Gran Metalik and T.J. Perkins battle to determine not only the winner of the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic, but to establish Raw's new WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.
With the stakes of the Cruiserweight Classic Final raised by Triple H and the new WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the line, both T.J. Perkins and Gran Metalik had more reason than ever to fight through the pain after grueling Semifinal battles.
Perkins took the bout to the mat early on, trying to pin Gran Metalik and claim the title. The masked marvel was able to slip free and take to the air, where he is unlike any other competitor in the world. However, Perkins – having spent many of his 18 years in the ring in Mexico – showed off lucha libre skills of his own, sending Metalik to the floor with a hurricanrana over the ropes. The daredevil luchador soon answered by one-upping Perkins, hurdling over the top rope to connect with a hurricanrana of his own, then following with the unbelievable dive he calls Brillo Metallik.
“El Rey de las Cuerdas” showed his skill on the ropes back inside the ring, coming at Perkins from all angles. Yet The Fil-Am Flash stayed grounded for the moment, finding the opening he needed to lock on his kneebar. The wear and tear of the grueling 10-week tournament showed on both grapplers as they traded strikes, the thud of skin and bone reverberating through the arena. Metalik went for a moonsault, but connected only with the extended Jordans of TJP, who then trapped him in his devastating kneebar.
Metalik escaped the hold, but the damage to his knee was done. Still, the luchador fought on, striking Perkins so hard that welts emerged on the Filipino’s chest. Gran Metalik caught Perkins on the top rope and went for a top-rope Metalik Driver out of desperation. However, the damage to the masked marvel’s knee would come back to haunt him. Perkins took Metalik to the canvas and locked the kneebar on the damaged leg. In the center of the ring, TJP crossed over his free leg for extra pressure, leaving Metalik with no option but to tap out.
An 18-year journey that led Perkins around the world, to homelessness and back, culminated with The Fil-Am Flash in the center of the ring. It was there that Triple H put the brand-new WWE Cruiserweight Championship around his waist, in front of a worldwide audience that now recognized him as the winner of the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Championship.