Cedric Alexander's Best Opponents After WrestleMania Cruiserweight Title Win

Cedric Alexander beat Mustafa Ali in the tournament final to become cruiserweight champion at WrestleMania 34 on Sunday in New Orleans.

Ali nearly had the match won after hitting the 054, but Alexander got his foot on the bottom rope before the referee counted to three. A shellshocked Ali then fell victim to the Lumbar Check, and Alexander captured the Cruiserweight Championship.

The win marks Alexander's first title triumph in WWE, and he is now in line to be the face of 205 Live for the immediate future.

WWE's cruiserweight division is brimming with talent, which means there is no shortage of options to challenge Alexander for the strap in the coming weeks and months.

On the heels of Alexander's biggest victory, here is a look at three potential opponents who would get the most out of the new champion to start his reign.

Hideo Itami

Since getting called up from NXT to the main roster as part of 205 Live, Hideo Itami has struggled somewhat to truly make an impact.

The cruiserweight appearing less often on Raw has contributed to that, but Itami also hasn't been positioned as one of the top guys on 205 Live despite that being the expectation when he was initially called up.

Matters weren't helped when Itami was ousted early in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament by Roderick Strong.

WrestleMania acts as a reset of sorts, though, and that gives WWE a perfect opportunity to rebuild Itami and make him a threat to Alexander.

The Japanese Superstar's run in NXT wasn't all it could have been due to myriad injuries, but Itami had some great matches with top-flight talent, and there is little doubt that he and Alexander could do something similar on 205 Live.

Itami's hard-hitting, physical style can allow him to play a heel character, and that is likely what he would need to do as a challenger for the title considering Alexander's popularity.

Alexander and Itami have never had a one-on-one match in WWE, and that fact alone would make a rivalry between them intriguing to the fans.

Much of the burden in terms of promo work would fall on Alexander in the event of a feud with Itami, but that could be a positive since it would allow Alexander to become a more well-rounded performer.

Gran Metalik

Perhaps no Superstar has had a more difficult time building on his success in the Cruiserweight Classic than Gran Metalik.

The former Mascara Dorada reached the CWC final where he fell to TJP, and he was highly impressive throughout the tournament.

Metalik scored wins over the likes of Tajiri, Akira Tozawa and Zack Sabre Jr. in the CWC prior to his loss against TJP. In losing to Perkins, Gran Metalik was denied the chance to become WWE's first cruiserweight champion after the reincarnation of the division.

Unlike TJP, Brian Kendrick, Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Rich Swann and other CWC competitors who made an instant impact on the main roster, Metalik was brought along slowly, and he has yet to do anything truly memorable on 205 Live.

Metalik has strong matches when given the opportunity, though, and he is simply waiting to be placed in a position where he can do his thing on a bigger stage.

Since both Metalik and Alexander are highly athletic and capable of pulling off some remarkable high-flying maneuvers, it would make sense to pair them off in a feud after WrestleMania.

Like Itami, Gran Metalik can't contribute much from a promo perspective, and that would put more responsibility on Alexander's plate.

If the plan is for Alexander to be "the guy" on 205 Live in the months to come, then that is something he will have to continue to get more comfortable with.

Neville

Little is known of his situation outside WWE's inner circle, but if there is any hope of getting Neville to return to the fold, the company would be wise to bring him in and pit him against Alexander immediately.

The King of the Cruiserweights hasn't appeared on WWE programming since September amid rumors that the was unhappy and requested his release from the company, according to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet.

While Neville has been absent, WWE has yet to cut ties with him, which inspires hope that a return is still possible.

Prior to his hiatus, Neville was a dominant force in the cruiserweight division, as he held the Cruiserweight Championship for over 200 days across a pair of reigns.

Neville has always been supremely talented, but he was misused until becoming a cruiserweight. After turning heel, Neville found his voice on the mic and developed a fantastic character en route to becoming one of WWE's best villains.

There is no better option to feud with a beloved face like Alexander than Neville since The King of the Cruiserweights is a convincing heel who is also capable of matching Alexander move for move because of his athleticism.

Since there are few established stars in the cruiserweight division with enough cachet to capture the attention of the casual audience, Neville would be of great value to 205 Live.

He would also help elevate Alexander in all areas, and that would strengthen the cruiserweight division as a whole from top to bottom.

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