July 7, 2017
By Ryan Porzl
It's been a year since The WWE introduced The Cruiserweight Classic, a tournament featuring 32 of the best cruiserweights from around the world and it concluded with the crowning of a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Since that time, The WWE has done The UK Championship Tournament to crown the first WWE UK Champion and are about to start The Mae Young Classic featuring 32 Women. Meanwhile, the cruiserweight division has since returned and been a complete failure with The WWE not showing much interest and the fans haven't cared much while the cruiserweight only show 205 Live has failed to get a big audience on The WWE Network. With all that said, I feel it's time to take a look back at the 32 participants and see what they've done since then and why not much has happened to the few who WWE snatched up.
I don't own the picture.
TJ Perkins
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Perkins became the first WWE Cruiserweight Champion of the current lineage by defeating Gran Metalik in the finals back in September. Since the CWC, Perkins would reign as CW Champion for about a month and a half where he spent most of it feuding with Brian Kendrick as he successfully defended the title at the Clash of the Champions Pay-Per-View on September 25th but lost the title to Kendrick at Hell in a Cell on October 30th. It was also during this time Perkins replaced an injured Hideo Itami as Kota Ibushi's partner in NXT's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where they made it to the quarter finals before losing to SAnitY's Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton. After losing the title, Perkins spent the next few months getting a few title shots including at Road Block in a Triple Threat match against Kendrick and new champion Rich Swann as well as taken part in several number one contenders matches but for the most part was a jobber with no direction. In April, Perkins turned heel and became a stooge for current champion Neville in his feud with Austin Aries where he largely lost almost every encounter with Aries and did tag matches with Neville against Aries and his partner who was usually Jack Gallagher all the while hoping for Neville to grant him a shot. After the feud ended in June, Perkins demanded a title shot and was turned on by Neville who agreed to a title match on the June 6th 205 Live which Perkins lost. Since then, he's largely fallen down the ladder again.
Brian Kendrick
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Following the CWC, Kendrick was pushed immediately where he quickly turned heel and feuded with Perkins over the Cruiserweight Championship. After originally coming up short on September 25th at WWE Clash of the Champions, he defeated Perkins to win the title at Hell in a Cell on October 30th. Kendrick would successfully defend in rematches against Perkins and defeat Kalisto by disqualification at Survivor Series on November 20th before losing the title to Rich Swann in the inaugural edition of 205 Live on November 29th. Kendrick got a few rematches including a three way along with Perkins at Road Block on December 18th but wasn't able to regain the belt. By early 2017, Kendrick was largely directionless until starting a feud with Akira Tozawa which saw him mostly on the losing end with the feud culminating in a street fight on the May 26th 205 Live which Kendrick lost. On the June 27th 205 Live, Kendrick began a feud with Jack Gallagher where he lost to Gallagher by disqualification after attacking Gallagher with his and Gallagher's umbrellas. Before the match and the following week, Kendrick began mocking Gallagher's British ethnicity as well as his gentleman gimmick.
Rich Swann
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Unlike most of the CWC participants, Swann was already signed to the WWE before the tournament began and moved to the Cruiserweight Division after it was created. Swann first competed in The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in October teaming with No Way Jose as the two defeated Drew Gulak and Tony Nese in the first round but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual winners The Authors of Pain. Following this, Swann started small until getting a push in November where he defeated Brian Kendrick to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the first episode of 205 Live on November 29th. After successfully defending the title at Road Block on December 18th against Perkins and Kendrick, he was attacked by Neville which began a feud between the two with Swann eventually dropping the title to him at Royal Rumble 2017 on January 29th. After a brief period where he suffered an ankle injury, Swann received a few title shots but wasn't able to wrestle the title away from Neville. In the spring of 2017, Swann began a brief feud with Noam Dar and Alicia Fox while eventually aligning with Sasha Banks with the feud culminating at Extreme Rules on June 4th with Swann and Banks defeating Dar and Fox.
Zack Sabre Jr.
Current Status: Declined WWE Contract
Despite interest from the WWE and being one the favorites to win the Cruiserweight Classic, Sabre turned down a WWE contract and left after the tournament ended. Since then, Sabre continues to work around the world. In America, Sabre competes in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and EVOLVE where he's held the PWG World Championship since March 2016 and won the EVOLVE Championship on February 25th. He also continues to compete for Revolution Pro Wrestling in his native England where he lost the British Heavyweight Championship to Katsuyori Shibata on November 10th but regained it on March 6th. Since the spring, Sabre has also been competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling as a member of Minoru Suzuki's Suzukigun stable.
Kota Ibushi
Current Status: Declined WWE Contract
Like Sabre, Ibushi was a favorite to win the CWC but also turned down a contract despite rumors coming out that he in fact signed one. Despite not signing one, Ibushi would appear in NXT in October as he participated in The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament where he was set to team with Hideo Itami before Itami was injured and replaced by TJ Perkins. They defeated the team of Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali in the first round but ultimately lost in the quarterfinals to SAnitY. Since then, Ibushi has returned to Japan where he's done freelance work for his former home companies in New Japan and DDT (Dramatic Dream Team) where he wrestled in the former as Tiger Mask W before being announced as a participant in the yearly G1 Climax Tournament as himself.
Gran Metalik
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Despite making it to the finals, Metalik has probably been one of the most wasted talents picked up by the WWE which says a lot. After briefly returning to Mexico in November, Metalik began working for the WWE afterwards but spent most of his time at NXT live events. By the spring of 2017, Metalik began making appearances on the main roster but has mostly been used for 205 Live and Main Event shows where he's largely a jobber.
Akira Tozawa
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Tozawa's would first appear at an NXT Live Event from Osaka, Japan on December 3rd where he teamed with Tajiri to challenge DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) but came up short. By early 2017, Tozawa became a regular on 205 Live and began a rivalry with Brian Kendrick which saw him mostly on the winning end of. After the rivalry ended with Tozawa beating Kendrick in a street fight on the May 26th 205 Live, Tozawa began a rivalry with Cruiserweight Champion Neville while being courted by Titus O'Neil for his "Titus Brand".
Cedric Alexander
Current Status: Signed with WWE
Alexander made his first post CWC appearance on the September 19th RAW losing a Fatal Four Way number one contenders match to Brian Kendrick with Rich Swann and Gran Metalik as the other participants. Alexander then appeared in NXT teaming with Andrade "Cian" Almas in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic but lost in the first round to The Revival. In December, he began a storyline where he started dating Alicia Fox while starting a feud with Noam Dar who had interest in Fox. Eventually, Alexander broke up with Fox by the end of the month and suffered a knee injury in February. After three months out, Alexander returned on the May 23rd 205 Live and reignited his feud with Dar which he's mostly been the winner of including a seven second win on the June 12th RAW. To date, Alexander hasn't appeared on any Pay-Per-Views and has only done one pre-show which was a six man tag teaming with Lince Dorado and Sin Cara against Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese, and Drew Gulak at the Hell In A Cell pre-show on October 30th.
Johnny Gargano
Current Status: Signed to WWE and working in NXT
After the CWC, Gargano returned to NXT and continued his DIY tag team with Tommaso Ciampa. The two entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where they defeated Ho Ho Lun and Tian Bing in the first round, The Revival in the quarterfinals by forfeit, and lost to eventual winners The Authors of Pain in the semi finals. After this, they renewed their rivalry with The Revival and defeated them to win the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT Takeover: Toronto on November 19th. After losing the titles to The Authors of Pain on January 28th at NXT Takeover: San Antonio, DIY would then chase the titles for months (including a failed triple threat elimination match also involving The Revival at NXT Takeover: Orlando on April 1st), with the feud culminating at NXT Takeover: Chicago on May 20th in a ladder match which DIY lost. After the match, Gargano was betrayed and injured by Ciampa.
Tommaso Ciampa
Current Status: Signed to WWE and working in NXT
After the CWC, Ciampa returned to NXT and continued his DIY tag team with Johnny Gargano. The two entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where they defeated Ho Ho Lun and Tian Bing in the first round, The Revival in the quarterfinals by forfeit, and lost to eventual winners The Authors of Pain in the semi finals. After this, they renewed their rivalry with The Revival and defeated them to win the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT Takeover: Toronto on November 19th. After losing the titles to The Authors of Pain on January 28th at NXT Takeover: San Antonio, DIY would then chase the titles for months (including a failed triple threat elimination match also involving The Revival at NXT Takeover: Orlando on April 1st) with the feud culminating at NXT Takeover: Chicago on May 20th in a ladder match which DIY lost. After the match, Ciampa turned heel and attacked Gargano. Following this, Ciampa has since taken time off due to a torn ACL.
The Bollywood Boys
Current Status: Signed to WWE
After the CWC, The Bollywood Boys would go to NXT where they took part in the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where they lost in the first round to eventual winners The Authors of Pain. The only other highlight from this period was winning the first match on the first edition of 205 Live where they defeated Drew Gulak and Tony Nese. Following this, they continued to work in NXT mostly as jobbers who were used to get squashed and put over new talent. By April 2017, they were brought up to the main roster on the Smackdown brand where they were repackaged as The Singh Brothers and became stooges for Jinder Mahal.
Tajiri
Current Status: Released by WWE
Tajiri's return to the WWE was short and forgettable with his only highlight being teaming with Akira Tozawa to challenge for the NXT Tag Team Titles against champions DIY at an NXT Live Event in Osaka, Japan on December 3rd. He would only wrestle two more matches (a win over Sean Maluta on the January 3rd 205 Live and a dark match on the January 5th NXT teaming with Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe) before suffering a knee injury shortly after. Despite making a return on a February 205 Live, Tajiri wasn't used after that and eventually announced his departure on April 22nd. He would explain his release had more to do with his age than his knee injury (Tajiri is 46). Since then, Tajiri has returned to Japan where he works as a freelancer and has done some shows for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Mustafa Ali
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Following the CWC, Ali went to NXT to take part in The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where he teamed with Lince Dorado (who ironically eliminated him from the CWC) but lost in the first round to Kota Ibushi and TJ Perkins. Afterwards, Ali went back to the indy circuit until December when he began working for the WWE full time. Since then, Ali hasn't done much outside of the occasional number one contenders match as he's received no title shots or has appeared on Pay-Per-Views or the pre-shows. In the spring, he began a feud with Drew Gulak who objected to Ali's high flying style. After suffering some losses to Gulak, Ali then scored a few wins over him by outwrestling the grappler.
Drew Gulak
Current Status: Signed to WWE
After the CWC, Gulak was signed to WWE but worked both WWE and the independent circuit during the fall. Originally, Gulak began teaming with Tony Nese with the two competing as one of the teams in The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic but they lost in the first round to Rich Swann and No Way Jose. The two would also team with Daivari in losing efforts on the Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series pre-shows first losing to Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara & then to TJ Perkins, Noam Dar, and Rich Swann as well as lose the first match on 205 Live to The Bollywood Boys. By December, Gulak began wrestling full time for WWE but still wasn't pushed as he was left off Pay-Per-Views and Pre-Shows all the while not being put in title contention or number one contenders matches. In early 2017, Gulak began to advocate 205 Live to be a "No Fly Zone" as he's been against high flying wrestling and preferring his technical grappling. This led to a rivalry with Mustafa Ali with Gulak criticizing Ali's high flying style. After winning the first few matches, Gulak then began losing with Ali playing Gulak's game and pinning him by outwrestling him.
Tony Nese
Current Status: Signed to WWE
After the CWC, Nese worked both WWE and the independent circuit during the fall. Originally, Nese began teaming with Drew Gulak with the two competing as one of the teams in The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic but they lost in the first round to Rich Swann and No Way Jose. The two would also team with Ariya Daivari in losing efforts on the Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series pre-shows first losing to Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara & then to TJ Perkins, Noam Dar, and Rich Swann as well as lose the first match on 205 Live to The Bollywood Boys. In November, Nese officially signed with WWE but has done absolutely nothing as he hasn't appeared on Pay-Per-Views or any more Pre-Shows all the while being left out of title shots, number one contenders matches, and having no feuds.
Ariya Daivari
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Daivari's first notable appearance was at the Hell in a Cell pre-show where he teamed with Drew Gulak and Tony Nese in a losing effort to Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara. He followed it up with another loss on a pre-show teaming again with Gulak & Nese against Perkins, Noam Dar, and Swann. He began a feud with Jack Gallagher when he lost to Gallagher in the inaugural 205 Live on November 29th. This led to a feud where they exchanged wins while Daivari lost a "duel" to Gallagher and eventually culminated in an "I Forfeit" (I Quit) Match on the January 17th edition of 205 Live which he came up on the short end of. Since then, Daivari continues to be a regular on 205 Live but hasn't had any other rivalries, hasn't gotten any title shots, hasn't been in any number one contenders matches, or Pay-Per-View and pre-shows.
Jack Gallagher
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Gallagher first began a feud with Ariya Daivari on the first episode of 205 Live on November 29th after defeating him. After trading wins, the two engaged in a "duel" which Gallagher won on the December 27th edition of 205 Live and the feud ended following an "I Forfeit" match on the January 17th 205 Live which Gallagher won. After this, Gallagher would make his Pay-Per-View debut by competing in the 2017 Royal Rumble on January 29th but was the first eliminated. Following this, he feuded with Neville over the WWE Cruiserweight Championship with Gallagher challenging for it at Fastlane on March 5th but lost. After this, Gallagher spent the spring occasionally teaming with Austin Aries in tag matches with Neville and TJ Perkins during Aries' feud with Neville. He also received a few title shots, challenging Tyler Bate on the April 5th NXT for the WWE United Kingdom Championship and teaming with Wolfgang to challenge The Authors of Pain on June 9th at an NXT live event in England but came up short on both occasions. On the June 27th 205 Live, Gallagher began a feud with Brian Kendrick where he defeated Kendrick by disqualification after being attacked with his and Kendrick's umbrellas. Before the match and the following week, Kendrick began mocking Gallagher's British ethnicity as well as his gentleman gimmick.
Noam Dar
Current Status: Signed to WWE
Dar began competing for WWE in late October and by November had some memorable moments including a return to his native Scotland where he teamed with Brian Kendrick in a losing effort against Rich Swann and Sin Cara on the November 7th RAW and then teamed with Perkins and Swann to win a six man tag against Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, and Tony Nese at the 2017 Survivor Series pre-show. By December, Dar turned heel and began a feud with Cedric Alexander over his girlfriend Alicia Fox. Eventually, Alexander broke up with Fox and Dar hooked up with her while Alexander went down with a knee injury. By early 2017, Dar began a short feud with Rich Swann. The two would be on opposing teams at Fastlane's pre-show on March 5th with Dar and Brian Kendrick losing to Swann and Akira Tozawa. Eventually, Sasha Banks joined up with Swann which resulted in a tag match with Dar and Fox losing to Swann and Banks at Extreme Rules on June 4th. Following this, Dar reignited his feud with the returning Alexander while also having problems with Fox's nagging which resulted in Dar frequently losing to Alexander including a seven second loss on the June 12th RAW.
Ho Ho Lun
Current Status: Signed with WWE
After the CWC, Lun's only moment to date was taking part in The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where he teamed with Tian Bing but lost in the first round to DIY. Since then, he's mostly appeared at NXT live events and a couple of TV appearances where he's being used as a jobber.
Lince Dorado
Current Status: Signed with WWE
Dorado first appeared at The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where he teamed with Mustafa Ali but lost in the first round to TJ Perkins and Kota Ibushi. Since then, his only other highlight was the Hell in a Cell pre-show where he teamed with Cedric Alexander and Sin Cara to defeat Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, and Tony Nese. He hasn't gotten any title shots or appeared on a Pay-Per-View and has been rudderless since.
Raul Mendoza
Current Status: Not signed by WWE
Following the Cruiserweight Classic, Mendoza was one of the wrestlers not picked up by the WWE. Since then, he's returned to Mexico where he works the independent circuit using the names Ronnie Mendoza and Jinzo. In May, Mendoza made appearances on NXT TV and house shows.
Fabian Aichner
Current Status: Signed to WWE
After the CWC, Aichner wouldn't get picked up by the WWE, at least not at first. Aichner went back to Europe where he competed in promotions in The Netherlands, Italy, and England including PROGRESS Wrestling, New European Championship Wrestling, and the German Wrestling Federation while using the Fabian Aichner name as well as Adrian Severe. In June, Aichner officially signed with WWE and began working live events for NXT later in the month.
Da Mack
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
Mack would not get picked up and returned to his native Germany where he continued to competed in Westside Xtreme Wrestling where he won their 16 Carat Gold Tournament 2017 in March while also receiving title shots at the Shotgun and World Tag Team Championships but wasn't able to win either. In July, he took part in WhatCulture Pro Wrestling's World Cup German Qualifying Tournament where he defeated Cem Kaplan in the first round but lost to Lucky Kid in the finals.
Alejandro Saez
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
After the Cruiserweight Classic, Saez went back to his native Chile and began wrestling throughout South America and Mexico. He also returned to Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan during the fall where he participated in their yearly Global League Tournament finishing in seventh place in his block with six points.
Tyson Dux
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
Dux would be one of the wrestlers WWE passed on and he's since returned to the Canadian independent circuit competing in promotions like Smash Wrestling (where he's heavyweight champion), C4, and Border City Wrestling. He also participated in GFW events in October and the WhatCulture Pro Wrestling World Cup Canadian Qualifying Tournament but lost in the first round to Kyle O'Reilly.
Jason Lee
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
Lee returned to Hong Kong following the Cruiserweight Classic and has wrestled some matches in Hong Kong as well as China for China Wrestling Entertainment.
Damien Slater
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
Slater returned to Australia where he's worked a variety of organizations, most notably Explosive Pro Wrestling. He also took part in the first Australian show from Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore organization in June.
Kenneth Johnson
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
After the CWC, Johnson hasn't done anything of note. At least, nothing that I can't find.
Anthony Bennett
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
Bennett wasn't picked up by WWE and has since gone back to the indy circuit mostly for CZW where he frequently works their Dojo Wars shows at the CZW/WSU Academy.
Clemont Petiot
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
Petiot returned to Europe where he's competed in Germany, England, Belgium, and The Netherlands where he's enjoyed success in promotions like International Catch Wrestling Alliance and the German Wrestling Federation.
Sean Maluta
Current Status: Not Signed by WWE
Maluta returned to the independents mostly competing for Afa The Wild Samoan's WXW promotion. Despite not getting hired, Maluta has made appearances on 205 Lives and NXT events where he's largely on the losing end of matches.
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