After the brand extension, Monday Night Raw would play a weekly video package that announced the cruiserweights arriving on the flagship show. For those of you who do not know, this refers to competitors who took place in the Cruiserweight Classic, a 32-man tournament that culminated with TJ Perkins winning the tournament, and the revived WWE Cruiserweight Championship, last Wednesday. It featured athletes from all across the globe: Mexico, Japan, China, Chile, and Germany, and Italy were just some of the represented countries in this tournament. The Cruiserweight Classic featured NXT Superstars and wrestlers from the independent scene who were not signed with WWE, until now.
It was announced that last Wednesday that since TJ Perkins won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, he will be walking into Monday Night Raw tomorrow night with the title (To my knowledge, this is the first time that someone has won a main roster WWE championship title before debuting on the main roster). In order to be the champion of a division, however, you have to have more than one person in said division. While we saw video packages highlighting several amazing performers, WWE.com has confirmed six cruiserweights that will join Perkins on Monday Night Raw.
Brian Kendrick
For those who haven’t watched the Cruiserweight Classic, Brian Kendrick might still be a familiar name to long-time fans of WWE. Most known for his time as a tag team partner to Paul London, Kendrick spent several years in WWE before being released from his contract in 2009. The Cruiserweight Classic reinvigorated Kendrick, who arguably showed more heart in the tournament than anyone else before he was eliminated in the third round by Kota Ibushi. Although Kendrick’s goal was to win the tournament, his wrestling career has new life now that he is a part of the WWE’s main roster once again.
Rich Swann
Perhaps the most charismatic competitor in the Classic, Rich Swann first caught the eyes of the WWE Universe by occasionally competing in NXT. While he did not come out on the winning end most times, he had great performances at Full Sail, especially in a surprisingly great match against Baron Corbin. Swann would pick up a few victories in the Classic before losing to the winner, TJ Perkins. Swann’s high energy arsenal is the perfect example of what people think when they hear “cruiserweight wrestling.”
Gran Metalik
Gran Metalik made it as far as possible in the Cruiserweight Classic as he could without winning it all. On Wednesday night, Metalik had perhaps the biggest upset in the tournament when he defeated England’s “technical wizard,” Zack Sabre Jr.. The Mexican luchador would then go on to the finals, where he would have a hell of a match with TJ Perkins, that included this amazing hurricanrana from the apron to ringside:
"He HURDLED the TOP ROPE to give him the Frankensteiner!!" – @WWEDanielBryan #CWC @DoradoSro @MaskaraManik pic.twitter.com/MnGM43tc4G
— WWE CWC (@WWE_CWC) September 15, 2016
And that is only some of Metalik’s move set. Metalik adds more of the lucha libre style to WWE, who currently underrepresents the wrestling style on their programs (Sorry, Kalisto and Sin Cara).
Lince Dorado
Another wrestler with a lucha libre-inspired style, the Puerto Rican Lince Dorado only made it two rounds into the Classic, but he had great showings throughout his journey. While Round 2 had plenty of classic matches (no pun intended), Dorado showed what he brings to the table when he had the fastest-paced match of the tournament against Rich Swann.
Noam Dar
Noam Dar hails from Scotland, and was the youngest competitor out of all 32 cruiserweights at a mere 23 years old. Unlike Gran Metalik, Dar’s journey came to an end when he lost to Zack Sabre Jr. in the third to last round of the Clasic. Dar brings an all-around technical style to cruiserweight wrestling, while implementing high-impact strikes and his signature kneebar. We have not even come close to seeing everything Dar can do in the ring, but he will give us an idea tomorrow night.
Cedric Alexander
Cedric Alexander probably had the most emotional impact on the Full Sail University crowd. After Alexander was eliminated by Kota Ibushi in an arguable “Match of the Year” candidate, the fans were very thankful for his performances in the tournament. This culminated with a “Please sign Cedric” chant from the fans, to which Triple H responded by embracing Alexander at the entrance way, and giving a big thumbs up to the crowd. While nothing was confirmed at the time, it is now. Triple H has answered the fans questions, and Cedric Alexander is now a WWE Superstar.
While we saw Akira Tozawa and Jack Gallagher in the promo videos for the cruiserweight division, WWE has not confirmed their additions to Monday Night Raw. As disappointing as that is, the confirmed signings are an amazing start to adding an exciting bit of variety to WWE’s flagship show.
