6 Ups And 2 Downs From WWE's Cruiserweight Classic (July 13)

2. Living Up To The Hype

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When Japanese legend Kota Ibushi showed up in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in April, the speculation machine began running at full speed. After he was announced for the Cruiserweight Classic, the hype was in full force.

And then fans got to see Kota in action Wednesday night against Sean Maluta – and he did not disappoint. Ibushi went all-out in his match, hitting stiff, rapid-fire kicks, a massive Pele Kick to Muta on the top rope, and a double jump moonsault from inside the ring to the outside middle rope onto Maluta on the floor. You knew he was making an impact when the fans started chanting, “Kota’s gonna kill you.”

Ibushi is a favorite to go far into the tournament, and if we’re treated to a few more matches with him, who knows what else he’ll bust out? This is exactly the kind of fun stuff you get with this kind of tournament.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.