The WWE Global Cruiserweight show

[C.S.]

WOW!

 

Before tonight, I'll admit I didn't give a flying fuck about TJ Perkins. Now he's one of the best babyfaces in the entire company and somehow had me rooting for him in both matches.

 

Metalik vs. ZSJ was a mismatch and never really came together IMO, but at least the right guy won.

 

Perkins vs. Ibushi was much better, and that really was a stunning upset. No one called it (except for that one guy earlier in this thread).

 

Way to take the shine off Alexander by pairing him with Noam Dar, who is so weird and off-putting. BTW, was he always announced as being from Scotland first by way of Israel? I thought it was Israel first by way of Scotland? Did they swap the countries around? Anyway, fun match with the horribly named #DIY. For some reason, I was under the impression that the match was going to be Gargano-Ciampa vs. Revival, then Gargano-Ciampa vs. Alexander/Dar vs. Revival. Kinda disappointed there was no Revival, lol.

 

The final was great. Trips coming out seemed too masturbatory at first, but when he unveiled the Cruiserweight Title (which I was hoping he would do), all was well in the world.

 

It looks more like a Smackdown title IMO, so I hope the Cruisers eventually end up there, like Swagger did.

 

Perkins showed tonight that he's a fantastic babyface and great underdog seller. I'm sold now.

[Beast]

Great show. Only detriment being that knowing that Sabre and Ibushi hadn't signed contracts took away much of the suspense. I would have been more shocked if Ibushi beat TJP.

 

Though that doesn't really impact the quality of matches tonight.

[sek69]

Shane pulling a power play and ganking the cruisers from Raw would be a great storyline. Also would ally my fears that they'd just be built up to be cannon fodder for Brock on Raw.

[goc]

Man when was the last time someone in a WWE ring had their chest that shredded and bloody.

Probably a long time because it's not a very smart thing to do when you wrestle 3-4 times a week.

[goc]

Shane pulling a power play and ganking the cruisers from Raw would be a great storyline. Also would ally my fears that they'd just be built up to be cannon fodder for Brock on Raw.

There is absolutely NO chance of HHH letting a story play out where Shane gets the better of him. So no way is that happening.

[Matt D]

Also, there's a business need for the Cruiserweight Division. It wouldn't exist without the brand split and the need to fill the first hour of Nitro with these guys. Neither here nor there but the SD tag division seems more stacked to me. As natural as it is for Revival to end up on SD, I am thinking more and more that they go to Raw because New Day will need heel opponents.

[Childs]

Perkins is right at the top of the list of guys I don't get. He puts me to sleep time after time, no matter what role he's playing. I turned off the show after the semis because I could not have given less of a fuck about the final match-up. CWC was a cool thing overall but peaked with Kendrick-Ibushi.

[Dylan Waco]

Strongly disagree with Childs. Ecstatic that we didn't get one trick pony Sabre as champ, and while I would have been fine with Metalik I like the idea of him chasing the belt better. TJP had a hell of a night tonight and the reason why is that the guy is one of the more versatile and truly cross trained guys on the planet. As the ace of the division he'll be able to work with anyone which is more than I can say for a lot of the other guys they have. I still would have preferred the Kendrick story as a personal thing, but Perkins is probably a better pick in some ways, and his personal story was nearly as good.

 

I came into the show almost certain that I wouldn't care because Kendrick lost and instead they grabbed me and completely won me over with a couple of great matches and performances from TJP. I don't really get the praise here for Metalik v. Sabre (a fine match with some glaring miscommunication), but overall I thought this was a damn fine show.

[C.S.]

Perkins is right at the top of the list of guys I don't get. He puts me to sleep time after time, no matter what role he's playing. I turned off the show after the semis because I could not have given less of a fuck about the final match-up. CWC was a cool thing overall but peaked with Kendrick-Ibushi.

 

So, let me get this straight...

 

You devoted countless hours upon hours to watching the tournament, but you bailed out on the final 20-30 minutes because you didn't like one of the guys in it?

 

Wow.

 

I wasn't a TJP fan either, but he earned his stripes tonight.

[El Dragon]

For what it's worth, I watched the main, and thought it was the 4th best Metalik match of the tournament.

[SirEdger]

So, with that said, now that TJP is the Cruiserweight Champion, it's safe to assume that he'll probably defend the title at Clash of Champions next Sunday. But who do you wanna see him defend against?

 

Rematch vs Gran Metallik?

 

Classic face vs heel match vs Brian Kendrick?

 

Or maybe a multi-man match featuring Metallik, Kendrick, Gallagher & Alexander?

[Johnny Sorrow]

That fucking ruled. The show told an amazing story. Wrestling is theatre. And that was amazing theatre. Sure, I think Zach "The Walking Definition of Why White People Are Awful" Sabre stinks, but that Penalty Kick move looked cool. And Metallik managed to get a dramatic match out of him when Jr. wasn't doing elbow grinds that looked like he was an Asian massage parlor whore who was just going through the motions before the hand job.

And Ibushi vs TJ fucking ruled. Wow, it told the underdog winning story so fucking perfectly that I thought there was no way they'd have TJ pull it out again to win it all, but they fucking did. Outstanding Professional Wrestling. And HHH doing the belt reveal fucking ruled, since I was reading all day dummies bitching about the CWC not meaning anything and they'll just do a lame version of the tourney on RAW.

 

Again, this fucking ruled and I popped out of my seat cheering when TJ won both times. Storytelling made this great, fucking groovy.

[The Thread Killer]

Just finished watching the show, and I loved it. I am sad the CWC is over, it was a fun distraction this summer. Watching the show tonight was the most fun I have had watching wrestling in quite some time.

 

Thoughts...

 

- Mauro Ranallo was annoying as hell tonight. If this is what he's like when he's not being produced through his headset, then I take back every mean thing I ever said about Vince McMahon producing the commentary by remote. Sweet Jeebus, Ranallo was out of control tonight. It's as if somebody offered to pay him $50 every time he worked the name of a Japanese Wrestler or maneuver into his commentary, or called a name in Spanish with a flourish. It's a known fact that Mauro is bi-polar and at points during tonight's show I was starting to wonder if he was entering his manic cycle without the benefit of his medication.

 

Before the CWC, I always thought the worst thing in the world was having an announcer calling matches when they didn't understand, appreciate or respect the sport. (See, Cole, Michael or Whalen, Ed.) I thought the best announcer for a "smark friendly" product would have to be somebody like a Joey Styles...a guy who knew the sport, the history, and would treat it with the respect it deserved. After listening to Matt Striker call New Japan and Mauro Ranallo call the CWC, I am wondering if I got it all very wrong. So help me, I think even Michael Cole being told what to see, think and feel through his headset would have been better than Mauro Ranallo was tonight..may God have mercy on me for even thinking that.

 

- The Metalik/Sabre match was Sabre's best match in the tournament, but that's kind of damning it with faint praise. There were clearly some miscommunications during that match. I lay the blame for that at the feet of Sabre, since Metalik looked a lot smoother against everybody else he faced, whereas Sabre looked awkward in all his matches. And not to pile on, but I do agree with some of the other posters here. Zack Sabre Jr.'s selling is...not so good. Shaking your head, and looking around wildly with a mildly annoyed expression on your face for five seconds does not constitute selling. I have officially seen enough of him to declare that I am glad he did not sign with WWE. To borrow a quote from Seinfeld, Zack...you must go now.

 

- I came away from this tournament extremely impressed with Gran Metalik. I was amazed I had never heard of him, until I found out he was Mascara Dorada. I have seen little to none of his previous work. Here in Canada, we do get the weekly TV shows from AAA, CMLL and an English language NJPW broadcast, but there just aren't enough hours in my week to watch Raw, Smackdown, NXT, ROH, AAA, CMLL and NJPW on top of the CWC. Since the brand split I've mostly been watching WWE content, but I am way out of touch with Lucha. Now I am wondering if I should be making time for CMLL if this is the kind of talent they have.

 

Metalik is so damn good. I can't believe he hits as much of his stuff as he does. His opponents deserve a ton of credit too, but I found Metalik's combination of high flying, funky rope based offense and submissions to be a real treat. He could end up being the breakout star of this new division on RAW. I really hope this new Cruiserweight Division ends up being for RAW what the division was for Nitro back in the day, before it all went so terribly wrong. I see no reason why Gran Metalik couldn't be the next Rey or at least Ultimo or Sasuke. Hell, based on what I've seen so far, he seems better than Ultimo or Sasuke.

 

- Here's a question...why have a translator for Metalik, if her only function is to translate the questions but not the answers? WTF?

 

- I had no strong feelings about TJ Perkins one way or the other coming into this tournament. I remembered him from Ring of Honor but every single match I ever saw him in there, he lost. He did make an impression on me when he wrestled as PUMA in the 2004 and 2006 World X Cup tournaments in TNA, and I thought he was pretty good as Manik as well. It wasn't until I looked into his background that I realized how much experience he has and how long and hard he has worked to make it in Professional Wrestling. It's hard not to root for a guy like him, who has clearly given everything to the sport and up until this point, not had much to show for it. From what I saw up until tonight, his game was solid, too. Good strikes, good submissions, innovative high flying.

 

Then man, did he ever crank it up a notch against Ibushi. They really beat us over the head that Ibushi was the favorite to win this whole thing, so much so that I got to the point where I almost wanted to see him lose. But the fact is, all three of Ibushi's matches leading into tonight were solid, with his matches against Alexander and Kendrick both being two of the best (if not the best) matches. I developed the opinion that Ibushi must be one of those guys who can help bring the best out of the guys he is working with, but they have to have the tools. Ibushi sure helped Perkins, and their match in my opinion, was the best of the night, hands down. I was legit shocked at the submission ending.

 

- I skipped the Tag Match for two reasons. Firstly, I really wanted to see the finals, but also I really can't stand Noam Dar. I figured the odds were pretty damn slim that Cedric and Dar would be beating "DIY" (seriously? who the hell is naming these teams? that's almost as bad as Authors of Pain.) So I skipped it. I may go back again and watch it later.

 

- I had no problem with Trips coming out before the final. This whole thing was reportedly his baby, so if he wanted to come out and get some love, more damn power to him. Besides, even if it had distracted away from the final - which it didn't - that would have been more than offset by the announcement of the winner becoming the new Cruiserweight Champion. That's awesome news, but that belt sucks. They really need to fire whoever is designing these belts for them.

 

- As far as the final itself, I thought it was good, maybe even very good. I think it probably suffered a fair bit from both guys being worn out from their earlier matches, especially poor Perkins. That man is going to be SORE for a few weeks, based on those burst blood vessels on his chest. Ouch. But yeah, I would have liked to have seen it go a bit longer, and it seemed like a bit of a let down after the Ibushi/Perkins match, but just a bit. It wasn't a bad match by any stretch. Both guys looked good, and most importantly, they work well together. I'd really like to see a rematch at the Clash, maybe?

 

- I agree with everybody, that heading into the Final Four, the finals did seem kind of set since Sabre and Ibushi hadn't signed deals to be part of the division on RAW. But on the flip side, I wasn't sure Perkins would beat Ibushi based on how Ibushi had been portrayed this whole tournament. I thought it was likely we'd get a Gran Metalik/Ibushi final, with Metalik winning. So they still surprised me a bit, shows what I know. Bottom line is, in my opinion you can't really complain about much from this tournament, or the results. The positives outweigh the negatives by a ton, and the Crusierweight Division is now set up perfectly to succeed on RAW, with a ton of potential new talents in NXT or already on the main roster, ready to be added to the mix.

 

Now let's hope they don't fuck it up.

[Matt D]

One thing that Metalik's career has prepared him for is late match, full-body selling.

[JKWebb]

Great show! I got a huge feeling last week they'd go with TJP, and they did! This tournament has been a blast and last night did not disappoint. Great story - emotion - Awesome reveal it was for the belt - love the look of the belt - Fantastic. Looking forward to this division on Raw.

[Cap]

I just finished the show. I won't go on too long because most of what can be said has been said about this. Just a few quick thoughts.

 

Ranallo is really growing on me. I never really hated him, but I pretty much like him now. He is so different and I just find it kind of refreshing. I am also getting better at just ignoring his references/jokes that I don't like and enjoying when he hits.

 

I don't have a ton of complaints but this whole process did sour me a little on ZSJ. I don't have the hate some people have for him. i still think, when put with the right person doing the right stuff, he can have a fantastic match, but this is probably the most I have seen him in a relatively small time period and it made me notice some things that bother me. His selling was always a weakness, but here it really stood out. Ultimately, how this guy is not a heel is beyond me. I think where some people must see a natural babyface I see a born-to-be-heel. I still like him on the whole, but he took a fairly big drop in my eyes.

 

That TJP/Ibushi match was off the charts good. The double KO tease spot was maybe the best of the tourny, so well placed and so well executed. I think I probably still like the Kendrick/Ibushi match a little better, but it is REALLY close.

 

I have NO time for fans that boo TJP... NONE. That guy was one of the MVPs of the tournament, he was the center of an amazing story that was woven through the tournament as a whole and came to a head in the finals, and he wrestles with a passion that is palpable. I think the boos for him are the epitome of fans not getting the product fan dynamic. I am actually all for fans responding to the product on a variety of levels, but we live in a post-dragon wrestling world where fans sometimes (not all the time) respond viscerally to any minor result or aspect of the show that even marginally upsets them. In that, they miss the sort of power/magic of what happened in Dragon's rise to WMXXX and are effectively deluding their own voice. That is another topic for another time, but the response to TJP when he came out and more-so when he beat Ibushi was so infuriating to me and one of the few times fans actively pissed me off watching wrestling.

 

I love the surprise that the belt was on the line, but the HHH nut-hugging made my eyes roll out the back of my head. I didn't so much care that he came out to make the announcement but they way they frame him and the way Orlando responds to him just feels like nails on a chalkboard to me.

 

Regal's answer to what makes a good cruiser weight was the best because he made sure to mention that high flying was only cool if it made sense and you didn't waste energy. It was such a beautiful Regal-answer.

 

Overall this tournament was fantastic and the finals paid it off really well. I have liked TJP for while, but there were probably at least 10-15 guys I would have picked to win above him (just based on liking them more, not predictions). However, I came to be a big fan through this tournament and THAT is the absolute highest compliment I could pay this whole thing. They told a story that made me buy a wrestler more or less from the ground up and by the time the final four hit I was outright rooting for him. THEN HE WON! As JS said, this was outstanding theater. It was fun from the get go and it felt rewarding to watch. It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it was DAMN good.

[jcmmnx]

I think the boos for TJP were because he beat Swan who might have been the biggest crowd favorite in the CWC.

[C.S.]

- Mauro Ranallo was annoying as hell tonight. If this is what he's like when he's not being produced through his headset, then I take back every mean thing I ever said about Vince McMahon producing the commentary by remote. Sweet Jeebus, Ranallo was out of control tonight. It's as if somebody offered to pay him $50 every time he worked the name of a Japanese Wrestler or maneuver into his commentary, or called a name in Spanish with a flourish. It's a known fact that Mauro is bi-polar and at points during tonight's show I was starting to wonder if he was entering his manic cycle without the benefit of his medication.

 

You mean you didn't love the constant references to "Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask"?

 

(At least that paid off when Regal said "I knew him before he was Tiger Mask!")

 

Mauro and Bryan both alternate between endearing and annoying for me.

 

Mauro can be infuriatingly smarky, but at the same time, it's so different from what everyone else is doing that I'm not sure I hate it.

 

Bryan is so rough around the edges, but he's also so enthusiastic and passionate, like a kid on Christmas morning. It's hard to hate that.

 

In the end, I think I'll take their odd chemistry over the paint-by-numbers feigned excitement we get from the commentators on the main shows.

 

As for TJP, I said it before: I wasn't a fan of his before last night, but he turned me into one. Did a great story and favorable booking help? Sure. But he also did his part with fantastic babyface work and great underdog selling. I was rooting for him in both matches last night, which wasn't the case in his previous matches, where I was either rooting for his opponent or apathetic about the result.

[El Dragon]

 

I have NO time for fans that boo TJP... NONE. That guy was one of the MVPs of the tournament, he was the center of an amazing story that was woven through the tournament as a whole and came to a head in the finals, and he wrestles with a passion that is palpable. I think the boos for him are the epitome of fans not getting the product fan dynamic. I am actually all for fans responding to the product on a variety of levels, but we live in a post-dragon wrestling world where fans sometimes (not all the time) respond viscerally to any minor result or aspect of the show that even marginally upsets them. In that, they miss the sort of power/magic of what happened in Dragon's rise to WMXXX and are effectively deluding their own voice. That is another topic for another time, but the response to TJP when he came out and more-so when he beat Ibushi was so infuriating to me and one of the few times fans actively pissed me off watching wrestling.

 

 

I'm sorry, I don't buy for a second TJP was MVP of this tournament, nor do I have any problem with the fans who booed him after he beat the 3 biggest local favorites in the tournament (Gargano, Swann, and Ibushi) in a row. Also, his story felt minor in comparison to Kendricks, and him beating Ibushi when neither Alexander nor Kendrick could with what felt like better efforts actually hurt the entire story to me.

[Matt D]

I'm not saying that Perkins doesn't have a good story, but they certainly didn't do nearly as good a job presenting it, executing it, and capitalizing on it as they did other people in the tournament. I'm not sure if that's because he wasn't originally the guy they thought they'd be going with or what.

[sek69]

I'm not super wild about the design for the belt, but it wasn't just another palette swap of the world title so I'm just glad for that.

 

I really dig Metallik and I hope they don't neuter him like they do every other lucha guy, he could be a star if they don't handcuff him.

 

Having said that, I like that TJP won. He deserved a better fate than being stuck as a generic character from a TNA video game. Plus he was treated so shitty on the way out of the company with that toad faced shit Josh Matthews having to get his shots in on Twitter, it was great to see him get his moment.

[Cox]

With CWC over, and with word from this week's WON that the Dusty Rhodes tag tournament is again a go for this year, I wonder if it might be something they're considering to replace the void left by the conclusion of the CWC, rather than running it as part of NXT again? They could use some NXT teams, some main roster teams that they aren't doing much with, and maybe a few outside teams as well. Just a thought, it would come off as a copycat of the CWC on one level, but on another level it would keep pumping out new content on the Network every week that will only make it more valuable.

[Coffey]

I think the boos for TJP were because he beat Swan who might have been the biggest crowd favorite in the CWC.

 

Which doesn't make ANY sense to me as Swan is the shits. I see absolutely nothing in that dude. He's as generic as they come. Even his ring gear makes him look like a jobber. I don't get the love for him AT ALL.

[Cap]

 

 

I have NO time for fans that boo TJP... NONE. That guy was one of the MVPs of the tournament, he was the center of an amazing story that was woven through the tournament as a whole and came to a head in the finals, and he wrestles with a passion that is palpable. I think the boos for him are the epitome of fans not getting the product fan dynamic. I am actually all for fans responding to the product on a variety of levels, but we live in a post-dragon wrestling world where fans sometimes (not all the time) respond viscerally to any minor result or aspect of the show that even marginally upsets them. In that, they miss the sort of power/magic of what happened in Dragon's rise to WMXXX and are effectively deluding their own voice. That is another topic for another time, but the response to TJP when he came out and more-so when he beat Ibushi was so infuriating to me and one of the few times fans actively pissed me off watching wrestling.

 

 

I'm sorry, I don't buy for a second TJP was MVP of this tournament, nor do I have any problem with the fans who booed him after he beat the 3 biggest local favorites in the tournament (Gargano, Swann, and Ibushi) in a row. Also, his story felt minor in comparison to Kendricks, and him beating Ibushi when neither Alexander nor Kendrick could with what felt like better efforts actually hurt the entire story to me.

 

I said he was one of. He would be below Kendrick for me for sure and probably Ibushi if I had to pick MVPs, but he is certainly - once it is all tallied up and in the rear view - one of the top contributors to the tourny.

 

I understand the boos. The rationale is not lost on me. I just have no time for the. They run in stark contrast to my understanding of the show. They didn't change my enjoyment they just really really stupid to me. TJP was fantastic. His character was endearing and redeeming. His matches weren't just solid. They were good. The boos seemed to miss the forest for the trees to me. Again, I really don't get mad at fans for making their voices herd and it isn't something I tend to focus much attention on. This just seemed like really misplaced pouting in the middle of an otherwise really really cool story being told really really well (to me at least). maybe

 

I agree with Matt D that his story (maybe) could have been framed and executed better, but I also kind of think in hindsight (intentional or not) it was executed just as it should be. It added an element of surprise (if you weren't reading too much on line). It also jived with him being an underdog. His story was told, but it was always told as the story of someone they kind of expected to lose eventually. It made every win feel a little more special, each building on the momentum of the last to where they were simultaneously a little more surprising and in another way a little less.

 

Finally, I don't necessarily disagree with the reading that others (especially Kendrick) had better efforts that may have created a disconnect with the end product, but I just don't see it that way. I just have a completely different read. Those loses helped pay off the importance of TJP going over Ibushi in a big way. It made TJP's win feel so much bigger and added the layer that Ibushi might have had two of the hardest matches in the tourny that JUST MIGHT have caught up to him. It was balanced though. They didn't lay that on in a way that took away from TJP, it was just part of the larger story.

[Grimmas]

With CWC over, and with word from this week's WON that the Dusty Rhodes tag tournament is again a go for this year, I wonder if it might be something they're considering to replace the void left by the conclusion of the CWC, rather than running it as part of NXT again? They could use some NXT teams, some main roster teams that they aren't doing much with, and maybe a few outside teams as well. Just a thought, it would come off as a copycat of the CWC on one level, but on another level it would keep pumping out new content on the Network every week that will only make it more valuable.

Super Smash Bros?

 

Last year's Dusty tournament was fun, but we didn't get full matches most of the time which hurt it.