A look at what happened in this WWE Clash of Champions match of TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick.
On the most recent episode of WWE Raw, the cruiserweight division debuted with a match. This saw Brian Kendrick defeat Cedric Alexander, Gran Metalik, and Rich Swann to become the No. 1 Contender to TJ Perkins’ WWE Cruiserweight Championship. They will battle for it at Clash of Champions.
Sunday night will be TJP’s main roster debut, as he did not appear during the September 19 episode of Raw. He’ll get a chance to defend the belt on Sunday and look to walk into Monday as champion.
As for Kendrick, this is his first WWE pay-per-view appearance in over seven years. He’s getting a second chance, and will look to make the most of it at Clash.
Perkins got a nice pop, which is a nice sign to see that people were following the Cruiserweight Classic.showed off some of his athletic moves to begin the match
TJP showed off some of his athletic moves to begin the match, until Kendrick looked to ground him with a side headlock.
At ringside, Kendrick put the apron over Perkins’ head and started punching him. This is a move out of Fit Finlay’s old playbook.
Perkins was able to take control, dabbed and put Kendrick into a Muta lock.
Kendrick would begin working a straitjacket hold and a boot to the back of Perkins’ head. He got out of this with a Mule kick and a hurricanrana.
Perkins would hurricanrana Kendrick over the ropes and out of the ring. Kendrick looked for Sliced Bread, but missed. Perkins missed a 450 splash, and Kendrick went to put on the Captain’s Hook. This led to a kneebar from the CWC Champion, but Kendrick countered. He hit Sliced Bread, but Perkins kicked out.
Perkins locked in the kneebar and won.
THE @MrBrianKendrick battles @MegaTJP for the Cruiserweight Title LIVE NOW on #WWEClash of Champions! WATCH: https://t.co/aEwGYU7p64 pic.twitter.com/yNOO1Ir7Ee
— WWE (@WWE) September 26, 2016
NO HANDSHAKE from @MrBrianKendrick, and we're UNDERWAY for the Cruiserweight Title on #WWEClash!! @MegaTJP pic.twitter.com/1NFpe3WIFo
— WWE (@WWE) September 26, 2016
DAB ON 'EM!!!
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 26, 2016
Cruiserweight Champion @MegaTJP makes his @WWE #RAW brand debut!! #WWEClash pic.twitter.com/UQV5jOmx8A
What it's all about at #WWEClash of Champions!! #CruiserweightTitle @MegaTJP @MrBrianKendrick pic.twitter.com/IOOSFf0vFY
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 26, 2016
.@MrBrianKendrick uses the apron skirt to his advantage vs. @MegaTJP! #Cruiserweight #WWEClash pic.twitter.com/rDRJ5bEswU
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 26, 2016
.@MegaTJP hangs onto the ropes, saving a spill outside.#Cruiserweight #WWEClash pic.twitter.com/SJDlKhHR8Y
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 26, 2016
Literally, by a HAIR!! @MegaTJP @MrBrianKendrick #Cruiserweight #WWEClash pic.twitter.com/bjpyN1dHvR
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 26, 2016
#SlicedBreadNo2!! ONE TWO NOOOOO!!! #Cruiserweight @MegaTJP @MrBrianKendrick #WWEClash pic.twitter.com/6ggyWPSKnJ
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 26, 2016
Perkins and Kendrick put on a solid match here. It got sloppy at times, but the cruiserweight style can be a little wild at times. Nerves for someone like TJP, who hadn’t performed in front of a 10,000-seat WWE crowd before, could have played a factor.
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The reign will continue past Clash of Champions, though. It looks like we may get a rematch between these two as well, especially with Kendrick’s post-match headbutt.