Hawke’s Top 14 Cedric Alexander Matches from 2016

I’ve long considered myself something of a Cedric skeptic in that he was clearly good but not nearly as great as his reputation seemed to suggest. However, there is no denying that he had a strong 2016. Also, it’s worth noting that the majority of his good matches happened in the second half of the year after he left ROH.

 

14. Cedric Alexander vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – AAW – 7/23/2016

13. Cedric Alexander vs. Johnny Gargano – Evolve – 7/16

12. Cedric Alexander vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PWX – 6/18/2016

11. Cedric Alexander vs. Rich Swann vs. Gran Metalik vs. Brian Kendrick – WWE – 9/19/2016

10. Cedric Alexander vs. Jimmy Rave – AWE – 8/13/2016

This was for Rave’s GWC Championship.

AWE normally runs a smaller-ish venue with the fans very close to the ring which makes for a great atmosphere for wrestling. Here, they seemingly ran a decent-sized high school gym where the fans were kept very far away from the ring. It was odd and clearly put the wrestlers at a disadvantage.

The match itself was solid beyond that though. Rave really has been doing a very nice job as a heel champ in AWE as he does not feel the need to be over-the-top about the fact that he is a heel. In an art that often (if not usually) features performers playing to the last row in the crowd, Rave’s recent work has been a very nice change of pace.

Cedric was not quite as energetic here as he has been recently in higher profile places. He nonetheless did a solid job in the role of challenger.

The finish was a schmoz although they somehow paced and structured it well enough so it did not really bring down the match (other than limiting its potential). There was a ref bump, interference, etc. and all of that allowed Rave to squeak out the win with a small package.

This will not set the wrestling world on fire or anything, but it was very fine. It’s just a shame that they did not get to work the match in a better environment. (***)

Update: Apparently, this was a PTA fundraiser hence the venue.

 

9. Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade Almas – WWE – 9/15/2016

This was a solid television battle. Almas got control early. He did a solid heat segment that never felt too long or repetitive. Cedric kept fighting back until he managed to pull off the lumbar check out of nowhere for the win. This was fun, engaging, and did not overstay its welcome. Yay, NXT TV. (***)

 

8. Cedric Alexander vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve – 8/20/2016

Zack started to get some heat here, and it’s a long time coming given that he did not seem to be moving there on his own. Zack’s casual “I’m going to kick ya, not look like I’m trying too hard, and then pull the win out in the end with a funky arm submission” character is a heel character. On top of that, Cedric was a super hot commodity at the time of this match due his CWC work. In other words, this was a great situation for both guys to come off well. If Zack picked up the pace a bit more and worked with more of a sense of purpose and urgency, this probably would have been a great match. As it was though, it was still quite good and time well spent. Zack won cleanly via some wonky submission. (***1/4)

 

7. Cedric Alexander vs. Donovan Dijak – ROH – 5/14/2016

This was a battle of two super-talented guys that have somehow been completely undermined by the ROH brain trust while guys like Adam Cole, Mike Bennett, Matt Taven, Adam Page, etc. get chance after chance to prove how much they are unworthy of the pushes they receive.

This was Cedric’s final ROH match for the time being as he moves on to WWN and NXT. Naturally, they have the commentary team bury him for the duration of the match for not living up to his potential. Then they of course cut away from the scene before the crowd can send Cedric off properly. This is the ROH we are stuck with, everyone. They fucking suck.

The match was perfectly fine and pretty fun to watch. It suffered from getting a poor reaction from the crowd. That should not be surprising given how poorly these two have been pushed but whatever. Time to move on. Thank you, Cedric. Dijak won cleanly with Feast Your Eyes. (***1/4)

 

6. Cedric Alexander vs. Tomohiro – ROH – 2/27/2016

5. Cedric Alexander vs. TJ Perkins – Evolve – 8/19/2016

While Cedric is (deservedly) the hot name right now, this match really was an excellent showcase for TJ Perkins and his ability to control the match. The pacing, the variety in what you see in the ring, and the ability to integrate cool spots and sequences while allowing all of them to breath is genuinely impressive. It was obviously even easier here because Cedric is so talented and over. However, matches like this really push for people to recognize that TJ Perkins is basically one of the best wrestlers in the world. This featured so much fun action and even a solid in-ring story on the margins with TJP continuously going after the kneebar until he finally won with it. GOOD STUFF. (***1/2)

 

4. Cedric Alexander & BJ Whitmer vs. Jonathan Gresham & Adam Page – ROH – 3/12/2016

This would be a very good example of two teams (and irregular teams at that) putting in some creativity to make an undercard tag match get over and come off like a bigger deal.

There was a hot pre-match brawl that got the fans sucked in. They did a solid heat segment that was right to the point and did not waste time. They then did a hot tag/comeback that had some cool sequences and well-timed highspots to make sure fans genuinely got excited for the match.

No one could possibly fucking care about the Adam Page/BJ Whitmer feud as it’s presented in ROH. Smart work here though proved you can get some successful matches from it.

Cedric Alexander has been buried beyond belief in the past year, and Jonathan Gresham has been treated like a goober by the company. You would never know that after watching this match. Why? SMART FUCKING WORK.

I can’t believe this combo of guys in ROH outworks everyone in the company, but it’s not the first time that it’s happened. Kudos to them. Page caught Cedric’s attempt for the Mochizuki corner kick and reversed it into a reverse piledriver. (***1/2)

 

3. Cedric Alexander vs. Kota Ibushi – WWE – 7/14/2016

 

2. Cedric Alexander vs. Fred Yehi – Evolve – 6/11/2016

This was exactly what an opener or a midcard match should be. It made both guys look good, it got the crowd involved, and it told a compelling story. All the while, it never felt long or did anything to overshadow the rest of the card.

They also did a great job of having Yehi just control the whole match without it ever feeling boring or repetitive. Yehi just works like he is in complete control of everything. It’s a rare quality that just adds a ton to the smoothness of a match.

Cedric then had to find openings to get some offense in, and each spot felt important as a result. It created an awesome finishing sequence where Cedric just DVDed Yehi into the corner. However, the way it was executed felt more like he just dove in there out of desperation instead of it being, “Time for the DVD into the corner spot.” Small things like that really add to the match. Cedric then finished Yehi with his backbreaker. (***3/4)

 

1. Cedric Alexander vs. Matt Riddle – Evolve – 6/10/2016

Matt Riddle is your rookie of the year and wrestler of the year. He is everything you would want in a pro wrestler right now. His matches are paced incredibly well. They don’t go too long. He sells the right amount to not make the action seem meaningless. He manages to squeeze in a number of memorable moments into a short period of time. The crowd loves it almost every time. He makes his opponent look good in defeat. There is no earthly reason why he is not the Evolve Champion right now. This was great. Riddle won with some submission that I don’t know the name of. (****)