The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament held by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) with all participants billed at a weight of 205 lbs. or less. Tournament qualifying matches took place in various promotions of the independent circuit, including well known promotions such as Revolution Pro Wrestling, PROGRESS Wrestling, and Evolve. Many cruiserweight wrestlers from around the world had the chance to qualify for the 32-man tournament, which took place over four dates: June 23, July 14, August 26, and September 14, 2016.
Announced competitors[]
NXT competitors Rich Swann, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano along with international standouts Zack Sabre Jr., Noam Dar, Ho Ho Lun and Akira Tozawa were announced for the Cruiserweight Classic, which begins with qualifying matches. Another athlete indicated his participation on April 2 when Lince Dorado announced at an independent show in Orlando, Florida, that he will compete in the series. On April 24 at Progress Wrestling Chapter 29, after Sabre Jr., Jack Gallagher also won his qualifying match, while on May 7 at Evolve 61, TJ Perkins and Drew Gulak also joined the series. On June 11 at Evolve 63, Tony Nese defeated Johnny Gargano, Drew Gulak, T.J. Perkins and Lince Dorado and qualified for the tournament. Two days later, WWE officially announced all 32 wrestlers taking part in the tournament. Originally, Brazilian wrestler Zumbi was scheduled to compete in the Cruiserweight Classic, however, he had issues with his visa that WWE could not clear in time, leading to him being replaced by Mustafa Ali.
Qualifying matches[]
- Progress Wrestling Chapter 29 - April 24 (Electric Ballroom - Camden Town, London)
- Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Flash Morgan Webster in a Cruiserweight Classic British Qualifying Match
- Jack Gallagher defeated Pete Dunne in a Cruiserweight Classic British Qualifying Match
- Revolution Pro Wrestling's Live at the Cockpit 8 - May 1 (Cockpit Theatre - Marylebone, London)
- Noam Dar defeated Josh Bodom in a Cruiserweight Classic British Qualifying Match
- Evolve 61 - May 7 (La Boom - Woodside, Queens, New York)
- T.J. Perkins (w/Stokely Hathaway) defeated Fred Yehi in a Cruiserweight Classic US Qualifying Match
- Drew Gulak defeated Tracy Williams in a Cruiserweight Classic US Qualifying Match
- American Combat Wrestling The Tradition Continues! - May 28 (All Sports Arena - New Port Richey, Florida)
- Lince Dorado defeated Romeo Quevedo in a Cruiserweight Classic US Qualifying Match
Event[]
Cruiserweight Flashpoint[]
Evolve presented the WWE Cruiserweight Classic Flashpoint, a prelude to the tournament, on June 11 in Orlando, Florida at the Orlando Downtown Recreation Complex, where Johnny Gargano, Drew Gulak, T.J. Perkins, Lince Dorado, and Tony Nese, competed in an elimination match.
- Evolve 63, WWE Cruiserweight Classic Flashpoint - June 11 (Downtown Recreation Complex - Orlando, Florida)
- Tony Nese defeated Johnny Gargano, Drew Gulak, T.J. Perkins (with Stokely Hathaway) and Lince Dorado in a Elimination Match; since Nese won, he qualified for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic
Participants[]
- Akira Tozawa
- Alejandro Saez
- Anthony Bennett
- Ariya Daivari
- Brian Kendrick
- Cedric Alexander
- Clement Petiot
- Da Mack
- Damian Slater
- Drew Gulak
- Fabian Aichner
- Gran Metalik
- Gurv Sihra
- Harv Sihra
- Ho Ho Lun
- Jack Gallagher
- Jason Lee
- Johnny Gargano
- Kenneth Johnson
- Kota Ibushi
- Lince Dorado
- Mustafa Ali
- Noam Dar
- Raul Mendoza
- Rich Swann
- Sean Maluta
- T.J. Perkins
- Tajiri
- Tommaso Ciampa
- Tony Nese
- Tyson Dux
- Zack Sabre Jr.
Broadcast team[]
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Rome
|
Austin Romero
|
Ring announcer |
| Mauro Ranallo
|
Mauro Ranallo
|
Lead commentator |
| Daniel Bryan
|
Bryan Danielson
|
Color commentator |
Results[]
Tournament bracket[]
| Round of 32 (Taped June 23) |
Round of 16 Taped July 14 |
Quarter-finals Taped August 26 |
Semi-finals Live on September 14 |
Final Live on September 14 | ||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Kenneth Johnson
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Akira Tozawa
|
09:46 | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Jack Gallagher
|
11:38 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jack Gallagher
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
 Fabian Aichner
|
06:45 | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Gran Metalik
|
15:49 | |||||||||||||||||
| Yoshihiro Tajiri
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Damien Slater
|
05:28 | |||||||||||||||||
| Yoshihiro Tajiri
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik
|
10:53 | |||||||||||||||||
 Alejandro Saez
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik
|
04:04 | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr.
|
13:13 | |||||||||||||||||
 Harv Sihra
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak
|
05:18 | |||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr.
|
08:27 | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr.
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
 Tyson Dux
|
08:28 | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr.
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
  Noam Dar
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Noam Dar
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gurv Sihra
|
05:26 | |||||||||||||||||
| Noam Dar
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Ho Ho Lun
|
07:02 | |||||||||||||||||
 Ariya Daivari
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ho Ho Lun
|
05:03 | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 T.J. Perkins
|
17:47 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raul Mendoza
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brian Kendrick
|
07:35 | |||||||||||||||||
| Brian Kendrick
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese
|
13:42 | |||||||||||||||||
| Anthony Bennett
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese
|
06:34 | |||||||||||||||||
| Brian Kendrick
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi
|
13:58 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Sean Maluta
|
09:40 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander
|
15:00 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Clement Petiot
|
05:58 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins
|
14:52 | |||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Da Mack
|
06:32 | |||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano
|
12:18 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tommaso Ciampa
|
10:47 | |||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins
|
Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann
|
||||||||||||||||||
 Mustafa Ali
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Lince Dorado
|
05:55 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lince Dorado
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann
|
08:14 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann
|
Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Jason Lee
|
03:47 | |||||||||||||||||
* – Denotes number of overtime periods.
See also[]
External links[]
| WWE Cruiserweight Classic 2016 episodes |
|---|
|
Bracketology • 7/13 • 7/20 • 7/27 • 8/3 • 8/10 • 8/17 • 8/24 • 8/31 • 9/7 • 9/14 |
| WWE Cruiserweight Classic 2016 contestants |
|---|
|
Akira Tozawa • Ho Ho Lun • Jack Gallagher • Johnny Gargano • Lince Dorado • Noam Dar • Rich Swann • Tommaso Ciampa • Zack Sabre Jr. • |