WrestleMania 35 preview: Cruiserweight Championship

 At WrestleMania 35 Tony Nese looks to stop “The Unstoppable” WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy will put his title on the line against his former friend and training partner, Tony Nese, this Sunday at WrestleMania 35, and while “The Unstoppable” one has been taking a well-earned break, his challenger has been hard at work proving he belongs in the spotlight.

Since claiming the Cruiserweight Title from Cedric Alexander back in October at WWE Super Show-Down in his home of Melbourne, Australia, Murphy has been as his subbed sobriquet implies: unstoppable. He’s currently the third longest-reigning champion in the company, behind WWE Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and NXT UK Champion Pete Dunne — some pretty impressive peers — and has vanquished all challengers, from Alexander to Hideo Itami to Akira Tozowa to Umberto Carillo. He’s been a diligent, fighting champion, seeking out worthy opponents until recently. The champ hasn’t wrestled since Elimination Chamber, back on February 17, and hasn’t competed on 205 Live since January 15. Until popping back up to blindside his “friend” and ‘Mania challenger, Nese, he’s actually been on a self-sanctioned sabbatical in Australia.

While Murphy’s been relaxing, like Thanos sauntering through his intergalactic poppy fields after snapping away his competition, Nese has been proving his worth on a weekly basis. He won the Cruiserweight Championship tournament, earning this title shot by defeating Drew Gulak and former champions Kalisto and Alexander along the way. When the tournament started, Nese certainly wasn’t the favorite. However, the performances he’s put in over its course have made clear he deserves a chance to do what his former companion Murphy did, and become Cruiserweight Champion in his home state.

Friendships come and go in wrestling; it’s nothing new. What is new is the self-doubt that forced Murphy to attack his fried from behind. The Unstoppable One did what no one else could: He stopped his own momentum, thinking he’d defeated everyone. Meanwhile, the man who’d been in the champ’s shadow has been proving it’s his time to be crowned. Will Nese keep his hot hand and, like last year’s Cruiserweight Championship tournament winner, leave WrestleMania the new Cruiserweight Champ, or will Murphy continue to be unstoppable? Tune in Sunday and find out.