounded wrestlers.
I know these guys pretty well and besides their first year in the business, it’s hard to really think of many standout singles matches the two have had as all of their accomplishments have come as a team.
But, this tournament provides an opportunity for the Sihra brothers to differentiate themselves from each other, and even though they aren’t matched in the first round, there is sure to be some brotherly competition.
It is almost impossible not to root for Rich Swann to succeed.
His backstory was briefly profiled on the CWC Bracketology show, but the full story is even crazier than WWE let on.
Swann is from Baltimore, Maryland — one of the most notoriously rough areas in the United States. He lost both his father and mother when he was a teenager. Forced to live a life without his parents, he began to associate more with friends who were gang members. He got hooked on cocaine and only stopped when his supplier died of a heart attack from its effects.
But wrestling saved Swann’s life. He moved in with his aunt and went to a wrestling school in York, Pennsylvania, and his career has been on the rise since.
Swann is a multi-talented performer who is adept at dancing, beatboxing, and making music. He’s also an incredible athlete and one of the best high flyers in the tournament. Few people in this field, or the entire wrestling world, have the combination of charisma, athleticism, and ability to work a crowd that Swann does.
Prior to signing with the WWE, Swann was probably best known for the infectious energy of his entrance, set to “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie, on the independent scene.
But even if you didn’t know the difficult road that Swann took to get to the WWE, and even without the soothing sounds of Richie, it is still difficult not to root for him. His love for life and professional wrestling is apparent in everything he does in the ring.
As a member of the NXT roster, the Full Sail crowd will be at least somewhat familiar with Swann. He has wrestled on television in short losses to Finn Balor and Baron Corbin, and has wrestled on many NXT live events in Florida.
Before reporting to the WWE Performance Center in 2015, Swann was one of the fastest rising stars on the independent scene and even had a lengthy stay in Japan with Dragon Gate. He has been a regular at CZW, Dragon Gate USA/Evolve, and PWG.
Swann has yet to really get going in NXT, and the CWC could be the perfect springboard for his career. Regardless of the CWC outcome, here’s hoping he is featured regularly on NXT TV after the tournament.
Hong Kong’s Jason Lee may end up as one of the surprise packages of the CWC.
The talented high flyer has been wrestling with the ZERO-1 promotion in Japan since 2012 and as a result, he has put a lot of time on the mat with greats like Ikuto Hidaka, Shinjiro Ohtani, and Masato Tanaka. He’s improved leaps and bounds in that time and won’t look out of place against any of the competitors in the field.
In the first round, Lee goes up against Rich Swann which could end up being one of the sleeper matches from the first few episodes of the show. They could compliment each other very well.
On the opposite side of the draw is Lee’s countryman HoHo Lun, and an all Hong Kong final would definitely be a dream come true for both men. With that realistically very unlikely to happen, it would be nice to see them cross paths in non-tournament action in the later weeks as the field is whittled down.
The WWE Cruiserweight Classic debuted on the WWE Network two weeks ago to nearly universal praise, and last week’s episode didn’t disappoint either. That momentum will hopefully continue tonight as technical wizard Zack Sabre Jr. makes his debut inside of a WWE ring.
Also scheduled for tonight’s show is the return of The Brian Kendrick, the debut of EVOLVE talents Drew Gulak and Tony Nese, and more competitors hoping to prove themselves as they step foot in a WWE ring for the first time.
In order to help get you familiar and/or learn more about the competitors, we brought together some of our talents that have expertise in covering many of the wrestlers’ home regions and promotions.
If the last few years of Zack Sabre Jr.’s career haven’t been a carefully-orchestrated plan, then it’s a remarkable series of happy accidents that have brought the 28-year-old to where he stands today.
A grounding on the British and European indies was parlayed into a lengthy run with Pro-Wrestling NOAH and all that entails, then followed by the past year of returning to Europe and expanding his time in the US.
Add in holding one of the big four titles in the UK and one of the big three indie titles in the US, and you have a man poised to take the next step into where this has surely always been leading: WWE.
Sabre Jr. began with the rump of the Hammerlock Gym in his native Kent, the former UK NWA affiliate which many years before also produced Doug Williams, Jody Fleisch, Jonny Storm, former NWA World champion Gary Steele, and Jimmy Havoc, as well as having a hand in the development of both Finn Balor and Becky Lynch.
Sabre Jr. received training in the traditional British style which he has carried through the 12 years of his career. Now that it has once again became a sought-after style, he finds himself as one of the master practitioners.
He has moved around the UK and European indie scenes, holding titles in IPW:UK, wXw, and Triple X Wrestling, where he held their main title for two and a half years, defending against Balor amongst others, and a promotion where he faced CWC commentator Daniel Bryan in a match spoken fondly of by the former WWE champion.
Then came NOAH, where he held the GHC junior heavyweight tag team titles twice (with Yoshinari Ogawa), and cemented his name as one of the foremost lighter weight contenders the whole world over.
With show-stealing performances in Pro Wrestling Guerilla (where he holds the title) and Evolve furthering his name in the US, his appearance in the CWC is surely the final step before WWE proper comes calling, and the whole world gets to see this charismatic technician with a swift, brutal side to his work beamed into their homes on a weekly basis.
Tyson Dux may be one of the competitors people are the most familiar with aside from the tournament favorites. He has been one of the more traveled independent wrestlers of the past 15 years, and he’s competed with major promotions like Ring of Honor and All Japan Pro Wrestling.
He may be most well-known for his time as a member of Team Canada at the 2006 TNA World X Cup. In the last few years, he’s been wrestling for some of the top independent promotions in North America like AIW, AAW, Smash, and CZW.
Competing out of Ontario, Canada, Dux has a tough challenge as his first round opponent is CWC favorite Zack Sabre Jr.
Harv Sihra, along with his brother Gurv, is based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but both brothers will be representing their country of India.
The younger Sihra brother, Harv, followed in his brother’s footsteps and became a professional wrestler. After a short time in wrestling, they formed a tag team called the Bollywood Boyz. The duo has traveled all across Canada and have attended many training camps and seminars around the United States. Some of their highest profile matches came when they competed with TNA’s Ring Ka King promotion in India.
Earlier this year, I interviewed both Harv and Gurv for my Indyriffic podcast on MLWRadio. I see big things in the future for these two men, and it’s just a matter of time before promoters across the United States and internationally start booking them consistently.
While many of the competitors in this tournament don’t conform to what is traditionally thought of as the cruiserweight style, few do it as noticeably as Drew Gulak.
Gulak isn’t going to amaze the audience with his ability to fly around the ring, and he may not even leave his feet voluntarily. Instead, Gulak will look to wear down his opponents on the mat.
He is a throwback to the early days of wrestling. Along with wrestlers like Timothy Thatcher, Gulak is revitalizing a style of mat-based wrestling that had been written off by some audiences as boring in an industry that has become increasingly dependent on fast-paced action.
Gulak is the leader of Evolve’s Catch Point stable along with “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams, TJ Perkins, Matt Riddle, and Fred Yehi. Gulak and Williams are the current Evolve tag team champions, and Gulak defeated his partner in a qualifier to earn his way into this tournament.
He describes the group’s philosophy as foregoing flash in favor of substance. They isolate their opponents’ weaknesses and aggressively attack them, and Gulak is at his best when that aggression is apparent in all aspects of his work.
A veteran of the American independent circuit, Gulak has worked extensively for CZW, CHIKARA, and Evolve. He has also been a fairly regular feature on PWG cards.
In addition to his career inside of the ring, Gulak has been lauded for his ability to train talent. He currently works as a trainer at CHIKARA’s Wrestle Factory, and leads seminars for Gabe Sapolsky’s World Wrestling Network.
Anthony Bennett is one of many largely unknown wrestlers in the Cruiserweight Classic, which is strange given that he is from the United States. It will be interesting to see what WWE talent recruiters saw in Bennett to give him one of the tournament’s 32 coveted spots.
Bennett’s defining characteristic is his high-top fade. He enters the ring with two pairs of light-up glasses, one for his eyes and one for his hair.
A product of the Monster Factory wrestling school, Bennett is a former Supersonic and heavyweight champion in their promotion.
Little video of Bennett is available online, and he unfortunately almost immediately botches a springboard spot pretty badly in one of his only singles matches available on YouTube, but he appears to be a solid athlete that grasps the importance of entertaining the audience.
Whether he’s able to make it past the first round or not, the Cruiserweight Classic is going to be invaluable for Bennett’s career.
Any appearance on WWE produced programming increases an independent wrestler’s profile and Bennett will see an increase in bookings if he is not signed by WWE. That will allow him to get more experience and further establish himself to wrestling fans.
The man who calls himself a “premier athlete” is one of the competitors with the most to gain in this tournament.
It’s difficult to argue with Tony Nese’s categorization of himself as his impressive athleticism and strength allow him to do pretty much everything he wants to in the ring.
He says that he “moves like a cruiserweight and hits like a heavyweight.” And with one of the most impressive physiques in the field, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the WWE seriously consider signing Nese after the CWC is over.
But for all of his athleticism, Nese has yet to establish himself at the highest level of independent stardom.
The Long Island native and Mikey Whipwreck trainee has had an impressive career, working extensively in the New York area. He even had a brief run in TNA and is now a regular in Evolve, where he formerly held the organization’s tag team titles with Caleb Konley. Nese earned his way into the CWC by defeating Drew Gulak, Johnny Gargano, Lince Dorado, and TJ Perkins in Evolve’s Cruiserweight Classic Flashpoint elimination match.
Despite all of that success, Nese has yet to become the type of talent that regularly headlines the highest profile independent shows in the United States as a singles wrestler.
This tournament is a showcase for Nese, whether it ultimately gets him signed by the WWE or increases his profile outside of it.
Raul Mendoza vs. Brian Kendrick —
Raul Mendoza by Mike DellaCamera
At only 24, the sky might be the limit for this young luchador out of Mexico.
Debuting in 2009 for the legendary AAA promotion, Mendoza has wrestled all over the world under different names including a stint in Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH – the former home company of WWE’s own Hideo Itami – as Jinzo. Mendoza will look to make an immediate name for himself when he takes on WWE veteran Brian Kendrick in round one.
One of the more established veterans on the roster, Brian Kendrick was known as someone with a lot of potential early on in his career, but booking and size pretty much kept him down from achieving really great success.
At this stage of the game, other workers are far better than he is, but Kendrick is still really sound and should do well in this tournament if motivated.
Breaking out around the same time Daniel Bryan and Paul London entered the indy scene, Kendrick was trained by Shawn Michaels, someone that you probably heard of. He was quickly signed to a WWE deal in 2000 and when called up a few years later, was known as a bit of a goofball. Eventually, he morphed into someone that had potential, but was cut before he ever really got a chance to show it.
A few years late,r he was re-signed and teamed up with London for years on the Smackdown roster. They were one of the best teams in WWE at the time, but politics eventually caused them to break up and be put on different brands.
Kendrick established himself as a singles wrestler, calling himself The Brian Kendrick, to mixed results. He had a push at first, but like with so many other guys on the WWE roster, eventually it fizzled out and he wound up being a casualty of roster cuts in 2009.
Since then, Kendrick has mostly worked independents, along with a somewhat memorable run as X Division champion in TNA.
Kendrick has been off and on NXT for the last year, best known for having a match with Finn Balor on TV, as well as being known as the person who is trying to make Eva Marie into a competent wrestler.
At 37, Kendrick is one of the older participants in this tournament, and he’s out to prove that he’s still got it.
After last week’s inaugural episode debuted to almost universal praise, the second week of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament will air tonight on the WWE Network.
In order to help get you familiar and/or learn more about the competitors, we brought together some of our talents that have expertise in covering many of the wrestlers’ home regions and promotions.
When I think “biggest potential breakout stars” in the Cruiserweight Classic, Akira Tozawa is at the top of the list. The main reason I can say this is simple: we’ve seen him do it before.
In 2010, Tozawa came to America as an unknown. He had spent four years on the Dragon Gate undercard treated as a joke for the most part. Once he reached the States, he cut loose. He became a cult favourite in Reseda for PWG and was wanted by indies across the country.
Everywhere he went, he got over with his unique charisma, undeniable charm, and incredible wrestling ability.
Inevitably, he was recalled to Japan in mid-2011 and has become one of DG’s best performers (arguably THE best) ever since. With DG’s hectic schedule, Tozawa hasn’t wrestled outside of Japan much in recent years and thus has fallen off the radars of those who don’t follow the promotion.
He’s only gotten better and he’s as excited as anyone in the field for this opportunity. Make no mistake, THE STAMINA MONSTER is coming to steal the show.
Not much is known about Johnson — one of the few on this roster that hasn’t made a name for themselves on the independents, at least on a mainstream level. But that’s okay as if there is ever a platform to step up and show what you are made of, it’s the Cruiserweight Classic.
A wrestler based in Detroit, MI, Johnson has had runs in Ring of Honor. His WWE CWC profile claims that he puts his body on the line every night and has demolished many larger opponents in the past, which, at 5’11 and 156 pounds, sounds very interesting.
Who knows how Johnson will do in this tournament? So little is known about him, he could either be really great or fail to make an impact. But, since he’s wrestling on a show that many Network subscribers will watch, it’s up for him to make a name for himself in this tournament.
Although he’s just 31, TJ Perkins has been wrestling since 1999.
A few years after making his debut, he went to train at the short-lived NJPW Dojo in Los Angeles with the likes of Daniel Bryan and Rocky Romero. At 18, he was already wrestling on main cards for New Japan Pro Wrestling, making him the youngest foreign talent to ever wrestle for the company.
He is more well known for his run in TNA as he went through a series of start and stop pushes under various gimmicks. His big run started when he took the helm of Suicide and ran with it, winning the X Division title in the process.
The gimmick was convoluted and didn’t make much sense as he appeared on TV both masked and unmasked for some unknown reason. He eventually renamed himself Manik and donned new attire, but didn’t find much luck in terms of a push before eventually being released after months of not being used.
Since leaving TNA, he’s worked for other companies that include PWG and Evolve.
TJP is another veteran who should do really well in this tournament if given the chance. He has the ability to go very far and already has a decade plus of experience wrestling all around the world. No matter who he faces, there’s a good chance he’ll be able to adjust to whatever style his opponent is the most comfortable with and should have great matches in the process.
Da Mack by Mike DellaCamera
They say you should always dance with what brought you here, and it’s safe to assume that’s what Da Mack will do.
Whether it’s putting on a show between corner chops or moonwalking across the ring, CWC viewers will have a hard time forgetting this compelling German wrestler. Some wrestlers have an innate charisma that resonates, and if you watched the introduction video, it’s easy to see that with Da Mack.
Spending the better part of the last five years with German-based Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), he currently holds their Shotgun championship. He also comprises half the European Wrestling Promotion (EWP) tag team champions along with Axel Dieter Jr. Together, they make up the team Hot and Spicy which should immediately make them your favorite tag team.
The real matchup to root for is a dance off between Da Mack and Rich Swann. That way, we all win.
Lince Dorado is the sole representative of Puerto Rican heritage in the CWC. The tournament comes at a good time with the Golden Lynx looking to find a regular home in wrestling.
Dorado began his career in CHIKARA, learning from Mike Quackenbush, Chris Hero, and Cesaro. He was regarded as a promising prospect and was a regular for CHIKARA from 2007-2010 before parting ways with the promotion.
Dorado has since been largely based in Florida, working for a plethora of independent promotions.
Adept at lucha libre, Dorado is an impressive high flyer and will look to provide the tournament with a more traditional cruiserweight style.
Mustafa Ali by Mike DellaCamera
The current DREAMWAVE World champion and holder of the Freelance Wrestling championship, “Prince” Mustafa Ali enters the CWC looking to add another title to his resume.
The Illinois-based veteran has over a decade of experience on the independent scene, and Ali is the first Pakistani to wrestle for WWE. His expansive independent career has seen him have matches with a veritable “who’s who” of indie stalwarts like Chris Hero, Jigsaw, and CHIKARA founder Mike Quackenbush, just to name a few.
Both technically and aerially proficient, Ali is equally comfortable both on the mat or in the air. Audiences could see Ali end his matches with either his trademark implosion 450 he calls “The Weapon of Mass Destruction” or make someone tap to “A Call to Arms”, his crossface chicken wing variant.
Since leaving WWE in 2005, Yoshihiro Tajiri has had quite the eclectic career. He bounced around different places like HUSTLE, New Japan, and All Japan where he was more living off the gimmick than anything else.
When he was placed in charge of new promotion SMASH in 2010, he became a bit more consistently active and had more matches in which felt like the Tajiri of old (including a great bout against Fit Finlay).
SMASH became Wrestling New Classic in 2012, but was never able to break into the top tier of promotions in Japan and folded in 2014. Ever since, “The Japanese Buzzsaw” has been competing in Keiji Muto’s WRESTLE-1 promotion on somewhat of a part-time basis as he has other business interests outside wrestling.
The clear theme with the former ECW star in recent years has simply been a one of motivation, or lack thereof.
His matches generally aren’t all that good, but it’s abundantly clear it’s more to do with how much he’s willing to do rather than depleted skills. He’s shown on more than one occasion that the skills are still there, and he’s a veteran with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I saw this in person at Korakuen Hall this year when he faced Kotaro Suzuki and wrestled an excellent match focused on attacking the arm.
In the CWC, in front of a worldwide audience once again, it’s very likely that we’ll see a motivated Tajiri and if that’s the case, that may mean we see the Tajiri of old.
Damian Slater by Mike DellaCamera
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of other recent Australian WWE superstars such as Emma and TM61 (Shane Thorne and Nick Miller, both of whom don’t kneel), Slater enters the CWC with unique offense and a personality to match.
After all, how many wrestlers can say they competed on Deal or No Deal and put the host to sleep with a rear naked choke?
Slater began his training under Australian trainer Col Devaney before moving on to study under the likes of Jesse Hernandez in California, and Ikuto Hidaka in Japan. Slater represents the ‘young veteran’ idea much like one of his fellow competitors and another of his former trainers, TJ Perkins, who he states is a huge influence on his style.
While he may be new to a United States audience, Slater has experience working with some of the biggest names in international wrestling in some of the biggest venues.
In 2012, he had the opportunity to wrestle in the famed Korakuen Hall as part of a three-month stint with Zero-1. Then, in 2014, Slater stepped into the ring with global superstar and current NXT roster member Shinsuke Nakamura in one of his self-proclaimed ‘greatest personal matches’.
He is the current Australian Middleweight Champion, the oldest active championship in Australia.
Though the field is set for this summer’s Cruiserweight Classic and the first round has already been filmed, the WWE announced five alternates for the tournament on Tuesday afternoon.
Aaron Solow, Jesus Yurnet, Jessy Sorensen, Vandal Ortagun, and Kai Katana are the five men who could step into the CWC if one of the 32 original competitors gets injured or misses weight.
Sorensen is likely the most well known name of the bunch. He competed in TNA from 2011-2013 before being released. Sorensen broke his neck in a match with Zema Ion in 2012 and it wasn’t known if he would be able to continue his career.
After working in a backstage position, Sorensen decided that he wanted to get back in the ring and was cleared to wrestle. TNA came under fire for releasing Sorensen instead of allowing him to return in their ring.
Sorensen has since made several appearances as an enhancement talent on NXT TV.
Working on the American independent scene since 2009, Solow is probably most known for his appearances in FIP. He has also competed as an enhancement talent in NXT and ROH, and has been romantically linked to NXT’s Bayley.
Yurnet, Ortagun, and Katana have all also worked extensively in the wrestling business and will be on call to prove themselves to the WWE if the opportunity arises.
