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”The Doc” Chad Matthews has been a featured writer for LOP since 2004. Initially offering detailed recaps and reviews for WWE's top programs, he transitioned to writing columns in 2010. In addition to his discussion-provoking current event pieces, he has written many acclaimed series about WrestleMania, as well as a popular short story chronicle. The Doc has also penned a book, The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment, published in 2013. It has been called “the best wrestling book I have ever read” and holds a 5-star rating on Amazon, where it peaked at #3 on the wrestling charts. Follow @TheDocLOP QUESTION OF THE DAY: Which opening day Cruiserweight Classic match did you enjoy most? Who most impressed you? Who most impressed you if you had already seen Kota Ibushi? I have come into the Cruiserweight Classic with few expectations beyond seeing a genre that I very much appreciated in the past being prominently featured by WWE once again. I will be reviewing the process step-by-step like a PPV or NXT Takeover special but in my previous format long since abandoned, offering star ratings when I deem it appropriate but mostly just offering analysis while enjoying this like the rest of you. Before I get into the action from Day 1, I want to quickly comment on the announce team of Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo. I thought Bryan's unbridled enthusiasm was infectious and that his commentary was quite organic. He has heavily invested himself in this tournament, as was apparent on the Network's Bracketology special last week, and he seems to have quickly developed good chemistry with Ranallo, who is the best in the game today if you prefer to hear someone treat the in-ring action like it truly matters (as I do). A job well done in the booth; I felt it aided the presentation, which seems odd to write since that's what it is supposed to do by nature, but WWE proper's main announce team has reached a historical low point. Match 1: Gran Metalik defeated Alejandro Saez in 4:05 (Doc's Rating - **1/2) (Doc's Notes - Three of the four matches tonight stood out to me and the opener was the first. Though it began the theme for most of the night of very short matches, Saez vs. Metalik did not waste any of their allotted time. Saez, particularly, utilized what proved to be his limited chance in this tournament to showcase a well-rounded arsenal of striking and high-flying. I had never even heard of him and walked away from his performance feeling as though we probably have not seen the last of him. As for Metalik, he provided the initial "WOW" moment of the CWC with his second-rope assisted somersault to the outside. Watching it on replay, it looked incredibly tricky not to catch the front of the foot on the rope, so Bryan's reaction mirrored my own: genuinely impressed. Metalik, both in his actions and in the way that he was spoken of on commentary, seems like an early favorite to reach the Final Four) Match 2: Ho Ho Lun defeated Ariya Daivairi in 5-minutes (Doc's Notes - This was the one match of the night that did not click for me. My issue in the past with WWE's Cruiserweight division was that it was often so short-changed on time and deliberately toned down that it could not stand out as the special genre of professional wrestling that it is. Bring that complaint forward a decade to this very match, during which Daivari mostly used wear down holds to keep a guy who barely looked like he could fly grounded. Lun advanced, but in mostly uninspiring fashion. He looks weak and untested compared to the other competitors featured tonight, so I will look for him to showcase more of what prompted his advancement to the Sweet 16 in a month or so) Match3: Cedric Alexander defeated Clement Petiot in 6-minutes (Doc's Rating - **1/2) (Doc's Notes - This was my second favorite match of the night. I loved the pre-match introductory videos for each wrestler, continuing the job well done by WWE throughout the last two weeks of hyping up the CWC on the Network. What stood out about Petiot's intro was that he was trained by Lance Storm, who I've grown quite fond of in the ten years since he retired. Petiot was really good, the only wrestler on Day 1 to go with the Dean Malenko-style of cruiserweight action that is heavy on counters and holds. I would have been fine with him moving on, but Alexander was definitely the more aesthetically exciting of the two and showed off a rare brand of athleticism that could make his 2nd round match-up fascinating - a thought not lost on our esteemed commentators before the night was over. The suplex into the back-cracker that earned Alexander the pin was awesome, but how effortlessly he took the discus clothesline that flipped him in mid-air is what will stay with me most until we see him again) Match 4: Kota Ibushi defeated Sean Maluta in 9:40 (Doc's Rating - ***1/4) (Doc's Notes - When the earlier matches had gone six-minutes or fewer, I had hoped that the opening night might end with a longer match. My hopes doubled when I thought the main-event of Day 1 would be Ibushi-Maluta. Quick point - did you notice how well Bryan and Ranallo set up the great near fall later with their pre-match discussion about Maluta's super kick? That was stellar, enhancing the moment when Maluta connected after Bryan's emphasis on Ibushi's potential weaknesses stemming from a recent neck surgery recovery. Anyhow, Ibushi was awesome, living up to the considerable reputation he brought with him into the tournament. I am not a New Japan follower, so this was my first exposure, but when the pressure applied to you is "this guy is one of the best in the world," coupled with the inherent pressure of being on the WWE stage for the first time, you absolutely have to deliver; and Ibushi delivered. As did the commentators, give credit also where it is due to Maluta. Much respect. This could easily have been a Sweet 16 match based on its quality. Maluta, Ibushi, Bryan, and Ranallo created an underdog story and it felt like a Rocky-style upset was on the horizon at that one crucial part of the climax) All in all, thanks to a very good main-event and two other strong performances, Day 1 left me excited for next week's Day 2. In the next three weeks, I would like to see variation of when the longer match takes place or perhaps even a night in which all matches get a nearly equal distribution of time; it would be excellent if the format was tweaked week to week to keep us guessing. Final thought is that Ibushi vs. Metalik looks like a potential final to me. See you next week!
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