Cruiserweight Classic – August 17, 2016: Where My Eyebrows Go Up
Cruiserweight Classic
Date: August 17, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Daniel Bryan
If last week is any indication, this should be one of the most entertaining shows all week. We’re into the second round now and already know two of the names in the final eight. Tonight that more than doubles with three matches advertised at the end of last week’s show. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of last week’s great show and a preview of tonight’s matches.
Opening sequence.
Jack Gallagher is still very British.
Akira Tozawa will never give up or back down. I believe these are the same vignettes from the first round with clips of their first round matches added in.
Second Round: Jack Gallagher vs. Akira Tozawa
England vs. Japan. They trade wristlocks to start until Tozawa takes him to the mat and works on the leg. Gallagher reverses into an Indian Deathlock (with wrestling expert Daniel Bryan telling us that it’s also called a British Figure Four) so Tozawa puts him on the mat with a headlock. That’s fine with Jack as he gets up into a headstand and walks backwards to escape. Fans: “HE’S SO DAPPER!”
Somehow Gallagher ties Tozawa’s limbs together into a ball. I’m not sure if Tozawa can’t get out or doesn’t realize Gallagher isn’t there but he realizes it when Jack gives him a running kick. A frustrated Tozawa takes him to the mat in a chinlock and drops a backsplash to slow Jack down a bit. Gallagher gets the closest thing he can be to ticked off and ties the leg up on the mat. Tozawa finally gets smart and kicks him in the face but that just earns him another leg lock.
Back up and Tozawa hits a running boot to the chest but the leg means he can’t cover quickly enough. Tozawa tries a suplex but is smoothly taken down into a heel hook. Gallagher immediately lets go when Tozawa gets the rope, only to have Tozawa fall down on an Irish whip attempt. Tozawa seems to be goldbricking though and starts firing off kicks until Gallagher headbutts him in the chest. A deadlift German suplex sends Gallagher crashing into the mat though and that’s enough for the pin at 11:38.
Rating: B+. As good as the wrestling was here, the commentary deserves so much praise in this match. Bryan and Ranallo did a perfect job of pointing out the differences in styles and treated it as a showdown of two very different wrestlers. The people in the ring then played their roles perfectly and I had a great time watching this match. Just a lot of fun in a wrestling match here and that’s what I love about this show.
Hoho Lun has known what he wanted to do since he was eight years old.
Noam Dar is ready to go despite being the youngest man in this tournament and can submit anyone. “Everyone’s leg bends the same.”
Second Round: Noam Dar vs. Hoho Lun
Scotland vs. Hong Kong. They trade wristlocks to start with Dar getting the better of it before starting in on the leg with a dragon screw leg whip. A belly to back gets two for Dar so Lun kicks him in the head for the same. The fans’ chant here: saying DAR over and over again to the tune of Darth Vader’s theme song. Dar kicks him down again and we hit something like a half crab. Lun gets up and hits a missile dropkick with the knee giving out in a hurry. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Dar but he pulls Lun down into the kneebar (with kicks to the back) for the submission at 7:02.
Rating: C. Still good here but the time hurt them. That being said, there’s only so much you can do with a story of taking apart someone’s leg and then using submissions to make them give up. It’s a simple idea and not something you can really stretch out that far. Dar has had a nice run but odds are he gets Zack Sabre Jr. in the next round so this is probably it for him.
Tony Nese is very athletic and should have been here a long time ago.
Brian Kendrick is a veteran looking for one more shot.
Second Round: Tony Nese vs. The Brian Kendrick
USA vs. USA. Nese doesn’t play around and just blasts Kendrick in the face with a kick in the first fifteen seconds. Kendrick is knocked outside but Nese is right there to chop him some more. Back in and Nese somehow gets his hand caught in the turnbuckle pad, allowing Kendrick to get in his first offense. Nese ducks under a clothesline and comes back with some legdrops for two.
Kendrick realizes he has to get crafty by tying Nese’s arm around the ropes and cranking away on a seated armbar. A cross armbreaker makes things worse for Nese and a Fujiwara Armbar makes Nese scream. Bryan gives a very impassioned speech about how he and Kendrick lived together and trained together which helped make Bryan the wrestler he was. Nese gets back up and sends Kendrick outside for a running dive over the top.
Back in and Nese easily wins a slugout before a Falcon Arrow gets two. Nese gets pulled off the top for two off a nasty crash but he comes right back with a buckle bomb for two. Brian isn’t done yet either as he grabs that Bully Choke until Nese pumphandles him into a sitout powerslam for two more. Now Nese is getting frustrated so Kendrick just unloads with headbutts and a leg lariat. Kendrick gets kicked off the top but is still able to avoid a 450 and grab the Bully Choke for the tap out at 14:38.
Rating: B. That ending made my eyebrows go up as I was actually surprised by the finish. They told a really good story here with Kendrick being overmatched by the more athletic and younger Nese but hanging in there just long enough to catch Nese in a mistake. Good stuff here and that’s all you can ask for with a match like this.
Overall Rating: B+. It’s not as good as last week but that’s not a fair comparison to make. The opener was really good and the other two matches ranged from just fine to a surprise, giving us three more strong matches to go with last week’s two great ones. The final three rounds could produce some classics if these matches are any indication and I’m really excited to see where they go from here.
Results
Akira Tozawa b. Jack Gallagher – German suplex
Noam Dar b. Hoho Lun – Kneebar
Brian Kendrick b. Tony Nese – Bully Choke
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Man this show just delivers every week. I can’t believe the WWE has never even taken a flier on a guy like Nese and I hope he gets a contract. Kendrick’s journey from savy fan favorite vet into nasty desperate heel vet is just awesome. I’m also really impressed by Kendrick’s refined in ring skills and his sticking to mat based grinding moves and a choke finisher instead of focusing on the high flying stuff that got him to the dance the first time. Npam Dar will good in like three years. The Dar v HoHo match felt like a first round match and is setting up Sabre’s relatively easy walkthrough to the semis. Also Gallagher is what Zach Sabre Jr has fooled Full Sail into thinking he is. Gallagher also needs a deal like yesterday.