Fil-Am TJ Perkins pulls off a shocking victory over Johnny Gargano to advance to the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. Photo from WWE.com
TJ Perkins rounded out the field for the final eight competitors in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).
The Fil-American technician reversed a Full Nelson suplex attempt and rolled it into a kneebar, clamping down on tournament favorite Johnny Gargano’s left leg to win via submission in their round two clash.
Gargano earlier injured his leg after it fell at the bell table as he went for a rolling senton at ringside, but he still fought on and finished the match.
“(The win) stunned a lot of people out there, it stunned a lot of people back here. One person that didn’t stun is me, it didn’t stun me because I’m a counter-wrestler, a reactive wrestler,” Perkins said of his victory in a WWE.com exclusive interview. “I know when someone gives me something, I turn it to something else. That’s what I do.”
Perkins advances to the quarterfinals of the 32-man tournament, with the energetic Rich Swann next in his bracket.
“Rich Swann is unreal. He’s an amazing athlete and he’s got a lot more tools on his toolbox than I do and I certainly admit that,” he said. “Rich makes it flashy, but I make it look easy.”
Other competitors who made it to the elite eight are Akira Tozawa, Gran Metalik, Zack Sabre Jr., Noam Dar, Brian Kendrick, and Kota Ibushi.