It’s a long way back up top if you want the Cruiserweight Championship

The contractual rematch clause is a strange beast.

It’s standard operating procedure in WWE that the outgoing champion automatically get their rematch clause. And in the occasions when the former champion doesn’t get to invoke it, it’s generally just quietly ignored entirely.

Not so on 205 Live.

Back to the drawing board

When Buddy Murphy beat Cedric Alexander for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at Super Show-Down in his native Australia, Cedric didn’t immediately invoke his clause. Instead, he got a match against Buddy’s pal Tony Nese... and lost, only his second loss in 2018.

And so, 205 Live general manager Drake Maverick, in the glorious ALLCAPS days, before his string of urincidents, instead booked a five-way scramble for the contendership, putting Alexander against TJ Perkins TJP, Gran Metalik, Lio Rush, and Tony Nese, who went on to win the match by pinning Cedric.

Then, when a frustrated Alexander finally outright demanded his rematch, Maverick pointed out his three-match losing streak and told him it wasn’t happening.

So Cedric, dedicated at he is, didn’t contest it and instead took himself to WWE’s Performance Center, where he trained with Steve Corino and all the new students down there. Alexander tore himself down all the way to the basics and built himself up... and was immediately met by a challenge from a then-undefeated Lio Rush.

Well, he beat Lio. And then he and Ali teamed to defeat Murphy and his pal Nese, with Cedric making the pin on the champ. Slump over, Drake had no choice but to make the match official for Survivor Series.

And into the fire

Of course, it’s not as though Buddy Murphy sat twiddling his thumbs while Alexander clawed his way back to the top.

He’s stacked up an impressive set of victories himself, first in non-title action over NXT UK’s “White Lightning” Mark Andrews, then a successful defense against the Heart of 205 Live himself, Mustafa Ali at Survivor Series, and last but certainly not least another non-title victory over Gran Metalik as part of a pair of special challenge matches that also saw Cedric finally get his win back over Tony Nese.

There’s no doubt that on any given night, Buddy can defeat any given opponent, that much is clear. But Alexander is one of the few in the cruiserweight division that can match his power beat for beat, and they’re certainly evenly matched in most other regards.

So what’s the deciding factor here? I think it’s time. The match in Australia where Murphy won went just over 10 minutes, but their previous televised encounter back in May, also for the title, went a hair over 20 and saw Cedric take the victory. So, if he can outlast that initial rush, Buddy might find out just how true Murphy’s Law can be.

Can Cedric rekindle the Age of Alexander or will Buddy Murphy keep the Cruiserweight Championship?