Kota Ibushi
On June 13, 2016, Alexander was announced as a participant in WWE's Cruiserweight Classic tournament. The tournament began on June 23 with Alexander defeating Clement Petiot in his first round match. On July 14, Alexander was eliminated from the tournament by Kota Ibushi. The match received high praise, with the fans in attendance chanting "please sign Cedric" and earned a -star rating from Dave Meltzer of the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter".