T.J. Perkins wins CWC tournament, crowned new WWE Cruiserweight Champion

WINTER PARK, Fla., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- WWE's network exclusive 32-man Cruiserweight Classic tournament came to an end Wednesday with competitor T.J. Perkins coming out on top.

Perkins reached the finals of the tournament against the masked Gran Metalik after he defeated Kota Ibushi in the semifinals earlier in the night. Metalik kicked off the event by defeating Zack Sabre Jr. in order to advance.

In a surprise move before the final bout commenced, WWE COO Triple H announced that both men would be competing for the newly unveiled WWE Cruiserweight Championship, a title that will be featured exclusively on Raw.

With the stakes raised, both men exhausted from their previous match put it all on the line in a very technical and high-flying match that ended when Perkins locked Metalik into his painful kneebar submission maneuver that left him with no choice but to tap.

"#KNEEBAR is locked in!!! @DoradoSro TAPS OUT!! @MaskaraManik wins #CWC and is the NEW @WWE Cruiserweight Champion!" the company noted on Twitter alongside a photo highlighting the closing moments.

Perkins was then presented with a giant trophy for winning the CWC tournament and the Cruiserweight Championship and celebrated in the ring as confetti rained down. He was joined by Triple H and NXT general manager William Regal who raised his arms in victory.