Too early for some CWC thoughts? Well here they are anyway BANG NEVER SAW IT COMING.
Rich Swann has that Kofi Kingston/Shelton Benjamin thing where he's too athletically impressive not to catch on. I worry he's a bit small, but he's just so smooth. And Jason Lee wasn't bad either. The match just was cut a bit too short to adequately showcase both guys. Wish I could come up with a "too athletic not to catch on" wrestler who wasn't black, but I guess I'll just be racist instead. Jack Evans, maybe? Swann needs a better finisher, preferably a top rope one.
Swann and Lince Dorado could have one of the sneakier good matches of the 2nd round. I think they'll mesh well.
Noam Dar wasn't as bad as he looked in his match. I've seen a lot of his stuff from Progress Wrestling in the UK and he's really good. Those two brothers from India...not sure either was that good.
Dar vs. Hoho Lun in the 2nd round is interesting. I think you'll see a better side of Dar and I loved the way Lun sold in his opening match.
Jack Gallagher vs. Fabian Aichner would have been the best match of the show on most shows. I really enjoy the British style of wrestling and so Aichner was a good opponent for Gallagher because they said he was trained by Steve Wright (aka Alex Wright's dad), and you could really tell. Aichner did a lot of Alex Wright's smooth Euro-style counters. Gallagher was tremendous. A little small, but so technically good. And that full speed dropkick in the corner was a killer finisher.
Gallagher faces Akira Tozawa in the 2nd round. Can't wait for this one. Love when there's a clash in styles. I'm expecting a win for Tozawa, but I'm not as sure as I was before I watched Gallagher tonight.
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa is no joke one of the best matches I've seen this year. I prefer Tommaso because I think his style translates to the big picture better than Johnny's does and I love the hard strikes (and his finisher - SHEW), but Gargano did a great job selling everything and getting over as a tough dude. Really good story of friends who have to destroy each other to advance in the tournament, reminded me of Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect at 1993 King of the Ring, which is my favorite match of either one of those guys. And it was good to see Gargano get a bit of fluke win to show how even both guys are. Perfect way to book a face vs. face match, especially with the interaction at the end.
Gargano gets TJ Perkins in the 2nd round. I feel like they've positioned Perkins for a deep run in this thing, but I kind of hope Johnny advances, even though that's NXT favoritism.
Next week's second round only has two matches, which I'm looking forward to because it means the guys will get more time. Tajiri vs. Gran Metallik should be great as long as Metallik can take a pounding and fight back. We all know Tajiri can work the Lucha style. If Metallik can return the favor and work Japanese style, this will be great.
Then...watch Cedric Alexander vs. Kota Ibushi, please. I've hinted at knowing a little about this one. You have to trust me - it might be your match of the year for 2016.
Guys, it's worth the free month to watch these CWC shows. Heck, it's worth the 9.99.
