TJ Perkins Wins Cruiserweight Classic Tournament And Becomes Champion
Perkins defeats Gran Metalik in tournament finals.
At Wednesday evening's Cruiserweight Classic finals, not only was T.J. Perkins crowned the first-ever CWC winner, but he also became the brand-new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
Heading into the show, Perkins, Gran Metalik, Zack Sabre Jr., and Kota Ibushi were still alive in the tournament and set to clash in the semi-finals. Metalik opened the show with a victory over Sabre, pinning him with the Metalik Driver. Next, Perkins took on Ibushi, making "The Golden Star" submit to a kneebar/crossface combination.
Just before the main event, Triple H - who was instrumental in creating the Cruiserweight Classic and finding the stars who competed in it - came out to address the crowd and unveil the new WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which would be on the line in the tournament's final match. WWE had previously announced that the cruiserweight division would be coming to Raw on Monday, September 19, but there was no official news regarding the return of the championship.
In the finals, T.J. Perkins and Gran Metalik battled for the title and the tournament. Metalik managed to hit the Metalik Driver, but was unable to make the cover immediately, so Perkins kicked out. Metalik tried the move again, but Perkins reversed it into a kneebar, then grabbed a reverse figure four for the submission win.
After the match, he thanked all of his opponents and mentioned how happy he was to be in WWE.