July 27, 2016
Round 1 – Part 3
(taped June 23, 2016)
#CWC
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Daniel Bryan
Narrator: Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Video
Clips of tonight’s competitors.
Intro Video
“Take a Stand” by CFO$
Video
Introducing Tyson Dux and Zack Sabre Jr.
Match 1
Zack Zabre Jr. vs Tyson Dux
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Result: Zack Sabre Jr. wins via submission with an omoplata
Time: 8:27
Match Thoughts
Great match. Sabre is a lot of fun to watch. He’s highly technical and very smooth. It’s great just watching him transition from hold to hold. Tyson Dux was getting visibly frustrated, and I wonder if any of that frustration was real. Sabre’s been around a long time, but when a kid is as good as Sabre, it must be a little frustrating. Sabre would make a great heel, because he has a very confident and almost arrogant way about him. I actually started pulling for Dux because of Sabre’s demeanor (I wanted to see Sabre get beat up a little), but I really want to see more of Sabre, so I’m happy with the outcome.
Video
Introducing Drew Gulak and Harv Sihra.
Match 2
Drew Gulak vs Harv Sihra
(referee: Dan Engler)
Result: Drew Gulak wins via submission with a dragon sleeper with body scissors
Time: 5:17
Match Thoughts
Good match. Sihra is pretty fun to watch, but at least in this match it was probably due more to his personality. He wasn’t bad, he had a few nice counters, but Gulak dominated with powerful strikes and holds. The finish was sudden and good. It called back to earlier in the match for Sihra, but Gulak’s power was too much for him.
Video
Introducing Tony Nese and Anthony Bennett.
Match 3
Anthony Bennett vs Tony Nese
(referee: Danilo Anfibio)
Result: Tony Nese wins via pinfall after a 450 splash
Time: 6:34
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Tony Nese is impressive with his strength and speed, but he doesn’t seem to be the most exciting or engaging wrestler. At least not in this match. Bennett seemed pretty fun, but he didn’t have a lot of opportunity to shine in this one. It wasn’t a bad match, it just wasn’t as good as most of the matches in the first round so far.
Video
Introducing Raul Mendoza and Brian Kendrick.
Match 4
Brian Kendrick vs Raul Mendoza
(referee: Charles Robinson)
Result: Brian Kendrick wins via submission with a bully choke
Time: 7:35
Match Thoughts
Really great match! This one was a great contest between two very different characters. Mendoza was the young, exciting kid with a lot of heart, and Kendrick was the cunning, wily veteran that wants to win by any means necessary. Kendrick used a number of dirty tricks to the point where I kind of felt sorry for Mendoza. I wanted Kendrick to win, but I also kind of wanted to pull for the kid. I kind of wish he had made it to round two over someone like Hoho Lun or Tony Nese. Mendoza had a few spectacular moments in the match which had the crowd split. I’d like to see this in a rematch at some point in the future.
Show Impressions
Another really good show. Each show has had one match that really stood out, but all the matches have been good so far. Out of this show I see Zack Sabre Jr. and Brian Kendrick going far in the tournament.
Match of the Night
Brian Kendrick vs Raul Mendoza
This was the most competitive match by far tonight as well as the most exciting.