Opening: HHH does his best Morgan Freeman, and succeeds. It's also weird to see main event calibur count like Johnny and Ciampa as just a couple of guys. Also, it'll always wig me out that the CWC's theme was Bad News Barrett's theme.
Speaking of guys who were just guys back then....
Gran Metalik video package: Bad. The Lucha House Party was the best thing to ever happen to this guy. Dude's a charisma vaccum
Alejandro Saez video package: Bad, but better than Metallik. He's just as boring, but can at least pull some heelish facial expressions and emote.
CWC Round 1 Match
Alejandro Saez vs Gran Metallik
Alejandro Saez vs Gran Metallik
They tell you who the face and heel are right away. Gran does a flip flourish, and Saez stops that with some punches and sledges. Saez side steps a monkey flip a kick and hits a sliding dropkick. This was a cool spot. Saez does some high flying stuff, but Gran gets to showcase some of the stuff that made him a standout, such as his springboard stuff, and some of the cleanest planchas in the business. Saez meanwhile, showcases what I believe is his greatest strength, Punch-Out levels of cartoonish facial expressions, but he fires back. Saez misses a twisting senton after an apron Shooting Star Press and gets Metalik Driver'd for his troubles.
This was an a GREAT opener, and a great window into the match quality and logic that would go on to define 205 Live.
6/10
Ariya Daivari video package: "Hi my name is Ariya Daivari, my brother was a former WWE wrestler his name was Daivari" one of the most boring, scatterbrained promos I've ever heard. Thank God Ariya's found his stride in recent years.
Hoho Lun video package: AWESOME! He comes across as such a likeable guy. Of all the guys who didn't "make" it. Hoho makes me the saddest.
CWC Round 1 Match
Hoho Lun vs Ariya Daivari
Hoho Lun vs Ariya Daivari
While the last match was more about dazzling acrobatics, this is a more standard babyface vs heel match. Daivari immediately makes his douchiness known, and Hoho has some pretty great babyface fire spots. Unfortunately this match is 80 percent Davari, until Hoho hits the three things he can do and wins. Mauro works in three of the four Pilars of Heaven (no love for Taue per usual)
This was a meh match, but rewatching this makes me appreciate Ariya, how good he is at carrying less skilled babyfaces
4.5/10
Clement Petiot video package: GREAT! Why wasn't this dude signed? He's a beautiful man, douchey facials and a great promo for a person who doesn't speak English natively
Cedric Alexander promo: ALSO GREAT! You can see how he got the reaction he gets later on in the tourney.
CWC Round 1 Match
Cedric Alexander vs Clement Petiot
Cedric Alexander vs Clement Petiot
Daniel Bryan makes a point of saying Clement never gets nervous, but getting knocked out of the ring gets Cedric the momentum, whereas before Clement was full of piss and vinegar. Clement gets it back by being a big mean guy who hits hard. Clement works Cedric's back. More hard hits by Clement after Cedric stages a brief comeback. Cedric stages another comeback but ends when Cedric takes a Shooting Star Press bump from a standing position off of a Discus Clothesline which is fucking insane. Lumbar Check out of nowhere nets the win for Cedric. Normally a finisher outta nowhere irks me, but it ended when the crowd's adoration for Cedric was at his height. Ended at the perfect time.
This match is the best so far. It had a great self-contained storyline that flips the heel vs babyface dynamic on its head.
7/10
Kota Ibushi video package: GREAT! Even if you've never seen Kota before, you can tell that he's a big deal and why.
Sean Maluta video package: Boring, and also vaguely heelish. Also they fatten up his video package with family photos and pictures of other people because they've got nothinh on him.
CWC Round 1 Match
Sean Maluta vs Kota Ibushi
Sean Maluta vs Kota Ibushi
Ibushi immediately gets his kick power over, aided by D-Bry's amazing commentary. The dueling chants also are such a microcosm of the wrestling fandom it's hysterical. You have some women chanting for Sean, innocently, having a good time, and in response you get loud "IBUSHI" chants from (likely fat and smelly) male fans looking to drown them out. Maluta does a shoulder tackle and roll that all the less experienced guys have done tonight but Ibushi just kicks the shit out of him. Maluta does a good job at selling windedness from big strike. Maluta does a fabulos Top Rope Codebreaker which Ibushi sells equally fabulously for. Maluta catches his leg on the rope on some sort of flip dive. It's a miracle that it didn't seriously hurt him. Maluta gets some more basic, safter stuff in but that fires up Ibushi to hit his own signature stuff. Ibushi hits a Pele to a standing on the top rope Maluta, which is batshit levels of leg extension. Ibushi hits more signature stuff, but Maluta gets a crazy super kick for a 2 1/2 count. Ibushi fires back with the Golden Star Powerbomb for the win.
Whoever put Maluta together with Ibushi in the bracket should get a raise. Sean was limited, but the skills he did have worked near-perfectly in a showcase for Kota in front of a global audience who might not have known about him before.
7.25/10
Conclusion
This is a GREAT start for the tournament, and if we can keep a 6/7 average going for the rest of the tournament I'll be delighted.