The Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament is coming to a close. There are only two matches left to happen in this tournament, El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Akira Tozawa & Drake Maverick vs. KUSHIDA. While Maverick vs. KUSHIDA would come later in the evening, the B-Block ends now. This match will decide who reaches the finals, as the undefeated Tozawa clashes with Fantasma who has a nice 1-1 record. Who will advance to the finals when puroesu meets lucha libre?
Evenly Matched To Start This Fight
They would stare each other down before locking up, with Tozawa taking the match to the mat quickly. Fantasma would go for the headscissors but Tozawa would escape back to his feet. Some more grappling would see both men evenly matched in this regard, with neither able to get control. Fantasma would hit a snap suplex, and they would give each other some space before locking up again.
They would trade leg-sweeps, pin fall attempts and arm drags before Tozawa went for the first strike of the match with a missed dropkick. Both men would be reading from the same page, and it would take some work to get control, with neither making a mistake. Fantasma would go to the back for a takedown, but Tozawa would be quickly back to his feet with a blistering chop, only to get one right back.
Tozawa & Fantasma Trade Control
The strike fest would be won when Tozawa would fake out Fantasma with a chop, only to hit a quick jab. This would start to quicken the pace, as Tozawa hit the ropes and came in fast with a frankensteiner. Looking for the dive to the outside, Fantasma would have this maneuver well scouted and force a re-adjustment. Tozawa would opt to hit another frankensteiner, this time diving off the apron and sending Fantasma hard into the floor. He’d go back to the apron, wait for Fantasma to get to his feet and dive off with a flipping senton into the barricade.
Control would not be kept for long, with Fantasma sweeping the legs once they were back in the ring, only to kick Tozawa in the face from the outside. This would be followed up with a frog splash from the steel steps onto the arpon, a very unique maneuver. A Senton Atomico over the top rope would get a near fall for Fantasma, who would follow up with an attempt at a backdrop.
El Hijo Del Fantasma Wouldn’t Quit
Tozawa would flip out of this, hit a spinning kick to the gut before missing the cyclone kick. This would be the prelude to the German Suplex, dumping Fantasma on his head. Going to the top rope, Tozawa would look for the senton but be cut down, instead being dropped stomach first on the top turnbuckle.
A wheelbarrow bulldog would give Tozawa another chance in this match, as it gave a chance to hit the senton. Fantasma would get some time to recover by rolling to the outside. A running dropkick would send Tozawa over the top rope, letting Fantasma hit the Tope From The Depths Of Hell. Back in the ring, he’d look for the Phantom Driver, which would be countered into the Octopus Hold. This would be defended, the Phantom Driver would be hit.
This punches the ticket to the finals for Fantasma, and leaves Tozawa in the dust. Do you think he will be our Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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