WWE Cruiserweight Classic

Cruiserweight Classic
Cruiserweight Classic
Information
Promotion	WWE
Date	June 23, 2016; July 14, 2016; August 26, 2016; September 14, 2016;
Venue	NXT Arena at Full Sail University
City	Winter Park, Florida

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]

Participants

Wrestler	Weight (in pounds)
Akira Tozawa	156
Alejandro Saez	205
Bennett, AnthonyAnthony Bennett	147
Ariya Daivari	180
Kendrick, The BrianThe Brian Kendrick	157
Cedric Alexander	200
Clément Petiot	199
Da Mack	160
Slater, DamianDamian Slater	193
Drew Gulak	193
Fabian Aichner	203
Gran Metalik	175
Sihra, GurvGurv Sihra	159
Sihra, HarvHarv Sihra	144
Ho Ho Lun	155
Gallagher, JackJack Gallagher	167
Jason Lee	154
Johnny Gargano	170
Johnson, Kenneth Kenneth Johnson	156
Kota Ibushi	189
Lince Dorado	168
Ali, MustafaMustafa 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

In the event an official participant had suffered an injury or did not make the 205 lbs weight limit, they would have been replaced by one of the following participants: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
Sorensen, JesseJesse Sorensen	184
Yurnet, JesusJesus Yurnet	182
Katana, Kai Kai Katana	197
Ortagun, Vandal Vandal Ortagun	155

Replaced

These 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 Zumbi	167	Replaced before the official start of the tournament	Visa issues^[2]	Mustafa Ali

Results

Tournament bracket

The following time limits were in place:

Round one: 20 minutes
Round two: 20 minutes
Quarterfinals: 30 minutes
Semifinals: 30 minutes
Final: Unlimited

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Finale

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times^[3]
1^D	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
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match D – indicates the match was a dark match

Footnotes

↑ 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

↑ Csonka, Larry. Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More. 411Mania.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
↑ Caldwell, James. Triple H – WWE to hold future editions of Cruiserweight tournament, why did one wrestler miss inaugural tourney?. Pro Wrestling Torch (2016-06-25). Retrieved 2016-06-27.
↑ Caldwell, James. 9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – CALDWELL'S Live Report. Pro Wrestling Torch (2016-09-14). Retrieved 2016-09-14.

[Replaced-3] This competitor is a replacement for another participant who was taken out of the tournament

[1] 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.

[2] Csonka, Larry. Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More. 411Mania.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.

[4] Caldwell, James. Triple H – WWE to hold future editions of Cruiserweight tournament, why did one wrestler miss inaugural tourney?. Pro Wrestling Torch (2016-06-25). Retrieved 2016-06-27.

[CWC09142016-5] Caldwell, James. 9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – CALDWELL'S Live Report. Pro Wrestling Torch (2016-09-14). Retrieved 2016-09-14.

[a]

[1]

[Note 1]

[2]

[3]