WWE Cruiserweight Classic spoilers: The semifinals are set

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I’m here at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL for the Cruiserweight Classic quarterfinals.

Dark Match —

– Hideo Itami defeated Curtis Alexander

Enhancement talent Curtis (not Cedric) Alexander did a lot of comedy and they had a fun match. Hideo Itami clobbered him with a GTS for the win.

Cruiserweight Classic Taping —

Quarterfinal matches were announced as having a 30-minute time limit.

– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Noam Dar to advance to the semifinals

Great match, started slow with a lot of grappling. Crowd was pro-Zack Sabre Jr. and got very into it during the second half of the match. Intense leg work by Noam Dar on ZSJ. They traded submissions and the crowd was going crazy by the end when Sabre had an arm submission locked in with added punches.

– Gran Metalik defeated Akira Tozawa to advance to the semifinals

Another great match, they exchanged chops and dives to get the place going. Huge top rope rana for a near fall by Gran Metalik and a delayed German suplex by Akira Tozawa for his own near fall. Crowd was going wild for the finish, which was a Falcon Arrow by Metalik

– Cedric Alexander defeated Oney Lorcan

This was seemingly a showcase match for Cedric Alexander to prepare for his Raw debut. Crowd wasn’t making noise early on even though the work was good. A handspring spin kick by Alexander got the people going. Oney Lorcan hit a huge uppercut. 

Alexander finally hit the lumbar check for the win. Post-match, he looked in the camera and said “I ain’t going nowhere!”

– Drew Gulak & Tony Nese defeated Kenneth Johnson & Lince Dorado

Tony Nese hit a 450 on Kenneth Johnson in a showcase match for Nese and Drew Gulak.

– TJ Perkins defeated Rich Swann to advance to the semifinals

Yet another great match, they showed their athletic ability yet kept the pace slow early to allow the match to build. There were taunts and dance moves, Rich Swann dabbed on TJ Perkins — which lit the crowd up.

Swann sold a leg injury halfway through and it built to the finish where Swann tried everything he had, but could never get the pin fast enough due to his bad knee. TJP locked in his leg submission for the win. Crowd wasn’t happy with this finish since Swann was the favorite. The two embraced post-match to show how important this was.

– The Bollywood Boyz defeated Sean Maluta & Ariya Daivari

Cool down match to allow The Bollywood Boyz to finally team up together. Fast-paced action and everyone got their big moves in to showcase themselves. Two splashes by The Bollywood Boyz for the win.

– Kota Ibushi defeated Brian Kendrick to advance to the semifinals

Crowd was unsure what to do early on. Brian Kendrick used a neckbreaker on the exposed metal rod between the buckles, and Kota Ibushi was actually counted out. The place went nuts with anger. William Regal came out and said Kendrick used an illegal move and the match must be restarted.

Full Sail lit up and and the match started going into dangerous near falls, Kendrick hit a nasty Burning Hammer-looking move where Ibushi’s neck bent, crowd was furious with this. Kendrick kept going for the Bully Choke for near submissions. Ibushi hit a middle rope German suplex for a near fall and finally got a sit-out powerbomb for the win.

Post-match the two embraced, “Thank you Kendrick” and “Please sign Kendrick” chants until Daniel Bryan made his way down to hug Kendrick. A great moment to finish the round.

We are back on September 14th for the semifinals and to crown the winner of the CWC.