Cruiserweight Classic
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12
MENTIONS
11
EPISODES
11
PODCASTS
Search complete. 12 mentions across 11 episodes found for "Cruiserweight Classic".
Nov 3, 2026
Ryan MillerHOST
It's not...
Ryan MillerHOST
I hate to say it's not indie enough for me, but it's not what I'm looking for when I'm thinking the Cruiserweight Classic and then the high level of competition that we saw on that show.
Ryan MillerHOST
So not thrilled with Brian Kendrick winning here.
Ryan MillerHOST
I did enjoy Brian Kendrick actually on Raw Talk after the pay-per-view and his interactions with...
RyanMODERATOR
Third question.
RyanMODERATOR
After the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic Tournament, who was crowned the first champion of the revived Cruiserweight division? A.
RyanMODERATOR
Rich Swann.
RyanMODERATOR
B, T.J. Perkins.
Mike MaddenHOST
Lince Dorado, a great indie worker.
Mike MaddenHOST
By the time he got to 2016, he was part of that original first class of the Cruiserweight Classic and the 205 Live roster.
Mike MaddenHOST
And then you had one more person, or was that it? Did I cover everybody? Yeah, Trevor Lee.
Tom SchultzHOST
And Trevor Lee.
Jeremy DeamerHOST
Yeah, looking at 2016, when the randomizer pulled this, it can pull anything at random, and it pulled this, and I'm like, wow, you know, I remember watching this live.
Jeremy DeamerHOST
I remember how excited I was at the concept of this tournament, and I did not have high hopes because I didn't think WWE could do something with it, but... man the wwe cruiserweight classic while not announced until after the final match this was a tournament to crown a new wwe cruiserweight champion with the cruiserweight division competing on raw from the 32 people who were in this tournament Akira Tozawa, Aria Daivari, Brian Kendrick, Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, Fabian Eichner, Gran Metalik, who was Mascara Dorada before that, the Singh brothers, Ho Ho Lun, Jack Gallagher, Lince Dorado, Mustafa Ali, Noam Dar, Raul Mendoza, TJ Perkins, and Tony Nese all ended up in the WWE in some form.
Jeremy DeamerHOST
There was also three that were already signed in that field.
Jeremy DeamerHOST
That was Johnny Gargano, Rich Swann, and Tommaso Ciampa having been part of NXT.
BradHOST
He should be much higher, but that's what they give him, right? There was a time when he was in the
Jordan DeavesHOST
Cruiserweight division, Cruiserweight Classic and all that kind of stuff, where he was doing some really good work, but
BradHOST
yeah.
BradHOST
WB2K, you're putting him in the 60s.
WoodHOST
He didn't even make it to 205 Live.
WoodHOST
He was in the initial Cruiserweight Classic.
WoodHOST
That was in the days of the
Suave BurgundyHOST
three-man booth and we were all in the same room recording the show.
LukeHOST
Like, there's a lot of moves you see now that, like, he actually created.
LukeHOST
John Cena came to him at one point rang him up and asked him if he could use a move and things like that and he's someone who's kind of you've been in Wrestling Cursed by the Wrestling Gods because there was a couple of nearly moments for him where he was going to be a TNA champion then he wasn't, he was going to sign with WWE then he didn't, he had some really bad injuries he actually got injured doing some motion capture for WWE and he was just about to get signed for the Cruiserweight Classic but he snapped his leg doing motion capture and he never got to be in the Cruiserweight Classic.
LukeHOST
So what could have been if he was in that? Do you know what I mean? So it was really cool to see him get his flowers with the Hall of Fame and then become the new X Division champion.
LukeHOST
Indi Hartwell become the new Women's Champion.
Dave UngarHOST
But that was when those three guys really started to, um, to make a name for themselves.
Dave UngarHOST
And, and I mean, like, we always r- I remember like, 'cause we were like, all of us, we were covering the Cruiserweight Classic when that happened.
Dave UngarHOST
I think one of the big things we were wondering was like, where was Neville during that whole thing, and why wasn't he involved? 'Cause, like, you could've had all these great matches, like Neville, Kota Ibushi would've been something to see.
Dave UngarHOST
And of course, when they brought him in as the king of the cruiserweights and, and he had some, just had tremendous run, like that match with Austin Aries at WrestleMania 33 was excellent.
DPPHOST
Yeah, that's true.
DPPHOST
I mean, that was a, that was a, I mean, every once, every few years or so they try and bring it back, and that was probably the biggest run there that they had.
DPPHOST
That was, the Cruiserweight Classic was amazing, and, um, having that division was fantastic to watch and one of the times I was really focused on NXT and watching a lot of that, and seeing those guys all the different weeks was just fantastic to watch.
DPPHOST
I would love to see them try and bring it back again.
ScottHOST
I really feel like he got the short end of the stick when he was in WWE, no matter where.
ScottHOST
If it was, like, the Cruiserweight Classic and even Imperium.
ScottHOST
Like, when he w- when they were in NXT UK, they were great, um, with him and, um, Marcel Barthel.
ScottHOST
I, I was like, I was gonna say, uh, the other name, and I'm like, "No, that wasn't his name then." Um, but I still don't think, I still don't think they're, they're ready to give it to him.
EASHOST
But the other thing that I bought at, uh, TNT Toys and Collectibles was TJ Perkins.
EASHOST
TJ Perkins, the first World Cruiserweight Champion in the, uh, Cruiserweight Classic that they had back in the day, the purple belt, and the gold medal that they received for that.
EASHOST
A staple of the EAS, the Champion of Wrestling Podcast, the Top 50 Greatest Countdowns that goes six weeks.
EASHOST
And then the Mount Rushmore, the Final Four, heading your way in 2026 and 2027.
1 more episode mentions Cruiserweight Classic.
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