WWE Cruiserweight Division Thread - Includes Raw & 205 Live *Spoilers*

johnnysmack

Looking at the quarter finals and pretty disappointed that most of the guys I like have already been eliminated.

Zach sabre junior seems to be dividing opinion here a small bit too. Hate him myself after seeing his first few matches. Gutted they picked him to go further that jack Gallagher. He'll probably win the thing now the bastard!

sky88

Ibushi vs kendrick was amazing match just below ibushi vs cedric for me.

Love the bit at the end with daniel bryan and kendrick was great that there was a payoff for bryans bias since the tournament started.

has to be ibushi to win it now hes been phenomenal since it began.

Cianan2

Thought the Kendrick and Ibushi match was sensational, loved that the commentary really sold Ibushi's previous neck problems and especially as he was hit with the burning hammer, it really added to it for me!

I feel like little things like that, when the commentators react to certain moves is great (like Graves with Rollins hitting the small package driver the other week). They've all really stepped up their game lately!

Bounty Hunter

Really really hope they can get Ibushi tied down to a full time deal. The guy has it all! Just drive a dump truck of money up to his house and make sure he knows you will push him to the moon in the non curiserweight title scene if thats what it takes.

Yeah im not sold on JSJ either. I know he is super talented but as much as I don't like that I am saying this his look is lacking and particularily in his first 2 matches I really haven't found myself all that entertained especially when compared to what I saw in Ciampa vs Gargano, and Ibushi vs either Cedric Alexander or Brian Kendrick for example.

I'd say The Brian will keep a job in the WWE be it as a trainer or in the CW division. Perhaps it's just to do with his WWE run before but he can def tell a story for the audience and D.Bryan loving him works too. I mean logically (not that that matters) if they didn't want him in the CW division on Raw Bryan would no doubt be interested in giving him a contract on SD. Him & Heath Slater could team up after Rhyno goes off to be a politician maybe.

CastorTroy

Yeah, while I know they have the CWC guys appearing on NXT every now and again, I would like to see some payoff on the tv shows as well. Like you said, Brayn as GM could bring in Kendrick.
I know I saw it advertised, but when is the division expected to start on Raw? I know the 19th is the first Raw after the CWC final

Bounty Hunter

CastorTroy wrote: »

Yeah, while I know they have the CWC guys appearing on NXT every now and again, I would like to see some payoff on the tv shows as well. Like you said, Brayn as GM could bring in Kendrick.
I know I saw it advertised, but when is the division expected to start on Raw? I know the 19th is the first Raw after the CWC final

I believe that was the Raw advertised as when the CW Division would debut

johnnyryan89

I know the winner of CWC classic gets a trophy but are they also crowned the new cruiserweight champion too or they gonna hold a different tournament or some multi guy match at clash of champions.

LeeJM

Its not been confirmed yet but the smart money seems to be that the CWC winner is made Cruiser Champ on the 14th and then debuts on Raw on the 19th.

Clegg

Really don't know if Ibushi will sign with WWE. They'll throw a boat load of money at him so that may entice him, but he has said before that his body can't handle the constant grind of the Japan/Indy circuit. And there's nothing more grindy than the WWE house show run. Plus he's an 'eccentric' guy who'd likes nothing more than to wrestle guys dressed up as Godzilla.

The CWC has just reinforced for me that Ibushi is one of the best wrestlers in the world. There have been some breakout performances from Cedric Alexander, Kendrick showing he can still go, Tozawa, Metallik and Gallagher catching the eye, but the standout performer has been Ibushi.

beakerjoe

Ibushi v Kendrick was a great match indeed but it wasnt match of the show for me, Gran Metalik vs Tozowa was just an epic. Both need to be signed up for the main roster.

Bounty Hunter

beakerjoe wrote: »

Ibushi v Kendrick was a great match indeed but it wasnt match of the show for me, Gran Metalik vs Tozowa was just an epic. Both need to be signed up for the main roster.

Dunno about Kozawa (although his CWC promo was about how he dreamed of wrestling in the WWE and how he felt the CWC would help him get there so good chance there) but I remember a few weeks ago there were reports of Gran Metallic signing and the WWE filing to trademark his name.

beakerjoe

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

Dunno about Kozawa (although his CWC promo was about how he dreamed of wrestling in the WWE and how he felt the CWC would help him get there so good chance there) but I remember a few weeks ago there were reports of Gran Metallic signing and the WWE filing to trademark his name.

I know it means nothing but Tozowa retweeted an NXT Japan tweet from Triple H...... would love to see him on a regular basis in WWE, hes has been a big stand out for me. He and Gran Metalik has a flawless match and His other matches with Gallagher (another stand out) and Johnson were tremendous viewing.

LeeJM

I am pretty sure both have been signed. Metalik has been the stand out so far for me. I knew little about him pre CWC but he has blown me away with his performances. Would have no problem with him winning the tournie now

Clegg

CWC/Raw spoilers

Raw ran a promo for Gallagher, Metallik and Tozawa saying they'll be on the show next week or the week after. Safe to say that they've either all signed deals or are close enough to it.

beakerjoe

LeeJM wrote: »

I am pretty sure both have been signed. Metalik has been the stand out so far for me. I knew little about him pre CWC but he has blown me away with his performances. Would have no problem with him winning the tournie now

He just makes things look so effortless and yet his flippy moves arent just for the sake of it.

One spot I loved during his match with Tozowa was how he walked the ropes and faking an attack. Tozowa ducked and Metalik walked the ropes after the fake and hit him from the other side. Smart, fast and effective high flying offense.

LeeJM

Might wanna delete the Raw spoiler there. I knew about it but others probably dont. Its not even midday on Tuesday so plenty wont have seen Raw yet

LeeJM

beakerjoe wrote: »

He just makes things look so effortless and yet his flippy moves arent just for the sake of it.

One spot I loved during his match with Tozowa was how he walked the ropes and faking an attack. Tozowa ducked and Metalik walked the ropes after the fake and hit him from the other side. Smart, fast and effective high flying offense.

Yea that was class. Like you say he is just so smooth in what he does. Could definitely be their long awaited Latino star if they just let him keep doing what hes doing.

beakerjoe

Also to be honest, there hasnt been many wrestlers on the CWC that I havent liked. I liked Davari's brother a lot, Drew Gulak was very interesting to watch and Ho Ho Lun was a curious guy to watch.

ZSJ and Noam Dar were underwhelming to be honest tho. Not that they were bad by any means but I expected more from them.

LeeJM

Ho Ho Lun may be one of the worst professional wrestlers I have ever seen. Dar got stuck with him so was never gonna impress. And he is still only a kid so will improve now that he is in WWE. ZSJ I love. Just think he is phenomenal but I understand why some dont like him. Personally Id push the guy to the moon. An absolute star IMO

Clegg

I've seen Noam have much better matches than what he showed in the CWC. He also has huge charisma which wasn't evident here. Ho HO was a terrible first opponent to have as he's really a bit crap. Ibushi would've been hard pressed to get something passable from him. Dar is only 23 so maybe hasn't learned how to properly carry opponents not as skilled as he. If anything he should wait a few years to get more experience before rocking up to the WWE.

I've been a fan of SZJ for a while now, but his debut wasn't good. He tried to get his cool grapple spots in during the short time frame of the match and in the process the match failed to gain any sort of momentum. It's a problem I have with him and his matches. They sometimes look like exhibitions of grappling techniques rather than fights. Second match was much better. There was a better flow to it and it looked like a proper competition between the two.

Jack Gallagher has been the star BritWres guy during the CWC. Has an interesting look, shows technical skill without going overboard ala SZJ and has charisma for days.

beakerjoe

Clegg wrote: »

Jack Gallagher has been the star BritWres guy during the CWC. Has an interesting look, shows technical skill without going overboard ala ZSJ and has charisma for days.

THIS!

Jack was a guy I read about in Fighting Spirit Mag but never seen him wrestle until the CWC.

The guys looks like a jobber, a guy just out to fill the numbers.....but that lures his opponents into a false sense of security and its outsmarting at every turn.

His match with Tozowa was fantastic. Tozowa went in full steam ahead and got school at nearly every corner with smooth reversals and clever counters, Jack was always one step ahead and out foxed him for most of the match. Great booking and a fantastic match.

Bounty Hunter

Having a better opponent helped this week for ZSJ as he had a much better match although if im honest I still haven't been won over to the extent you'd expect with someone with such a big rep.

That said the submission move that finished it was something special.

I suppose you could say WWE audiences / American audiences are less tecnical wrestling inclined but I def felt TJP vs Swann def got not only the crowd but myself also far more invested in what was going on with their more entertainment based approach anyway.


Another thing I love about the CWC is the selling of injuries and how wrestlers actively seem to target injuries / have a gameplan they stick to, working over such injuries throughout matches. Simple storytelling but something you dont always get

johnnysmack

Anyone watching this? What a match between TJ Perkins and Ibushi!

seandotcomm

unbelievable match. And both results so far are shocks!
Surprised there's no chat on here about this Live final..
The best show on the network

johnnysmack

Its nice to see other wrestlers in the audience as fans too! Good tag match too, dont like Noam Dar though.

I think the new era should be renamed to the strong style era. Some of the hits going in to all these matches and nxt matches are mad!

seandotcomm

Very stiff looking a lot of the time alright. These are matches that would turn non-wrestling fans

johnnysmack

Prediction for the final?

seandotcomm

Perkins. Has a great look and WWE will probably look to build a star for the Filipino audience.
Already have 2 masked luchadors on the main roster... and TJ has a great look.
Was really hoping Kendrick would win though

johnnysmack

Yep, agree with everything you said there!

johnnysmack

Jesus the state of his chest after it!