TJP, Hideo Itami, Mustafa Ali and Drew Gulak each made a strong case for a WWE Cruiserweight Championship opportunity against Cedric Alexander. As the match got underway, Gulak and Itami attacked Ali as TJP waited in the corner. Annoyed, Gulak and Itami allowed TJP to advance, but Ali was ready and managed to take control of the bout. As Ali attempted to pin Gulak, Itami struck and gained the edge with his hard-hitting style.
Ali was at a disadvantage as Gulak, Itami and TJP appeared to be on the same page against The Heart of WWE 205 Live. Despite the numbers working against him, Ali did his best to counter double-team attacks from TJP and Itami before being leveled by his longtime rival, Gulak.
With Ali on defense, Gulak unleashed his technical ability, keeping Ali grounded. However, Gulak and Itami grew frustrated with TJP as he continued to break up pinfalls. Conspiring against Ali, the three came up with a strategy to take down their opponent until The Fil-Am Flash rolled up Gulak following a suplex. With the alliance crumbling, Ali launched himself off the top rope and took down his opponents.
Ali’s momentum was stopped as TJP applied a submission hold on Ali and then Itami, clearly at an advantage before Gulak entered the fray and applied a brutal hold and a series of near-falls on The Cruisergreat. TJP and Gulak engaged in a stalemate that received an ovation from the WWE Universe before Itami took them both down.
Itami and TJP again forged an alliance, but it was short-lived, as The Heart of WWE 205 Live threw Itami into TJP in the corner, then took down Gulak by executing a hurricanrana on TJP into Gulak. Displaying his resilience and fortitude, Ali took down all three of his opponents in quick succession and nearly scored a pinfall on Gulak.
After Itami saved the match, all four Superstars were slow to recover and engaged in a sequence of blow after blow that again left them all down and out on the mat. The first to recover, Ali attempted to take out TJP, but the two countered each other until crashing into one another and were again left reeling.
This left Gulak and Itami facing off in the center of the ring exchanging slaps, strikes and kicks that ended with The Philadelphia Stretcher executing a suplex. However, Itami struck back with a Falcon Arrow and both Superstars again traded strikes in the center of the ring. Rolling to the outside, they continued to brawl with hard-hitting haymakers, and TJP and Ali threw down in the ring. With The Cruisergreat preparing to take out Ali, Gulak and Itami pulled him down before being flattened by Ali.
Ali nearly secured victory following the 054, but Itami pulled him away, slamming him into the steel steps. Itami continued his brutal assault, kicking Ali into the steps and throwing him face-first into the ring post. With Ali knocked out, Itami rolled him back into the ring but was blindsided by Gulak.
Wasting little time, Gulak applied the Dragon Sleeper to an unconscious Ali for the victory, earning the right to challenge Cedric Alexander for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
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Article source: WWE.com