The Quarter Finals of the Cruiserweight Championship tournament began this week on 205 Live, as Cedric Alexander squared off against TJP and Roderick Strong and Kalisto met for the first time ever. But how did it all go down in Los Angeles? Lets take a look!
Commentators - Nigel McGuinness & Vic Joseph
Ring Announcer - Greg Hamilton
Interviewer - Dasha Fuentes
Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Quarter Final // Cedric Alexander def. TJP // Pinfall
Before the match - Cedric Alexander got an in-vision promo, but didn't say a lot - TJ Perkins was interviewed backstage and something very similar
Cedric Alexander earned himself a spot in the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament semi-finals, as a Lumbar Check got him the pinfall in a very good match with former Cruiserweight Classic winner TJP. Whilst the match wasn't always as crisp as it could have been and at times came across as a bit scrappy, there was a shit tonne of high quality action, especially down the stretch, as the match was paced incredibly well. Watching TJP work over Alexander for a decent portion of the bout, after blocking a dive with a rolling armbar, could have been a little dull, but The Fil-Am Flash used a nice variety of holds, that kept things visually interesting, whilst Alexander's selling also helped, alongside a handful of early hope spots. For most of the match I was passively enjoying, but also waiting for the match to shift a gear or two and that's exactly what happened with the last two or three exchanges, where a number of signatures moves were first attempted and then hit, with a number of smooth reversals and quick near misses, including Alexander spending lengthy periods in the TJP Clutch. It was interesting to see TJP get a positive reaction from his billed hometown and perhaps that could've been explored more in the narrative of the bout, but that's only a minor criticism, as Alexander was definitely the right person to win after being one of the most consistent performers since the inception of 205 Live.
Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Quarter Final // Roderick Strong def. Kalisto // Pinfall
Another high-quality match here, as Roderick Strong booked his place opposite Cedric Alexander in the semi-finals with a victory over former Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto. The bout set its stall out early with letting the two men show off their signature styles with a back and forth sequence, between the hard-hitting technician and the high-flying luchadore. Whilst the previous bout kept most of the action inside the ring, with a much more simplistic style, this one was peppered with big highspots on the outside and one from the top rope, feeling much more like a Cruiserweight variation on WWE's main event style than we've seen from 205 Live before. A rana into the barricade from Kalisto and a rolling release suplex onto the announce table from Strong stand out in particular. The match saw the two take a lot of risks with a number of spots, including a sunset flip powerbomb escape out of a double underhook position and an ridiculous spot where Kalisto reversed a powerslam in mid-air off the top rope to hit one of his own. Neither spot look exactly as clean as it could have, but both moments showed great creativity and still looked effective enough with the powerslam reversal in particularly getting a nice pop. At times I found Kalisto lack of selling, after Strong had hammered him with a number of moves to the back and ribs frustrating and its an area of his game that really should be much better over ten years into his career, but his ability to string together high quality action sequences is unquestionable as he combined with Strong wonderfully in the finish as the pair traded strikes, before Strong blocked a Salida del Sol attempt, nailed a jumping high knee, quickly nailed a backbreaker before transitioning even quicker into the End of Heartache for the victory.
Also This Week
- Mustafa Ali chatted about his victory over Gentleman Jack Gallagher last week and his Quarter Final match with Buddy Murphy next week, saying Murphy wasn't "bad enough to break me"
- 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick discussed his vision for the brand, which boiled down to wanting to offer the best Cruiserweight wrestling in the world.
- Cameras caught up with Buddy Murphy leaving a building, with Murphy saying he was going to WrestleMania and that his match with Mustafa Ali would be brutal next week.
ATPW Scale Rating // 7.25/10
Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale
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