As wonderful as it has been these past couple of months, the inaugural edition of the "WWE Cruiserweight Classic" is finally coming to a close in next week's finale. It's been a wonderful ride, and more importantly, a significant reawakening and refamiliarization with the WWE audience on how cruiserweights really tear it up in the ring. Not that they really needed it, of course, with guys like Neville and Apollo Crews already showing their stuff before this.
As mentioned, next week's special two-hour live finale of the "WWE Cruiserweight Classic" will feature both the semifinal round and the finals on the same night. Last week, Gran Metalik and Kota Ibushi booked their tickets to the finale, and this week, a few veterans will be fighting for the chance to get in.
Zack Sabre, Jr. (UK) def. Noam Dar (Scotland)
This "WWE Cruiserweight Classic" bout was a match between two best friends, and two well-known representatives from the United Kingdom. We expected a purely technical bout as that's the kind of wrestling they're both known for, and we got a pleasant surprise when they decided to turn up the intensity and actually fight each other. (Not that they don't fight, but it became more than just a standard bout of wrestling.)
Zack Sabre, Jr. winning this one was actually a foregone conclusion, as despite how talented Noam Dar is, he just isn't on the same level right now. Dar's definitely earned the right to be in this tournament, but I have a feeling that he didn't make the most of his opportunity, not really giving it all and wrestling lights-out to impress the greater audience. He's gotten by mostly on his reputation and "indy cred" alone, but since he'll be hanging around in "WWE RAW"'s cruiserweight division, there's a lot of opportunity for him to improve.
TJ Perkins (Philippines) def. Rich Swann (USA)
Both men have largely gone seriously unopposed (save for TJ Perkins's highly intense bout with Johnny Gargano the other week) and in this round, they finally meet each other's match, as both wrestle a very similar style. Both focus on entertaining the crowd, but bringing the fight when they have to.
For all the veteran competitors in the semifinal round of the "WWE Cruiserweight Classic," it seems as though only Perkins has had a truly challenging path to the finale. His last two wins come against people who fans generally better favored to advance in the tournament, making him the real dark horse in this race. And it's not like he doesn't deserve to get this far either—Perkins, at 32 years old, is an 18-year veteran in pro wrestling, and this is long-overdue recognition for him.
Next week, it'll be T.J. Perkins vs. Kota Ibushi and Gran Metalik vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. to open the finale of the "WWE Cruiserweight Classic"! The winners of both matches will face each other in the finals to win the whole thing!