Earlier in the night, we would see B-Block action from the Interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament. The A-Block would be represented with top runners KUSHIDA & Jake Atlas. Both KUSHIDA & Atlas are coming into this match with perfect records. KUSHIDA beat Tony Nese. Jake Atlas has beaten Drake Maverick. Who would suffer their first loss of the tournament on this night?
More Great Cruiserweight Action
KUSHIDA would quickly makes things technical, sprawling around before hopping onto Atlas for a body scissors. This would turn into a test of strength, which Atlas seemed to have won, but with hands clasped, KUSHIDA snuck his way into a handy wrist lock to regain technical control. Atlas would use his gymnastic ability to flip out and break this control, before being thrown into the corner of the ring. KUSHIDA would rush in, Atlas would try to push him off with his feet, and despite being caught was able to turn this into a smooth arm drag before dropping KUSHIDA with a shoulder block. They would run the ropes, with Atlas getting cocky and going for a handstand to showoff, getting a stiff kick to the arm and rolling to the outside in pain.
Capitalizing on this, KUSHIDA would take to the top rope with a somersault senton off the top rope, crashing onto his opponent. The momenteum was clearly in his corner now, and he would hit the signature hip toss into dropkick combo, before sending Atlas into the corner to hit him with a big shotei palm strike. Atlas would fight back, countering a strike attempt by kicking the arm out of the way, hitting a german suplex and ending this flurry with a nice step up Enzuguri for a near fall. Back on his feet, KUSHIDA would check the hurt arm a few times, before hitting the ropes.
KUSHIDA Takes The Lead
Atlas would dodge the clothesline with a flip and hit a smooth neckbreaker, with his opponent slipping out of the ring. Not wanting to stop to take a breath, Atlas would get ready for a dive to the outside, notice KUSHIDA moved and quickly redirected to catch his opponent with the dive. Throwing KUSHIDA back in the ring, Atlas would attempt a springboard, but would be caught in an armbar for an instant submission.
The action in this match showed exactly how good the young Jake Atlas is, but this win puts KUSHIDA at the top of the A-Block with two wins, Atlas is now tied with Maverick at 1-1, and Tony Nese is in dead last at 0-2. Will KUSHIDA make his way to the finals with a perfect record, or can Drake Maverick stop him? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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