Previously on the WWE Cruiserweight Classic: Tajiri and Gran Metalik threw it back to the days of old-school ECW, while Kota Ibushi and Cedric Alexander found themselves in an instant classic that even caught the eye of Triple H. It’s hard to follow an act like that, but the action continues nonetheless!
As always, keep an eye on our social media for coverage on the CWC and which big-ticket wrestling couples are getting suspended. Facebook’s right here, and Twitter’s over here. You know the drill. Share this wherever you get the chance!
And now, the Best and Worst of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, Week 6.
Best: Not Touching You. Not Touching You. Not Touching You.
I feel like it was probably the safest bet ever to predict that Jack Gallagher vs. Akira Tozawa would be a lot of fun to watch. I mean, it feels like the simplest thing in the world to just put two really good wrestlers in the ring and let ’em go, but that’s sort of the CWC way. They don’t overcomplicate it with backstage feuds and Big Dogs ruining honeymoon celebrations, they just let good wrestling occur. What a concept, eh?
Regarding Jack Gallagher, calling him “really good” is probably an understatement. You know how it feels to watch Steph Curry hit three-pointers, right? He’ll pull up to hit a jumper from, I don’t know, let’s say the parking lot of the stadium. Distance is irrelevant. But when he hits the shot, you’re just fumbling over words and wildly gesturing at your TV. It’s kind of the same deal with Gallagher. You’re watching someone so skilled and so precise that it sends you straight to your Wrestling Happy Place. Seeing him tie Akira Tozawa into ridiculous knots (with no intention of malice, mind you) was just fun to watch. He even pulled out that Mike Quackenbush/Dr. Cube spot I was talking about three weeks ago.
But hey, let’s not forget that Tozawa outlasted the extremely dapper onslaught and got the win. I’m glad the Full Sail crowd responded positively to that, because with someone as popular as Gallagher, it probably would have been real easy to turn on Tozawa for eliminating a fan favorite. Akira’s been turning heads around the world long enough to deserve this, so I’m happy. Anything that gets him closer to teaming with Apollo Crews on Smackdown is a plus.
Regardless, I lament the loss of the Extraordinary Gentleman, though he’ll most likely land on his feet after this. It just sucks that more than one guy can’t win this. In fact, let’s do this properly…
Worst: The Fact That More Than One Guy Can’t Win This
There we go. I knew I liked writing in Best/Worst format for a reason.
Best, I Guess: Small Steps Forward
It’s tempting to Worst all over this, considering I didn’t care for either of the performances turned in by Noam Dar and HoHo Lun in the first round. Instead, I’m going to give credit where credit is due and say that they both stepped their game up. Dar especially looked like he was over his first-round jitters. He’s still missing some pieces of the puzzle though, because I just don’t feel like he’s connecting with audiences yet. Is he a bigger deal in the U.K.? If he’s got some kind of character or gimmick over there, I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t know about it.
Lun improved as well, but he’s still quite a distance away from anything that would be expected of an NXT mainstay. There’s not really a fluidity to his transitions, and you can often see him looking at his opponent with that “Okay, what now?” look that you’ll see from a lot of younger wrestlers. Also, his offense is about 60 percent dropkick.
Worst: Noam Dar’s Taunts
I don’t understand what he’s doing. There’s that opening taunt where he stands on the ropes and looks like he’s trying to sniff the ceiling, and occasionally he’ll make cat claws at the fans. Is he a cat wrestler? We do enjoy cat wrestlers here, just read anything we’ve ever written about Lucha Underground.
Best: Brian Kendrick Goes 0.8 Guerrero
There’s something I’ve noticed about desperation. Desperation usually goes hand-in-hand with effort. You’ll never see someone who is both desperate and lazy. Well, except for Suicide Squad, which ended up being desperate, lazy, and about a thousand other mean-sounding adjectives.
The desperation that Brian Kendrick continues to show in his wrestling style is a real treat to watch. Even when he’s taking shortcuts, you’re never really rooting against him. Do we genuinely want to see his redemption story finish with a happy ending, or has he somehow manipulated us into being on his side? Is he wrestling’s purest bad guy, or wrestling’s most nefarious good guy?
I couldn’t help but think of Eddie Guerrero as I watched this match. Guerrero would usually go into a match outgunned, often in the size department. But he would stick to his plan, which usually involved bending the rules. The fans didn’t care about the sanctity of the match, they just wanted to see their scrappy hero come out on top. Likewise, Kendrick went into this match and immediately got pummeled by Nese. Of course he got a little shifty… he wanted to win, didn’t he?
Brian Kendrick is a combat pragmatist, don’t you forget it. But he’s also not afraid to do something that’s flashy and awesome, like the way he held on to his Bully Choke when Nese tried to counter it. Seriously, that got me out of my seat like a Nakamura flying armbar. I’m happy to see him moving on to the next round, because the redemption story isn’t over yet and he’s still got a plan. “Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying.”
(Sorry, I had to end on a good Joker line to get all that Jared Leto out of my head.)
