Money in the Bank 2019: 5 potential finishes for the Cruiserweight Championship Match

The Premier Athlete finally achieved his dream at WrestleMania 35 last month, toppling the most dominant Cruiserweight Champion in recent memory, Buddy Murphy. The Juggernaut put away the likes of Cedric Alexander, Hideo Itami, Ali, and Akira Tozawa in his eight-month reign, but the resilience of Tony Nese proved too much for him.

Now, a month after his historic WrestleMania moment, Nese will defend his Cruiserweight Championship against Ariya Daivari. Though he was able to stop the unstoppable on the Grandest Stage of Them All, his greatest challenge yet might be coming this Sunday.

Daivari has been on a roll since returning to action earlier this year. After turning his back on Hideo Itami, he's beaten several top talents on the Purple Brand and has left many laying unconscious thanks to his violent brawling style. Nese will have to be careful, as one devastating lariat is all it will take to crown a new champion.

It isn't just his physical prowess that makes Daivari a force to be reckoned with. We've seen in the past just how crafty he can be, and it should be expected that he'll have a few tricks up his sleeve come Sunday. Still, it's tough to imagine that the Cruiserweight Champion isn't prepared.

#5 The match ends in a no-contest

This feud has gotten personal in the past several weeks

There's some serious bad blood between Daivari and Nese. They've been working with and against each other since the beginning of 205 Live. And now, with Ariya Daivari more frustrated than ever and with a chip on his shoulder, it's a guarantee that he'll have something to prove on Sunday.

Daivari is a vicious man, and one that can sometimes let his anger get the better of him. We've seen several moments since his return where his frustration has nearly cost him. Refusing to put opponents away fast, Daivari seems to enjoy punishing people. That may lead to a situation where he continues to batter Nese on the outside.

When tensions are high and the blood is flowing, sometimes competitors don't hear the ref's count. On Sunday, it's possible a brawl may force the official's hand, leading to a match down the line at another PPV.

#4 Ariya Daivari beats Tony Nese clean

Daivari left Nese out cold on the latest edition of 205 Live

Considering how rough this feud has gotten, with both competitors jumping each other from behind and Daivari trying to get in Nese's head on several occasions, it's not entirely likely that he'll be beating Nese clean. The brawling style already leans its way to using underhanded tactics like eye rakes, low blows, and cheap shots, so we aren't expecting a fair fight in any regards.

That being said, Daivari has worked with Nese before and knows the kind of maneuvers he tends to pull out. The Fosbury Flop, the Running Kneese, the various moonsaults and strong kicks that Nese implements in his arsenal all lean on healthy legs throughout the match. Daivari will, more than likely, target his legs in an effort to keep him grounded and prevent him from building up momentum for the Running Kneese.

If Daivari can keep Nese out of the sky, his odds of winning drastically improve. That's a big if, though, as that relies on him overpowering the Premier Athlete, and I don't know if there's anyone on the brand that can out muscle Tony Nese.

#3 Ariya Daivari wins with an assist from his brother

Last year at the Greatest Royal Rumble, we saw Ariya and Shawn Daivari appear together. While we haven't seen that since, as the younger Daivari was out with an injury, it's possible we could see the two reunite at Money in the Bank.

Daivari is a physically aggressive competitor, but he's also quite crafty when it comes to out-thinking his opponents. Nese may be ready for everything Daivari will try to throw at him, kitchen sink and all. However, one cheap shot from Shawn Daivari could be enough to swing the match in Ariya Daivari's favor.

It's not like this would be a difficult thing to pull off, either. The older Daivari brother is a producer for the WWE, so he'll more than likely be backstage at Money in the Bank. If Ariya Daivari finds himself unable to put the Cruiserweight Champion away, this may be the ace up his sleeve.

#2 Tony Nese loses via DQ

Tony Nese has rarely lost his cool on 205 Live, save for a No DQ match against Noam Dar

Over the past month, 205 Live's commentary team has praised Tony Nese in almost every aspect. He's a fantastic athlete, he's got a never say die attitude, he's got a devastating array of moves, he's got almost everything it takes to make a formidable champion. The key word being "almost."

Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, and Aiden English have all stated that there's a question as to whether or not Tony Nese has a "killer instinct" in the ring. Various times on 205 Live, we've heard them and other competitors on the roster say that he doesn't have that aggressive side in him, which is why he failed to rise to the higher end of the card back in 2018.

The top stars of the brand have all left at this point. Cedric Alexander, Buddy Murphy, and Mustafa Ali are all on the main roster, Hideo Itami left the WWE back in January, and Drew Gulak has started appearing in NXT. It's a pretty easy argument to make that Nese is champion because his superiors left the brand.

This isn't entirely true, though. Nese's feud with Noam Dar in late 2018/early 2019 showed that he has a serious aggressive and deadly side to him. He sent Dar packing after a no DQ match where he bulldozed the Scottish Supernova multiple times, proving that he has what it takes to use his anger to his advantage when the time comes. However, that was a no DQ match, and he let that dark side get the better of him there.

At Money in the Bank, if tensions get high enough and Daivari continues to get into his head, we may see Nese snap. If that does happen, the champion won't lose his title, but he will lose the contest, giving Daivari another shot at the belt in the near future.

#1 Tony Nese pins Ariya Daivari

The Premier Athlete doesn't plan on being a transitional champion

Tony Nese was essentially forgotten about by mid-2018 when it comes to the cruiserweights. He was simply passed by when Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Buddy Murphy, Hideo Itami, and Drew Gulak stepped up, and he was never able to break onto the title scene of the division.

While it's not exactly talked about in the open, Nese had a difficult time breaking out of the shadow of those that he'd worked with in the past. Two of his fellow Zo Train members, Drew Gulak and Noam Dar, went on to have some great success, even if they didn't hold a title in 2018. Gulak was a formidable opponent for Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander, and on many occasions was a half a second away from taking the title from the Soul of 205 Live. Gulak was also the man to knock Nese out of the first Cruiserweight Championship tournament and was a constant thorn in the side of the Premier Athlete over the past two years.

Noam Dar returned from injury in late 2018 and delivered some serious beat downs to the cruiserweight and NXT UK competitors, and has even challenged for the NXT UK Championship. At this point in the year, Nese was...well...he was Buddy Murphy's second in command. Until 2019, really, Nese had lost to every single one of the men on the 205 Live roster that he'd partnered with in the past. However, he's gone through a huge redemption arc, beating Gulak, Dar, and Murphy in only a few months.

In fact, the only one of those men he has yet to beat is Ariya Daivari. And while some feel that Daivari has a lot to prove Sunday, Nese is the one with a lot on his shoulders. Not only does he have to defend his title, but he has to conquer the one man on that list he's yet to defeat. Not to mention, a lot of people have doubts in Nese as champion, wrestlers and the announce desk included.

It's assumed that he doesn't have the killer instinct that previous champions had. At Money in the Bank, though, he'll prove everyone wrong. A dominant win over Daivari is what he needs to prove to the locker room and the WWE Universe that he's the rightful champion of the brand. If he loses his first title defense after Buddy Murphy, then some may say it was a fluke that he defeated the Juggernaut in the first place. If he wins, he's well on his way to breaking out of the shadow that was cast upon him a year ago.