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CWC EPISODE FOUR - 1st Round (8/3/16)


RIPPA

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Man, I love Rich Swann. Swann/Lee was a really fun match. Bryan saying that Lee felt slighted by Swann's dancing played into the match because Lee came out trying to be as equally showy and impressive, and the two essentially tried to one-up each other the whole match like they were playing a physical game of dozens until Swann won that contest definitively with the standing 450.  

Dar/Sihra was dookie. It was disjointed and they weren't on the same page. Sihra had a nice back elbow though. I'm kinda surprised that one of the Bollywood Boys didn't make it through to the second round because they got so much attention pre-tournament. 

Finally a Jack Gallagher match! I watched all the stuff RIPPA posted and was ready for more. His counters...so beautiful. I could watch him counter-wrestle all day. I like that after a few counters, Aichner figured out that he needed to start using his power and did more strikes and shoulderblocks, but every time he would go into a hold, Gallagher would find his way right out of it. Also, I was charmed by how much Bryan was charmed by Gallagher. Aichner made up for his earlier aerial whiff with that nice springboard moonsault and looked decent. Kind of a project, but with a nice mix of power and athleticism and worth signing to mold into something. They did a good job with the two-counts because I got sucked into a couple of them. Really fun match!

Gargano/Ciampa was a really great match! Ciampa is a fantastic striker and it's a joy to watch him throw elbows and knees and stiff slaps. I liked that Ciampa got into trouble when he got too complex because that's Gargano's game, but that when he just stayed basic, stayed on the mat, and stayed with Gargano in front of him and trading strikes, he came out on top. Gargano held his own too and wasn't too cutesy, and the match came off like a war between two guys who knew each other and who had differing strengths, so the key was who could find a way to avoid or counter the strength of the other through their knowledge of what was coming. That ARC on the apron was nasty as hell, too, as was the lungblower powerbomb. Ciampa also kinda having a soul which led to him failing to putting away Gargano with his best move when he had the chance was sweet. Too bad Gargano won though because Ciampa is light years better than him. Ciampa is fucking fantastic. 

Plus the after-the-match stuff was actually really sweet. That did more to get those two over with me as a team than any of the terrible promos they've ever cut on NXT. Best CWC show yet. 

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So, 3 out of 4 aint fucking bad.

Swann is awesome. It's kind amazing cause I remember when I wasn't overly fond of him. I am now. He's great. Lee wasn't amazing, but he was better then Ho Ho, so if any of the Hong Kong guys moved on, he'd have been my pick.

Dar and Sihra were not on the same page. I thought the Bollywood Boys didn't have a great night that night. I will give Dar a fresh shot in round 2.

Fuck a Zach Sabre Jr. Just give me more Jack Gallagher and I will be a happy man. I haven't had a good chance to check out Rippa's Gallagher thread. I will be doing so. He's great. I thought Aichner was one of the more interesting "Non Name" guys in the first round, and I think he's gonna have a decent career going forward. Gallaghers Corner Dropkick was immense. 

Gargano was pretty good in the main. Ciampa was a fucking monster in the main. I had seen enough of him to know he was good. That main event convinced me he was great. Like, top 5 competitor in this tournament great. Good god he lived up to his nickname tonight.

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I have watched quite a bit of Gallagher over the past year and he's just fantastic.  Tremendous character, awesome throwback. Such a great wrestler. Tonight was just an appetizer of what he can do.

The Gargano vs. Ciampa match was really good. I didn't think it ever came across like two guys trying to have an epic match which you see sometimes,  it felt organic and they didn't slip into various 2.9 shit all the way through. It was a great build between two tag partners. There was more on the line than just the tournament. It was two friends competing at the highest level and going all out to prove something to one another. 

I thought Ciampa's strikes were awesome and Gargano who I'm usually not a huge fan of was selling the damage like a champ at the end. The post-match stuff was really awesome too. They looked like brothers who just went through some shit but in the end it's family. 

 

I thought it was just awesome. I hope they keep them as a team for a while and eventually call them up as a team.

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Fabian/Gallagher was a BLAST.  Fabian had some really fun offense, and I thought Gallagher looked better in his debut than ZSJ did, doing the same schtick to be honest.  What can you say about Ciampa/Gargano?  Agree with El Dragon that it made them look even stronger as a team.  The post match felt like a rare genuine moment in WWE.  The match was excellent, and Gargano as the guy that "won't die" is a great story going forward.

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2 minutes ago, El Dragon said:

Yeah, in a weird way, their match against each other did more to sell Ciampa and Gargano as a legitimately dangerous tag team then any of their tag work.

Yeah I'd love to see them on the main roster and I'm all in on a match with them and The Revival. I think eventually Ciampa breaks out into a big singles star because it has it in him. Gargano, I'm not sure on but he's definitely improved I think anyway...

That's why I like that some of these guys go down to NXT.  I feel like they do learn a lot about selling and emoting etc...  Some don't need it (AJ for example) but most can use the 6-12 months and improve a lot

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So, let's take a look at the 2nd new tournament brackets.

Akira Tozawa vs. Jack Gallagher

Tajiri vs. Gran Metalik

 

Drew Gulak vs. Zach Sabre Jr.

Noam Dar vs. HoHo Lun

 

Brian Kendrick vs. Tony Nese

Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander

 

TJ Perkins vs. Johnny Gargano

Lince Dorado vs. Rich Swann

 

God that first 4 pack is awesome. God that 2nd one, to me, is Drew Gulak and some guys I don't like too much.

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Swann/Lee was nice. Gallagher/Aichner was damn fun and has me wanting to see more of both guys though especially more of Gallagher. Gargano/Ciampa was damn good and maybe the best match of the first round. Ciampa was great, and I wish he was going on further in the tournament.

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33 minutes ago, Rev Ray said:

I look forward to Total Bellas where Bryan accidentally calls Brie "Gentleman Jack" in bed. 

As long as he doesn't call her Apollo Creed, it'll be okay.

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5 minutes ago, nofuture said:

Anyone going to take a crack at ranking the first round matches?  Overall really solid first round with only 2 or 3 bad matches.

 

I'll give it a shot

1. Ciampa vs. Gargano- Ciampa fucking brought it, Gargano held his end, and it had some legitimate emotion in it. Ciampa is a beast.

2. Kendrick vs. Mendoza- This match both served as a "Hey, this Raul Mendoza guy is really fucking good" statement as well as a "Hey, Brian Kendrick is fucking fantastic as a vet clinging to his career by any thread he can get" statement. I actually am close to still having this 1.

3. Gallagher vs. Aichner: Gallagher is fantastic, I think we can all agree on. What we didn't know was that this Aichner guy would be a good guy to go aganist him. He played "good on the mat, but not Gallagher good" well, and his high spot offense was impressive and damaging. This is gonna get overshadowed by the Ciampa match, but it's good stuff. 

4. Ibushi vs. Maluta: Ibushi looked really strong, Maluta did some cool stuff, and it was overall a very enjoyable contest.

5. Dorado vs. Ali: It was a pure spot fest, but it was a pure spot fest with really good spots and they hit every single one of them clean. 

6. Metalik vs. Saez: I liked Saez's facial expressions just fine, and the ring work was really strong. Metallik is really fun to watch.

7. Tajiri vs. Slater: I liked Slater a good deal, and Tajiri worked smart like, well, Tajiri does since Tajiri is awesome. 

8 Swann vs. Lee Swann adds tons to this. Lee wasn't amazing, but I really like Swann

9. Perkins vs. Mack: I didn't like this nearly as much as some others did, but it was a pretty good contest. Perkins was a little too flashy for me in a tournament were guys are better then him at being flashy while also feeling authentic.

10. Alexander vs. Petiot

11. Gulak vs. Sihra

12. Tozawa vs. Johnson

13. Sabre Jr vs. Dux

14: Bennett vs. Nese

15. Lun vs. Daivari

16. Dar vs. Sihra.

 

I'm sure some will strongly disagree with my rankings, but there ya go.

 

 

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Swann was entertaining. Second match stunk Dar wasn't vey impressive. Gallagher was pretty great I'm really looking forward to his next match. I wasn't crazy about Gargano/Ciampa. There's a disconnect with Gargano for me I can't get past. His offense sucks and his selling especially his facials just take me out of the match. You can just see him trying to act, and it doesn't work for me I don't buy anything he does. He did take a nice ass whopping from Ciampa this match, and outside of a few bullshit kickouts it was enjoyable.

Kendrick/Mendoza was the best match of the first round by a good margin.

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Gargano/Ciampa was a fun strong-style sprint. Not nearly as good as Kendrick/Mendoza but the clear #2 as far as first round matches go for me.

I cracked up when Bryan said "That touched my heart" during the post match hug.

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Dar's a really good wrestler, but with the Bollywood Boy in R1 and Ho Ho in R2, they're really pairing him with the dregs of the tournament. Hopefully, given that he's reportedly heading to the PC in September, he'll get a chance to wrestle someone good before the CWC is up

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Swann vs Lee was a lot of fun. Swann carried Lee something chronic, but it was a fun sprint. 

The wrong person won in Sihra/Dar. I dont see at all what people see in Noam Dar. He wasn't very convincing to me. Didnt help that it felt that they were looking like they were going through the motions.

Fabian Aichner will be signed to NXT pretty soon, given that he looks like Triple H's wet dream. Gallagher gets the reception that Sabre Jr wished he had. They both had a great little match. It helps that Aichner was all in on reacting to the escapology style. Aichner put on a hell of a showing.

Ciampa and Gargano will always have a decent match given the time. Enjoyed it. 

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Rich Swann could probably be big. Jason Lee left no impression.

Noam Dar seems REAL green. Gurv Sirha seems pretty good. Violent. It bums me out that both Bollywood Boys are out of the tournament since that's such a great story and they have so much charisma.

Jack Gallagher looks like someone in an SNL sketch getting ready to wrestle the super ripped action movie guest host. It's a good thing he's legit. This is probably the best match of the first round (either this or Raul/Kendrick). If there's justice there's deals waiting for them both.

Every time they call Gargano a technical wrestler I giggle. He's not bad, but that's REALLY nice. Killer video package. Ciampa's theme song is good until the overdriven guitars come in. No one looks bad walking with purpose with bass guitar and drums underneath 'em. The match was fine. It was the most indie match of the tournament and that's not my style.

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