WWE chief operating officer Triple H and NXT general manager William Regal raise the hands of the winner of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic and new WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins. Screengrab from WWE Network
Out of 32, one reigned supreme.
TJ Perkins won the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Classic and was crowned the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
The Fil-Am technician submitted Gran Metalik in the Finals, reversing the Metalik Driver from the top turnbuckle and turning it to a kneebar for the victory.
Perkins relentlessly worked on the Mexican highflyer’s knee all throughout the match, with the strategy favoring him after Metalik’s knee gave out and giving him time to kick out of a Metalik Driver in the middle of the match.
READ: WWE CWC: Fil-Am Perkins makes it to the Final Four
“This is not one person. This is 32 people, all of them. I started and they’re just my peers. Tonight, all of them are my heroes,” said Perkins.
Perkins and Metalik are set to debut with the rest of the cruiserweight division next Monday on Raw.
Earlier, he scored an upset win over tournament favorite Kota Ibushi in their semifinals match.
Perkins escaped Ibushi’s second Golden Star powerbomb and turned it into a kneebar, while also wrenching the Japanese hard hitter’s surgically repaired neck for the submission victory.
Meanwhile, in the other semifinals duel, Metalik beat Zack Sabre Jr., catching the British technician on the air and turning it to the Metalik Driver for the three-count.