The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Champion for WWE's revived cruiserweight division. The tournament consisted of various matches that had predetermined results. Tournament qualifying matches took place in various promotions of the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

, including well-known promotions such as

Revolution Pro Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. Revolution Pro Wre ...

, Progress Wrestling, and Evolve. Many cruiserweight wrestlers from around the world were given the chance to qualify for the 32-man tournament, which took place over four dates: June 23, July 13, August 26, and September 14, 2016. The winner was T. J. Perkins.

Background

In 2016, WWE announced that they would be holding a 32-man

tournament and WWE Network event wherein all participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less, referred to as cruiserweights. The event was originally titled the Global Cruiserweight Series before being renamed as the Cruiserweight Classic. Tournament qualifying matches took place in various promotions of the

, including well known promotions such as

, Progress Wrestling, and Evolve. Many cruiserweight wrestlers from around the world were given the chance to qualify for the 32-man

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

, which took place over four dates: June 23, July 13, August 26, and September 14. During the finale, it was announced that the winner of the tournament would become the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Champion for WWE's revived cruiserweight division, which would compete on the Raw

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

. The tournament consisted of various matches that had predetermined results.

Announced competitors

NXT competitors

Rich Swann Richard Anthony Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. he is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Championship (2020–2021), ...

, 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. At an independent show in Orlando, Florida on April 2, Lince Dorado joined the series. On April 24 at Progress Wrestling Chapter 29, Sabre Jr., Jack Gallagher also won a qualifying match, while on May 7 at Evolve 61, T. J. 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 revealed 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, and was replaced by Mustafa Ali.

Qualifying matches

; ''Progress Wrestling Chapter 29'' - April 24 (

Electric Ballroom The Electric Ballroom is a 1,500-capacity performance venue (primarily for rock and roll, rock bands) and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London, England. History The Electric Ballroom started as an Irish ballr ...

- Camden Town, London) ; ''Revolution Pro Wrestling Live at the Cockpit 8'' - May 1 ( Cockpit Theatre - Marylebone, London) ; ''Evolve 61'' - May 7 (La Boom - Woodside, Queens, New York) ; ''American Combat Wrestling The Tradition Continues!'' - May 28 (All Sports Arena -

New Port Richey, Florida New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History By ...

) ; ''Evolve 63'' - June 11 (Downtown Recreation Complex -

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

)

Participants

Alternates

In the event an official participant had suffered an injury or did not make the 205 lbs weight limit, they would have been replaced by one of the following participants:

Replaced

These participants were taken out of the tournament for a specific reason and therefore were replaced by another competitor.

Broadcast team

Results

Tournament bracket

The following time limits were in place: * Round one: 20 minutes * Round two: 20 minutes * Quarterfinals: 30 minutes * Semifinals: 30 minutes * Final: Unlimited

Finale

Aftermath

Before the final match between T. J. Perkins and Gran Metalik started,

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

revealed that the winner of the tournament would be crowned the first WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Also, T. J. Perkins, Gran Metalik, Akira Tozawa, Jack Gallagher,

Brian Kendrick Brian David Kendrick (born May 29, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH), Impact Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestlin ...

, Cedric Alexander, Noam Dar, Lince Dorado, Tony Nese, Mustafa Ali, Drew Gulak, Tajiri, Ariya Daivari,

and The Bollywood Boyz signed contracts with WWE. On July 15, ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' reported that Kota Ibushi had signed an NXT contract with WWE. In an interview published July 25, Ibushi admitted he had been offered a contract, but denied having signed it. After the tournament, ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' went back on their earlier report and stated that Ibushi had not agreed to a WWE contract beyond the tournament, which was a factor in him losing the semifinal match.

Note

References

External links

* * {{WWE Tournaments 2016 WWE Network events 2016 in professional wrestling in Florida WWE tournaments Professional wrestling shows in Winter Park, Florida WWE 205 Live