August 10, 2016
Round 2 – Part 1
(taped July 14, 2016)
#CWC
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Daniel Bryan
Control Center: Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Video
It began with 32. Welcome to round 2.
Intro Video
“Take a Stand” by CFO$
Video
Gran Metalik and Tajiri are here to win.
Match 1
Tajiri vs Gran Metalik
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Gran Metalik wins via pinfall with a Metalik Driver
Time: 10:53
Match Thoughts
Great match. Tajiri looked really good throughout the entire match, as did Metalik. Tajiri seemed to the the smarter of the two wrestlers (which is only natural given his age and experience). He was doing some really great, smart things in the ring and making transitions that I hadn’t seen before. So fun to watch. Metalik, of course, showed great lucha libre skills and was very exciting to watch.
Video
Cedric Alexander can’t believe he’s here. Kota Ibushi has wrestled around the world, now he wrestles in front of the world.
Match 2
Kota Ibushi vs Cedric Alexander
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Result: Kota Ibushi wins via pinfall after a sitout powerbomb
Time: 15:01
Match Thoughts
Really great match! Cedric Alexander looked fantastic in this match. I knew he was good, but the way he stood in there on the same level with Ibushi was a bit of a surprise and great to watch. This is one of those matches where I really wanted both guys to win, and both guys deserved to win.
Ring Area
After the match, Cedric was taking his time leaving the ring area while the fans were chanting “please sign Cedric.” Triple H then came out, nodded at the fans, and shook Cedric’s hand. Both of them walked to the back together.
Show Impressions
Wow, if this is any indication of round two and the rest of the tournament, it’s just going to get better and better. This was a great show, and I really like that they’re reducing the number of matches per show. That will make it last longer and it will have even better matches going forward.
Match of the Night
Kota Ibushi vs Cedric Alexander
This might have been the best match of the tournament so far, but it’s hard to decide. There have been so many great matches for different reasons.