We're well into the second round of matches in the CWC, and if last week was any indication, the matches are only going to get longer and better from here. Sure, these guys have all blown us away in 3-7 minute spot fests, but can they tell a richer story with more time given? Let's find out!
Jack Gallagher takes on Akira Tozawa in our first match of the night. It starts out as a mat wrestling showcase, with Gallagher having a clever counter for every hold Tozawa attempts. I've seen a lot of wrestling in my day and let me tell you, there were some maneuvers in this match I have never seen before. Midway through the match they find time for a few comedy spots, with both men trying to both outdo and embarrass the other. Tozawa scores the win after a snap suplex followed by a dead lift suplex into a pin. Great stuff. Tozawa advances to the next round, where he'll face last week's winner, luchador Gran Metalik.
Scotland's adopted son Noam Dar faces Ho Ho Lun in the second match. This match didn't flow quite as well as the previous one, with a few of the spots looking a little too telegraphed for my taste. I also noticed a lot more strikes in this bout, whereas the last match was more about grappling. Dar picks up the win to advance in what was a disappointingly brief encounter.
THE Brian Kendrick takes on Tony Nese in our last match of the evening. It's good to see Kendrick doing his thing. Announcer Mauro Ranallo even alluded to his "past mistakes" during the talk-up; Kendrick has been busted with pot before, hampering his career. (These guys kick each other in the face for a living, so I think it'd be okay to let 'em imbibe a little herb now and then, but hey.) Daniel Bryan (also on commentary) makes mention of their time together in Shawn Michaels' wrestling school. The little things get me hype, what can I say. The match starts with Nese dominating early on, only to get suckered into a more deliberate pace by Kendrick's craftiness. They go tit for tat for a little bit until Kendrick dodges a 450 Splash by Nese. After that, it's just a matter of wearing the bigger man down, which Kendrick does to score the win.
This sets up Kendrick vs. Ibushi in the next round, which should be a fantastic match.
Haters of the WWE who think they don't care about pure "work rate" need to invest some time in this show. This is the kind of quality stuff you'd expect from ROH or New Japan, and its great to see fantastic in-ring action with 'E level production values.
Thanks for reading! Come back tomorrow where I'll be taking a look at NXT and making my predictions for the Takeover Brooklyn show on Saturday.
Twitter: @ChrisBComics
E-Mail: backissuechris@gmail.com
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