Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Gran Metalik, WWE Cruiserweight Classic Finale (9/14/2016)

This was a semi-final match in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament.

One could easily imagine this not working.

Zack against all-world fliers has been somewhat reliable over the last few years, but between stylistic differences, it being a first time ever meeting (no practice), and, I imagine, a language barrier, it’s not quite so guaranteed of a success as Zack against more English speaking fliers.

While this is far from the cleanest match in the world, I think it mostly works.

Less so in a way where the structure of the Cruiserweight Classic made some things in this tournament hit about their weight class, so to speak, but more in that classic deeply flawed force-of-talent alone kind of a way.

Veggies first.

There’s some clear miscommunication at points here, Metalik not feeding Zack a limb (or in the case of the European Clutch, not giving up the legs at all so Zack just lied back with his feet on the shoulders instead) or them seeming a little uncooperative at times, but in ways that make a match like this more interesting. In a funny little thing too, now that Zack Sabre Jr. had decided not to sign with the WWE after all, he’s now let off the leash a little as a result, and has a much more typical Zack Sabre Jr. match. Less babyface skill and grit like in his previous two CWC matches, more of him sometimes playing at being an antagonist and/or bully, but having trouble ever committing to any one idea and instead gesturing towards a few different ones.

The match works though because, despite everything, two of the best wrestlers in the world come together and have a match that winds up being just great enough for the stage. Your classic case of it being harder for these two to fail than to succeed, and not being bad enough or dumb enough to really undertake the latter. Zack punishes Metalik for flying, but he’s then fast enough to catch Zack leaping in or getting a little too aggressive and overzealous when it matters the most. Simple formula, working out pretty well in spite of any reason it might not.

Metalik wins with a real god damner of a Metalik Driver.

Of the two semi-final matches in which signed talent went over guys who (smartly) decided not to put pen to paper, this one at least comes off as a far more believable result, even if the match isn’t quite as great.

***

 

 

Akira Tozawa vs. Gran Metalik, WWE Cruiserweight Classic (8/31/2016)

This was a Quarterfinal in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament.

It’s another one of those times when there is no good explanation for why something works. It is a match about doing a bunch of huge, gigantic, wildly impressive and impactful offense in a row. There is no thing I can point to and feel proud for recognizing and try and communicate to you. “Ah, [thing x] is an ode to something from 4,000 years in the past and/or earlier in the match”. None of that.

Tozawa and Metalik (aka Mascara Dorada) are two of the world’s most exciting wrestlers, to the point that you or someone else could call them #1 and #2 and I wouldn’t see fit to argue your stance, and this match allows them to do all of their most wildly exciting offense. This is the round in which the WWE thing and the “tournament booking” thing kind of go by the wayside and everyone just goes nuts for these last handful of episodes. Double dives, all the biggest nearfalls, the hardest shots they have in them, all of that.

Really, the only things about this that make it feel like a WWE match are the logos everywhere and Mauro trying to fit in every possible reference to the hip hop hits of 2016 (such as asking Bryan what the major keys are) and otherwise, it simply feels like one would imagine an Akira Tozawa vs. Mascara Dorada match might feel had it happened in the home territory of either man (or in a Liga Elite match, God, imagine).

Frantic and wild and so beautiful.

A certified God Damner.

***1/4