TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick: Winner and Reaction from WWE Hell in a Cell 2016

Brian Kendrick defeated T.J. Perkins Sunday night at Hell in a Cell to become WWE cruiserweight champion for the first time.

Kendrick sold a knee injury to lure Perkins in before head-butting him and locking in the Captain's Hook.

The WWE Universe shared a photo of Kendrick celebrating the win: 

SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan congratulated Kendrick on Twitter: 

Bleacher Report's Chris Mueller provided his take on the match, which featured a less than enthusiastic crowd: 

After winning the Cruiserweight Classic and being presented with the cruiserweight title, Perkins was called up to Raw and tasked with taking on Kendrick, who won a Fatal 4-Way match to become the No. 1 contender for the championship as part of the cruiserweight division's Raw debut.

Kendrick got his title shot against TJP at Clash of Champions but fell short when he was forced to tap out to the Knee Bar.

Despite the loss, the 37-year-old veteran remained undeterred and had a non-title match against Perkins on Raw for the right to have another bout for the belt.

Kendrick won that match through nefarious means, as he gouged Perkins' eyes and made him submit to the Captain's Hook.

That set the stage for a rematch at Hell in a Cell, but not before Perkins and Kendrick added some heat to their already-fierce rivalry.

During the build toward the pay-per-view, Kendrick had no shortage of negative things to say about the Fil-Am Flash. That prompted Perkins to suggest that the former tag team champion was insecure about his chances, according to WWE Universe:

Perkins gave his former friend a chance to change his attitude ahead of their match at Hell in a Cell, but when Kendrick opted to take the low road instead, TJP made him pay, as seen in this tweet courtesy of WWE's official Twitter account:

While the cruiserweight division has largely been devoid of storylines and character building, that hasn't been the case for Perkins and Kendrick.

They have been treated like an important part of the roster, and the fact that they received plenty of television time both in the ring and on the mic increased the excitement level for their second title match.

Perkins and Kendrick have a great deal of chemistry since they have worked together so often over the years, and it seems they are incapable of putting on a bad match.

They rose to the occasion once again at Hell in a Cell, battling in a contest that reflected positively on the cruiserweight division and its prospects moving forward.

A victory over Perkins suggests Kendrick's feud with TJP is far from over, which could be a positive development since both Superstars have performed well since making the leap to the main roster.

While the likes of Rich Swann, Cedric Alexander, Tony Nese and Gran Metalik all stand out as deserving contenders, Perkins and Kendrick are the faces of the cruiserweight division, and they're deserving of a lengthy feud that could potentially put their style of wrestling back on the map in WWE permanently.

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