He has to settle for looking (very) good in defeat, but the wild part is that the audience still hasn’t seen the full scope of Alexander’s talent. (The exhausted, thank-you-God look on McIntyre's face when he finally pins Cedric is The Little Things done to perfection.) Likewise, Alexander, a highly-touted prospect who hasn’t quite hit the big time yet, looked as good, if not better, here than he did in the match with Kota Ibushi that put him on the map.
McIntyre is the kind of specimen who probably shouldn’t lose a fight even in his dreams, and here he is getting taken to school by this flippy guy who damn near beats him. The closest we’ve come, however, might just be this whip-fast fight against Drew McIntyre that went from King of the Ring throwaway to an under-the-radar masterpiece in which both subverted and fulfilled some longstanding expectations. It’s a shame that, in the three years since a “Please Sign Cedric” chant broke out at the Cruiserweight Classic, the WWE Universe hasn’t gotten to see all that Cedric Alexander can do.
