Tonight is the second to last episode of the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Classic. The card for tonight finishes up the quarterfinals, with two matches that are sure to turn heads. The British technical wizard Zack Sabre Jr. takes on Scotland’s Noam Dar to kick off the show. In the main event, the highly entertaining Rich Swann (from the United States) takes on the bold and arrogant TJ Perkins (from the Philippines).
Zack Sabre Jr. (England) vs. Noam Dar (Scotland)
Zack Sabre Jr. has made a huge splash in the Cruiserweight Classic. He has used his technical prowess and “escapism” philosophy to win both of his matches, including a mat classic against Drew Gulak. Noam Dar showed in his two matches that he can keep up with Sabre’s technique. This was especially prominent in the second round when Dar faced China’s Hoho Lun and implemented his patented kneebar out of nowhere to advance.
In recent non-WWE news, Zack Sabre Jr. competed against Cody Rhodes at EVOLVE 66 in Rhodes’s first-ever independent wrestling match, and put on a great showing even though he ended up on the losing side.
Although Zack Sabre Jr. is widely regarded as the best technical wrestler in the world, he has not been announced as part of the Monday Night Raw cruiserweight division. Noam Dar, on the other hand, is one of many Cruiserweight Classic competitors to get drafted to WWE’s flagship show.
After an incredible sequence of dueling bicycle kicks, Zack Sabre Jr. counters Noam dar out of nowhere and locks in a modified double armbar (known as the Rings of Saturn submission), giving Noam Dar no choice but to tap out. Winner (via submission): Zack Sabre Jr. | Eliminated: Noam Dar
TJ Perkins (Philippines) vs. Rich Swann (United States)
The winner of this match has a huge task in front of them next week: defeat Kota Ibushi, and then go on to win the Cruiserweight Classic in the same night. –Yes, the Semifinals and Finals are in the same 2 hour-long episode.– Both TJ Perkins and Rich Swann have shown that they have the ability to take on Ibushi. Also, both Perkins and Swann are going to be part of the WWE Monday Night Raw cruiserweight division.
In Rich Swann’s journey to the quarterfinals, he has shown his high energy offense in great matches against two very different opponents. In the first round of the Cruiserweight Classic, Rich Swann faced China’s Jason Lee. In the second round, Swann had a high octane match against the Puerto Rican luchador, Lince Dorado.
TJ Perkins has had a similar journey throughout the Classic, but with a bit more dabbing involved. In a stylish show-off, Perkins defeated Germany’s Da Mack soundly. When Perkins advanced to the second round, he picked up what many consider to be an upset when he took advantage of Johnny Gargano’s knee injury. Because of how favored NXT’s Johnny Gargano was in the Classic, that win in Round 2 could have been the most important win in this tournament so far.
During the match, Rich Swann attempts a moonsault from the ring apron to the floor and TJ Perkins rolls out of the way. On the landing, Swann tweaked his knee and that gave Perkins the advantage for the rest of the match. After one last ditch effort, Perkins would counter, launching Swann into a Pele kick, then finishing the match with the last of many kneebars. After forcing Rich Swann to submit, TJ Perkins cements his spot in the semifinals next week against Kota Ibushi. Winner (via submission): TJ Perkins
As noted earlier, next week’s edition of the Cruiserweight Classic will feature both the semifinals and finals matches. The Golden Star Kota Ibushi will take on TJ Perkins, while Zack Sabre Jr. will take on Mexico’s Gran Metalik (another Cruiserweight Classic competitors confirmed for Monday Night Raw). To round out the evening, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will compete in tag team action while the tournament competitors rest up.
