WWE Cruiserweight Classic Review - August 31, 2016

Kota Ibushi lands a hard kick on Brian Kendrick.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Gran Metalik def. Akira Tozawa in a Quarterfinal Match

For a guy I wasn't completely aware of coming into the tournament, Tozawa has absolutely blown me away with his three matches, and the same can be said for Metalik. They killed it in this contest with multiple nearfalls and had the crowd on the edge of their seat the entire time. Their styles meshed perfectly and it made for an extremely exciting opener. I was slightly surprised to see Metalik advance over Tozawa, but hey, I can't complain because both of them are fantastic. I clearly underestimated these two because they exceeded my expectations in having one of the best matches all season.


Kota Ibushi def. Brian Kendrick in a Quarterfinal Match

I would have said "Good luck topping that!" to any other two competitors, but this is Ibushi and Kendrick we're talking about here, and both men have had nothing but instant classics throughout the tournament. This was no exception as each of them took the other to their respective limit, although I could have done without Kendrick hitting his finisher so early on (I couldn't buy into that nearfall). There was an amazing emotion about the match from both men that resulted in just a beautiful piece of art. Kendrick did an exceptional job of being built up only to put over the rising star, but I surely hope this isn't the last we've seen of him. Him and Daniel Bryan shedding tears in the middle of the ring afterward was truly something to behold.

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Overall Show

I declared the episode that hosted Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander Second Round matchup the greatest edition of the Cruiserweight Classic to date, but this one definitely gave it a run for its money. In fact, I'd go so far as to say this show topped that one, because both bouts were nothing short of sensational. We all knew coming into the Cruiserweight Classic that these later matches would be something special and they have yet to disappoint. I came to the conclusion that I am going to be a very sad person once this season ends, but then I realized we'll still have the Cruiserweight division to look forward to on Raw. Yay!