All week, we here at Sports Al Dente will be previewing all 14 matches on the WrestleMania 34 super card. This is shaping up to be one of the biggest WrestleMania’s in recent history, as every title will be defended on the card for the first time since 2001. Back then, though, there were only six active titles in WWE. This year, the ‘Mania card features nine title matches.
One of those title matches is Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali for the vacant cruiserweight championship. Dubbed “the heart of 205 Live vs. the soul of 205 Live,” this match is a dark horse pick for match of the night. Let’s take a brief look at how we got to this match on Sunday.
205 Live Photo Credit: s patton – Under Creative Commons License
The Match
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali for the vacant Cruiserweight Championship.
How We Got Here
The title was vacated after former Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore was released from WWE on January 23rd. This left a lot of uncertainty on the 205 Live brand, as the show was now without a champion.
The next week, Drake Maverick was introduced as the new 205 Live General Manager. Maverick ordered a 16-man tournament to crown a new cruiserweight champion. The tournament has been a success for 205 Live, reviving a once-dead show and restoring some credibility with the cruiserweights in WWE.
Ali made it to the finals by defeating Jack Gallagher, Buddy Murphy, and Drew Gulak. Alexander ended up in the finals after taking down Gran Metalik, TJP, and Roderick Strong. This has set up the match between Ali and Alexander, considered to be two of the best cruiserweights in the world today.
The History
Considered to be friends, Ali and Alexander have been tag partners in various matches since joining WWE. They have faced off only once in WWE, with Alexander defeating Ali on the January 23rd edition of 205 Live.
The Feud
Most of the feud was centered around the cruiserweight tournament. Since the match was made official on March 20th, the two have exchanged some friendly words at each other. The two teamed together on Raw, defeating Gulak and TJP. The feud is being built on the mutual respect the two have for each other.
Expectations
As mentioned earlier, this is a dark horse pick for match of the night. Their match on 205 Live two months ago was excellent, and both men work well together in the ring. It’s a true toss-up as to who will win, as both guys have great narratives heading into this match. Alexander has been close to winning the championship in the past, while Ali is getting his first crack at cruiserweight gold. The sky is the limit (literally) for these two guys on Sunday.
WrestleMania 34 takes place from The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on April 8 with a special start time of 7 pm eastern/6 pm central. The show is streaming live on the WWE Network.