WWE Cruiserweight Classic

The Cruiserweight Classic (first known as the Global Cruiserweight Series) was a professional wrestling tournament made by WWE in 2016. It aired as a WWE Network event across the summer. All wrestlers were billed at a weight of 205 pounds or less. Its winner would become the first WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Tournament qualifying matches took place in various promotions of the independent circuit such as Revolution Pro Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, and Evolve. It took place on June 23, July 13, August 26, and September 14, 2016. The winner was T. J. Perkins. After the event, WWE created a cruiserweight division for their Raw brand and made the show 205 Live, featuring several wrestlers from the tournament.

Participants
WrestlerWeight (in pounds)Akira Tozawa156Alejandro Saez205147Ariya Daivari180157Cedric Alexander200Clément Petiot199Da Mack160193Drew Gulak193Fabian Aichner203Gran Metalik175159144Ho Ho Lun155167Jason Lee154Johnny Gargano170156Kota Ibushi189Lince Dorado168This competitor is a replacement for another participant who was taken out of the tournament182Noam Dar178Raul Mendoza178Rich Swann165Sean Maluta191T. J. Perkins167Tajiri189Tommaso Ciampa195Tony Nese196Tyson Dux193Zack Sabre Jr.181

Alternates
In the event an official participant had suffered an injury or did not make the 205 lbs weight limit, they would have been replaced by one of the following participants:
WrestlerWeight (in pounds)182184182197155

Replaced
These participants were taken out of the tournament for a specific reason and therefore were replaced by another competitor.
WrestlerWeight (in pounds)(max. 205)Progression in the tournamentReasonReplacing wrestler167Replaced before the official start of the tournamentVisa issuesMustafa Ali

Results
 Tournament bracket 

The following time limits were in place:
 Round one: 20 minutes
 Round two: 20 minutes
 Quarterfinals: 30 minutes
 Semifinals: 30 minutes
 Final: Unlimited

 Finale 

Footnotes

 References 

Category:WWE
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events