WWE Cruiserweight Classic Coverage: A Wild First Impression

Powered by wonderful performances by Kota Ibushi and Cedric Alexander, the first four matches in the first episode of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic was a fantastic first impression. If you want to want ROH-styled in-ring action

Matches:

Alejandro Saez vs. Gran Metalik: Although Metalik got the win with the Pinning Fireman’s Carry Michinoku Driver and wowed the crowd with unbelievable balance on the top rope, Saez marveled with a Shooting Star Press on the outside and fierce strikes.

Hoho Lun vs. Aria Daivari: A pretty standard heel vs. face encounter as Daivari slapped Lun around and nailed him with some pretty kicks. But after Daivari, who is the brother of former WWE manager and TNA performer Daivari, missed a Frog Splash, Lun hit a Bridging German Suplex for the win.

Cedric Alexander vs. Clement Petiot: Alexander was his usual ROH self, performing a wide variety of duplexes and flash. Petite, on the other hand, was an awesome heel, using Duplexes and strikes and slowed down the action thanks to submissions, much like his mentor, Lance Storm. With plenty of counters and near-falls, this was the best match of the night up until that point. Someone had to lose this one though and Alexander, who recovered after a Discus Lariat, got a monster win with the Lumber Jack Backbreaker.

Kota Ibushi vs. Sean Maluta: Ibushi was near perfect, hitting strikes from the top rope and exhibiting the types of kicks he’s known all around the world for. Maluta was no slouch though, hitting a second rope Codebreaker that kept him in the match. Following it up with a wild Somersault Plancha (that he almost missed) on the outside, Maluta more than held his own. But following a Pele Kick from Ibushi on Maluta, who was on the top rope and a Moonsault to the outside, Ibushi took control. However, Maluka fought back one more time and nearly won with a beautiful Super Kick. Continuing to kick, Maluta went to the well too many times and Ibushi got the win with the Sit-Out Last Ride Powerbomb.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13861 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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