The Cruiserweight Classic (first known as the Global Cruiserweight Series) was a professional wrestling tournament made by WWE in 2016. It aired as a WWE Network event across the summer. All wrestlers were billed at a weight of 205 pounds or less. Its winner would become the first WWE Cruiserweight Champion.[a] Tournament qualifying matches took place in various promotions of the independent circuit such as Revolution Pro Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, and Evolve. It took place on June 23, July 13, August 26, and September 14, 2016. The winner was T. J. Perkins. After the event, WWE created a cruiserweight division for their Raw brand and made the show 205 Live, featuring several wrestlers from the tournament.[1]
| Cruiserweight Classic | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Promotion | WWE |
| Date |
|
| Venue | NXT Arena at Full Sail University |
| City | Winter Park, Florida |
Participants
change| Wrestler | Weight (in pounds) |
|---|---|
| Akira Tozawa | 156 |
| Alejandro Saez | 205 |
| Anthony Bennett | 147 |
| Ariya Daivari | 180 |
| The Brian Kendrick | 157 |
| Cedric Alexander | 200 |
| Clément Petiot | 199 |
| Da Mack | 160 |
| Damian Slater | 193 |
| Drew Gulak | 193 |
| Fabian Aichner | 203 |
| Gran Metalik | 175 |
| Gurv Sihra | 159 |
| Harv Sihra | 144 |
| Ho Ho Lun | 155 |
| Jack Gallagher | 167 |
| Jason Lee | 154 |
| Johnny Gargano | 170 |
| Kenneth Johnson | 156 |
| Kota Ibushi | 189 |
| Lince Dorado | 168 |
| Mustafa Ali[Note 1] | 182 |
| Noam Dar | 178 |
| Raul Mendoza | 178 |
| Rich Swann | 165 |
| Sean Maluta | 191 |
| T. J. Perkins | 167 |
| Tajiri | 189 |
| Tommaso Ciampa | 195 |
| Tony Nese | 196 |
| Tyson Dux | 193 |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 181 |
- ↑ This competitor is a replacement for another participant who was taken out of the tournament
Alternates
changeIn the event an official participant had suffered an injury or did not make the 205 lbs weight limit, they would have been replaced by one of the following participants:
| Wrestler | Weight (in pounds) |
|---|---|
| Aaron Solow | 182 |
| Jesse Sorensen | 184 |
| Jesus Yurnet | 182 |
| Kai Katana | 197 |
| Vandal Ortagun | 155 |
Replaced
changeThese participants were taken out of the tournament for a specific reason and therefore were replaced by another competitor.
| Wrestler | Weight (in pounds) (max. 205) |
Progression in the tournament | Reason | Replacing wrestler |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zumbi | 167 | Replaced before the official start of the tournament | Visa issues[2] | Mustafa Ali |
Results
changeTournament bracket
changeThe following time limits were in place:
- Round one: 20 minutes
- Round two: 20 minutes
- Quarterfinals: 30 minutes
- Semifinals: 30 minutes
- Final: Unlimited
| Round of 32 Taped June 23 | Round of 16 Taped July 14 | Quarterfinals Taped August 26 | Semifinals Live on September 14 | Final Live on September 14 | ||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kenneth Johnson | 09:46[3] | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jack Gallagher | 11:38[7] | |||||||||||||||||
| Jack Gallagher | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fabian Aichner | 06:45[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | 15:49[10] | |||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Damian Slater | 05:28[3] | |||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | 10:53[8] | |||||||||||||||||
| Alejandro Saez | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | 04:04[5] | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 13:13[12] | |||||||||||||||||
| Harv Sihra | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak | 05:18[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 08:27[9] | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyson Dux | 08:28[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | 15:46[11] | |||||||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gurv Sihra | 05:26[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ho Ho Lun | 07:02[7] | |||||||||||||||||
| Ariya Daivari | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ho Ho Lun | 05:03[5] | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| T. J. Perkins | 17:47[12] | |||||||||||||||||
| Raul Mendoza | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brian Kendrick | 07:35[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| Brian Kendrick | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese | 13:42[7] | |||||||||||||||||
| Anthony Bennett | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese | 06:34[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| Brian Kendrick | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | 13:58[10] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sean Maluta | 09:40[5] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander | 15:00[8] | |||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Clément Petiot | 05:58[5] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| T. J. Perkins | 14:52[12] | |||||||||||||||||
| T. J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Da Mack | 06:32[3] | |||||||||||||||||
| T. J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano | 12:18[9] | |||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tommaso Ciampa | 10:47[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| T. J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| - July 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | 17:03[11] | |||||||||||||||||
| Mustafa Ali | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lince Dorado | 05:55[3] | |||||||||||||||||
| Lince Dorado | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | 08:14[9] | |||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Jason Lee | 03:47[4] | |||||||||||||||||
Finale
change| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | The Bollywood Boyz (Gurv and Harv Sihra) defeated Ariya Daivari and Sean Maluta | Tag team match | 05:15 |
| 2 | Gran Metalik defeated Zack Sabre Jr. | Cruiserweight Classic tournament semi-final match | 13:13 |
| 3 | T. J. Perkins defeated Kota Ibushi by submission | Cruiserweight Classic tournament semi-final match | 14:52 |
| 4 | #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) defeated Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar | Tag team match | 09:49 |
| 5 | T. J. Perkins defeated Gran Metalik by submission | Cruiserweight Classic tournament final match to crown the first WWE Cruiserweight Championship | 17:47 |
| |||
Footnotes
change- ↑ Despite having the same name, this is a new championship with its own separate history from the previous WWE Cruiserweight Championship that was originally created in World Championship Wrestling and purchased by WWE (at the time known as the World Wrestling Federation) in 2001 and retired in 2007.
References
change- ↑ Csonka, Larry. "Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More". 411Mania.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
He was asked how tough it will be to make a new show in 205 stands out. H said that the talent and style will make it distinctive. He said that you will get to see them showcase their talent there. He referenced the Cruiserweight Classic and he said he would try and give it the feel that it had. He said that WWE does have a lot of programming, for sure.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (2016-06-25). "Triple H – WWE to hold future editions of Cruiserweight tournament, why did one wrestler miss inaugural tourney?". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Caldwell, James (2016-07-20). "7/20 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 2 Report on Akira Tozawa, Tajiri, TJP, excellent Dorado vs. Ali match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Caldwell, James (2016-08-03). "8/3 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Results – Caldwell's Report on Week 4 to conclude First Round, including Gargano vs. Ciampa". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Caldwell, James (2016-07-13). "7/13 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 1 Report on Ibushi, Cedric Alexander, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Caldwell, James (2016-07-27). "7/27 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 3 Report on Zack Sabre, Brian Kendrick, more in action". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Caldwell, James (2016-08-17). "8/17 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Report on stellar Kendrick vs. Nese and Gallagher vs. Tozawa Sweet 16 matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Caldwell, James (2016-08-10). "8/10 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Results – Caldwell's Report on Ibushi vs. Alexander classic, Tajiri vs. Metalik in Sweet 16". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Caldwell, James (2016-08-24). "8/24 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Week 7 – Caldwell's Report on Gargano vs. TJP, Sabre vs. Gulak, Swann vs. Dorado to finish Sweet 16". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Caldwell, James (2016-08-31). "8/31 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Week 8 – Caldwell's Report on Ibushi vs. Kendrick, Tozawa vs. Metalik Elite 8 matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Caldwell, James (2016-09-07). "9/7 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament – Caldwell's Report on Sabre vs. Dar, Swann vs. Perkins to conclude Elite 8 Round". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Caldwell, James (2016-09-14). "9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – CALDWELL'S Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-09-14.