James: The road to immortality is a long and difficult one. Many strive for it but few can ever get to the top of the mountain. For some, they get so close they can almost taste the glory, but those who actually get there know that those are the times when you have to buckle down and focus more than ever. When the heard thins, the strong survive, but only the truly strongest have what it takes to be the one to win it all.
Seán: At the start of this tournament, we had a field of 32 wrestlers representing nations from all around the world. Since then we’ve had the field cut in half to a Sweet 16, an Elite 8 and now, a Fantastic 4 (not that one). We’ve come down to four wrestlers, four of the best Cruiserweights in the world. Zack Sabre Jr, Gran Metalik, TJ Perkins and Kota Ibushi. The Two Hour Finale of the CWC! Season 3’s climax! The Goodnight Seattle of Season 3, you’re goddamn right I’m getting a Frasier reference in!
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Booting Up
JT: Hellooooo everyone and welcome back to the Power Hour!! Season 3 Finale Special Edition!! Our odyssey back into the oddly distant days of Summer 2016 is coming to an end today, because we’ve got only 4 matches left to go! We’ve got our two Semi Finals, a little breather of a tag match, and then the Cruiserweight Classic Finals! A winner will be determined tonight! As always I am your Long Island Iced JT myself, James T, recounter of wrestling and general complainer about things.
S: And I’m Seán McLoughlin. The Sligonian resident, Frasier fan, recounter of the obscure in wrestling and generally easy to impress when it comes to pro wrestling matches. How are you feeling about wrapping up this Cruiserweight story just in time for Christmas?
JT: Well as I’ve said before, this has been a real treat to watch through again. So it’s nice to finish it up in time for the holidays! Of course, with the various personalities in the CWC, this is less so one of those classic happy Christmas movies, and more so a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It’s a great one, but let’s do our best not to give Chevy Chase any credit.
S: And much like one Chevy Chase, we’ve had a controversial personality or two come along in this journey. As you all know, getting to rewatch this tournament has been a lot of fun and important to me because it does remind me of a simpler and more positive time in WWE. It’s been a real joy doing it with your good self but all good things must come to an end and that’s why we’re here to talk about today?
JT: That’s right. We’ve seen wrestlers come and go, but perhaps more important than the guys who have been knocked out already, we’ve gotta look at the biggest matches and look at who won, why they won, and how things could’ve been very different if one guy had won but one had lost. On top of that, once we’re all done with our matches, we’ll have our overview of the whole tournament and really we’ll sum up our overall thoughts on how this whole new era of Cruiserweights has gone.
S: Exactly, as well as giving our overall thoughts on this modern iteration of a WWE Cruiserweight Division, I feel like when we close the book on the final episode, there’s going to be a fair bit to say from both of us because a lot has changed in the last five years with this division.
JT: Oh absolutely. Just in general, I want to pat ourselves on the back here for a minute, we picked a really good time to cover this material, given the changes WWE is going through. It only makes the hope surrounding “the first” Cruiserweight Classic all the more intriguing.
S: Yeah honestly, with this tournament they’re certainly hinting at the idea of a second CWC tournament. Massive stench of “see ya for the sequel, folks” from the use of “the first Cruiserweight Classic”.
JT: But of course, we’ll get to that once we end the show! So for now, let me round up our introduction. So we get a dramatic presentation of the story’s far. CWC, sown from the seed of the underground, forged in unrivaled determination, defined by courage, heartbreak, triumph. This is a special live 2 hour broadcast! Our finalists get their words recapped: Ibushi wants to make people happy, Sabre will see the rewards for his hard work, Metalik will win for Mexico, TJP is gonna have his name on the list when people trace back to this point in time. 4 competitors, 4 nations, one prize! This is of course all played over slow motion footage of past matches under the triple h narration. CWC chants as the show begins, Mauro says this amazing tournament comes to an epic end. Mauro & Bryan talk about Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid and the Super J Cup. Bryan mentions Gargano/Ciampa, Please Sign Cedric, and Kendrick’s goodbye as special moments to define this tournament. More promos from our finalists too! TJ says it’s huge to be part of the CWC, because it’s a generational shift, people will look back at this as something that set the tone for future generations Sabre says this is a chance to show the diversity of Cruiserweights, while Metalik says it’s a great showcase for the worldwide styles and Ibushi says it feels like a World Cup, and he’s just been focusing on the opponent’s in front of them. Metalik is prepared to give his all to win, Sabre says he’s not going home without this trophy, Ibushi has no doubt that he’s gonna win, and for TJ, getting this far is validating, and it’s motivating to be so close to winning. It’s a bit more introduction than usual, but it’s a 2 Hour Show! That’s a whole hour longer! We gotta cut them so slack! They want to make tonight feel like a big deal. And I know it definitely felt like one for me back in 2016.
S: And for me too, James. This final for me was a big old deal because I had watched each episode, every week without fail. This final actually happened the same night as when I got my Junior Cert results while I was closing in on 16 years old, the Junior Certificate is basically the Irish equivalent to GCSEs in the UK. I remember being hyped for this as soon as I heard it was announced in early 2016, back when they planned to call it the Global Cruiserweight Series. It lived up to the hype and more for me back then, it’s still held up five years later. That opening too, really well done from all aspects.
JT: It’s been good production all tournament long, you know Triple H wanted to make this a big deal. So with all the introductory ballyhoo out of the way, how about we getting into our first Semi Finals match?
S: Let’s jump right into this Finale!
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Full Metalik Alchemist
S: What’re we kicking off with then, James?
JT: We’re starting with the ultimate battle of the Mexican and British styles!! The last two remaining from those two wrestling strongholds, with only one who can advance! It’s Gran Metalik facing off against Zack Sabre Jr!! To get here, Metalik beat Alejandro Saez from Chile, Tajiri from Japan, and last episode he surpassed another Japanese great by defeating Akira Tozawa!! From the other quadrant of the bracket, Sabre has proven his technical excellency time and time and time again. He had a murderers row of technical grapplers in his way, but he has endured and moved on. Round One was Canada’s Tyson Dux, Round Two was America’s Drew Gulak, and last round he tapped out Scotland’s Noam Dar!! Bryan has set the scene in a really intriguing way: Sabre has won his match in a different way every time, where Metalik has had the reliable Metalik Driver secure him victory every time. Both men have serious pedigree but like before, that means nothing, only one man can move on.
S: While you mention the men that both Sabre and Metalik beat to get to the Semi Finals, I do like how both of their journeys are the opposite of each other. Metalik has had to face high energy or hard striking wrestlers while Zack’s journey has been completely in his favor, all of his opponents having been specialists in the technical game. Interesting.
JT: That’s an interesting way of putting things. You’re right though, Sabre now has someone stylistically different from him. It can either really go to his advantage, because he should theoretically dominate the submission game, or he’s going to be unable to keep up with the speed and energy of Metalik. As they pass by the Cruiserweight Classic Trophy on the ramp, there’s only one way to find out how this match turns out. We gotta break it down.
S: And break it down we sh- GAH! Metalik is after nailing me with a Dropkick!
JT: That’s right! They shake hands, back up to their corners, and then Metalik immediately runs and nails Sabre with a dropkick!! He sends him out to the floor, and Metalik hits the ropes, and soars through the air with a TOPE CON HILO!! Another picture perfect Tope!! And he’s not done, as he rolls Sabre back in, climbs to the apron, and springboards in with a Swanton Bomb!!! He covers, 1——2——Kickout!! It didn’t win the match, but man with a crowd that’s so excited for tonight’s events, they’re electric with this red hot start by Metalik!!
S: And I was exactly the same, I was fucking flipping out with how this match started because who really would’ve expected a firecracker of a start like this? It was really unexpected and they had me thinking they were going to do a quick finish.
JT: It definitely caught me off guard, even though I’ve seen this before! So Sabre is already on the back foot as Metalik sends him across, Zack holds on and he sends Metalik to the apron, and as Metalik tries to springboard in, but ZSJ catches him with a European Uppercut! It hangs Metalik up on the ropes, and Sabre brutally kicks the ropes and rings the ears of Metalik! He gets a Neck Crank and is low clearly working the neck, as he begins chanting for Sabre and although some Metalik chants start up in response. Running Hurricanrana by Metalik as he starts to try and pick up the pace and make space, as Bryan says he needs to do. Zack goes for a Roundhouse Kick, Metalik catches the Kick, Steps over the leg, and grabs Zack with a Modified Cobra Twist type submission! Really unique! Have you ever seen anything like this? Maybe Metalik isn’t going to be at the will of Sabre’s submissions after all!
S: I honestly don’t think I’d seen anything like that at all, really unique stuff from Metalik there. Must say that the submission game for this Finale was top notch all around the card. Might as well throw that out now while I’m ahead.
JT: Yeah throughout this show we see lots of cool submissions, this one is the first of many. So ZSJ gets the ropes but Metalik still controls the match as he nails a huge chop across Zack’s chest, then he goes to run the ropes for a Back Handspring, but Sabre side steps, so Metalik then goes a Springboard and Zack takes a step back out of the way. This leads to Metalik landing into a sitting position, with Sabre right there to sit on his shoulders and apply a Modified Dragon Sleeper!! ZSJ clasps his arms behind his back to add further torque but Metalik gets ropes. Like we said, there are a few of these. And I loved this one too, it reminds me of Doink’s old finisher, the Stump Puller!
S: Ah yes, the old Matt Borne move. Classic staple of Evil Doink, it’s a cool looking submission too. All we need now is a use of the Big Woopsie from the top rope and it’ll be a full Ode to Doink. Get Krusty in to sing “Send in the Clowns” at the intermission and it’ll be a clown fiesta.
JT: So Sabre & Metalik are fighting for position with Sabre clasping Metalik’s hands, Metalik rolls, nips up and arm drags Sabre over but ZSJ comes back with a European Uppercut to send Metalik into the corner! He charges in but Metalik gets a Superkick and hits an Inverted Slingblade to drive Sabre’s face into the mat! He follows up with a Standing Shooting Star, but ZSJ kicks out! He goes for the Metalik Driver but it’s avoided as Zack escapes, only for Metalik to quickly get a drop toe hold on him and go for La Magistral but Sabre reverses it to pin Metalik himself! 1–2—Kickout! Metalik with a pin: 1–2—Kickout! Again Sabre with the shoulder down: 1–2—Kickout! Metalik gets a submission of his own shortly before turning it into a roll up but Sabre kicks out again. Sabre with an Uppercut, then a Headscissor into a Guillotine! Mauro with a dated reference as Metalik uses Sabre’s open guard to pound him with punches and break up the submission. He tries to turn Sabre into a Boston Crab but Sabre quickly flips him over and goes for the pin! Metalik kicks out!! They’re down on their knees trading shots as Zack hits a pair of uppercuts then a Headbutt to win the exchange, only to go for one more big swing and have Metalik duck and then clobber him with a Lariat! Mauro’s SmackDown live broadcast partner JBL would appreciate that (Mauro’s words, by the way) 1–2—Kickout! I know I just said a lot, but what Metalik did is proof that a Lariat is about technique! It definitely helps if you’re a bigger guy, but you can still hit a damn good Lariat if you know how to line your opponent up right, get a well timed forward, and have a good follow through.
S: And it also proves that you can do a really good looking Lariat without a big run up too. He didn’t even need to hit the ropes in order to make it look really powerful looking either. Properly impressed by it. Like that he’s busting out different moves as it’s the latter stages of this tournament.
JT: Yeah it’s nice to see he’s got the hits that he plays every set like the Swanton and the Tope Con Hilo and the Metalik Driver, but now that immortality is in sight, he’s going the extra mile. Really, what can’t Metalik do in the ring? What a refreshing watch he has been.
S: He really is, he’s the type of high flier who stands out in a time period where it felt like we were seeing a new aerial wrestler each month and that’s a testament to how good he is.
JT: Off that hard hit, Metalik again goes for the Metalik Driver but Zack again escapes as he goes for a quick O’Connor Roll but Metalik hangs onto the ropes, so Zack hits him with a European Uppercut, only to run the ropes and come back into a Superkick, then a Springboard Back Elbow for a 2! Nonstop action, so far, it’s been pace pace pace all match. Metalik rope runs in the corner, but he gets caught out of the air with another European Uppercut, and a Penalty Kick!! 1—2——Kickout!!Once again they trade shots on their knees, Metalik angrily Headbutts him, Zack angrily paint brushes him back over and over again. Bryan wonders what sort of shape they’d be in if they make the finals, they’re beating the stuffing out of each other right now! Zack goes for a Half Nelson Suplex, no Arm Drag reversal by Metalik! He runs the ropes, Sabre misdirects and comes back with an Octopus Hold!! He tries to get it fully in, but Metalik falls down into the ropes to break it! Zack puts him up top, Metalik tries to fight out, Sabre grabs a Cravate. He then goes for a Superplex, but Metalik picks him up and drops him onto the top rope!! He stands up top and gets a Hurricanrana!! The crowd can’t decide whether to chant for Metalik, CWC or Holy Shit!!
S: Fucking mental looking spot! That variation of a Hurricanrana is always guaranteed a gasp, a holy shit or a loud reaction because boy oh boy, does it look gnarly.
JT They didn’t have a lot of space to work with, and they nailed it! So Metalik goes back to the apron, and goes to Springboard in for a Splash, but Zack catches him with a Triangle Choke!! He’s got Metalik caught in the middle of the ring!! Metalik doesn’t have the strength to pick him up, so he pushes off the mat and flips over to pin him!! 1——2——Kickout! They both rush up to their feet, Sabre charges in, perhaps for another European Uppercut, only to get caught on Metslik’s shoulders and driven to the mat!! Metalik Driver!! It’s academic!! 1——2——3!!! Even though the crowd was clearly split, they were all very happy at the end, giving a great response to the match and to Metalik! Honestly, they didn’t even sound upset like in past rounds when favorites lost. Even when his hand was raised, the crowd chanted for him. In the end, this match played Metalik’s game, and Metalik won because of that. He never gave Sabre a chance to establish his submission game, and Sabre had to try and keep up with Metalik, leading him to keep going for European Uppercuts, and it was his Achilles heel in the end.
S: And how fitting it is that a resident of Europe loses by relying too much on European Uppercuts. It’s as poetic as it gets really. The finish really ruled too, love how sudden it was but yet it got a huge pop rather than a shocked or bewildered reaction. Put the Metalik Driver over as a move he can bust out at any time.
JT: Yeah everyone knew that if he hit it, it’d be over from the last 3 matches, and after seeing Sabre avoid it twice, it really made it seem urgent when he got in position. Sadly for Zack, third time’s the charm and his tournament has come to an end. What did you think of our first semi-finals match?
S: Really enjoyed this match. It started off really quick, to its own benefit with Metalik coming out of the blocks with his offense. Thought Zack matched Metalik with pace too, he was a fucking whippet in this one and I must say that Zack Sabre Jr. at a quick pace is an extremely exciting wrestler to watch, he is extraordinary to watch at this pace. Lots of really cool moves and spots, especially that Hurricanrana from Metalik to Zack. As mentioned earlier, the finish was brilliant. Thoroughly recommend watching this one, seek it out while ye can.
JT: I gotta say, I enjoyed this one too. Now, it wasn’t a match with a lot of story or selling, but I’m okay with that in this instance. For one, with the finals being later tonight, odds are you won’t get a match with more emotional investment than that. If you try to match the finals as far as story, you’re gonna end up shit out of luck. Secondly, we’ve got a real hot crowd to start the show. They’re so excited, and by going fast and exciting out of the gate, you keep that energy up. I’m normally one to defend selling and slowing down to tell a story, but in this case? I’m okay with skipping out. This was fun and it did it’s job real well.
S: Exactly and that’s really what the role of the Semi Finals is when you have that and the Finals on the same show. It’s role is to set up the story for the Finals, get the crowd excited and lay the building blocks in place for the final scene. Totally agree with you there.
JT: Overall definitely a thumbs up from me, and it’s the end of Zack Sabre Jr!! England is out, all of Europe is out!! One of the biggest favorites in this whole tournament is now out as we have only 3 competitors remaining. He had a good run, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. And we’ll find out why his run wasn’t enough, as we get to the post CWC career breakdown! Any closing thoughts you need to get out before we cover what has happened in the career of ZSJ since his time in the CWC ended?
S: Well, all I’ve really got to say is that the general buzz surrounding ZSJ winning the CWC was definitely in doubt by the time the live finale was coming around the corner for reasons which we shall get into. Take it away, James. What’s Zacky boy been up to?
JT: Well we might as well address the elephant in the room before we get on to his other endeavors. Zack’s loss was not as shocking as it could have been, considering as early as August 2016, it was being reported by Dave Meltzer that ZSJ was not signing with WWE. That was the exact phrasing by the way, it wasn’t that “Sabre Jr hasn’t signed with WWE”, it was that he was flat out refusing to sign. In Meltzer’s reports, it was stated that Sabre still believed he had things outside of WWE that he wished to accomplish. Other reports also stated that it had to do with money, as in if he was going to give up his independent goals, he’d have to get more than they were willing to give him. Thus why he also turned down a chance to be in the United Kingdom Championship tournament in 2017. You can also assume that maybe having seen how WWE operated from the inside was enough to make him decide against signing. We know WWE’s system isn’t to everyone’s liking, so maybe having talked with friends who signed to WWE and then experiencing WWE himself was enough to make him decide against staying. Hell, maybe he just saw this as a bucket list moment and never intended to sign in the first place. Only he knows for certain, and we know that it directly led to his loss in this match.
S: Yeah his refusal to sign is absolutely the reason as to why he lost because he was a certain lock for the finals from the moment he qualified for the tournament. Otherwise, what else is the reason? Shock factor? Probably not, WWE usually puts people who have signed with them in the finals of these tournaments. Looking back on his decision now, it’s safe to say that he definitely made the right choice.
JT: Yeah he got pushed as hard as they could’ve pushed him in the first few sets of taping, and then once it was obvious he wouldn’t sign, he lost the first match he had. And by staying out of WWE, he’s had a very fruitful run across the world. His first major match after the CW ended came atProgress’s Chapter 36, the promotion’s biggest show at the time. ZSJ won in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match for where he capped off his running storyline from earlier in the year against Tommaso Ciampa, beating him in what is Ciampa’s last Indy match to date! Sabre would spend the rest of the year doing interesting indie stuff, wrestling in wXw, PWG and so on. For example in November, he lost his British Heavyweight Championship during a RevPro/New Japan crossover show, as he was defeated by the one and only Katsuyori Shibata. He’d also be unsuccessful in challenging Pete Dunne for the Progress Championship at Chapter 40. In 2017, he’d continue to be on the indies, defeating Timothy Thatcher for the Evolve World Championship as well as defeating Chuck Taylor to again retain his PWG Title and turn heel in the process. Just wanted to say, this storyline was the last time PWG felt really special. I adore Chucky T, the crowd was so into his chase and ZSJ did a great job as Champ.
S: Yeah for real because it was around late 2015 – early 2016 thereabouts where Chuck started gathering a few wins on the spin and on commentary, he and Excalibur would almost joke about it saying he’s on “the streak”. It just sort of happened naturally and the wins started racking up and were more impressive, he then got his shot and came up just short. Totally agree that this period of PWG was probably the last time it felt special at this point in time. The streak, the chase and the fact the crowd was so into him going for the belt made it feel so damn special.
JT: Yeah and it was special in part because he was chasing Sabre, who was quickly becoming a worldwide commodity. In fact, on March 6th he would make an impact on a worldwide stage. At NJPW’s 45th Anniversary Show, he debuted for the company to challenge Shibata for the RevPro belt he lost in November. The big shock wasn’t him showing up or even necessarily that he won the British Championship back, but it was that he won the title after interference by Suzuki Gun that he gladly accepted!! Not only did he end the match with his title raised high, he did so while dawning the colors of Suzuki Gun, as it’s newest member!! Again as someone with prior interest in Sabre and a growing interest in New Japan, this was a development that really excited me.
S: It was just such a perfect fit for Zack in New Japan. ZSJ in Suzuki Gun just made so much sense. Like I may say that him in Suzuki Gun was one of the best member additions to a New Japan stable in the last six or seven years if you ask me. Not in terms of name value because you could easily pick out bigger names in their own right joining stables but in relation to wrestling style and character, Zack in Suzuki Gun is perfect.
JT: Yeah, by pairing him with the thugs of Suzuki Gun, his submission style went from being technical to being torturous. Rather than just being about out wrestling his opponents, his character became about hurting and humiliating his opponents by wrestling circles around them. His win over Shibata would also usher in the era of “Zacky 3 Belt”. And what this meant is that he had one of the coolest possible looks for an Indy wrestler, as now when he unzipped his zip up, he’d reveal the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship, the Evolve World Championship, and the PWG Championship all wrapped around his waist at once. For a cocky heel character, especially one going around the world to new audiences, having 3 different prominent titles around your waist is a hell of a look. He even had that look going when he showed up at New Japan’s Sakura Genesis facing off against NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto with a potential 4th title on the line. Of course, Goto would be victorious, but Sabre had made an impression as a step above the average import.
S: The “Zacky 3 Belts” look, it’s a sweet ass look, that’s for sure. Especially when he’d wear his white gear and have the three belts. Great gear that was. He really started climbing his way up the food chain in New Japan quickly too, especially considering that a lot of people assumed he was going straight to the Junior Heavyweight Division because of his weight and the fact he was in the CWC but alas, that was not the case, was it?
JT: You’re exactly right, he had previously had a run in Pro Wrestling NOAH from 2011 to 2015, doing so as a Junior Heavyweight. Instead, Sabre would be back again with New Japan in summer 2016, as part of the inaugural IWGP US Title tournament, a Heavyweight tournament. In the tournament, he beat Juice Robinson in Round One but lost to Tomohiro Ishii in Round 2. Still, he’d be back in New Japan again shortly afterwards, as he’d compete in his first ever G1 Climax. And again, he made an immediate impact with a huge submission victory over reigning Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night 1 of the tournament, which not only stunned the fans but it to set up a Title match for NJPW’s #2 Heavyweight belt against a man who had been NJPW’s flag bearer for the last decade. Though he wouldn’t advance past the group stage of the G1 and would lose to Tanahashi when the Championship was on the line, NJPW had planted the seeds that Sabre could beat anyone on any night with his submission style.
S: And that’s exactly what I fucking loved about Zack when he first started in New Japan! He was put over by commentary as someone who is going to wrestle rings around his opponents, if he beats you, he beats you decisively and you’re left hurt. If he loses, he’s going to leave you hurt. Loved how he was put over as someone who could easily tap out anyone from the Young Lions all the way up to the tippity top guys on the card. Talk about a perfect role for him.
JT: Yeah I really love when wrestling’s got that Pokémon type element to it. Zack is a submission type wrestler, which means he’s weak to brawlers but is super effective on high flyers, and so on. I think it’s pretty fair to say New Japan during 2012-2017 was a real high point, and it reflects in their ability to utilize someone like Zack effectively. He wasn’t immediately pushed to the moon, but they made sure to give him smart, meaningful wins to get him on the map.
S: Exactly, he was booked effectively. It’s crazy too because about five months into his run, he’s thrown right into the G1. Now that’s a sign of a company being high on you. Lovely analogy of Pokémon types to wrestling there as well, James.
JT: Ok so at this point, we’re really gonna move away from Indy stuff, because Zack moves away from it honestly. So, I’ll use this as a chance to wrap up his various Indy accomplishments over the years. He’d lose his PWG Title to Chuck Taylor in July 2017 to end his reign at 489 Days, his Evolve reign would end at 404 Days in April 2018 unfortunately to Matt Riddle, and he’d see his 396 day RevPro reign end to Tomohiro Ishii, as the belt essential became a part of NJPW storylines, really to this day. But I’ll get to that. In 2018 he’s challenge for the OTT Title at ScrapperMania IV, fuck you OTT, he’d challenge for the wXw World Unfiied Champiobship at Fan Appreciation Night in August, and he’d win Progress’s Strong Style 16, leading to a match against Walter for the Progress World Championship in October. He’d also defeat Jonathan Gresham at ROH’s Final Battle 2018!! He was ultimately unsuccessful in all his title pursuits, but he was a big fish that summer. But before we’ll get to that, any thoughts on the wrapping up of his 2018 Indy stuff?
S: A few things actually. There were a lot of fuck yous there, that’s what happens when looking at recent Indy Wrestling in 2021. I saw his match against Dirtbag Devlin, I was second row at that show, decent match, completely tainted now. His match with Walter was originally supposed to happen at their big Wembley Arena (not the stadium) show in August or September but it couldn’t happen due to scheduling conflicts with a New Japan show happening either that same day or either a day before or after the Wembley show and the Progress Ultras (their terms, not mine) were proper salty about it all. What a mess that build to their biggest show of all time was by the way, talk about falling over the finish line to your biggest show ever.
JT: Oh Progress Wrestling, you are a company that still exists and that’s about the best thing I’ll say about them. So why was Sabre blowing up even more than usual? Well after being a part of the NEVER Trios Title gauntlet at Wrestle Kingdom 12, he’d solidify himself as a Suzuki Gun mainstay alongside new manager Taka Michinoku. He’d enter the New Japan Cup and to the surprise of pretty much all of us, he’d win the whole damn thing, tapping out Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, Sanada and Hiroshi Tanahashi on his path to victory. Though I was a big Sabre fan before and after the CWC, this run is probably the height of my Sabre fandom. The shock of it, plus the fun of Taka Michinoku’s hype up promos made him so enjoyable to watch. HE IS SUBMISSION MASTER. HE IS ZED ESS JAY. HE IS, ZACK SABREEEEEE JUNIOR!! JUST TAP OUT, *opponent name* CAME ON OVER HERE!!
S: Fucking awesome stuff, those promos from Taka never failed to get me hyped for a match of his while he was around. The content of it was very straightforward and so damn effective. I must say that I was a massive ZSJ fan at this stage too. The fact he tapped out FOUR of NJPW’s upper mid card to main event faces in decisive fashion fucking solidified him for real. It made his inevitable IWGP Heavyweight Championship match that more intriguing too because he was put over as being more than capable of doing it. Also, quick mention to Don Callis for being fucking fantastic in putting him over for people who’d watch with the English commentary, he was exceptional in getting Zack over too.
JT: Yeah just the whole thing was surprising and very entertaining, it was just a great combination of the right guy, right pairing, at the right time. And like you said, his IWGP Title match was a big deal, in part because it was against the biggest wrestler in the world, Kazuchika Okada less than 3 months off Omega/Okada 1. Zack lost, but winning the Cup in such dramatic fashion in his first year in the company pretty much cemented him in New Japan. It set him up for life, because he etched himself in New Japan history, and there’s little reason to show that he couldn’t pop off and win another title shot or a title just by bending someone into a pretzel.
S: Yeah honestly, he was sorted after winning the New Japan Cup in 2018, crazy to think that’ll be four years ago next year. Imagine that? Where has the time gone?
JT: Time is a son of a bitch. So continuing with his 2018, he’d enter the G1 that summer, and cost Naito a chance at the finals on the final night, as part of a long running Suzuki Gun/LIJ feud. In November he and Minoru Suzuki would win the RevPro British Tag Titles, holding them throughout World Tag League. To kick off 2019, he’d win the RevPro Heavyweight Title off Tomohiro Ishii in the Tokyo Dome at WK13, he and Suzuki would fight Sanada & EVIL for the IWGP Tag Titles, and he’d enter the NJC and make the Quarter Finals again only to lose to Hiroshi Tanahashi! This would set up a RevPro Title match against Tanahashi in Madison Square Garden as part of the G1 Supercard, with Sabre tapping out the Ace in the world’s most famous arena. He’d challenge Kota Ibushi for the IC title later in the year, he’d lose the RevPro tag belts after 475 days in May, he’d defend the RevPro Title against Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada in June, he’d enter another G1, lose the RevPro title to Tanahashi in London only to win it back in Japan and enter the WTL this time with Taichi, marking the major start of their tag run together. Again, he was fully entrenched in NJPW, not just being a part of the company but teaming up with a Japanese wrestler as a full time tag partner. Pretty damn good year for Zack I’d say!
S: Yeah I’d have to agree with you on that one, I think they really found a nice spot for him on the roster by being the Rev-Pro Champion for such a long time. It gave him some legitimacy without having to strap any of their own titles to him at this point. I mean, him tapping out Tanahashi in Madison Square Garden is such a fucking big deal and kayfabe accolade for him which he could honestly milk until the end of time in front of North American audiences.
JT: Yeah I especially remember being surprised by that because I had assumed that since it was an MSG show, the Ace would be booked to win for old time’s sake. Like give Tanahashi the title even just for a little bit, because he’s one of the faces of the company. But no, they’re really invested in Zack. While other Cruiserweights were kicking rocks on 205 Live, Zack was tapping out a legend in MSG.
S: I think Zack definitely saw how WWE operated from being within the production of the CWC to be honest with you. Like he definitely had an idea of what WWE’s plan was for their revamped Cruiserweight Division and he was definitely put off by it. He chose very wisely.
JT: He saw the writing on the wall and did well with himself elsewhere. And the good times would continue into 2020 as he successfully defended the RevPro Title against Sanada in the Dome at WK14 then against Will Ospreay at New Beginning in February, although he lost it to him at a RevPro later in the month. And that was actually his last match outside of Japan! Now in part that’s because he was over in Japan on tour with NJPW when Covid hit, and the subsequent pandemic has made it difficult for anyone to travel. But now it’s time where we have to get to some sore subjects as well. Any closing thoughts before we crawl through the trenches again?
S: None at all James, it’s time to get in the trenches and get knee deep in the muck that was 2020.
JT: Now, it’s no surprise that having been involved in the British scene, Zack Sabre Jr has had many encounters with various unsavory figures, and that’s not his fault. With the Speaking Out movement in June 2020, a number of prominent figures got the boot for their behavior. However, one of them notably was Marty Scurll, longtime tag partner of Sabre, whose status as a questionable person has been the subject of online chatter for at least a few years before 2020 (as least in some circles). And again, just because Sabre was close to Scurll doesn’t mean he condones Scurll’s behavior. But pre-Speaking Out, Sabre was one of the most prominent indy wrestlers on twitter, posting about his matches, football, his political beliefs and whatnot, yet as of June 2020, he’s just stopped posting entirely. You can look up his official account, all activity stops, and all his likes are gone. Now the point of saying this isn’t to say for sure that he’s some nonce or abuser. As far as I know, he was not named in any allegations. But I think it’s fair to say that he left Twitter without any notice and has divorced himself from the British scene despite being one of its more prominent figures. Now it’s definitely possible that the toll of seeing the gross underbelly of the scene he was such a major part of made him sick, so he left social media for mental health reasons. And look, I’m not gonna say we’re owed an explanation, but all I’ll say is that abandoning social media and Western wrestling entirely to stay in Japan away from Western fans is a tad suspect. I’m not saying he’s a bad person, but I do think it’s important to note that with all his connections to the scene and all his outspokenness about social issues before June 2020, his social presence has completely vanished since then. Generally we just should stay careful with who we put on a pedestal, and I think it’s especially worth noting with Sabre Jr in light of what I just brought up.
S: It’s honestly just one of the most peculiar and straight-up bizarre disappearances I’ve ever seen off social media because I didn’t even notice he was gone for as long as he was until maybe September or August of 2020. He’s been offline for 18 months now, people. That’s very suspect. We can’t outright say he’s a shitty person because look, we don’t know anything from his end at all but people have every right to question the timing of his vanishing off all social media. Scurll isn’t just the only one of his close friends who disappeared either, Jimmy Havoc was a renowned close friend of his, close to about 15 years and probably closer to him more so than Scurll was and he was named during Speaking Out on multiple accusations including acts of mental abuse and rape. Now he’s a DPD delivery driver. Nothing has been said.
JT: But once again, this isn’t meant to be an indictment of him, just a reminder that you can’t ever really trust public figures, no matter how much of their stuff that you’ve watched. We aren’t owed an apology but when he leaves everything up to our interpretation, he’s also gonna have to deal with any assumptions we come to on our own. And we’ll have to leave that there, whether you’ve drawn your own conclusions, come to the same ones as us, and so on. Be vigilant people, Speaking Out isn’t a 2020 exclusive thing.
S: Agreed, so with the pandemic coming along and rearing its ugly head, what’s Zack been at in Japan lately?
JT: So in 2020 he did poorly in the NJC for the first time ever as he was bounced from the tournament in the first round by Kota Ibushi, but thanks to Taichi getting wins over Ibushi & Tanahashi, they got a Tag Title shot and the pair won! The Dangerous Tekkers as they’d come to be called have since won the IWGP Tag Titles on 3 different occasions, all while Sabre & Taichi competed as singles competitors in the m in 2020 & 2021, such as Zack getting an IWGP Title shot against Shingo Takagi in November of 2021 (after beating him in the 2021 G1). At the time of writing, they are the IWGP Tag Champions, on a 130+ Day run, and in the midst of World Tag League. Right now it’s mostly just a matter of figuring out who they’ll be facing at Wrestle Kingdom and if they’ll be able to retain.
S: I think that’s the case for most of New Japan in the year of 2021 really, who’s next in line to face which champion and what have you. I knew they’d won the belts twice but THRICE? Like Jesus Christ, being a multi-time champion of a certain belt that isn’t the top title in New Japan is so damn common nowadays. Like as much as I loved Roppongi 3K, them being five time IWGP Jr Tag Team Champions in the span of three and a bit years and winning the Super J Tag League thrice in a row is mental to me, I don’t know why. Even Guerillas of Destiny are the record holders of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles with seven reigns in four years.
JT: Especially with COVID limiting the amount of imports they can have, NJPW has just been riding the core of teams they have into the ground. I mean just look at how many times the tag tournaments have back to back year winners (or finalists) as opposed to the singles tournaments. While singles stuff seems to have at least some level of planning, Tag stuff seems mostly to be just riding the hot hand, or pushing a pair of wrestlers who are future singles wrestlers who need to do something in the meantime.
S: Yeah their tag team divisions are totally directionless and have been for a long time. There’s no sign of them improving or depth being added to the divisions either so it’s just kicking rocks for these guys.
JT: But hey at least he’s winning and doing stuff. And who knows, maybe Zack will get some sort of interesting matchups in the near future. After all, I almost forgot to mention how he got to face a returning Katsuyori Shibata in a 5 Minute Grappling Rules match! And there’s the NJPW/NOAH crossover show coming in early January, maybe he’ll get an interesting match in that too!
S: He’s got history with NOAH as well so he could definitely have a match on that NOAH vs NJPW show. Also, great that you brought up the 5 Minute Grappling Rules match because that’s honestly such a little gem for wrestling in 2021.
JT: Happy to have Shibata back in any capacity, hopefully he and Zack can have a real match against each other soon. Or at the very least, we can get Meiyu Tag (Shibata and real life childhood friend Hirooki Goto) against Dangerous Tekkers.
S: OH BABY! Now that’s a match which I could do with, give me that match and you’ll have my attention again, New Japan.
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Golden Star Destroyer
JT: Alright, before we move onto our next match, we get an advertisement for the Cruiserweights coming to Raw, with slow motion highlights of the CWC as our tease. Oh and we get an advertisement for the WWE Network, on Peacock. We didn’t realize those were the good old days until it was too late.
S: And among the ad you got to see snippets from one of the WWE Network’s exclusive reality TV shows, Holy Foley! I watched one episode and I was very put off by it. Power Hour *Smash Bros Melee Announcer Voice* BONUS Season, me thinks…
JT: Well since you brought up that show, I might as well mention some of the other things that came up in advertising later in the show. It’s just differing shades of all. First was Holy Foley, then WWE Storytime, the animated show that apparently features m “Ric Flair’s greatest airplane stories”. Yeah that’s fucking revolting in light of how allegations have come back to life recently. And if that wasn’t putrid enough, we got some Hulk Hogan during the advertising, and one more round of Flair, this time advertising the cringe-inducing Ride Along episode featuring Ric and his daughter Charlotte. Differing degrees of terrible, nothing good on the menu.
S: It’s truly a menu of absolute muck, my fucking god. This was a putrid old advertisement in terms of what they were serving up for Network subscribers although, I would listen to stories from Jake Roberts every day of the week. Get to your bed with WWE Storytime, give me Jake Roberts Storytime where it’s just him, no edits, one camera on him for a few hours reciting tales from the road or him just reading novels.
JT: So, on to more pressing matters! We’ve got our 2nd Semi Final Match of the evening! Time to see who will make the finals and face Gran Metalik! OMetalik last remaining representative of Japan! Having defeated Sean Maluta, Cedric Alexander and Brian Kendrick to get here, it’s the Golden Star, Kota Ibushi!! And his opponent, having valiantly represented the Philippines in victories over Da Mack, Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann, it’s TJ Perkins!! Ibushi has been a favorite since day one and has beaten some of the impressive talent to get this far, but Perkins has made his name in this tournament by eliminating favorites, can he do it again?
S: We’ve got ourselves a dynamic of an overwhelming crowd favorite against the man who has become a bit of a spoiler in TJ Perkins, the crowd like him because they know of him but he’s becoming a bit of a crowd spoiler by knocking out some fan favorites in the previous two rounds prior to this.
JT: Yeah I can’t tell if it’s just a general annoyance at him as the spoiler or just a loud section of a few people, but again there are noticeable boos for him as he comes out and is introduced. Will Perkins break their hearts again, or is it Ibushi’s time to shine? Guess we’ll have to find out won’t we?
S: I reckon it’s just a loud section of a few people if you ask me but let’s see if my point is valid, take it away, sir.
JT: TJ successfully checks a kick, making him one if not the only guy to even do that this tournament. There’s dueling chants for both, although the Ibushi ones seem louder as they grapple and try to gain position. Perkins catches a kick and tries for the Kneebar but Ibushi manages to stay out of it. As Bryan points out, he’s watching for and identifying the kicks of Ibushi so he can use the Kneebar to win again. He gets his Headscissor takedown and actually doesn’t hit the dab tonight, because he’s against the best in the world. Mauro reference to Antonio Brown on the Pittsburgh Steelers twerking on commentary, don’t ask me what he’s talking about, I don’t know. Ibushi hits his first major offensive maneuver over the match as he connects with a big Leg Lariat to the chest. He sends TJ across, but TJ hangs in the ropes and avoids Ibushi as he charges in. TJ runs to the ropes, only for Ibushi to quickly run back up to the apron and springboards back in with a Missile Dropkick!! He runs for the Golden Triangle Moonsault, but Perkins gets to the apron and cuts Ibushi’s leg out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor!! Nasty spill for Ibushi, and Perkins is already demonstrating a strong knowledge of his opponent, with a game plan to stop him.
S: I’m surprised he didn’t bring up the many controversies which Antonio Brown has been involved in but I think I’ve said enough on that for now. As far as the spill, it’s a proper Ibushi spill to the floor. Crumpling down like a slinky.
JT: On top of that, when he tries to get back up on the apron, his leg collapses under him and he falls back down to the floor, barely beating the count at 9. He knows how to fall, that’s for sure. But he’s quickly back on the offense as he nails him with a hard kick, then goes for another but Perkins catches him and hits a Dragon Screw as he slows down the pace. Ibushi drives him into the corner, then charges in, TJ leaps over him out of the corner and hits the ropes but turns around into a perfect Ibushi Dropkick! He gets a Hurricanrana sending TJP to the floor, then follows up with the Golden Triangle Moonsault!! We’ve seen it in every Ibushi match, and it just doesn’t stop being awesome. He rolls TJP back in and then follows up with a Missile Dropkick, but Perkins kicks out at 2. Okay, so I know we’ve reasonably gushed over this Moonsault, but his Missile Dropkicks are some of the prettiest in the business. Just incredible form and technique.
S: Yeah they are just a thing of beauty to be honest. He gets amazing height on them and the way he lands upon hitting the move is really smart as well because considering he had neck surgery the year prior to this, him landing on his front does wonders for him and protects him in the process. Koko B. Ware used to do some sick Missile Dropkicks back in the day too, that’s who it reminded me of.
JT: Shoutout to Koko B. Ware! I know the dude sometimes gets some shit for being one of the “lesser” members of the Hall of Fame (among the actual wrestlers anyways) because he never was a title contender but dude was genuinely really solid, especially for his day. Love the Birdman!! Also fun fact! Koko was almost name dropped in the best wrestling episode of a non-wrestling show, that being It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Season 5 Episode 7’s “The Gang Wrestles for the Troops”. He was name dropped as a serious example of pageantry in wrestling, but in a blooper that got cut.
S: A whopper episode from a whopper sitcom, love seeing The Birdman getting some shoutouts, bloopers or otherwise. I wonder what his Always Sunny persona would be? If Roddy Piper was The Maniac then I feel like Koko could be a friendly next door neighbor character.
JT: Let’s be real, the IASIP crew would be more likely to commit a hate crime against him than anything else. I mean as they mentioned in one of the new Season 15 episodes that came out just recently, they know very few black people. Like shockingly few.
S: They were never going to make friends with many black people after the first episode really, weren’t they? Apart from when Sinbad showed up or your man who was playing some sick bass licks, or the lad from when Frank tries to become part of a “new gang”. Or of course, Shadynasty!
JT: Ok now that we’re officially off track, I’m gonna get us back to the match. So Ibushi runs into a high kick from TJ, but then he catches TJ with a Powerslam, then he rolls and goes for a Springboard Moonsault out of the corner, but TJ gets the knees up!! He grabs the Kneebar!! Ibushi makes the ropes but that’s already a key bit of damage! They both get up, Ibushi charges into a Spinning High Kick, TJ lifts him for the Detonation Kick, but Ibushi goes behind and gets a Straight Jacket German Suplex!! 1–2–Kickout!! Ibushi lights up TJ with huge kicks to the chest, knocking TJ to the apron and then hammering him as he’s tied up in the ropes. This allows him to try and go for the Swandive German Suplex, but TJ gets elbows to fight it off to some boos. Let’s be real, we all wanted to see that move again. But now with Ibushi hung up on the ropes, TJ scores with the Springboard Wrecking Ball Dropkick and then goes to the top rope, only for Ibushi to hit a Pele Kick and knock him off the top!! Ibushi goes for the Golden Star Powerbomb, but Perkins reverses into a DDT!! He picks him up and hits the Inverted Lungblower!! He covers, 1—2—Kickout!! What a huge counter, he absolutely spiked Ibushi!!
S: Yeah this whole sequence here was just sick if you ask me, love the tease of the Swandive German Suplex. It’s honestly one of those moves which will always grab my attention whenever it’s teased. Ibushi is always going to take spike bumps but this one even shocked me, even by Ibsuhi’s usual bumping standards. When TJ hit the Inverted Lungblower, did you notice the cheeky reference which Mauro popped in while he called that move?
JT: No actually I don’t believe I did, what did he say?
S: So when TJ hit the Inverted Lungblower, Mauro called it like he used to see it when doing commentary for New Japan on AXS TV as he called it DODON, Ryusuke Taguchi’s finisher! Or is it his signature move now? Either way, The Funky Weapon got a mention on here!
JT: Shoutout to The Gooch himself!! Just an all around great wrestler, who doesn’t get his fair share of credit because most of the time he’s so silly. But when he turns it up, he is still really great! Him and Rocky Romero are both wonderful when they decide to take things seriously and go all out.
S: Yeah honestly, those two lads are just really fucking good and when they turn it up, they just go all out and put on some real bangers.
JT: Well as good as those two are, we’re watching a bang ourselves right now! Even though he hit Taguchi’s finisher, it wasn’t enough for TJ to put Ibushi away so he goes for the Detonation Kick again, but Ibushi escapes again and goes for the Pele Kick, only for Perkins to catch the kick!! He’s got his feet caught while he’s down on the mat!! TJP is going for the Kneebar that’s won him all his CWC matches!! The crowd is at a fervor pitch as he’s got the submission fully in!! Like they’re the loudest they’ve been all tournament, desperate to see if Ibushi’s run ends here or if he’s got another trick left in his bag!! And he’s got just back as he rolls back and stands up, rolling TJ over in the process so he can go for a German Suplex, but TJ gets, so they get into a striking match. Bad choice on TJ’s part, as they both slap each other at the same time, but Ibushi’s slap is harder and louder. TJ gets a roundhouse to the gut, Ibushi fires back with one of his own to double him over. Kota pulls him in for the Golden Star Powerbomb, he lifts, and lands it!!! The crowd are all counting in unison!! 1——2——KICKOUT!!! TJ Perkins has kicked out of the Golden Star Powerbomb!! The crowd now is so loud, chanting this is awesome, they are fully invested in this match, hook, line and sinker.
S: Yeah the crowd are fucking rabid at this stage, they are fully invested in this match after that nearfall. Really effective too considering nobody had kicked out of it at this stage in the tournament so good stuff there on whoever put this match together. I honestly forgot how much the crowd were invested in this match, I wasn’t expecting them to be going nuts for this because in my mind, TJ was booed by the majority and Ibushi was the overwhelming favorite with the crowd.
JT: Yeah considering TJ was getting booed tonight, it was nice to see the crowd not upset because he kicked out, but rather they’re surprised that he did kick out and are now excited to see what could possibly end the match. That’s what having 3 rounds of tournament buildup can do for a match.
S: Agreed, it definitely made the nearfall that more important with it being built up as Ibushi’s key to victory.
JT: So after his big power move couldn’t win him the match, Ibushi points up top, the only bigger move he has. He goes up tands and leaps for the Phoenix Splash, but no water in the pool, Perkins moves out of the way!! They both get up and begin trading blows again, with crowd behind Ibushi more, but TJ ducks the kick, lifts him up and hits the Detonation Kick!! He backs up and runs for a Wheelbarrow, but Ibushi catches him and plants him headfirst into the canvas!! 1—2———Kickout!! He once again goes for the Golden Star Powerbomb, but as he gets TJ at his apex, Perkins rolls through and pulls Ibushi down to the mat and captures the leg!! He’s going for the Kneebar!! Ibushi tries to stand and roll him up again, but he falls this time to the mat!! TJ hooks him around the neck and yanks him back with a Kneebar STF, and Ibushi has no choice but to tap!! TJ Perkins has once again beat a tournament favor!!
S: I’ve gotta say this much, and as someone who thinks TJ Perkins is a massive knobend and definitely a guy who’s opinions are fucking dumb. I’ve to admit, that transition from the Kneebar into the STF?! Fucking gorgeous looking move that was, a grand old finish too.
JT: Not only did he work on the knee that he had hurt all match, but he also attacked the neck that had been worked over by Kendrick and he did some damage on here too. It’s just a good choice to end it on, because TJP just went that extra length to push Ibushi over his limit. Ibushi has shown that he’s great, and he wouldn’t just tap out to anything, TJ had to do that much more to beat him.
S: The work which he did on both the knee and the neck was properly good from him as well. He did a right sick Draping Neckbreaker at some stage in a match and he usually works over the knee with the Kneebar so Ibushi having his neck worked over by Kendrick actually worked in his favor because it gave him two body parts to work over. The STF looked well vicious too.
JT: After the match, the crowd is definitely shocked again that TJ won, and he roars with hype as he has won the war. Ibushi cries to have lost, but ultimately still shakes his hand and raises his arm, and TJ claps and joins the “Thank you Kota” chant as he leaves Full Sail. After the match, TJ is presented with a medal and he cuts a brief promo saying before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. He didn’t think of winning the whole thing before, he’s been going one match at a time, it’ll stay that way. Even though he’s so close and it still seems so far away, he’s still that close and he just needs to focus a little bit more. Now he finally dabs dabs in celebration, with the finals set as Gran Metalik vs TJ Perkins. Any comments you want to make about this match as a whole?
S: Well I’ve got to say straight off that this match was very fucking good, like it was an absolute barnstormer. Much better than what memory served my smarky fifteen year old mind who resented TJ for knocking out my boy Johnny Gargano. In all seriousness though, I thought these two worked very well in this match. It had the vibes of a big tournament match if you ask me, it felt like a big match and I feel like that’s what nearly every one of Ibushi’s matches have felt like. He gives off the aura of every match he’s in feels like a big match in this tournament really. The crowd were far more positive towards TJ winning than I had recalled too. Great match if you ask me.
JT: Ibushi really has that superstar aura doesn’t he? He always feels like a big deal, and how invested the crowd was in this made it feel like a big deal. Like I’d argue that there were better matches in this tournament that got less of a reaction than this, because the stakes and presentation of it made it feel like a very important match. Honestly, I think this one cracks the top 5 at worst as far as crowd reaction goes. And I think that really helps the wrestling, because while it was good on its own, it’s even better with a receptive crowd behind it.
S: Maybe that’s what it was which made me not remember the match all too well because younger me at the time was very much set on workrate above all for modern wrestling. It was good to see the crowd really be well into this one because it helps the match itself out a great deal. This crowd has been fantastic for these two Semi Finals.
JT: Yeah at this stage, we’ve really seen none of Full Sail at its worst, really the crowd has been pretty great all tournament long.
S: They really have been great, they’ve been on their best behavior throughout this. We haven’t been getting many, if any annoying chants from them. None of that sort of carry on like during the build up to the first NXT TakeOver in Brooklyn when they’d boo the word Brooklyn every time.
JT: The only instance I can think of is at the start of one of the matches tonight, a few people tried to start some kind of chant that was immediately shut down. Aside from that, they’ve been on their best behavior. Now as they one ended, Mauro says this will send shockwaves through the world of sports entertainment, and he was right. Shall we discuss the exciting and interesting career of Kota Ibushi?
S: Absolutely, James! I feel like this is going to be a very detailed rundown of what the man has been up to.
JT: So Kota Ibushi was somebody who was just freelancing for years on end, and it seemed like WWE would scoop him up and finally lock him down but that didn’t happen. Apparently Ibushi just didn’t want to be tied down exclusively, as he would have had to be if he signed with WWE. According to Ibushi himself “(WWE offered) 5 year contract. I turned it down. They offered 3, then 2. I was against an exclusive contract from the word go. I’m happy going date by date.” And as we know with WWE, if you can’t be exclusive they don’t want you. Look at NXT UK. Like what had happened with New Japan years earlier had happened in WWE, Ibushi was denied the big one because he didn’t want to sign and be exclusive.
S: And for a good long while and before 2021, Ibushi was always labeled as a nearly man who couldn’t quite get the top titles. Even in New Japan it felt like he was primed for beating Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship at least but alas that didn’t happen. I can see why big companies like WWE and New Japan didn’t give him the big one if he’s not going to sign a contract though, if you want to push somebody to the moon, you’d want them to be loyal to you if you’re going to invest in them.
JT: Exactly. Companies showed they wanted to push him far, but you want to make sure you’ve got your golden goose safe. And it just wasn’t happening at this time. So Ibushi would have 2 more matches with WWE, originally meant to be teamed with Hideo Itami in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but TJP replaced Itami after his injury. They defeated Lince Dorado & Mustafa Ali in Round 1, but Ibushi ate the pin as they lost to Sanity in Round 2. And just like that, he’s out of WWE and in early October, a new character showed up in NJPW in a dark match. As promotion for the new Tiger Mask W anime, a Tiger Mask W wrestler would appear in NJPW in January 2017. This is a tradition that’s existed in Japanese wrestling for a while, dating back to the original Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Mushiking Terry in NOAH in the 2000s, and so on. He was of course played by Kota Ibushi, who would wrestle and defeat rival Tiger The Dark (played by ACH) at WK11, and was then challenged by IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada for the main event of NJPW’s 45th Anniversary show. This led to W teaming up with Tiger Mask IV against Okada and Gedo, which the Tigers won, but Okada got the last laugh by winning in the non-title singles main event. As a guy who can be known for being quirky and just doing whatever he wants, going from wrestling for WWE to playing an anime character in real life was as Ibushi as it gets.
S: It’s just one of those things that you’d almost forget happened, isn’t it? But it’s one of those things you’d forget and then remember it really fondly for how quirky it was. Like Ibushi vs ACH on it’s own would’ve made for an interesting Best of the Super Juniors match back in 2013 or 2014 but seeing them as anime characters on the Pre-Show of Wrestle Kingdom 11 is just MWAH! Chef’s kiss, honestly. I love it for how weird it is.
JT: It’s just one of those funny things that only happens in wrestling. How else could an anime character come to life? But as quickly as Tiger Mask W appeared, he soon disappeared again, as in June of that 2017, Ibushi as himself was a surprise entry in the G1 Climax, marking his“official” return to New Japan match since his departure in 2014. In the G1 he’d manage to defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi, earning a title shot at Power Struggle, but coming up short. Notably, he’d also look to comfort Kenny Omega after his G1 Finals loss, but Kenny couldn’t bear to do it. This off course, rubbed Cody the wrong way, and he’d start going after Ibushi. This would lead to a match at WK12, where even though Kota took a ridiculous Cross Rhodes to the floor off the apron, he still won. At New Year’s Dash the next night, Cody again attacked Ibushi and looked to use a chair on him, until Kenny Omega ran out for the save, forcing his faction to comply. This would lead to the tensions within the faction to continue to rise, finally exploding after Omega lost his IWGP US Title at New Beginning in February, as Cody and Hangman Page turned on Omega and looked to use a chair on him, only for Ibushi to run out for the save. Then after being apart for years, he embraced his partner, the team of The Golden Lovers was back. This was an exciting period of time for Ibushi, back in the swing of things, with months of teasing finally coming to a head, reuniting a dynamic duo fans had been hoping to see in New Japan since it was teased back in 2014.
S: Yeah honestly this was a really fucking awesome moment in New Japan and in modern wrestling. The tease for it back in 2014, even with that brief interaction when Ibushi faced Styles where Kenny got up on the apron, Kota attempted to hit the Golden Star Press only for AJ to catch him in MID-FUCKING-AIR and hit the Styles Clash. It was about three or four years of build which was really worth it for the moment we got. It was exactly what Ibushi needed during his first year back and special mention to his match with Cody being a real sleeper hit on that year’s Wrestle Kingdom.
JT: So with Kota reuniting with Kenny, many people were not happy, especially within Bullet Club. Their first test would come against Cody & Marty Scurll where they’d roll to a victory, but the next match was a lot more difficult for Kenny. At Strong Style Evolved in America, they had a huge match with Kenny’s former best friends The Young Bucks, as the Elite had split due to the pressures with Bullet Club and Ibushi’s involvement with Kenny. But still, Ibushi & Omega won together, and then Ibushi accompanied Omega as he finally defeated Okada for the IWGP Title at Dominion that June, doing what Kenny couldn’t do at Wrestle Kingdom 11 or Dominion 2017. After the match, the Bucks would embrace with Omega and accept Ibushi, forming the Golden Elite. This mostly just meant multi-man tag matches together more than anything, but The Elite will always be branding. So later in the summer, Ibushi would defeat Omega one on one in the G1 and advance to the finals, but he’d lose to Hiroshi Tanahashi, and would then come up unsuccessful against Cody and Omega in a Triple Threat for the IWGP Title that fall. In December he’d win the NEVER Openweight Championship, but lose it to Will Ospreay at WK13. After WK13, The Elite officially left NJPW to focus on building AEW in America. They were apart so long, they were together ever so briefly, and then they split up again.
S: The whole story really didn’t get the pay-off it deserved, did it? It was the case of the right story but just the wrong timing due to Cody, Hangman, The Bucks and Kenny all leaving after Wrestle Kingdom. While you mentioned Kenny as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, it really did not live up to the chase that was before it and that’s a shame because what he did from when he won the G1 prior to winning the IWGP Heavyweight belt was really some good stuff and he had a lot of brilliant matches. Arguably could’ve been involved in Jericho’s last truly great match at Wrestle Kingdom 12 as well. Back to the whole Golden Elite thing, it was basically a way to sell more t-shirts in Hot Topic and on PWTs and it didn’t last long enough for us to get a proper pay off.
JT: I’m happy the Elite went off and did their own thing, and honestly I was finding the Elite aspect of their NJPW stuff to be unfun by the time they left, but yeah it really left things unfinished. Cody got thrust into the title match to save the Kenny/Kota Title match that never eventually happened. But, I don’t mean to make this completely Elite-focused, because this is just as much about Ibushi and is it about them. After all, as they left, it was announced only about a month later that Ibushi had finally signed a full time deal, inking him into NJPW for the next 2 years. The bachelor finally settled down and planted his flag as a NJPW star.
S: The most eligible bachelor in professional wrestling finally putting that pen to paper and signing on the dotted line. This is like if Bulldog from Frasier decided to get married and have a few kids. Unprecedented stuff but him signing that contract would lead to good things for Ibushi, wouldn’t it, James?
JT: It did! We said earlier that his pushes in the past were limited by the fact that NJPW didn’t know if he would be around the next year. But now that he’s locked in, they went all in. First, he defeated IWGP IC Champion Naito in the 2019 NJC, earning a shot at the title at the G1 Supercard show in MSG that April. Facing off against one of NJPW’s biggest names in the world’s most famous arena, Ibushi rose to the occasion he became IC Champion for the first time, for his first Title win in the Heavyweight division. He’d lose the title back to Naito at Dominion but with the winning gate unlocked, he didn’t wait long before hitting paydirt again! After falling in the finals the year before, this time he made the finals and won it all, beating Jay White and the Bullet Club in the process. This also meant that Ibushi became the first wrestler to win the G1 Climax, the New Japan Cup and the Best of the Super Jrs, the three main singles tournaments in NJPW. He’d face Okada for the IWGP Title on Night 1 of WK14, but it may have been too much too soon, as he would come up unsuccessful against Okada, and then again against White on Night 2. This would lead him in search of allies, ultimately joining up with Tanahashi as the Golden Aces, winning the IWGP Tag Titles from the Guerrillas of Destiny, only to lose them to Dangerous Tekkers as previously mentioned after 142 Days. But once again, the G1 season came around, and once again Ibushi won the whole thing, making him only the 3rd person to ever win 2 in a row (4th or 5th if you count other tournaments in the G1 lineage). If it wasn’t clear before that Ibushi was the real deal, making 3 finals in 3 years and winning back to back proved that the days of holding back on Ibushi were over.
S: That whole 18 months for Ibushi from IC Title Win to winning his second G1 in a row and everything in between was really what you’d want to see if you’re an Ibushi fan. Just a really successful period for him and he was on fire during this period too, just having a lot of really fucking good matches and his hard work was being rewarded after finally dedicating himself to one company.
JT: And really with him, every minor setback was just that, minor. Like after once again it seemed he had a date with the IWGP Title at WK, but Ibushi actually became the first person to lose the G1 Certificate as White cheated to beat him for the title match! All is lost! Or not, because this of course was all a big set up for the 2 Nights of Wrestle Kingdom 15, wherein Naito accepted Ibushi’s challenge for the IWGP IC and Heavyweight Belt, with the winner facing White on Night 2. And on Night 1, Ibushi finally won the big one as he beat Naito for both titles, and then cemented his spot on Night 2, he successfully defended both belts against White. Yet again he was making history, as only the 3rd man to win the IWGP Jr and IWGP Heavyweight Titles. As much as it pained me as a Naito stan to see his time with the title cut short (especially considering the EVIL shenanigans of the prior summer and the LIJ role call we didn’t get at WK14), it was still very cool to see Ibushi hoist that beautiful IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
S: As of right now, I’d say the last truly positive moment which New Japan has had, granted I haven’t watched much New Japan this year but given what’s happened during 2021 and some of the booking decisions which have been made. This definitely stands out as the universally positive moment in New Japan this year.
JT: Yeah I too stopped watching New Japan this year, after WK15 actually. And that’s absolutely not on Ibushi, just a combination of factors both outside and under their control. Under their control for example, was the bloating match times. I think Ibushi and Jay White are both great wrestlers, I did not need to see them go 48 minutes. But you’re right in holding Ibushi’s win high, because ever since things have been dicey. Like for that matter, take what Ibushi did after he won the titles. He did (well not so much “he” as NJPW management, but his character wanted it in kayfabe) would do what I would generously refer to as a controversial move by wanting to unify the IC & Heavyweight Title to make the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This came to fruition as the title was officially unified when he defeated Jr Heavyweight Champion El Desperado at NJPW’s 49th Anniversary show. This was controversial not just for ending the lineage and existence of the IWGP IC Title, but also the original IWGP Title with its 34 years of history. If you don’t believe me, the new title lineage according to NJPW’s website only has 3 Champions. And I’ll take NJPW’s ruling over Wikipedia’s. Ibushi was officially the first ever Champion, and all that history was now officially put aside into the trophy case in the proverbial basement. And I gotta say, not a fan of that, and I don’t believe I’m the only one to think that, both among Westerners and native Japanese fans.
S: Oh it was only a matter of time before we got around to talking about the fucking IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, the title redesign which wasn’t needed or asked for. It’s a decision which has done them more harm than good because you’ve completely ended a title lineage spanning five decades, you’ve gotten rid of your perfect upper card title in the Intercontinental Championship and you have an ugly ass title design which is a massive downgrade from its perfect predecessor.
JT: Honestly, I believe it was time to end the IC Title (because it allowed NJPW to play it safe and not give guys the big one) but the redesign, the end of a lineage, it did not ingratiate the fans to their new idea. What didn’t help them any further was the fact that Ibushi was World Champ for all of one month, before he’d lose it to Will Ospreay. And even if you don’t ascribe to my thought process of “EWWW HIM?!? REALLY??”, Ospreay himself would drop the title after 46 days due to injury, meaning two meager reigns right to start off a lineage they already had to convince fans on. In the meantime, Ibushi would continue to feud with Ospreay’s United Empire faction into the Summer, defeating Jeff Cobb at Dominion. He’d face Golden Ace partner Tanahashi for the US Title at Grand Slam in September but failed. And then once again Kota entered the G1 and once again had incredible success, making the finals for the 4th year in a row, but then disaster struck. Once again, NJPW can’t have shit in 2021, as In the Finals match against Okada, Ibushi went for the Phoenix Splash and missed, landing hard on his shoulder and being unable to stand, forcing the final to end by referee’s stoppage. Right as they were coming around the final turn, Ibushi went down and the finals had to become the G1 Anticlimax. Not to mention Naito got hurt after Night 1 too. New Japan announced today that Ibushi would be out for two months. His injury was described as a “right anterior dislocation of the shoulder, and joint lip damage. If everything works out right (which so far it hasn’t) he might be ready for Wrestle Kingdom (editor’s note, he won’t be sadly) . But as of now, he hasn’t wrestled since his injury in late October. Ibushi really had that great moment right at the start, and then things went to shit. That’s the story of NJPW in 2021.
S: Poor poor old New Japan, they are almost becoming the Gill Gunderson of professional wrestling in 2021. They just cannot catch a break at all like, everything is just going against them and nothing is going in their favor. I’m just waiting for an anvil to drop on whoever the World Champion is by the start of next year at this stage.
JT: Whoever holds the title up in the Dome will probably have the whole place collapse in on them. So I’m praying for Okada. But yeah, sadly Ibushi’s big year didn’t go as planned, and it seems like his 2022 will be off to a rocky start too. Sad to see things shake out like they have, he was able to have such a nice run of things once he signed on to NJPW for good. But hey, maybe all those years of crazy bumps are finally catching up to him, and we’re lucky he won the big one before it was too late.
S: It’s exactly what I was thinking when the injury happened. Like as soon as it all went down, I immediately thought that the crazy bumps had creeped up on him for so long to the point where upon doing a move he’s probably done hundreds of times is the one which really hurts him. It’s such a shame because he was on a real roll for himself. I do hope that he comes back stronger and that he gets a proper go of it as IWGP Heavyweight or World Heavyweight Champion. Doesn’t have to be a crazy reign but let’s say about six or seven months.
JT: Or at the very least, I wanna see one more big angle for him, it feels like even with the Double Gold it didn’t necessarily like “his” angle. If he can’t hold it for 6-7 months, at least have a real Ibushi centric storyline that drives him to the belt. That’d be nice.
S: Absolutely, the Double Gold angle was always Naito’s back in 2019, that was his crowning glory story. Ibushi getting that same angle the next year was nice for him but always felt like sloppy seconds.
JT: But all that said, we’ve now gotta say goodbye to Kota Ibushi. Mr Ibushi, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you aboard for this run. You’ve been a Golden Star, shining this whole season. Here’s to your healthy recovery and best of luck in whatever you chose to do next!!
S: I second that! Here’s hoping that he comes back the exact same as he was before his injury. All the best to Mr. Ibushi, he’s been an absolute wonder to cover throughout this tournament, a bloody phenomenal wrestler to watch and it’s always a treat to see him do his thing!
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Meeting in the Middle (of the show)
JT: Soooo as we just completed our two semi-finals match, we’ve gotta give our finalists and our crowd a breather, so that means bonus tag match time!! It’s Cedric Alexander & Noam Dar facing off against DIY aka Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano!!
S: Holy bonus match, Radioactive Man! And holy random tag team, Fallout Boy! What the hell are Cedric and Noam Dar doing as a tag team?
JT: No clue! Especially considering that they both say they’ve never teamed before, and then because of the fact Noam wouldn’t even show up on the main roster until November!! But they’re here nonetheless, and they don’t have a game plan, because it’s a historic moment just to where great people do great things, where they only need to be on the same page for 3 seconds. They know they’re the best and it’s not an upset in their mind if they win. Meanwhile DIY says they’re medically clear and ready to go. They’re here for moments. Takeover Brooklyn was a moment, the CWC is a moment. No offense to Cedric Alexander & Noam Dar, but they’ve got their eyes on The Revival. They wanna show Dash & Dawson that they can knock them down, but they cannot knock them out. They’re coming for the NXT Tag Titles.
S: I really love the mention of DIY being dead set on gunning for the tag team titles and saying that The Revival do fear them. Properly keeps the story of their pursuit going on and gives us a tease of a rematch down the line. Two decent promos here, I must say.
JT: Yeah I like that this time around, make no difference about it, Johnny & Tommaso are NXT characters. When they showed up in the CWC, they were largely treated like any other competitor, but this time, they’re straight up just doing NXT storylines. Another fun note is that Cedric & Noam are wearing matching red gear! And then one half fun fact is that Sasha Banks, Kalisto, Rich Swann, Jerkass Jack Gallagher and Bayley are all at ringside for this. So, mostly cool people. Mostly.
S: Mostly cool people but a lot of these dudes have got their flaws. Sasha doesn’t like vaccines, Rich Swann and Jerkass Jack for their known reasons and poor auld Kalisto, sure, wasn’t he good that Lucha Things promo a month or two prior to this? That and he’d get thrown into a bin by Braun Strowman next year, a moment in wrestling which shouldn’t be funny but never fails to make me laugh. I also have noted here, “Bayley is here! A young JT’s eyes light up”.
JT: This is around the time where I still would’ve worn my Bayley I’m a Hugger t-shirt, so you’re not wrong. I miss this aspect of NXT honestly, I miss when alumni would show up for events, it just adds that little extra spice to the pot. Matches feel just a hint bigger that way.
S: And it also gets across the fact that this is a big old deal across WWE as a whole, in kayfabe simply because wrestlers from the main roster and wrestlers from the tournament as whole are in the crowd.
JT: Well of course, this match isn’t necessarily a big deal, but it’s more of the calm before the storm. So, shall we zoom through this and come ever so closer to the tantalizing end of the CWC?
S: *Mario 64 level select music plays* Let’s a go!
JT: Rare “all these guys” chant as the match begins, with Ciampa & Cedric start things off. Leapfrog, flip over, roll under, handstand Headscissor by Cedric, but Ciampa holds onto the ropes and avoids the Dropkick. He then runs the ropes and comes back into that Cedric Dropkick he avoided earlier. Ciampa rolls to the apron and then tags out to Johnny as Dar tags in for Cedric. Johnny Wrestling is very popular, but so is Dar’s Star Wars chant, as Noam matches Gargano hold for hold as they try for quick pins and holds but so is. Dar slides between Johnny’s leg but Gargano kicks him in the face. Ciampa comes in and locks in a cravate to slow down the match, but a dragon screw leg whip allows Cedric to tag in. He boots Johnny off the apron, gets the Back Handspring kick to the face of Ciampa, then a Tope Con Hilo to the floor! He throws Ciampa in and then gets the Springboard Flatline for a 2 count!! This match, right from the start, is a real “get your shit in” match. Just so quick, so much happening, right from the start.
S: This gave me a proper reminder of what those multi-man X-Division, opening match of a PPV spotfests used to be in the mid to late 2000s. Just a bunch of uberly talented wrestlers with each cool movesets of their own just getting it all out there to show what they’re all about. Always guaranteed to elicit a reaction from the audience.
JT: As we continue on, Cedric goes for another Handspring attempt, but Ciampa with a basement Dropkick to get him right in the face and tags in Johnny. Gargano is in and on fire as he gets a Clothesline, clothesline, and an overhead Belly to Belly. Dar comes in, but is sent to the apron, gets an Enziguri and Ciampa holds him in the Electric Chair as Gargano hits a Superkick on him from the apron! Cedric knocks Johnny off the apron and goes to dive onto him but Johnny is back up on the apron and hits the Slingshot Spear, only for 2! Gargano goes for the Lawn Dart, Cedric escapes and nails a picture perfect Michinoku Driver! 1—2—Kickout!! Love that Michinoku Driver, love that Slingshot Spear, love that out of nowhere Doomsday Superkick! Honestly, any move like that is right up my alley, because it feels like a move an actual team might do.
S: There’s just so many moves in this match which are always bloody gorgeous to watch each time. Like the Slingshot Spear and Cedric’s fucking amazing Michinoku Driver in particular are just moves you’d never get sick of looking at.
JT: So the match continues after barely avoiding its end, as Cedric getting sent over the top, past the apron in the corner, landing face first off the steps!! They leave Noam Dar all alone for a Superkick to the face, and then Cedric’s attempt to reinsert himself is as desperate and predictable as you might expect from a guy whose face just hit the steps a few seconds earlier. and off the Tandem Kick and Knee to catch Cedric out of the air!! Now Johnny hoists Dar over his shoulder, and launches him face first into the corner with the Lawn Dart!! Knocked completely silly, he’s out of it as Gargano & Ciampa line him up, and Meet in the Middle with the Superkick/Knee Combo!! 1—2—3!! DIY are victorious!! It was the expected outcome but this was way more competitive and action filled than I thought it would be for a filler tag match. Even having seen this already, I assumed it would be a pretty simple DIY win, and though they won quite handily in the end, it was not as certain a win as the final moments made it appear. The score was closer than the scoreboard says.
S: Agreed, to go back on what I remembered from a few years ago for the millionth time in this season. I do not remember this match being as action packed as it was and I actually forgot they had a match in between the Semis and the Finals. This was a proper fun match to rewatch though, as I said earlier, shades of an X-Division opener from mid to late 2000s TNA. Really enjoyed it, not gonna lie.
JT: Honestly I don’t have much to say, it was just a good short and sweet tag match. It gave us a nice breather between the high stakes tournament matches, and it was nice and short to contrast the drawn out singles matches. Like we didn’t need to see a long chain wrestling exchange at this point.
S: Yeah definitely not, the purpose this match was to serve was to have these guys get their shit in, get across that DIY are gunning for the NXT Tag Titles whilst also showcasing what the Cruiserweights are planning to bring to Raw. Job well done if you ask me!
JT: Well that wasn’t too bad! And look at that, we’ve only got one match left on the docket! But boy, it’s a big one! And we’ll have lots of final conversations to be had after we finish that up, so how about this Seán, why don’t we head into the Recharge and gear up before we endure the last round?
S: Well after watching that match, I must say I could do with a tad bit of energy. I think it’s time we head down the French press trail and into the coffee bean sanctuary which is the Recharge Café and have ourselves a little bit of a Recharge!
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The Recharge
JT: Welcome to the Recharge!! This is essentially our halfway point of the episode, where Seán and I take a wee little break from the topic at hand to talk about any other things in wrestling or media that we think would be interesting to talk about. We also do our Recharge Recall Trivia, where Seán and I compete for the bragging rights over who knows the most hyper specific wrestling trivia.
S: It’s usually a battle of who knows the most ridiculous and pretty much obscure things about wrestling. Who has the most obscure knowledge basically. Before we get into that, what we like to do is be all Frasier and Niles Crane and just chat about what’s going on over coffee, tea or any nice warm beverages. James, what nice warm beverage have you got today?
JT: Well James, my taste de jour is very festive to say the least. It’s not a toffee nut or gingerbread latte from Starbucks, no no no, although I’ve had those. Considering it’s the festive season, ya just can’t go wrong with a hot chocolate, I mean it’s only the drink which got it’s own song in The Polar Express. The film which Tom Hanks had SIX voice roles to do, busy boy.
S: Well James, my taste de jour is very festive to say the least. It’s not a toffee nut or gingerbread latte from Starbucks, no no no, although I’ve had those. Considering it’s the festive season, ya just can’t go wrong with a hot chocolate, I mean it’s only the drink which got it’s own song in The Polar Express. The film which Tom Hanks had SIX voice roles to do, busy boy.
JT: Ahh yes, the Polar Express. A movie I went to see at my local public library as a kid of like 7 years old. and walked out of 20 minutes in because a kid missed the train and I was sad about it. Of course, if I had stayed for 2 more minutes I would have seen the train stop and the kid get on, but kids are stupid and I’m no exception. Good film, I liked it a lot when I actually saw the whole thing.
S: Agreed, it’s definitely a movie I enjoy watching at Christmas time most years, it’s an easily watched film and I was definitely fascinated that there was an animated movie about a train which went to the North Pole when I was a kid. Safe to say, it caught my attention. Tell ya what I did watch out of a pure need to just laugh for all sorts of reasons though, Jack Frost circa 1998 featuring Michael Keaton.
JT: Gotta say, I have never seen that one. I’ve honestly not seen a lot of Christmas staples. I had the few that came on TV every year, I had the few I owned on VHS and DVD, and then I had the ones I saw at school. Otherwise, I’m probably missing quite a few essentials. Jack Frost included.
S: I think you should give it a watch just to see how fucking weird and funnily stupid Christmas movies can be. Aside from all that, how’s everything been with you anyways? How’s life been treating your good self?
JT: I’ve been well my man! I’ve been enjoying quite a few shows in the past month. First off, I’ve been watching the newly airing Season 15 episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I also finished watching Netflix’s Arcane: League of Legends, which was a show that really surprised me in terms of quality, since I had absolutely 0 interest in League of Legends before seeing it. And finally, I watched the first 2 seasons of Netflix’s You, which was a fun romp and something I plan on fully catching up with sooner rather than later. All in all, good stuff!
S: Sounds like you’ve been keeping yourself fairly entertained! I am looking forward to Season 15 of It’s Always Sunny whenever it drops on Netflix over here in Ireland, it’s been too long without the chaos of that show in my life regularly. To keep the topic of what we’ve been watching rolling, I am still watching Parks and Recreation, currently on Season 4! I think I’m on episode 5 or 6 at this stage so I’m nearing what probably is the halfway point in the entire show, in terms of number of episodes. Aside from that, I haven’t been watching all too much aside from AEW Dynamite and Rampage whenever I get the chance to. Right now, I’ve just been focusing on my assignments for the end of my first semester in second year. By the time you’ve all read this, my first semester will be brown bread and I’ll officially be at the halfway mark of college. Crazy how the time flies sometimes.
JT: It really is crazy how quickly time passes. Like, by the time this episode comes out, it’ll nearly be January, meaning it’ll have been 3 full years of AEW already. It’s crazy to think it’s been that long already, I remember it starting like it was yesterday! I’ll also hopefully be at or almost at Magfest in January! In another crazy passage of time, it’ll have been 2 full years since I went to that convention, which is oh so special to me. As a show featuring Office Meow Meow Fuzzy Face once said, “Time’s arrow neither stands still nor reverses. It merely marches forward”.
S: It really does, it’ll be crazy to think that it’ll be three years since the start of 2019 but at the same time, it does feel that long ago because of how different things were for me in particular that time ago. I was still in secondary school, WWE’s roster became insanely bloated all across the board and now I’d say at least 100 of those employed in 2019 were either released or walked from there.
JT: Obviously it sucks to see so many people lose their jobs, especially during the pandemic, but let’s be real, most of us knew that the roster size they had before was unsustainable and that they’d need to cut people. Hell, I think we talked about in an episode of this very show about how part of the reason WWE felt stale was because of how little turnover there was, guys who get signed and then hang out for years on end. So the sort of cuts that have happened seemed inevitable, but it’s always the matter of who gets cut, when they got cut, and why they got released that makes this stuff tough. People cut right as a push starts, people’s significant others losing their jobs, gutting a whole division, and so on.
S: It was always going to happen really though, people saw that sweeping up too much talent to the point where even NXT became bloated was going to result in a massive shift in the roster. Just the way in which it happened and the timing of it was massively dodgy on their end.
JT: Yeah it’s not that people got released, it’s who got released and how they got released. They should’ve been honest and just said that they’re “shifting priorities” or something like that, instead of the obviously false “budget cuts” crap. We know you’re not short on money, you dickheads.
S: Exactly, the whole budget cuts excuse is just a really fucking lousy move on their part. Funny that they’d use that excuse and then post record breaking profits on multiple occasions in their quarterly reports.
JT: It’s not 95 anymore, they’re not hanging on for dear life anymore. It’s the opposite actually, they’re the kings of the world with nobody in their league. If you want to cut your roster, honestly just say you’re resetting your roster. There’s always going to be a need to release people, I don’t know why they need the excuse of “budget cuts”. Unless Vince and Co legitimately think they need to cut the budget and make money, which would honestly scream to me “This cash cow is finally running dry, we gotta squeeze as much out of it as we can before old Bessie kicks the bucket!”. And if that’s the case, just wow.
S: It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that’s the case as to why they’re constantly trimming down the roster. What makes a lot of these recent releases so strange too is the fact that a lot of those who’ve been released this year genuinely had themselves a role or a spot on the roster. Like why were John Morrison and Shane Strickland cut among tons of others? It just doesn’t add up.
JT: Yeah look, as much as seeing things change can be tough, change is inevitable. NXT 2.0 coming into existence feels like something that we all should’ve seen coming sooner. As such, it would’ve made sense if they cut bait on a lot of NXT talent. But instead you’ve got situations like with Hit Row where they brought them up and then immediately canned them. If you were gonna release them in the first place, why bring them up? Or why not have an overhaul where you cut people from the main roster you don’t think fit with their company vision, bring up anyone who might fit from NXT, and then replace them with new talent? That at least would be organized! They’re just doing stuff without any plans or consistency. But hey, that’s WWE for ya.
S: They really are a company where I always tell myself to stop questioning their ridiculous decisions so many times but yet I find myself questioning their decisions all the time. They’re a really peculiar case but anyways, we’ve got some trivia to run down, don’t we?
JT: That we do! It’s once again time for the Recharge Recall!! If you’ve been here before, you know the deal. If you’re new here, let me fill you in. How this works is that both Seán and I will throw a trivia question each other’s way, usually an open ended question but sometimes multiple choice. Regardless of the question type, we always have at least one hint to use and narrow the field down, although we might add more if it’s particularly tricky. We do this as a bit of fun, for bragging rights!! It’s all about testing the limits of our knowledge of obscure wrestling trivia!
S: You know, James. One day we’re going to look back on all these Recall segments and count up all the correct answers we’ve had on this segment. I mean, we’ve been doing the Recharge since, I’d say for two years! Since our WrestleMania 19 review. Crazy that is and yes, this is all about bragging rights because that’s what two respectable gentlemen fight for dammit!
JT: Well I will say, I think you’ve got me lapped if we were to count up points, so lucky me that we don’t do that. Maybe one day, as this series grows, we can make the trivia have significant stakes. Like maybe at the end of the year or arc, we have to watch the winner’s choice of show? Who knows, but for the time being all things are peaceful, easy and just for fun…
S: Maybe for Season 4 we’ll add those stakes, who knows? But anyways, James sir, would you mind taking the wheel and dishing out the first question for our Recharge Recall?
JT: Sure no problem! So as we reach the finals of this illustrious tournament, we should reflect on where it came from. Of course, I’m talking about the Super J Cup! The famous 1994 set the standard for Junior Heavyweight/Cruiserweight action for years to come. So with that said, do you know who won that 1994 Super J Cup?
S: The 1994 Super J Cup. Now I’m going to take a quick fire stab at this one, was it by any chance, Wild Pegasus himself? Also known as Chris Benoit?
JT: That is correct! And I figured that might be a little easy, but it was an important enough fact that we had to make sure folks knew it even if they didn’t. So if you don’t mind, I’ll ask a second, trickier question. There have been 8 official Super J Cups in history, with a varying degree of regularity. They’ve been hosted by Michinoku Pro, Osaka Pro, Wrestle And Romance, and of course New Japan Pro Wrestling. So my follow up question is this: Who has won the most Super J Cups?
S: Alright so most Super J Cups, I’m going to go right in there and say that the legend that is Jushin Thunder Liger has won the most Super J Cups. Am I correct?
JT: You are the best kind of correct, technically correct! Because he’s actually tied with two other people with 2 Super J Cup wins. As my third and final question, can you guess who the other two are?
S: Okay, so I know one of them for sure, I think. Which is a contradictory sentence but anyways, is Kushida one of those three two time J Cup Winners?
JT: Well you correctly identified him as a winner, but he only won once! In a question I almost asked, he won the 2016 Super J Cup! But you still have 2 2x winners left. Give me your next pick, or ask for the hint if you need it.
S: Okay, does El Phantasmo technically count as a two time winner since he won the British J Cup in Rev Pro and the Super J Cup in the USA?
JT: No, the RevPro British J Cup does not count. Luckily for you, the back to back years of Super J Cup wins in 2019 and 2020 for ELP do count! Only twice have Super J Cups been held in consecutive years, 94-95 and 19-20, and both featured somebody who would win 2 in a row, ELP recently and Liger won in 95 and then in 2000. So Seán, you’ve now essentially named every winner except one, the only remaining 2 time winner. You’ve got 2 guesses remaining and one hint.
S: Alright so what I think I’m going to do is play it safe and take my hint while I’ve got two guesses left so lay it on me, James!
JT: Smart, smart. So here’s your hint. Now while the Super J Cup is heavily associated with New Japan, this icon of Junior Heavyweight in Japan has always been associated with a different promotion. So give it your best shot, considering that the guy is important, he’s not generally associated with NJPW, and as a little bonus hint, consider that there are only 2 remaining Super J Cups we haven’t mentioned. Think about when they would’ve been, considering who we have named so far and when they won theirs.
S: Okay so since you say that he’s not generally associated with New Japan, would I be right in saying The Great Sasuke?
JT: Good guess, but incorrect! Sasuke never won the Super J Cup, though he was the runner up in the first ever tournament. So you’ve got one guess remaining.
S: You’ve had me working hard throughout this one and I’m just wondering who else could be a two time J Cup winner. Is it Hayabusa????
JT: You were on the right track, but that is incorrect!! You had the right type of guy in mind, but you were looking in the wrong time period. Technically, you’re out of guesses but if I were to tell you that the two other Super J Cups were won by our mystery competitor in 2004 and 2009, would that give you any different guesses?
S: 2004 and 2009? If they’re not typically associated with New Japan, were they with Pro Wrestling NOAH at that time?
JT: Yep exactly, and I’d say that at this point, he’s in that upper echelon of people everyone associated with NOAH, only behind Misawa, Kobashi, Taue, and maybe Go Shiozaki. Whether he’s bigger than Go is up for debate as far as I know.
S: Ahhhhh I think I may know who it is now, was it Naomichi Marufuji?
JT: That’s the guy! I had a few additional hints I could’ve said, like that he was a generational Junior but has achieved Heavyweight success, or even just saying “NOAH”, but that I think would’ve made it a little too easy for you. And you already got your easy answer with my very first question. But yeah, it was Marufuji, who won the 2004 Super J Cup hosted by Osaka Pro, and then he won the 2009 Super J Cup. Fun fact! He defeated Prince Devitt in the finals of the 2009 Super J Cup! This was part of the angle where Devitt finally broke through the glass ceiling. He lost in the finals of the 09 Best of the Super Juniors, lost in the J Cup Finals, Marufuji won the IWGP Jr Title at WK4, and Devitt finally broke through in the 2010 BOSJ, before winning the belt from Marufuji at Dominion that year. Goes to show what Marufuji meant to Junior Heavyweight Wrestling in Japan in the 2000s, NJPW brought him in and had him win on their turf in order to elevate a guy internally.
S: He was probably one of THE Junior Heavyweight wrestlers in Japan during the mid to late 2000s. Like while New Japan was in the midst of their rebuilding process, you could argue that the four best Junior Heavyweights in Japan were Marufuji, Ishimori, KENTA and Ibushi around that time.
JT: Yep, and the evolution of wrestling has led to him becoming just one of the most recognizable faces of NOAH regardless of weight class. Although it’s not a good thing that the NOAH main event scene got as thin as it did, he did benefit arguably more than anyone, as now he is a 4x GHC Heavyweight Champion, including having won it off Keiji Mutoh earlier this year. You could argue that he might have still been stuck in the midcard had NOAH not needed someone to step up like he did. So shout out to Marufuji!!
S: Agreed, he’s definitely a perfect modern example of someone making that jump from Junior Heavyweight up to the Heavyweight Division and not looking out of his depth so a definite shoutout to Marufuji. A fucking brilliant wrestler.
JT: Now, I believe you have a question for me?
S: Yes I certainly do. Now since you’ve gone Cruiserweight centric with your multi-layered Super J Cup question, today’s questions are going to be revolving around what was pivotal to Cruiserweight Wrestling in the 2000s, THE X-DIVISION! Would you like to hear your X-Division question?
JT: I sure would, bring it on!
S: Alright so just to ease you into things, I’ll start you off fairly light. So this all surrounds the X-Division Title itself so my first question is who was the first X-Division Champion?
JT: Well you said you were starting things off light, so I had an initial panic when they didn’t immediately come to mind. I ran through a couple names and then all of a sudden it hit me. Of course, the first X Division Champion was AJ Styles, wasn’t he?
S: Oh you bet your bottom dollar he was the first champion! The absolute epitome of the X-Division for it’s first three years of existence. He became the inaugural champion by defeating Low Ki, Psicosis and Jerry Lynn in a Four-Way Double Elimination Match. What is that match? I’ve no idea, probably the same as when ECW did that Double Jeopardy Match at November to Remember 2000.
JT: Yeah it definitely sounds like an ECW stipulation, although this happened in what, 2002? I mean ECW had been in the grave for all of like 2 years (after getting dug up for the first time for the Invasion). So I mean, at least the body was still.
S: Yeah it was quite a bit after ECW folded alright but anyways, we shall move on to stage two of this three stages of hell, if you will. The second part is also to do with the X-Division Title and the question is who is the longest reigning X-Division Champion in history?
JT: Now that is a much harder question to answer. But off the top of my head, I’m just gonna go with Samoa Joe. He’s had a knack for long title reigns, so maybe he was the one to get the longest reign during his unbeaten streak.
S: It is not Samoa Joe, despite his five reigns as X-Division Champion, he never had a single reign over that went 100 days. Would you like your second guess or would you like your hint?e
JT: Woof that’s a regrettable miss. Yeah I’ll need that hint right now, please.
S: Okay so your hint is that after this man had his record breaking reign as X-Division Champion, he’d soon after become the World Champion in TNA/Impact World Champion.
JT: Oh god damnit, it’s that little cunt Austin Aries isn’t it?
S: Yep… Congratulations? Or in this case, “conglaturations” to quote Ghostbusters on the NEW.
JT: I’d call that a blemish on the TNA record books, but they’re the TNA record books, blemishes come with the territory.
S: Blemishes and TNA record books go together like butter and bread. Now James, you’ve reached the final boss of all this. Are you ready to take it on?
JT: I am! If you want some, come get some!!
S: Alright so the question is, who does the best dubstep in the CWC? Wait a minute, that’s not what I’ve written down, these must be Daniel Bryan’s notes from 2016! Sorry about that, must’ve been a mix up there. The real question is who has the most individual TNA/Impact Wrestling X-Division Title reigns of all time???
JT: Ok interesting one. I feel like for this one, longevity has to win out. So first, I’m gonna write off AJ Styles. He’s one of the best, but I figure he had like 2-3 years in the X Division at most and was then bigger than the scene for the rest of his time. This brings me to another TNA OG in Christopher Daniels, but for some reason I feel like he didn’t hold the belt that many times, maybe like 2-3 times, with one short reign and one longer run. So with them out, I’m gonna go with the other half of Bad Influence/The Addiction, the Metallica fan himself, show me Kazarian!
S: Ohhhhh a good shout but unfortunately Kaz isn’t the answer to this one. I respect the answer though, could definitely see why you’d think he’s had the most reigns considering he was around the X-Division for ages but his four reigns are not the record. Are we on your last guess now?
JT: Oh so it’s all stacking up huh? Well I’m in trouble then. I’m gonna have to pull something out of my ass. And so I’m going to have to use logic here. So if it’s not Kaz or AJ, I think that leaves me with only two more pillars of the X Division. Of course, they are Power Hour favorites, the Motor City Machine Guns! Alex Shelley, and Chris Sabin!! And Seán, I smell a pattern here! The first ever Champion was AJ Styles, who won the TNA World Title multiple times. The longest reigning champ was Austin Aries, who also won the TNA/Impact World Champion. So that’s why I’m gonna go with Chris Sabin, who too was TNA World Champion for a hot minute. Lock it in, Chris Sabin!
S: The answer is locked in by James…. James, your answer with Chris Sabin, IS CORRECT! Power Hour favorite Chris Sabin is the record setter in terms of individual X-Division Title reigns with a staggering EIGHT reigns across his career. Now a lot of them came when he’d trade the belt back and forth in 2013, mostly with Austin Aries but he is still the record setter. James, you’ve knocked this one out of the park today so you have.
JT: I’m quite happy with myself, I must say. Especially because I got kinda shook when AJ didn’t immediately pop into my head. But I did it!! I did it all by my sweet little self!! I’m a winner!! A black heart!! A sole survivor!! WOOOO!!!
S: Bah gawd he’s only gone off with both our Slammy Awards and taken them both for himself. Can you believe it? Todd Pettengill has gotta say something about this!
JT: So that about wraps up our Recharge Recall, and I’d say that that also wraps up the Recharge as a whole. We’re about to get back into the thick of things with the CWC Finals, as well as our final rundown of all the matches, moments and wrestlers from the tournament. Anything else you wanna say before we get into the 9th inning of the Cruiserweight Classic Arc?
S: I don’t think I do actually, my stomach is warmed up from this beautiful hot chocolate and I think it’s time we bid farewell to our final Recharge of Season 3, don’t you think so?
JT: Recharge, you’ve been very kind to us this season. You’ve given us lots of fun trivia about the highs and lows of wrestling, and you’ve taught us many things. I shan’t forget the name “Puma” anytime soon. But it’s time for you to go. On to bigger things!
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BRUCIE BONUSES
JT: Alright now it’s finally time for our——
S: Hold on a minute there playa! We’ve some things to talk about before our main event!
JT: What’s this? A last second transition? Well it turns out, Seán did a little extra work for this episode, and I almost forgot about it! Seán, tell the people of the Power Hour about what you got up to!
S: Well James, while I was doing my research for the CWC at the start of this season, I noticed that right before the Finale episode that there were in fact three bonus matches uploaded to WWE’s YouTube channel involving the eliminated competitors. Would you like to hear what those matches were?
JT: I absolutely would!
S: Alrighty! So I’m just going to run through these matches briefly because it’s me and we’ve also got a lot to still talk about. Our first of three CWC Exclusive matches on YouTube came in the form of Cedric Alexander vs Oney Lorcan AKA Biff Busick! They had themselves a fun wee match, both lads got their signature spots in. Lorcan looked really good, and was always criminally underrated during his time in WWE if you ask me. Honestly would’ve been a perfect fit for this tournament but unluckily for him this is what his duty was. Oney hit lots of nice suplexes, including his Half-and-Half Suplex. He went for it off the top rope to Cedric, Cedric rolled through, Oney ran at Cedric only to be hit with an Overhead Belly to Belly! Cedric then hit the Lumbar Check to secure the big fat dub.
JT: Oney/Biff was always a guy WWE never really maximized. I liked him in the roles he got but they never did a ton with him in those roles. Like he had his brief 205 Live run, and when he teamed with Danny Burch, they had one brief push and then didn’t have much going on until Pat McAfee came around. But that sounds like a fun little match!
S: And a fun little match it was! They’ve also had a match together on 205 Live in early 2019 too which I wouldn’t mind checking out. Would you like to see what’s behind secret door number two?
JT: Show me what’s behind door number two!
S: Holla holla holla! We’ve ourselves a tag team match playa, it’s Tony Nese and Drew Gulak vs Lince Dorado and Kenneth Johnson! Boy central station right here. It’s a decent tag team affair so it is. Gulak and Nese worked really well as a team I thought, Johnson looked more comfortable in there surrounded by three more experienced wrestlers. Some nice dives from these lads, an awkward looking Code Red from Lince, followed up by a Shooting Star Press is broken up by GabbaGulak. Lince and Johnson look to hit a Double Team Superplex on Nese before Gulak hits an Electric Chair Drop on on Dorado. Nese then knocks Johnson off the turnbuckle, hits his 450 Splash to snag the win for the East Coast.
JT: Sounds like a nice little opening tag match, and that’s a situation where I like Johnson. Let him work with 3 very experienced hands, let them lead and let him learn from their skills. For as much fun as NXT 2.0 is, I still think they could use some experienced hands down there to help polish up the likes of Bron Breakker, Tony Deangelo, and so on. Also unrelated, but I need some tag team that calls themselves “Beast Coast”.
S: Ohhhhh now that’s a cool sounding tag team. Get two big lads from New York, Philly, maybe Boston or somewhere in Massachusetts. That’d be a great name for a trio or a faction too.
JT: Get a loud Masshole or a Paul Heyman type New Yorker to manage 2-3 big bruisers and you’ve got money. Like honestly, the idea I have in mind is essentially Team Tazz now that I think about it. Shoutout to Team Tazz as it is right now, what a group. Ricky Starks? Star. Powerhouse Hobbs? Really great muscle. Tazz? Obviously incredible. And of course, there’s Hook. They rule.
S: They’re just a really fucking great group that have no flaws with them at all, do think they’ve gotta get some other titles in their camp aside from the FTW Belt but they’re still awesome regardless and we’re both fans of Hook on the Power Hour, he’s a real proper prospect after his first match. He’s got loads going for him. Anyways! Shall we see what’s behind our final secret door, number 3???
JT: The first two have been solid, so what’s number 3 like? Show me what’s behind door number 3!
S: So behind number 3 we have ourselves another tag match to close us out. It’s Gurv and Harv Sihra, The Bollywood Boyz against the completely random pairing of Sean Maluta and Ariya Daivari!
JT: Yeah that’s about as random as it gets. I’m interested to hear, considering Daivari was never high on the totem pole, the Bollywood Boyz were only ever henchmen and Maluta never did much in WWE, who won that match?
S: It was a fairly nothing match, basic as butter on toast really. Finish came when Harv hit a Top Rope Back Elbow to Maluta, followed up by an Elbow Drop from Gurv to get the win for the future muscle to Jinder Mahal. I didn’t have much to say because I don’t remember much from it, the weakest match of the three by a fine margin in my opinion.
JT: I mean no offense to the guys, but yeah that sounds about right.
S: And with that, my work here is done.
JT: Thank you Seán for this special report! Here at the Power Hour, we try to be thorough, even if it means watching extra matches with no stakes! And with that, I think we have covered just about everything we can cover except for the final.
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Cruiserweight Culmination
S: It has all come down to this, is it now time for us to get down to the Grand Finale of Season 3???
JT: Let me just check and see, I’m just gonna check through my notes real quick. Oh! Well, we can talk about how they stalled for a good 15 minutes before the main event, but that would just be more stalling by us. And I can sum up most of their stalling real quick. William Regal talks about putting the tournament together, mostly saying the same things we’ve said about this over and over, Finding people from different countries, who can stand it all, etc. Regal says he was envious of Cruiserweights because he could never match their abilities, he says everyone who has competed tonight is incredible, but to be the best Cruiserweight in the modern wrestling world, you have to be the best all around wrestler. Then Corey Graves comes down from out of the Control Center to say hi, and admit his brackets got busted when Ibushi went out. His favorite moment was Brian Kendrick’s final moments, and he closed things out by saying the Cruiserweights are in good hands with Raw. Riiiiight, sure Corey, whatever you say. So imagine that whole discussion but longer, and now everything is out of the way but the finale!!
S: IIIIIIIIIIT’S TIME!!!!! Also, gotta love Corey working us poor old naive fans that we were at the time into thinking that the Cruiserweights were going to be treated well on Raw of all places. Oh how naive.
JT: Poor souls never stood a chance. But they had one last trick to make it seem like things were gonna be okay, and that of course was by delivering a whopper main event tournament final! It’s TJ Perkins facing off against Gran Metalik, in the finals of the Cruiserweight Classic. We’ve got a 60 minute time limit on this one, and if the stakes are as high as can be.
S: We’ve had 30 tournament matches to review, 1 non-tournament match, 3 random bonus matches. A field of 32 gets cut in half round by round. 32 began this amazing tournament and now only 2 wrestlers remain! It’s TJ Perkins vs Gran Metalik! It’s the god damn FINALS OF THE CWC! LET’S DOOOOOOO THIIIIIS!
JT: For the second time this episode, HOLD ON A MINUTE PLAYA!! Because Triple H’s music hits! This is now a Triple Threat match!! God imagine if only. How perfectly that’d fit the pre-NXT view of Tri, if he came out in the finals of the big Cruiserweight tournament, inserted himself into the match and squashed both of them. Fucking imagine how annoyed people would be, they’d never let go off it. But that’s not why he’s here, is he Seán?
S: He’s not here to win the tournament, James. He’s only bloody here to make an announcement. A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT IN FACT!
JT: And what’s the announcement? Well TJ & Metalik are here to make history, as the two of the best in the world left standing. And as great as they both are, we’re all looking not for two but one, the one, for the one that will be the winner of the first Cruiserweights Classic. And winning the CWC just means that much more, because Triple H is looking for the one to go to Raw as the brand new Cruiserweight Champion!! The big purple belt is revealed, the winner of this will not only win the CWC but they will lead the brand on Raw as the rebooted Cruiserweight Champion. Both TJ and Metalik shake Triple H’s hand and look at the belt, and a chant of Thank You Hunter rings through Full Sail as the belt is raised. Whatcha think of that new Cruiserweight Championship?
S: I really like the belt not gonna lie. It’s a gorgeous looking belt if you ask me, I love the purple strap, it stands out so much as opposed to what the belts being used in WWE circa 2016. I really like the shape of the belt too, there’s a lot to it which is pretty great. Considering the Universal Title, or the big red logo belt debuted at SummerSlam a few weeks before this and it was massively shat on, anything other than that being revealed and it having a bit of creativity was always going to work for me.
JT: Purple is my favorite color, so I obviously was on board with this from the start. Now I will say, they probably could’ve made it even better by making the main plates have black and/or red accents to make it really pop since my only real criticism is that the silver is kind of plain. But otherwise, mwah!! Cool looking belt and it already establishes an identity for the new Cruiserweight brand. So with that, as well as the title of “Cruiserweight Classic winner” on the line, guess we’ve just gotta get right into this match and into the end of this arc!
S: Absolutely! I think it’s about time to get into the last chapter of this amazing arc!
JT: The bell rings and the match is on!!As they grapple, Bryan looks for signs of injury from both guys since they wrestled earlier and any injury can make a difference. Metalik was apparently watching TJ main event in Mexico while he was a young boy, but that doesn’t stop him from getting taken down to the mat with Perkins’s patented headscissor Takedown (with no dab).Metalik with a Headscissor of his own, slapping the back of Perkins to try and wear him down, but TJ turns him over and gets Pendulum Crab!! Real cool looking submission where he’s got the arms instead of Metalik’s legs for the Boston Crab. Metalik gets out, Leapfrogs TJ, front flips over him, Handstand Backflip zipping past TJ off the ropes, only for TJ to run and gets an Octopus Stretch in, then he drops him down and gets a Muta Lock in!! Once again Metalik escapes with the ropes, but this time TJP goes for a dive, only to land on the apron and get a dropkick to the knee from Metalik, causing him to fall off the apron, leaving him in the perfect position for a Suicide Dive!! Metalik rolls him in, goes up top, walks the top rope and leaps off with a Swanton Bomb!! He covers, 1–2—Kickout! TJ had a lot of good offense, but still the first major blow goes to Metalik!
S: I must say, I really like that Perkins didn’t hit a dab following the Headscissor Takedown, it really gets across the fact that the Final of this is a big fucking deal and even more so when the stakes are raised with the new Cruiserweight Championship now up for grabs.
JT: Yeah if he felt it wasn’t right to do in the Semis, he definitely wouldn’t do it now. Now is when he’s gotta focus up. He’s gonna need to focus now more than ever. Especially as Metalik has him right where he wants him, locking in a Modified Surfboard Stretch! He can’t keep the hold on, so Metalik sends Perkins across, but Perkins goes into the corner and does a handstand, catching Metalik with a Headscissors as he comes out. With Metalik standing up against the ropes, TJ goes up top and gets a Hurricanrana off the top to send both of them to the floor!! He then rolls Metalik back in and hits a Senton Atomico, but Metalik kicks out at 2. Snapmare, Dropkick to the back, another 2 count. TJ slows down the match briefly, controlling the pace and wearing down Metalik. He gets a Vertical Suplex and goes to follow up with a Back Suplex but Metalik lands on his feet. He doesn’t know where he is and TJ capitalizes with a European Uppercut, knocking Metalik back to the corner. TJ charges in but gets sent to the apron, landing, seemingly relaxed and catching his breath, only for Metalik to run and hurdle the top rope to hit a Hurricanrana that sends both of them to the floor!! TJ’s Hurricanrana to the floor was impressive but holy shit Gran Metalik is soooo good!!
S: It’s a proper thing of absolute beauty, it just looks fucking class. It’s the right kind of it looking proper death defying, daredevil like and it’s a move which is always going to get a huge reaction. Much like Ibushi’s middle rope German Suplex. Amazing to witness every time.
JT: And it’s genuinely just such an incredible piece of athleticism. Running and vaulting the ropes from that angle? Difficult already. But go do that, and then in one fluid motion swing your body so that TJ can go flying for the Rana is genuinely impressive stuff.
S: He’s just incredible really is Metalik. The stuff he’s busted out in this tournament has just been out of this world, a phenomenal athlete.
JT: After that move garners it’s well deserved holy shit chant, Gran Metalik isn’t done as he flies with that signature gorgeous Tope Con Hilo!! CWC chants from the happy crowd before he rolls TJ in and hits a Springboard Elbow Drop, 1—2—Kickout!! Now we get a Lucha Libre chant as Metalik tries to figure out how to put Perkins away. He goes for a Splash in the corner but TJ moves and sends him across but only for Metalik to go into the corner, to the middle rope and turn himself around to come back with a Missile Dropkick! He goes to follow up with a Standing Shooting Star Press, but TJ moves and goes for the Kneebar!! He’s got it partially applied, but can’t get it fully in as Metalik gets the ropes. Critical save by Metalik and TJ knows it, as he kicks at the knees as the both stand up. Metalik doesn’t take kindly to this at all, as he just swings and hammers him with one of the hardest chops I’ve ever heard. Like oh my god, I know Walter has killer chops, but the dude is huge! How does Metalik manage that much force and make that much sound?!?
S: I was absolutely stunned by the noise and the ferocity of those chops from Metalik like holy shit, those chops are absolutely lethal. Him and Pentagon Jr. are two wrestlers who I noticed like to do the old overhand chop and get a massive sound out of it. He just wellies TJ with them. It’s crazy.
JT: Yeah he definitely leaves TJ with some battle scars. They both trade those shots as they try to get up, TJ hits a Spin Kick, hits the ropes and comes back into a Superkick! Metalik hits the ropes now and he gets a Dropkick to the knee! Both men are down and exhausted, so says Bryan. TJ misses a splash in the corner and gets a Superkick from Metalik!! He goes for the Metalik Driver, TJ reverses and goes for the Detonation Kick, only for Metalik to turn it into a DDT!! He spikes Perkins, but has to crawl to get the cover, and Perkins kicks out at 2!! This is exactly what I hope to see when I see a DDT reversal, great sell by TJ and perfect timing by both guys to give it that real crisp snap.
S: Yeah this was a particularly lovely looking DDT too, what makes the reversal that much sweeter too is the number of reversals which happen right before we get the big reversal followed by the big move. You love to see it.
JT: You’re right about that, there was a real nice ebb and flow leading to the exclamation that was the DDT. So to follow it up, Metalik sets him up in the corner, he leaps for a Moonsault but Perkins gets his feet up and gets Metalik in the face! He goes behind and then gets the Dodon!! He covers, and as Metalik kicks out, he gets the Kneebar!! He manages to cross the legs over, and the fans plead for him not to tap!! He goes for the ropes, TJ pulls him back towards the center, only for Metalik to roll him up!! 1—2——Kickout!! They both rush up to their feet, Metalik gets up on his shoulders, and plants TJ down with the Metalik Driver!! This is academic!! But Metalik can’t cover immediately, as he’s clutching at his knee!! He gets himself over and covers, 1——2——KICKOUT!! TJ did what nobody else has done, he kicked out of the Metalik Driver!!
S: Double win right here with this near fall if you ask me. TJ becomes the only one of Metalik’s opponents throughout the CWC to kick out of the Metalik Driver but they also protect the move by having Metalik sell the knee for a few extra seconds after hitting the move. Tremendous stuff!
JT: And I just wanted to add, I kinda hate when that sort of sell happens, but it makes no sense too. Like in this case makes sense because in order to lift up TJ, he’d need to use his knee, and the stress of doing that quick lift up is what causes the knee to hurt and delay the pin!
S: Exactly! It’s not like when someone hits a move which doesn’t require the use of said injured body part at all and then sells like death afterwards before making the pin. This actually works.
JT: I will say, the worst is when it’s just “exhaustion” that makes them unable to cover. Don’t get me wrong, I still like that type of moment because selling of any kind is usually a good thing, but compared to something like this it feels forced.
S: Ohhhhh God! I fucking hate when they delay covers out of exhaustion, I’d imagine that they are nigh on being absolutely spent when it comes late into a match but the way it’s done is, as you said, very forced.
JT: And not to harp on it too long, but when someone like Cena does it, it stinks, because with something like AA, all he has to do is fall on them! But to deliver the move in one direction and then immediately fall back the opposite way, ack!!
S: Agreed and there’s been plenty times where Cena’s hit the AA and immediately covered them. As well as that, it’s a move which always keeps you close to the opponent upon hitting it. Unless he does the avalanche version.
JT: Anyways, back to the match at hand! We’ve got even support for both guys as the crowd chants for both guys. Both guys are on their knees trading blows, and once again Metalik is slapping the hell out of TJ, lighting up his chest just like before. He thinks it’s enough, as he tries to scoop him up for the Metalik Driver again, but TJ reverses out of mid air with an Arm Drag!! This sends Metalik right onto the ropes and TJ follows up and gets the Wrecking Ball Dropkick!! Perkins goes up top, but Metalik cuts him off with a Enziguri to the face and goes up top himself. He slaps TJP in order to get him up on his shoulders, looking for a Metalik Driver from the top, but as he starts to go off the top, TJ drops behind him, grabbing the leg and bringing Metalik to the mat!! He gets the Kneebar completely in!! Metalik is caught in the center of the ring!! He’s got no choice, and he taps out!! It’s over!! The Cruiserweight Classic is over, and the new Cruiserweight Champion and CWC winner is TJ Perkins!! Before we get caught up with the aftermath of this match and this tournament as a whole, what did you think of this finals match?
S: Again, just like with Ibushi and TJ Perkins beforehand with the Semi Finals, I really enjoyed this match. It was far better than what my smarky younger memory had served up at the time, the crowd were well into this one, far more into TJ than what I remembered too. It was a match that was really suitable for being a final. Like we were never going to get a thirty minute G1 Climax Finals epic from this decade but this match is still the longest of the tournament and that makes sense! The Finals should always be the longest in a tournament because it’s always the hardest obstacle. There were so many lovely spots, ebbs and flows, near falls, reversals and everything in between. The lads really delivered with this final, I must say. We’ll get into talking about the choice for the winner because that’s an entirely separate subject but it really did feel like a culmination, perhaps not the most fitting one but given the circumstances of Ibushi and Zack not wanting to sign. They did the best with two very good hands.
JT: Yeah again, we’ll have plenty to discuss about the winner himself, but I thought this match was pretty great. It had all the thrills, spills and chills you could need for a big story match like this. I will say, they didn’t have a real concrete story to this one, but they did a good job living off the excitement of the moment. They knew the fans would be all in on this no matter what and delivered a match that sent them home happy.
S: Yeah definitely, they really did well for themselves in this match given that almost everyone was expecting this to be Ibushi and Zack Sabre. It did give off the feeling of a Final while I was watching it too. It had all the small little elements which that kind of match would need.
JT: We also get post match celebration stuff too!! Perkins is very clearly emotional after the win, getting his arm raised and has the title strapped around his waist. He hugs Metalik, Metalik raises his hand in a showing of respect that signifies the CWC has been about the whole time. For the occasional hate Perkins got, he gets “You Deserve It” chants at the end as Triple H and William Regal raise TJ’s hands. TJ gets asked what it’s like to have won, and he tells a story of how he used to keep a key around his necklace, it was the key to the place he lived in before he was evicted and had to live on the streets. It was a reminder of a place he couldn’t go back to, and now it’s a place he doesn’t have to go to. He finally belongs. He’s so proud to have done something bigger than himself, that could inspire others like he was inspired himself. This was made by 32 people, this is for everyone. He stands on the top rope as confetti comes down to close the show and the tournament.
S: Not gonna lie, this was not a bad promo from TJ. As is tradition with this episode, I thought this promo was absolute rubbish and a pile of shite when I was younger but honestly. A very heartfelt promo in terms of what was said, fair play to him. A fitting end for the CWC in 2016.
JT: We will get to TJ’s disagreeable-ness later in this episode, but I agree that this was a good, genuine promo. You can criticize TJP for many aspects of his being, but overcoming homelessness is a heartwarming story regardless of who the person who overcomes it is. Nobody deserves that, and you can tell it means so much to have come so far since then.
S: I agree, like we all know the stupid opinions which he has but homelessness is something you’d never wish on anyone so it is a nice story that he managed to overcome it and now he’s gotten to this point.
JT: Congratulations to our winner TJ Perkins!! But before we wrap up his career going forward from this moment, I think we should leave the best for last. Therefore, we’re gonna go to the best of the rest, the CWC runner up, Gran Metalik!!
S: Let’s run down our final of 31 losing participants, take it away, James!
JT: Unfortunately the story of Gran Metalik is something we’ve already covered the majority of when we talked about Lince Dorado, as they were joined at the hip their whole WWE careers. But I will say, Metalik had the slightest bit more to do. So Metalik won his debut against Drew Gulak, then fought in the 4 Way that Kendrick won to get the first Cruiserweight Title shot in the new era, and competed in various multi-man matches throughout 2017. Then he joined up with the Lucha House Party, doing their thing together. He was eliminated by Cedric Alexander in the first round of the 2018 205 Live to WrestleMania tournament and by late 2018 he, Lince and Kalisto were brought to Raw, feuding with the various tag teams on the brand including The Revival. They feuded with Lars Sullivan in 2019 at Super Showdown, they fought in the Best Tag Team in the World Gauntlet at Crown Jewel, and were then drafted to SmackDown. They competed for the SmackDown tag titles throughout early 2020, and in July Metalik actually got a solo opportunity! He won a Fatal 4 Way to become #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship, but was defeated by AJ Styles. Why didn’t we get more matches like this during his run?? This was COOL!! Like, Carlito levels of Cool!! Well not quite that cool, especially since it was in the Thunderdome, but still!!
S: I honestly forgot that he got that brief singles opportunity, fucking hell! Just goes to show how much of a blur that empty arena and Thunderdome era of WWE was to me. I reckon why he got that shot though was because it was during the no crowd period and most likely due to Daniel Bryan being a big fan of his and he was actually on SmackDown creative at the time!
JT: Bryan is the goat in all facets honestly. Thanks for giving us a reminder 4 years later of how good Metalik is. So, Metalik and Lince split from Kalisto as they were drafted to Raw in the 2020 draft, and they then showed in NXT that December to take on Legado Del Fantasma. He challenged Santos Escobar for the Cruiserweight Championship on NXT’s New Year’s Evil in 2021. And not so fun fact time! This is the closest Metalik got to the Cruiserweight Championship since the CWC final!! This was the only (televised) Cruiserweight Title match he got his whole WWE tenure!! 4 years and he got one title shot!! How?!? Not even a “Buddy Murphy needs to extend his reign a month, have him beat Metalik with 2 weeks build”?
S: Wowwwwww, I never even thought of that until now but when I actually think back to his years in WWE, I’m not surprised in the slightest because he was oddly kept well away from the Cruiserweight Title and was part of the Lucha House Party for nearly three years. That’s fucking mental.
JT: Yeah it’s weird, it feels like they kept him kind of protected for a while, seemingly so that he can seem legit when he got a Cruiserweight Title feud, but he got grouped up and shipped out before that could happen! It just makes his legacy in WWE so weird because he was so great throughout the whole CWC, and then it feels like he went essentially his entire WWE run without getting do to anything.
S: And that’s exactly what his WWE run was. If you remember even when he had that Four Way match on Raw, he barely appeared on programming for months after that match. Like his entire run was basically just the child who has all the cool toys from across the world, Metalik is the toy that stands out, even among some really cool toys and yet that kid keeps him stashed away in a cupboard. Only to use that toy whenever his friends pester him to use it. That’s his WWE run.
JT: So Lince and Metalik faced and defeated Imperium in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Classic in 2021, but were defeated by Legado Del Fantasma in round two. Like his tag partner, he’d float around for the remainder of 2021, with both of them being two of only five active male wrestlers to not get drafted in the WWE draft. Of course, this probably had to do with Metalik asking for his release back in September. And finally, he got his release on November 4th 2021. His last match was also Lince’s, the September 13 taping of WWE main event, where they faced Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo. Though he hasn’t returned to the ring yet, he has tweeted “#Simba🦁 de regreso 😎” with video of him training in a ring. With “regreso” meaning “return” in Spanish, it’s safe to say that it’s in the cards that he’ll come back to the ring. When? Well his non-compete clause runs out at the end of February. Where? Well your guess is as good as mine. But it’s good to know that he will be back and hopefully, he’ll get the love he deserves for his craft when he does return.
S: Definitely, someone with the talent of Metalik or Mascara Dorada rather is that much of a brilliant talent to where he’s going to be guaranteed work where he goes. Most likely in Mexico with CMLL, in Japan with New Japan and probably in the States with PWG now up and running again and maybe even AEW in the future. I’m just saying if AEW gives a proper go at a Cruiserweight Division to help fill out the gaps with a lot of the lighter wrestlers on their roster, I think an AEW Cruiserweight Division is a possibility.
JT: Give us the Lio Rush match we never got! Give us him vs Dante Martin!! Give us Mascara Dorado against Daniel Garcia!! Or if they can pull it off, give us Lucha House Party against Lucha Bros in a match nobody realized we wanted until now! Or if he goes elsewhere, put him against Bandido ke Rey Horus or El Desperado or El Hijo del Vikingo!!
S: So basically what you’re saying is that there’s dream matches galore for Mascara Dorada? Because I’m well on board.
JT: He didn’t have a great WWE run, but he’s got so much he can do now that he’s out, and we greatly look forward to what he’s going to do next. But what about the winner of it all!! TJ Perkins, now Cruiserweight Champion and Cruiserweight Classic winner, whatever happened to him? Surely out of everyone we’ve talked about, he’s got his best foot going forward, right? Shall we get to our final career breakdown?
S: Let’s talk about the surely promising career that TJ Perkins has had. Devoid of any low points and controversy whatsoever!
JT: Let’s see how things unfolded for old Teddy P! As the Cruiserweight Champion, he was the face of the New Cruiserweight Division. There was a lot riding on his shoulders. And right off the bat, things were being adjusted, as TJ’s was given new video game chiptune style theme music and video game graphics on the set and the ramp. Essentially, his character became “gamer”. Uh oh. Not a promising start already.
S: He’s about to play us all like an N64. I’m pretty sure that was a line of his during his first few weeks. Bumpy start….
JT: I know WWE couldn’t run back the earnest underdog story he had during the CWC since A) The WWE main roster operates different than the CWC/NXT/pretty much everywhere else, and B) He already won the title. Like, most “underdog champions” kinda stink, it’s just incredibly hard to walk that line well. So I get why they changed things up and took his genuine love of video games as inspiration to try and make a relatable character but with the cheesy babyface material he was given, it was a struggle right out the gate.
S: It definitely was a struggle and tightly scripting their promos for him with all these video game nods wasn’t a help either. I do remember liking his 8-bit theme song and graphics, I always thought those were really damn cool. It’s just the character of being a gamer who’s also a champion that doesn’t work. That and the fact that commentary were trying to convince us that TJ is a youngling despite the fact he had just turned 32 years old by the time he debuted on Raw. Just reminds me of The Disaster Artist on the first day of shooting, Tommy Wiseau tells Josh Hutcherson that his character is meant to be his age, ie. 16 or 17 and Josh Hutcherson flat out says he’s 26. That’s the kind of scenario we’re in here!
JT: I mean TJ has a younger face but yeah, it doesn’t really work. You ever think that had Sabre or Ibushi had signed, things would’ve gotten off to a better start? Like, TJ won but it feels like if one of the two favorites had signed to be in WWE, they would’ve won the title right? Do you think they had a more inspired plan for them as Champion or do you think they were always gonna struggle with the big switch from Full Sail to Raw?
S: I do reckon that if Sabre or Ibushi signed on, they would’ve definitely been Champion within a few months to a year if you ask me but I also reckon that WWE would’ve squandered them in the long run.
JT: Considering all the guys we’ve talked about, including NXT fellas from our bonus episode, I’m inclined to agree. So of course we went over his first and only feud as Champion with Brian Kendrick, but I’ll rehash again. Brian gets a Title match at Clash of Champions 2016, TJ wins and Brian is sort of chivalrous in defeat. A few weeks later Kendrick fully turns heel on TJ to get a rematch. At Hell in a Cell, Brian fakes an injury enough to bait TJ in and force him to tap out with Bully Choke (rebranded as the Captain’s Hook). This really did TJ no favors, as his already weak character of “Gamer” wasn’t winning him any hearts and minds, and this loss really only portrayed him as gullible and naive. Only shortly after that feud ended and any of the momentum he had as a face petered out, he turned heel by going after Austin Aries, as his ring name shortened to TJP as really things were just sporadic for him. He’d work with Neville throughout 2017 early, only for Neville to turn on him as a way to write him off for knee injuries. On the bright side of things, TJP is a good ring name in my opinion. It’s what people call him anyways, this isn’t as big a deal as many other WWE ring name changes like the “Viking Experience”. On the other thing, like everything else about his run. Things almost immediately fell apart as soon as the CWC ended.
S: Yeah it was a very quick, sudden and swift decline from grace for TJP. It was a start for him which was so underwhelming to the point where he couldn’t recover and what makes it more damaging for him is that he was the first face of the division, they soured on him quickly and he lost the belt like fifty days after he won it. That Hell in a Cell show was in Boston and funnily enough, I was currently staying in Boston with my aunt’s family while this show happened!
JT: Ayy, Power Hour fun fact!! But as you said, what really hurt him was the fact he was “the face of division” and then they shelved him in two months. Getting such a distinguished title only to lose it so quickly would crater pretty much anyone’s career. So with all this in mind, I’ve got a proposition for you. What do you think about the idea of Rich Swann winning the whole CWC over TJP? Swann wins their QF match and everything else stays the same. Part of me feels like the new Cruiserweight division would’ve gotten off to a better start with Swann at the head of the pack instead, but what do you think? Am I just playing Monday Morning Quarterback and using hindsight to make this decision, or do you think Swann could’ve done better?
S: No I think you’re 100% right, I think Rich Swann would’ve flourished as the first champion and in a feud with Kendrick because I think Swann has the right amount of charisma which WWE would want in THEIR first Cruiserweight Champion in the revamp. WWE do want charismatic, fun characters that their fans could take to, added to the fact that he is a really damn exciting wrestler and Swann definitely is that. He would’ve been a perfect blend of charisma and a wrestling style which would get a reaction from the fans. Although TJ winning was much better received in the live audience than what I remembered it being, thinking of what a Metalik and Swann match would be like with a Swann victory would’ve been an even better decision if you ask me. I’ve been of the same opinion for the last five years, if not ZSJ or Ibushi, Swann’s the guy.
JT: Yeah TJP is a charismatic guy, but his charisma and energy can come off as heel-ish without the added promos and backstory. Swann’s energy is just so upbeat that I feel like he would’ve translated better immediately. I mean, that’s why he won the title by the end of the year! And I will say, having TJ as a heel isn’t a bad thing, I think he can pull off both sides of the spectrum competently, but having him turn so quickly after his big win is a death sentence.
S: Yeah it didn’t do him any favors to go from face Champion to being a cronie lackee for the top heel champion. It was a mighty quick downfall.
JT: Maybe if he had a chance to prove he had helped Neville in order to get himself a title shot, that could’ve worked, but alas he has hurt and gone before something like that could happen. So, after his injury, he’d return still as a heel in early 2018, beating Tyler Bate in the CW Tournament but losing to Cedric Alexander next round. He’d hang around and chase the title throughout the year, eventually teaming with Mike and Maria Kanellis for a period. He’d compete in the World’s Collide Tournament of 2019, losing to NXT’s Dominick Dijakovic in the first round. In February, he’d lose to Humberto Carilllo and that would be his last WWE match. Though he was released as part of a major release spree that’s become all too come, he had not asked for his release like others, according to Dave Meltzer (so grain of salt) he was released due to “disciplinary measures”. TJ claims that “I had told them a year before that it was my primary note. Well my primary note was that I felt like I was unhappy, but like, I wasn’t contributing anymore. I didn’t want to waste resources to Vince and to the company, and I told him, I said, ‘Look, I’m wasting your money. I don’t want to waste your time, and I’m not happy.’ I’m not the type of person that is complacent that way”. I’d say this point, it’s just a matter of whose words you trust more.
S: I remember hearing that the reason he got released was because he got a load of tattoos without asking for permission to change up his look because that’s a rule within WWE because if you remember, he went away for a bit, came back with a fucking rake of tattoos and then he was out the gap.
JT: Well, all that we know for certain is that he was out of there. Crazy to think that the winner of the CWC honestly had one of the shorter runs of the guys to get to WWE. Like only 2016 to barely the start of 2019? Not what I would’ve expected after seeing how his CW turned out.
S: Yeah for real, he was in WWE for about two and a bit years and my god most of that time was him literally kicking stones and spinning his wheels for 90% of it.
JT: Anything can happen in wrestling. So TJP took the next logical step for his career and returned to the independent scene. The main place I want to focus on is his run in Impact, returning under the TJP to defeat Ace Austin on a 2019 episode of TV. He followed that up with an unannounced appearance at Slammiversary XVII in a 4 Way, losing but not getting pinned. He teamed with Fallah Bahh in a feud against Michael Elgin in the fall before going on to chase the X Division Title in the Spring. He tried on multiple occasions, but the result didn’t come, ultimately losing a match against Champion Rohit Raju that had the stipulation that TJP couldn’t challenge for the title again. Of course, there was all a storyline setup for the return of Manik to Impact as a loophole for TJP to challenge again. And this time, when challenging as Manik at Final Resolution 2020, he won the X Division Title for the 2nd time in his career, since he wasn’t “TJP”. This led to a couple months of Raju and Chris Bey trying to prove it was him, but never managing to do so. Honestly, that’s a fun story and I like it. Very Blue Blazer, minus the, well…y’know.
S: Yeah of course minus the obvious but it’s a story which is just perfect for comedic moments, heel buffoonery and daft storyline points. I do like how they went full Blue Blazer with it all, great stuff.
JT: Still, he ended up losing the title to Ace Austin at Sacrifice, ending his reign at 92 Days, and in 2021 he was removed from the company’s website, though he says he was never under contract with impact and thus had no contract to be released from. So mutual parting of ways rather than a release. And just like that, that’s all for his Impact run! But this isn’t the end of his story, as while working with Impact he also wrestled for New Japan in 2019, as part of their Super J Cup. He defeated young lion Clark Connors in Round One but was defeated in the second round by eventual winner El Phantasmo. He spent the next few years as a part of multi-man tag matches, especially on NJPW US shows. Although, he did have a big break earlier in 2021, as he turned heel and joined Will Ospreay and his United Empire faction in September 2021. Boy, if that ain’t the shittest pairing of buffoons I’ve ever seen. When it happened and people talked about it, I assumed it was a joke, like someone wryly saying “Ohhhh yeahhh, let’s tootally have Ospreay & Perkins team up, that’ll put butts in the seats!”.
S: “Let’s pair up two of the biggest and most renowned absolute fucking arseholes in wrestling! They’ll share plenty of distasteful conversations together!”. In the words of Poet from Poet and Vuj; stinker.
JT: His most recent match was a loss to Ken Broadway at House of Glory’s For The Glory show back on November 12th. Oh and of course, an undercurrent of this whole season has been Seán and I more or less undercutting TJP, and starting every compliment we had about with words like “Although” and “Despite”. And it’s not just us, when you hear TJP’s name now, I think the general consensus is less positive than in years past. Why is that? Well, he is someone whose reputation is worse off because of his online presence. He is not afraid to argue with people, and as such has been derided on twitter on more than a few occasions. I think it’s fair to say he’s one of the more loathed wrestling personalities on Twitter. For example, he got clapped by The Rock after TJ took a sly dig at him, saying that The Rock’s quote of “Always be the hardest worker in the room” is something real hard workers don’t have to say. The Rock then said he had never heard of him, so ouch. He’s claimed to read fanfiction featuring him and a female coworker, which is weird as hell. He’s made comments about how Charlotte & Sasha Banks main event Raws in 2016 took away opportunities from men and has said other vague men’s right stuff, which is lame as fuck. Paige once alleged in a tweet that he DMs underage girls, which is uhhhh. He has also said suspect things about the effectiveness of vaccines and general conspiracies about COVID. This led to a fun TikYok where on a New Japan show, someone yelled “HEY TJ WRESTLE IF YOU THINK COVID IS REAL” at the start of the match, and then TJ angrily stared at the guy for 30 seconds straight. Although I think the original got taken down because TikTok is a hellscape and/or NJPW always sick the dogs on any use of their content in any way. But it’s no wonder people were rolling their eyes not only at NJPW booking him at all, but booking him and pairing him up with Ospreay.
S: Yeah it’s taken us a full damn season for us to get to this point but we’ve finally made it to the very loathed real personality of TJP himself. I mean he’s just said and supported so many fucking dumb ass things in the last, God, six or seven years. He’s not a nice or good guy, he’s probably just as problematic as Jack Gallagher in that sense. I’ve heard the stories of him texting underage girls on all sorts of platforms alright, didn’t know Paige had called him out on it though, good on her. I’ve known of those misogynistic comments of his that he’s made since like 2016 actually when Solomonster brought it up on one of his podcasts back in the day. That TikTok I didn’t know about though and honestly, that sounds fucking hilarious and I wish I could’ve been in attendance for that moment.
JT: Yeah unless the underage stuff is true, he’s not “the worst” person we’ve covered in this season, but he is one of the most obnoxious. Dude never shuts up and never says anything worth listening to. So it figures that as the Cruiserweight division struggled after the CWC, it makes sense that there would be asterisks next to the name of the winner of the whole damn thing. Just a perfect summation of why this tournament is just so interesting to come back to after all this time.
S: It really does make for such an interesting revisit though, for the better and for the worse. The better for the reason that it is a really cool thing to see that WWE put on a fucking 32 Man Tournament specifically for Cruiserweight wrestlers and for the worse because some horrible auld fuckers are in it. It’s so fascinating in every category to revisit.
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Powering Down
JT: And just like that, that’s a wrap on the CWC Finals, and the Power Hour’s Review of the CWC as a whole!! Now before we get into all our very final breakdowns for wrestlers, matches, and MVPs, I say we should do just a quick little conclusion to the finals with a lightning round of MOTN and MVP. Seán, why don’t you just drop both real quick, so we can get onto the juicer seasonal stuff? After all, we have only a few names to work with this time.
S: Alright so I’ll make this as quick as I can so I’ll say my Match of the Night has got to be TJ Perkins and Kota Ibushi, real belter of a match. MVP for this show, gotta be Metalik if you ask me.
JT: We’re on the same page again! Perkins/Ibushi was my favorite match of the night, as even though every match had solid action tonight, that crowd was sooooo fucking hot for this one that it puts it over the top. And Metalik also nets my MVP for the finals, on the basis of quantity over quality. His match against ZSJ was nothing to sneeze at, and honestly my favorite parts of the final came from him. All that high flying and chops won me over big time.
S: Yeah he really had his fucking working boots on that night because he was on his A game really. Nothing bad I can say about him except wow and that the rest of the wrestling world is going to be blessed to have him on their shows whenever he’s able to because he is an absolutely amazing wrestler.
JT: Alright, now it’s time to get to the juiciest stuff. Seán, I want you to give me your finalists for Match of the Arc. What made the cut, which matches were the very best from this arc?
S: Wow, now this is definitely a fucking tricky one to call now that you bring it up, you’re hitting me hard with this one. Straight out of the blocks with the big questions. So I guess I’ll give you my shortlist or medium list for what made the cut for my Match of the Season. So if I’m to go from round by round then from Round 1 we have Lince Dorado vs Mustafa Ali, Raul Mendoza vs The Brian Kendrick and Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa. From the Last 16 I have as follows, Zack Sabre Jr. vs Drew Gulak and Cedric Alexander vs Kota Ibushi. From the Quarter Finals I have Rich Swann vs TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick vs Kota Ibushi. From the Live Finale I have Kota Ibushi vs TJ Perkins from the Semi Finals and of course, our finals of TJ Perkins vs Gran Metalik. Special mentions as well to Cedric Alexander vs Clement Petiot, Fabian Aichner vs Jerkass Jack, Zack Sabre Jr. vs Noam Dar and Gran Metalik vs Zack Sabre Jr. too!
JT: Props on you for keeping track to the rounds! In the spirit of things, I have kept tabs on all the matches from this tournament! I will drop the list in total once we each give our final MOTA, but for now I’ll give you all my top 5!! You’ve got Brian Kendrick vs Raul Mendoza, Lince Dorado vs Mustafa Ali and Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa from the first round, Kota Ibushi vs Cedric Alexander from Round 2, and Kota Ibushi vs Brian Kendrick from the Quarter Finals!! Kinda funny how nothing from the Semi-Finals or the Finals even made it, but it goes to show how when you wrestle the best matches, it’s just the best, even if it’s not the biggest.
S: Now that’s a tasty top five if I’ve ever seen one. I definitely think Lince and Ali was a top five match for me in all honesty, in just under six minutes they went out there and fucking burned it down like they only could. There’s a big old reason why Mustafa Ali was signed after one match, people. So is this top five in order or is that in no particular order now, James?
JT: No, but I’ll give you it right now! Number 5, Brian Kendrick vs Raul Mendoza!! There’s a reason I kept track of Mendoza through years of NXT squashes, this match made sure I wouldn’t forget him, no matter how many matches he lost!
Number 4, to my own surprise honestly, Ibushi vs Kendrick!! I thought this was going to be the MOTA before we even started, but 3 matches managed to surpass it!
Number 3, Lince vs Ali!! Honestly just one of my favorite matches under 10 minutes ever. Just an incredible stocking stuffer of a match!!
Finally, after a lot of internal debate, I decided my favorite match of the arc. Getting the silver medal, and a 5 Star Match in its own right, Ibushi vs Alexander!! And that means my Match Of The Arc is none other than Gargano vs Ciampa!!
I think what ultimately proved to me that this was my favorite of the whole Tournament was despite the fact I knew what their series of matches would become, and the faults that are so baked into their styles, I still enjoyed it so much. Like the idea of another match between them makes me look like the guy who got a whiff of SpongeBob & Patrick’s rancid breath in Season 2’s “Something Smells”, and yet I still wholeheartedly enjoyed this one. It goes to show that sometimes people build ugly houses on rock solid foundations.
S: Very good decision, James. I respect the fact you went with my boy John Boy in your MOTS/MOTA, it’s a wonderful thing to hear. I’m stuck with what I should go for in terms of my best match award, it’s a real toughie is this one. I definitely agree with your top five though, sorry for being unoriginal folks but it’s the definitive list if you ask me. My Match of the Tournament/Season/Arc for me has got to be…. Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa! I mean it’s just a fucking brilliant match when you watch it back, given all the divisive stuff which would happen with their later matches for the next few years, this match is really a reminder of just how the perfect groundwork was laid out with this match. It was an amazing building block in what should have been the perfect wrestling story. Congratulations guys, you’ve earned this award from us two!
JT: Now, let’s get done to our MVPs for the Arc!! Once again, I’m gonna go with a Top 5, in alphabetical order to keep my ultimate list under wraps just a little longer. Shoutout to the likes of Gargano, Ciampa, Ali, and Cedric who did damn well with the time they had but just didn’t have enough time to beat out the best of the best. And those best of the best are: Brian Kendrick, Gran Metalik, Kota Ibushi, Rich Swann and Zack Sabre Jr!!
S: Yeah honestly the same as you in terms of my shortlist for the MVPs. The two best losing Quarter Finalists were absolutely Swann and Kendrick who were both brilliant throughout the tournament. The three others you mentioned, I agree with too. I think Zack personally would be the bottom of the three Finale wrestlers if you ask me, just because I felt that Metalik and Ibushi were more consistent in the quality of the matches they had despite the fact that Zack vs Gulak was a killer match. If I’m to narrow it down to three wrestlers for my MVP shortlist, it’s gotta be Kota Ibushi, Gran Metalik and Brian Kendrick.
JT: Yeah let’s be real, I as much as Zack and Swann were good, those 3 were the actual ones with the inside track. And I’ll be honest, I really thought Kendrick was gonna be the one at a point. And as much as I love his match with Ibushi, I can’t have him over the other half of his match who had another 2 this tournament. So really, my decision came down to either Metalik or Ibushi. Metalik was someone who quite literally did nothing wrong the whole tournament. I think I enjoyed everything he did. But man, I just feel like he was almost cursed by his consistency. Like round after round he had a good match, but I don’t think he ever had the best match in any individual round. Lots of great matches, and it’s incredible stuff on his own, but when it comes to stories, I think Ibushi was just blessed with better stuff. He had 2 of the best 5 with Kendrick & Cedric, and he had the MOTN in the finals. Even though he didn’t win it all, Kota Ibushi is my MVP this season. It was very close, but the Golden Star outshone everyone in the end.
S: James, a very respectful opinion on your end and that’s why… I have to agree with you! Much like yourself, I did think that Brian Kendrick was going to be the outright MVP from when we started this. Metalik was honestly flawless throughout this tournament and with him and Kendrick, I could have either of them at two or three. Kota Ibushi was just fantastic throughout the whole thing man, although Metalik was extremely consistent in being awesome. Ibushi felt like had either the match of a certain round or on Finals Night or was either a strong contender for a best match award. I mean, I’m pretty sure he won three of my four best match awards and much like The Motor City Machine Guns in Season 2 and Brock Lesnar in Season 1, the most excellent performers tend to be our MVPs. Kota Ibushi takes home the coveted Power Hour Season 3 MVP for me!
JT: Now for completion’s sake, here’s my ranking of every match from the CWC:
31. Anthony Bennett vs Tony Nese
30. Drew Gulak vs Harv Sihra
29. Akira Tozawa vs Kenneth Johnson
28. Noam Dar vs Gurv Sihra
27. Noam Dar vs Hoho Lun
26. Zack Sabre Jr vs Tyson Dux
25. Hoho Lun vs Ariya Daivari
24. Rich Swann vs Jason Lee
23. Gran Metalik vs Tajiri
22. Gran Metalik vs Alejandro Saez
21. TJ Perkins vs Da Mack
20. TJ Perkins vs Johnny Gargano
19. Brian Kendrick vs Tony Nese
18. Gran Metalik vs Akira Tozawa
17. Rich Swann vs Lince Dorado
16. Tajiri vs Damian Slater
15. Zack Sabre Jr vs Noam Dar
14. Jack Gallagher vs Fabian Aichner
13. Kota Ibushi vs Sean Maluta
12. Cedric Alexander vs Clement Petiot
11. TJ Perkins vs Rich Swann
10. Gran Metalik vs Zack Sabre Jr
9. TJ Perkins vs Gran Metalik
8. Kota Ibushi vs TJ Perkins
7. Akira Tozawa vs Jack Gallagher
6. Zack Sabre Jr vs Drew Gulak
5. Brian Kendrick vs Raul Mendoza
4. Kota Ibushi vs Brian Kendrick
3. Lince Dorado vs Mustafa Ali
2. Kota Ibushi vs Cedric Alexander
1. Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa
And here’s my ranking of every wrestler (based on their matches not as people, obviously):
32. Anthony Bennett
31. Kenneth Johnson
30. Harv Sihra
29. Gurv Sihra
28. Tyson Dux
27. Alejandro Saez
26. Sean Maluta
25. Hoho Lun
24. Jason Lee
23. Damian Slater
22. Da Mack
21. Ariya Daivari
20. Clement Petiot
19. Raul Mendoza
18. Fabian Aichner
17. Tony Nese
16. Noam Dar
15. Mustafa Ali
14. Lince Dorado
13. Drew Gulak
12. Tajiri
11. Jack Gallagher
10. Akira Tozawa
9. Tommaso Ciampa
8. Johnny Gargano
7. Cedric Alexander
6. TJ Perkins
5. Rich Swann
4. Zack Sabre Jr
3. Brian Kendrick
2. Gran Metalik
1. Kota Ibushi
S: James, I must say that list you’ve provided us just goes to show why you are the absolute workhorse of all workhorses. That is fucking class on your part. You’ve outdone yourself yet again, outdone yourself for the right reasons. I’d agree that the Nese and Bennett match was the weakest of all 31 matches because of how it completely fell off but man, those lists I’m going to read over and over again. Brilliant stuff, my man.
JT: And to close things out, I’ve got one more list idea. How about we run through everyone and just lay out, where are they now? We’ve done full run downs, but for posterity’s sake, let’s just see how many of these guys are left in WWE!
S: Ohhh wow, BONUS ROUND BABY. This should be interesting, but also sad…
JT: Ok here’s the breakdown:
So first off, only one member of the CWC is a full time member of the AEW Roster: Tony Nese! Although Ariya Daivari & Sean Maluta have made appearances. Likewise, Daivari has made an appearance for New Japan Pro Wrestling, but only Kota Ibushi, TJ Perkins and Zack Sabre Jr are full time roster members. Then there’s Rich Swann, who is in an odd place, in Impact. And though it’s a funny company, I mostly mean a company that’s bigger than just the worldwide Indy scene but is also definitely smaller than WWE, AEW & NJPW.
Speaking of the Indies, nearly half of the total field have found themselves on what I’ll generalize as the “Worldwide Indies”. They’re not all stuck in tiny bingo halls, but none of them are in the biggest companies in their areas. Those guys are as follows: Alejandro Saez, Anthony Bennett, Ariya Daivari, Clement Petiot, Da Mack, Damian Slater, Gurv Sihra, Harv Sihra, Hoho Lun, Jason Lee, Kenneth Johnson, Sean Maluta, Tajiri and Tyson Dux. Then there’s the folks whose careers, well, we’ll have to see. Those include Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, and most interestingly, Johnny Gargano. Oh, and then there’s Jack Gallagher, who is deservingly out of wrestling. Rot you creep.
That leaves Akira Tozawa, Brian Kendrick (Retired), Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, Fabian Aichner, Mustafa Ali, Noam Dar, Raul Mendoza and Tommaso Ciampa remaining in WWE. That’s a total of 9 guys left in WWE out of all 32 to show up, for a total of 28% overall. Oh and the remaining bunch out of everyone to make multiple appearances for WWE? That was 21 people. And if you’re only counting “mainstays”, they’ve officially lost more than they’ve kept. I named the 9 left, but they’ve lost/fired 10 people who were either part of 205 Live or NXT for a significant time.
S: You know it’s funny that you brought up how many of the CWC field were left standing in WWE because while the mass releases were happening throughout this year while we were reviewing this tournament, I did find myself researching and counting how many of them were still with WWE. You sit back and think that nine is actually not a bad number for a tournament which happened half a decade ago, but then you remember that number was a lot higher a few months after this happened and as far back as the end of 2018. There’s been a seismic shift in terms of the WWE roster like.
JT: Plus not to be Debbie Downer, but the likes of Tozawa, Gulak and Alexander are hardly doing anything all that important at this stage of things. So they’re in WWE but they’re not really mainstays of programming and because of that, we don’t know how much longer they will be in WWE.
S: Yeah definitely, if you ask me it’s only a matter of time before they get released by WWE. It’s a real shame but like that’s how I see it panning out for them.
JT: So I only have a few final things to say before we put this whole Season of the Power Hour to bed. Mainly, how do you think it’s been received by fans and by the WWE itself. I’ll start, and I’ll start by saying though I can’t necessarily pin who thought what on specific people, I think WWE as a whole really just saw it as a means to an end. Like it gave them an avenue to a bunch of people they’ve had their eyes on, while filling up the roster for a new division they thought they could make money off of. I’m sure people really valued the idea of having this big, exciting tournament, especially with how they kept calling this “The first CWC” but ultimately I think it was about making a roster first and foremost. It was just all a big elaborate market testing scheme, to see who fans responded to, who wanted to work for them, and who they could push once they made the Cruiserweight Division a thing again.
S: Agreed, this was absolutely something which WWE saw as a means to increase their ever growing roster and a test run for something which they could use on their flagship programming. It was a big old survey to see if a Cruiserweight Division could work again and judging by this, the answer was a resounding and a unanimous yes. The test was carried out and it passed with flying colors.
JT: On top of that, they’d then copy the formula in order to fill up their Women’s Division only a year later with the Mae Young Classic. And as further proof that it was all a big old talent search and branding thing, they did two MYC and still haven’t done another CWC. They got the people they needed and moved on to promoting that “Actually despite decades of moments that say otherwise, we actually care a lot about how Women are treated in our company!”.
S: Yeah it’s all fucking corporate shite behind their decisions and if you ask me, they’ll have no plans to do another Cruiserweight Classic as long as the current regime is in charge of WWE and looking at NXT 2.0 at the moment, it’s looking as if the Cruiserweight Division is going to be no more sooner or later with the impending Cruiserweight and NXT North American Title Unification Match coming up between Roderick Strong and Carmelo Hayes.
JT: It’s a shame but that’s how it’s looking. Once again WWE gave Cruiserweights the old college try and decided “Nah, doesn’t make money”. So I’ll use this to transition and just ask you what your overall opinions on how this whole new era of Cruiserweights has gone. What’s the good, what’s the bad, any major takeaways. Because ultimately that’s what this was all for, it was to build a fresh, new Cruiserweight brand in WWE, polished by NXT and free of the old stink.
S: I think there were a lot of positives and negatives with it if you ask me. It had its tricky beginnings when they started having them wrestle like main roster guys from 2005 with a few spots in there but when Neville came on the scene and had himself a killer run for eight months but then Enzo happened and I don’t disagree with having him in there because the Cruiserweight Division could’ve done with someone who was popular with the fans like he was at the time. However the match quality was lacking because he isn’t the most graceful wrestler, he can bump like a damn boss and was a good tag wrestler with Big Cass too. Then the whole scandal with him being released to do with the rape allegations and him being a general fuckhead backstage supposedly. With Enzo being released, 205 Live got a real boost so they did and had a real solid year long run on top with Cedric as Champion for the guts of six months with a great supporting cast behind him. Another great big positive was Buddy Murphy’s reign as The Juggernaut of 205 Live, I was a huge mark of his at the time so seeing him being unleashed was pretty awesome to see. After his reign, things on 205 Live really fizzled out on the main roster which had it put over to NXT, which could have been fantastic but NXT went live and the cracks were beginning to become more and more apparent with the weekly TV product. One of the final positives of the Cruiserweight revamp was definitely Santos Escobar as Cruiserweight Champion, what a fucking run he had, honestly. He just had some brilliant matches and legitimized himself to the point where he should be making the jump up to the main event of NXT soon. After his reign though, there’s really been a lack of focus on the Cruiserweight Division as a whole, which has been the case since late 2019 when 205 Live became a really dead weekly TV show. So much to the point where it got cut down to being a half an hour show. It’s been a slow demise caused by neglect, much like if you left a Tamagotchi and gave up on it but the poor thing just survived on mere scraps.
JT: Yeah it had its ebbs and flows. It started off iffy, picked up with Neville, dropped back down with Enzo and the subsequent stuff after his release, went back up with the tournament and Buddy Murphy’s reign, back down after Buddy lost it to Tony Nese. It was less about Nese and the guys who held it after him, but more so a loss of vision for the division. A couple guys held it and lost it over a couple month period, then Jordan “Dickhead” Devlin won it, which only fucked things up further with COVID and the interim Champion situation. Santos did well with what was given to him, and now it’s back on death’s door like you mentioned earlier. Roddy is a good dude and I think he’s been a good champion, but I think it’s clear they think he’s bigger than just a Cruiserweight. Especially since he’s got a faction of not Cruiserweights around him.
S: Exactly, he’s the cornerstone of a new faction in NXT, finally at the forefront of a faction/angle instead of being the Number 2/3 to Adam Cole in the Undisputed Era and we all know that there’s bigger things on the horizon for him. As well as that, he’s got a lack of a supporting cast in the Cruiserweight division to really challenge him, like it’s bad when Joe Gacy challenges for the Cruiserweight Championship and he’s clearly not a Cruiserweight wrestler.
JT: Yeah they’ve frankly stopped caring about the division, and as soon as they just put it to rest, the better honestly. I’m not gonna say Cruiserweight wrestling doesn’t matter anymore, but in today’s wrestling weight and height seem way less important, and when you can have bigger guys doing crazier athletic stuff than ever before, maybe you should just put the division out of its misery if you’re not gonna treat it like it’s special.
S: Agreed, it does look like the Cruiserweight Division is going to be put to rest very soon by the looks of things but honestly, I think there’s always a place for a Cruiserweight Division in wrestling if you ask me. I personally feel that a designated Cruiserweight Title or Division is something which can really help establish spots for a lot of wrestlers on your roster, it’s helped establish places on the card for Impact Wrestling’s roster for almost twenty years with the X-Division. It shouldn’t be seen as something which should be seen as one foot in the grave which was a narrative that WWE really wanted fans to think. In my opinion, I see any form of Cruiserweight Divisions as an important fairly modern tradition in wrestling which I believe has not been treated with care for a long time by WWE and later WCW in 1999-2000. It’s something which should be respected and honored if you ask me.
JT: Luckily, we’re in an age when fans definitely respect it. And I agree, I think making it the work rate division for younger wrestlers is good to help establish younger stars. AJ Styles really is the perfect model. You throw him in your equivalent of a Cruiserweight Division, let him get over for being an athletic talent, let them hone their skills on the mic, and slowly elevate them up the card until you’ve got yourself a main eventer. I mean, AJ was around in early TNA so it didn’t go quite like that, but it was mostly what happened. Damn you Russo.
Ruining our perfect example. Oh! Maybe you can do it more like Chris Jericho! Plucky good guy, shows his skills as a Cruiserweight, turned heel and showed off more character, moved up from the Cruiserweights and then started to fight for the regular midcard titles, before slowly creeping his way into the main event scene. Again that took some company hopping to happen, but that’s essentially how things went.
S: Exactly, sure with AJ, if I remember correctly he was NWA-TNA Champion in about 2003. Long before he was ready for it but at least they weren’t afraid to give it a go at the time. Jericho in 1997 and 1998 WCW was just a perfect place for him to help build his character before going to WWE. A perfect 21st Century example of how you establish a Cruiserweight into the Heavyweight scene was how WWE used Rey Mysterio once he signed. He was a Cruiserweight wrestler who was mostly fighting for that title but he was in and around every title scene outside of the usual one. I just loved how he would be fighting for the Cruiserweight and Tag Team Titles and facing all the big guys there were. Perfect use of a Cruiserweight.
JT: Now that’s a good one! Yeah he was going against heavyweights all the time as a tag champ and with Edge and Eddie. And I know his rise to the main event wasn’t exactly consistently built up, but if you ask me, he was always gonna get there at some point. He had the look, he sold the merch, if 2006 hadn’t been his trial run as a top champion it would’ve happened at some point later down the road.
S: Absolutely, he was always going to be the top champion of either brand given how much of a merchandise seller and how popular he was with the crowds everywhere he performed. Even with Vengeance 2003, I loved how he and Kidman, while Rey is Cruiserweight Champion and Kidman is also a Cruiserweight, are going after Haas and Benjamin. Love the story of the Cruiserweights making a jump up for the Tag Titles. It’s another problem which WWE had with their 205 Live brand, they never ever, maybe once in a blue moon they would allow the Cruiserweights to interact or compete with the wrestlers of Raw or SmackDown but no, they’re kept separate and segregated like a bunch of unwanted misfits. Like the Remedial class in Malcolm in the Middle.
JT: Even when they were on Raw, they made sure to make the ring ropes and mat change color, just so you know it’s the Cruiserweights. WWE doing that was like the kid you had to make sure their food cannot touch on their plate or else they’ll have a meltdown. NO, THE CRUISERWEIGHTS CAN’T TOUCH THE MAIN EVENT, IT’LL MAKE ROMAN ALL SOGGY!!!
S: SURE THE CRUISERWEIGHTS WILL ONLY MAKE BRAUN AND ROMAN SHRINK IN SIZE IF THEY’RE TO SHARE THE SAME RING MAT. CHANGE IT, CHANGE IT NOW GOD DAMMIT!
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JT: And with that, I think we’ve said all we’ve needed to say. That’s a wrap on this season of the JT & Seány McPower Hour!! The Cruiserweight Classic 5 years later is now officially in the books!! I hope you all had as fun of a time reading it as we had writing it!!
S: James, I must say that it’s been an absolute blast of a trip down memory lane rewatching and reviewing what really is a modern gem in professional wrestling. We pitched this in for Season 3 by the time we had wrapped up Season 1! Imagine that? We plan things out in advance here at Power Hour HQ, peeps. We both had been absolutely giddy to review this for a long while and I must say that it’s been an amazing time doing it with you.
JT: It was absolutely worth all the time and effort we took to take notes, plan and write these episodes, because the wrestling itself was an absolute blast. The CWC had a special place in my heart before this, and revisiting only re-cemented itself as something special. The only question now for the Power Hour is well, what’s next?
S: Well James, it’s good that you mention that because we do have Season 4 locked in and ready to review buuuuuuuut we’re not going to reveal it all to you guys juuuuust yet. Instead what we’ve got planned for our next review is a bonus episode but this time, there’s a twist! Each of us are suggesting our own shows for you people to vote for on Twitter!
JT: That’s right!! After this episode comes out, we will post on our Twitters @IlikeJamesTooo and @SeanMcL2000 a poll where you, our dear readers, can decide which bonus episode we will do! So I’m sure you’re wondering, what will you get to choose between?
S: Well the choices you have are as follows; Option A is JT’s pick, whatever that may be (find out soon). Option B will be my pick, which you will find out soon and Option C is YOUR CHOICE. That’s right, you will get to suggest a show for us to review, which is fairly easy to access of course. So we’ll put a tweet out for you to suggest up to three shows for us to review which we haven’t done so yet. So James, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your show which you are suggesting for the first ever Power Hour Boy’s Picks?
JT: Well, my pick is one that I think is fitting given all the subject matter we just covered for the last year. We talked about how the Cruiserweight Classic was meant to be a historic moment, where Cruiserweight wrestling mattered again, and now 5 years later it looks to be on the way out again. So my thought process is this: Let’s examine the place of its death in its past life!! That’s right I am nominating The Great American Bash 2007!! We’ll see the last Champion of the original WWE Cruiserweight Title lineage crowned, we’ll see matches for the ECW, World Heavyweight and WWE Titles, as well as a load of other wacky 2007 shit!! When the un-televised dark match is Chuck Palumbo vs Chris Masters, you know that we’re in for quite the time!!
S: Oh my god!!! What a fucking suggestion that is! I was not expecting that at all and I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised, you’re going for my era of 2007 and you’re not going to believe me James but I’ve also gone for the era of 2007 for my next pick hahahaha. Since it is Royal Rumble season coming up, I’m going for the Royal Rumble which is one of my personal favorites. Featuring hidden gems such as The Hardy Boyz vs MNM and John Cena vs Umaga in a killer Last Man Standing Match, as well as a fantastic Royal Rumble match. My suggestion is the 2007 Royal Rumble, the 20th Annual Edition!!!
JT: And of course, Option C is up to you! Just make sure to select Option C in our polls and comment on your pick for the bonus episode! If one show gets mentioned a bunch or if one comment suggesting a show gets a lot of likes and Option C wins, that’ll be the pick. Really the only limitation on what you can pick is just down to accessibility. If Seán and I can get to it, we will watch and review it by Jove! So make your voices heard, vote for your favorite of the 3 options, and we’ll be back again in no time! But for now, this is the end of Season 3, and the end of our episode!!
S: It’s been nothing short of an emotional affair! An emotional arc which has been some of the most fun I’ve had watching wrestling and that’s aided by the fact that not a lot in modern wrestling makes me really happy and not gonna lie, doing this has made me really happy to be a wrestling fan.
JT: Me too, it’s been a fun ride. And now, this is goodbye from me James!
S: And a Feliz Navidad and a Happy New Year from me Seán.
JT: And this holiday season, make sure to keep merrily rolling down the line!!
S: Cue the big train ya filthy animal!
The JT & Seány Mc Power Hour 