James: Last time on the Power Hour….we got a short look at the journey to come. Before we could go into the main course, we got some little appetizers. We saw the names and faces of our competitors, we heard a little bit about who they are, where they come from and why they’re here. We got to hear why this tournament was happening and we got a little sneak peak of some of the matches to come during the Bracketology special. But now, we’ve got all our forms done. Everyone has weighed in and is accounted for. Now we began our trek into the Cruiserweight Wilderness.
Seán: The time has come for us to kick-start this journey down a Cruiserweight Yellow Brick Road in the Summer of 2016, a time where France had just been defeated by a Ronaldoless Portugal side in Extra Time. They were the clear favourites in that tournament, here we had two clear favourites who surely were going to win. It was inevitable, right? Well that tale is yet to be written, it’s episode two of season three! The action begins, it’s CWC: 5 Years Later! POWER HOUR TIME!
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Booting Up
JT: Helloooo everyone and welcome back, as we boot up another edition of the Power Hour!! Hope you’re excited to see us again as we get into the meat & potatoes of this arc. Before that though, I’d just like to apologize for taking a bit of extra time to start up this arc. I just graduated college so I needed a little extra time on my end. Plus, it’s always a little harder to get back into a project after spending some time away from it. But the past is in the past! Except for the CWC that is! And I cannot wait to get into this stuff, we’ve had this idea on the docket for a while and now we’re finally here!!
S: We’ve been itching to get at this storyline ever since we started Season 2 and that’s not because we didn’t enjoy the last season, far from it. It’s because we actually planned the next two seasons after our Lesnar vs Angle storyline from Season 1. Aside from that though, it’s fucking brilliant to be covering this ten weeks of wrestling history which I would say has been almost forgotten in time in the last four years.
JT: Yeah things move so quickly and we always remember the big moments, so it’s really nice to just get down into the nitty gritty and see what we’ve forgotten, what sort of hidden gems exist. And I’m sure there will be plenty of those, considering I think we all came out of the CWC very happy with the whole affair.
S: Oh absolutely, I’d argue that this time period was probably the happiest I’ve been as a wrestling fan because nowadays, as Kefin Mahon once told me, being a wrestling fan today is almost like having a horrible rash with all the bad shit that has been surrounding it in the last 18 months. This time period though, the brand split 2.0 is imminent and hopes were pretty sky high with the direction that WWE were about to take. This and the great direction NXT were heading in, PWG reaching huge popularity across the US, NJPW were about to make their next big Western attraction to ultimately break into the North American market. This summer of 2016 really was an eventful one to say the least.
JT: To top it off, we’ve got this grand Cruiserweight tournament!! 32 wrestlers, most of which were new to the WWE audience (myself included) all fighting to prove they’re the best in the world. I’m practically buzzing thinking about it, ready to get into the good stuff?
S: Let’s do it man, it’s time to dive into this swimming pool of brilliance!
JT: Let’s get into the first 2 episodes of the CWC!!
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Cruiserweight Classics
JT: Now just before we look at our inaugural contest of the Cruiserweight Classic, Episode 1 has a bit of extra pizzazz going on. It’s the first episode of the series after all!! We get a little hype video highlighting some of the great Cruiserweights of the past like Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman and Chris Jericho before we get some shots of our competitors. They’re presented as the future of Cruiserweight Wrestling, with only one man able to shine above all the rest. What’d you think of our little hype video?
S: I think it’s a very suitable way to kick off the first episode really, portrays the importance of Cruiserweight Wrestling over the years and that now these guys could now be as important as the likes of Kidman, Mysterio, Malenko, etc. Really good way to kick off the tournament and set the stage for it, in my opinion.
JT: Yeah it was nice to highlight obviously the biggest types of Cruiserweight success stories like Eddie/Rey/Jericho/Bryan who all got the way to the world title despite their size. But also, showing the likes of Kidman & Malenko shows that Cruiserweights are just great when they exceed their standing, they’re great when they’re just great Cruiserweights too.
S: Yeah that’s a great point you’ve made there, it’s showing that you can be great in your respective division but can also achieve greatness fighting at the top of the card in the biggest companies. Really well done this was.
JT: After that, we also get the first instance of the CWC Intro video and song. What do you think of our purple robot/luchador fighting thing?
S: I think it’s really fucking cool, gives me real Ninja Warrior vibes. I think this luchador character has become more or less the mascot for WWE’s revamped Cruiserweight division and on 205 Live.
JT: What do you think of the song they play? I think it’s alright, nothing too bad, nothing too good, but I find it more interesting that I actually have a fun fact about it!!
S: It was for sure the sound of the summer, like Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’. Please do hit me with that fun fact though!
JT: So the CWC Theme, Take A Stand by CFO$, uses part of an unused theme song for Wade Barrett!! I know with his one million different theme songs, it seems like it’s impossible that he’d had ANOTHER ONE but there’s one you can find on YouTube. It’s called “I did my time” and it’s a remixed version of his “Rebel Son” theme he had from 2013 to the end of his career. The main chorus features the exact same chorus sample as in the CWC Theme. “So come on down to the underground / Take a stand like a man now / Ain’t nobody gonna hear a sound /When it’s fists to flesh and you go down” is a lot more fitting when you consider it was originally written for Barrett with his English Bare-Knuckle Boxing background!!
S: Oh my word! That definitely sounds like a Wade Barrett theme song that they would’ve used for his 2012 comeback with the beard and when they were really putting over his bare knuckle boxing background in those vignettes. James with the funnest of fun facts, only on the Power Hour will you get this level of insight and knowledge. Thanks again, James. What’s your favourite Wade Barrett theme though?
JT: My favorite Barrett theme song, huh? Is it cheating to say The Nexus theme song, We Are One? Because that song is a banger, and personally one of the issues Barrett always had in my mind was that he kept switching from generic theme song to generic theme song, and on top of having rather generic heel gimmicks a lot of the time, it made it hard for people to keep track of what we was up to and where he was going. So it’s not like all his themes were bad, though some were (looking at you, every variation of The Corre theme song), but most of them failed to capture my attention in any way.
S: He does have an impressive track record of generic old rock theme songs to be fair to him. Like every time he came back from an injury, there he was with a new theme song. Almost symbolic because his themes were just diminishing returns, just like his momentum after his recoveries from various injuries.
JT: So what was your favorite then?
S: Gotta be whatever one sounds the shittest so probably ‘Don’t Care Anymore’ which he used during his epic feud on SmackDown with Randy Orton.
JT: Oh love that old piece of gibberish. Like he came out to that every week in 2012 and I never once understood any of the lyrics. Impressively bad.
S: It’s elite level stuff alright. Should we move on from the impressively bad to the impressively good?
JT: We should, but I believe you had something you wanted to address first. Like the end of the intro segment here has us reporting in with our dynamic commentary duo, Daniel Bryan & Mauro Ranallo. Didn’t you have something you wanted to share with the class involving our friend Mauro?
S: Well there was a tweet that emerged a while ago with a picture of Mauro commentating for Bellator MMA, I believe? Anyways, to make the story short, the fucking STATE of the hair that Mauro has going on now. What are you thinking, man? State of your hair, mate.
JT: I think it’s gotten better since then, because I checked if that picture was from Impact’s Rebellion PPV, but he looks fine then. I’m glad he’s sorted that out, but man oh man was that a decision he made.
S: Like how would you even describe the way it was shaped at that Bellator show? It looked like an armadillo shell shaped hairpiece.
JT: Well all my Peacock Subscribers might recognize it like Dwight Schrute dressing up as Meredith Palmer from the American version of The Office. In search of finding the picture you were referencing, I saw someone refer to it as “Shelbyville Hair”, aka Bart Simpson’s disguise when he was undercover in Shelbyville. That type of big round black hair.
S: Oh my god that’s perfect! The stereotypical cartoon black haired wig, either that or Elastigirl but if her hair was black. I didn’t catch Impact Rebellion but you say his hair has been sorted out. Has he cut it back to Mauro Classic by any chance?
JT: Well I was only able to find one screenshot. Either he got a better haircut, or Impact was at least nice enough to have a more flattering angle. Regardless, Mauro looked silly that one time, and that’s about all the bad things we’ll ever say about him in this series. He can be over the top at times, and it can take away from the action at times, but the CWC was right in his wheelhouse where I’d say he delivers his best material during these next 10 weeks.
S: Yeah for sure, I think this and his SmackDown run of about six months was what I’d say was him at his most solid. I think the over the top stuff only really kicked into high gear near the end of 2018 in his NXT run but for now, let’s enjoy this lovely ten weeks while we can, shall we?
JT: Yeah this is a lovely time for wrestling, so let’s quit messing around with Wade Barrett and get into the action.
S: In front of 350 people at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and being streamed on the WWE Network. It’s episode 1 of the CWC!
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Saezing up the Competition
JT: Finally, after an episode and more of buildup, it’s time to get into what Cruiserweights do best: wrestle. With the dubious task of setting the pace of the tournament and starting it off with a bang, it’s Mexico Gran Metalik facing off against Chile’s lone representative Alejandro Saez!! Now, as will become a tradition of this season, we’ve got a lot of wrestlers with interesting backgrounds to deal with. So it bears in mind asking, which of these guys did we know of before this? What did we know them from? And of course, what are they doing now? That last one is a question we’ll answer after they’ve been eliminated from this tournament, but as we begin I’ll ask the first question: Seán!! How familiar were you about Gran Metalik and Alejandro Saez?
S: With Gran Metalik, I was moderately familiar with the fact that he did some work with New Japan in the Jr. Division as part of their working relationship with CMLL as Mascara Dorada. I saw maybe one of his matches which was against Omega when he was still in the Jr. Division. Saez on the other hand, I had no idea of who he was at all in 2016. The fact he was a wrestler from Chile was enough to have me very intrigued in him though as Chile was not a country I’d suspect to have any form of wrestling at all.
JT: Gotta say, I didn’t know either of these guys! Since Metalik was a CMLL guy, he was outside of the AAA Bubble I had from watching Lucha Underground. I would’ve probably known him had I started actually watching NJPW avidly in 2016, but I started in 2017 and so a lot of the names I read in the results in 2016 were mostly lost on me. Similarly, I hadn’t the faintest clue who Saez was. Like you said, I had no idea there was pro wrestling in Chile. I mean I can always assume that places have wrestling, but you never know till you see it! Chile is a very cool country with an interesting history, so I’m happy to know anything about it’s local wrestling scene.
S: For sure and we actually get to find out that Saez has actually wrestled in Japan too prior to this, in Pro Wrestling Noah!
JT: This wasn’t a great period for NOAH, but good for Saez for even managing to get his foot in the door of a reputable promotion. I can’t imagine how hard it is for South American wrestlers to get noticed on a worldwide scale.
S: Yeah for real, like South America is a continent with probably one of the least established wrestling scenes, right? Like obviously Tay Conti and Cezar Bononi have jobs in AEW now but there aren’t many other South American nations other than Brazil and Chile that have wrestlers from them.
JT: Yeah the difficulty for the South American scene in a worldwide sense is that they’re just disconnected from the major wrestling powers of the world. Canada is right above the US, Mexico has its own diverse culture and is right below the US, Puerto Rico is real close to the US, the UK & Ireland are right next to each other, Europe is right next to the UK and even Japanese wrestling is directly tied to the American occupation of their country after WW2. Obviously South America had been seriously affected by foreign involvement, but the involvement has mostly been by proxy since the start of the 20th Century. They’re essentially in their own bubble, just like the wrestling scene in Africa. I’m sure the local fans are fine with that honestly, but I bet it’s tougher on the wrestlers and their paychecks.
S: Oh for sure because the only way that they can make a living is by moving stateside or to an area with a developed wrestling scene. I mean Tay Conti didn’t even have a clue what WWE was when she was signed, right?
JT: Can’t say I’m really knowledgeable about her but honestly that sounds right. There’s just such a cultural difference between North & South America, that it’s cool to see wrestling still develop around the world. Speaking of cool, Gran Metalik is a real cool looking dude ain’t he?
S: He is one cool looking dude alright, what an outfit this guy has on him. I remember my friend was watching an episode of CWC and he wouldn’t have been familiar with any of the newer wrestlers but he was immediately enraptured with Gran Metalik’s look. He said that he looked like an emperor which is pretty accurate.
JT: That’s pretty much in line with what I thought about him. He was someone I had marked as a favorite to win this whole thing just on the basis of his look. We all know the great heritage of Masked Luchadores in Cruiserweight wrestling, with the likes of Rey Mysterio & Juventud Guerrera. I don’t think he was my first pick to win, but given how strongly his aesthetic comes across and the history that aesthetic had, I thought he had a good chance to go far.
S: Absolutely, he looks the part of a top Cruiserweight for sure. Saez has got the indieriffic baggy shorts and kick pads and also cut 35 pounds to make weight for this. He’d be a great man to have on the county panel.
JT: Yeah, he’s got a great story but I didn’t like his chances here. Not when he came out with the black “Cruiserweight Classic” t-shirt on. And just briefly before we start this match, I just wanted to briefly mention something we tend to harp on here: Entrances and Theme Songs. This time around, don’t expect a lot of that. As part of the “real sports feel” as some might say, pretty much every entrance is pretty bare bones and their music is rather nondescript. Everyone pretty much just walks out to stereotyped music for their country (Mexican sounding trumpets for Metalik for example) or generic rock. There’s not much to speak of, which is kind of a shame, but when you consider you’ve got 32 new guys to get music for, that’s ok. I’d rather everyone be kind of generic than make the favorite even more obvious with special entrances and better theme songs.
S: Yeah I couldn’t imagine having to compose 32 songs for a wrestling tournament so for once, CFO$ are let off the hook in my eyes. You’re okay, for now…Although there are some songs in this tournament which I think are pretty damn good to be honest.
JT: I’d agree, but I’d say they never really leave that middle of the bell curve, if you know what I mean.
S: Yeah I get you there, they reach a certain level which is a pretty good theme but not to the awesome or legendary level of wrestling music
JT: One more little presentation note: each guy gets a promo before the match. For the most part, all the promos are pretty simple, but it’s a nice little way to help endear the audience to them. For example, Metalik’s promo is in Spanish because, well that’s what language he speaks. So rather than have someone speak for him, he’s able to speak for himself in his native tongue about how he wants to win for all Mexico. It’s a little thing like that which makes the big focus on the “international flair” feel more genuine. On the other side of things, Saez says that he wants to show that Chileans are hardened warriors and that they can win. It’s simple stuff but it’s effective.
JT: Alright I think we’ve officially run out of ways to prolong this bit. Let’s get to the wrasslin!!
S: It’s exactly what they do in UFC with the pre match interviews on why they’re going to win said match they’re in. Again, the sports feel of this tournament is felt. It’s nothing too in depth but it’s quick and straightforward and for that, gotta admire it.
JT: Yeah you only benefit from this format, there is almost zero downside to giving these guys a little time to say their piece.
S: Unless you’re some technical wrestler from England who talks about some wizard from Great Britain.
JT: Alright I think we’ve officially run out of ways to prolong this pre-match stuff. Let’s get to the wrasslin!!
S: Let’s get down on it!
JT: So before the bell we get a handshake between Metalik and Saez, which will become a running theme of the CWC. The match begins, we get a lock up and a wrist lock from Saez but Metalik cartwheels out of it. Saez gets a shoulder block and gets some boos from the crowd, making it clear who the crowd favors. Metalik shows off his athleticism with a pair of leapfrogs, but as he drops down to trip Saez, the Chilean side steps and nails a low Dropkick to the face for the first real offense of the match. Metalik sends him into the ropes but Saez flips over the ropes and to the apron, following up with a springboard dropkick for an early 2 count. Saez has had impressive offense so far, but as he sends Metalik into the ropes, Metalik shows why they call him “The King of the ropes”. He gets a back-handspring off the ropes into a backflip, ducks a clothesline and hits a Superkick!! From there he runs into the corner, jumping to the ropes but seamlessly turning and repositioning himself on the other side of turnbuckle. This completely throws off Saez, who has no time to react as Metalik then flies right at him with a Missile Dropkick to send him to the floor!! And if that’s not enough, he hits the ropes, jumps, springs off the middle rope and gets a Tope Con Hilo to the floor!! I only have two words: Holy Shit.
S: Holy shit indeed man, this was just excellent stuff from these two lads but Metalik, an absolute wonder to watch in the ring. The way he manoeuvres about the ring and how he uses the ring ropes as his own playground just makes him stand out so much. That Tope Con Hilo where he uses the middle rope as a springboard? Liquid wrestling.
JT: That sequence was the exact sort of thing people were looking for with this tournament. Like WWE’s in house style had improved a lot by 2016, but still when you think of WWE’s style, you’d think of a big guy slowly slapping on a chin lock, forget running the ropes. Meanwhile, Metalik made incredibly difficult footwork look easy. He did that like it was absolutely nothing, but I really doubt I could name someone else on the roster who could do that. Smooth wrestlers like Daniel Bryan or Kurt Angle couldn’t pull that off, even Rey Mysterio hadn’t done anything like that since the 90s. This is really stuff Americans fans hadn’t seen in an American ring in decades.
S: Oh for definite, proper Mexican Lucha Libre is for sure something that’s not been seen since the late 90’s because usually what WWE would do upon signing a Luchador is that they’d condense their style to be moderately lucha but a lot of the WWE style. For example, original Sin Cara with his botch lucha, the most effective lucha.
JT: Oh god, I hadn’t even considered Sin Cara. Yeah going from him to Metalik is like night and day. No offense to Hunicara of course, but you can tell that for Metalik wrestling this style in that mask is something he could do in his sleep.
S: Absolutely, he looks like he knows his positioning like the back of his hand, for sure.
JT: Oh and for the first of what will be many times, Bryan lets out a mighty yell after Metalik hits that big Tope. Bryan isn’t a great commentator in my estimation, but his sheer enthusiasm really helps this tournament as much as a proper color commentator would.
S: I think he does a fine job, he’s the kind of colour commentator you would ideally want. A (at this time anyways) former professional wrestler who knows what it’s like to be a Cruiserweight wrestler, is knowledgeable enough to know the different styles and is enthusiastic about the product.
JT: Very enthusiastic. I’m not going to point this out every time this comes up (because it comes up a lot) but if you ever watch the CWC you will hear a lot of enthusiastic “OH GOD”s from Bryan.
S: I’m gonna have to keep a counter on that for next time because this could be for us what Vince’s ‘UNBELIEVABLE’ calls are for OSW.
JT: It’s his signature call!!
S: Unbelievable. Bah gawd. Oh my. Let the pigeons loose. Ball game. Oh my god. The super six of signature calls.
JT: So after his big dive, Metalik throws Saez back in the ring, climbs up top and then walks across the top rope hands free before leaping off into a big splash!! 1—2—Kickout by Saez!! Metalik waits for him to get back up, then just waffles him across the chest with a big chop!! He charges at Saez but gets sent over the top to the apron, catches a big kick to the head and falls to the floor. Not to be outdone by Metalik’s acrobatics, Saez heads to the apron and leaps off with a Shooting Star Press!! He lands right on Metalik, but can’t get the pin on the floor so he rolls him back in and heads up top. Metalik is in the drop zone, but manages to move out of the way of the Spiral Tap!! Saez struggles back up to his feet, Metalik meets him in the corner with a clothesline then pulls him up to his shoulder before hooking him and planting him in the canvas with the Metalik Driver!! He hooks the legs, 1—2—3!! Gran Metalik moves on with a stellar opening match!!
S: This was a fucking brilliant six or so minutes, it was enjoyable as I remembered it being. We all know what excellent offense Metalik brings to the table but Saez man, a really stellar wrestler with deceptively good agility for his height and the weight he cut. This was the ideal appetiser to give fans a taste of what was to come in this tournament, it was a nice showcase for Saez but Metalik was the clear star. Love the Metalik Driver too! Good stuff.
JT: I honestly thought this was a shorter match than I remember it being. It kind of takes away from it, only because it felt like it got to the conclusion before I was ready for it. But that’s really on me, there ain’t a thing wrong with this. It was a Lucha style match, which kept the pace fairly quick and the spots snappy. We got two of our first real big moments, with a definitive and smart finish. I also agree with you, that Metalik Drive is nice and snug. It’s essentially a Samoan Driver but he keeps their head hooked and folds them up. Thumbs up!!
S: Glad we’re in agreement! So Saez has the unwanted distinction of being the first guy eliminated from the tournament and as part of our series, we will give you a brief ‘where are they now’ of each participant after they’ve been eliminated. James, what’s our Chilean friend up to these days?
JT: Okay so I’ll start off with wrestling we’ll be a bit more familiar with first. Mauro mentioned that Saez had spent some time in Pro Wrestling NOAH, and he would return there after the CWC for a brief stint. In fact, he took part in the Global League (now known as the N-1 Victory, aka NOAH’s G1) where he’d go 3-4 with wins over Muhammad Yone, Davey Boy Smith Jr, and future GHC Heavyweight Champion and future of the company, Kaito Kiyomiya. Of course, this is before his excursion, so it’s not the same as pinning him now, but it’s always fun to look at who beat a lot of Japanese wrestling’s biggest names before they became a proper member of the main roster. To harken back to our last arc, Rob Terry having a win over Kazuchika Okada for example.
S: That’s pretty damn cool to hear not gonna lie, the fact he’s actually competed in NOAH’s major tournament makes me view him in a more respected light. Would’ve loved to have seen him as the 240 pound wrestler he was before this tournament too. Alejandro Saez in NOAH arc perhaps???
JT: Well as much as that’d be fun for us specifically, that was the last tour he did for NOAH. With the exception of one more match in NOAH, he’d wrestle exclusively in South America from 2017 onward. This meant a handful of matches in Peru, and a bunch more in Chile. In fact in Chile, he started his own promotion called 5 Lucha Clandestino. According to his Wikipedia page, he leads a faction called “Carnaval de Sangre” (aka “Carnival of Blood” in English) there. I’m assuming they’re heels, but it is difficult to find information about the roster online since they do not have an official website, only a Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channel. Their Facebook says they were experimenting with streaming before the pandemic but since then there has been little activity on the page. He’s also wrestling as his one of gimmick names “XL” rather than his given name “Alejandro Saez”.
S: Very interesting, the Peruvian boys are starting to get that wrestling up and running. First the World Cup appearance in 2018 and now this. Peru is on the rise, people. XL is definitely an unusual ring name to say the least, almost like when Val Venis was just ‘The Big Valbowski’ on SmackDown for a spell.
JT: Well apparently it’s short for “Xtra Large”. Perhaps he gained that CWC weight back in the form of muscle, maybe it’s some sort of phrase about his Large personality, maybe he’s just big for Chilean guy! I’ve got no clue honestly.
S: Maybe he’s living xtra large? He could be some sort of rich man for all we know, Chilean fans of the Power Hour. Write in to us to solve this mystery, we know you all are out there.
JT: To wrap this up, I’ll tell you about his most recent match! It happened on March 19th 2021 for Chile’s Campeonato Nacional de Lucha Libre, under the name El Mostro. After losing in the Quarter Finals of their initial World Title tournament to Taylor Wolf back in January, he found success on his next show. Alongside partner Guanchulo, he ended the 1076 Day reign of “The Chilean Empire” (Al Cold & Eddie Vergara) to become the #8th ever CNL Tag Champions. His Championship victory was the 1st of two matches (with the other being the finals of the CNL World Title tournament) on the Season Finale of CNL’s weekly TV series “Temporado”. The Cagematch page about it has a link to the show and CNL’s got some decent production value if you ask me. So hey, ending a big title reign to kick off your own heel run to close out the season of a decently run company? Not bad my man.
S: Would you look at that? Starting all this off on a really nice positive note, good on you Alejandro. You always were one of the good ones, my friend. That’s absolutely lovely to hear that he’s still kicking and wrestling on a fairly regular basis.
JT: One thing I’ve noticed is that as opposed to like American Indy wrestlers who rack up a lot of matches every month, a lot of the guys we cover from other countries really just don’t have the opportunity to wrestle as often. That said, he’s averaging a few matches a month, so good for him! He’s doing as much as he can, so I’m happy for him.
S: Absolutely, starting this off with positivity on our boy Ally Saez.
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Do or Dai
S: What’s up next on the docket, James?
JT: Up next, we have a man who had to forge his own path in his own country, against a man who has wrestling running in his DNA!! Representing Hong Kong, it’s Hoho Lun!! And his opponent, the brother of Shawn Daivari, representing Iran, it’s Ariya Daivari!!
S: Absolute boy central here. The cult hero of the CWC is already showing up. The legend that is, Hoho Lun! And a younger brother of Shawn Daivari? Oh my god, a clash of boys in this contest!
JT: Well Seán I know how you feel about this men now, but what was your impression of them back in 2016 when this aired?
S: The thought about Ariya Daivari was that instantly I knew he was a relative of Shawn Daivari just by the recognition of his name alone. I wasn’t all too familiar with his name at all because the indy promotions I kept my eye on, he wasn’t featured on them all too much. With Hoho, I thought he had the coolest name imaginable and just like with Saez and Chile, I’d no idea wrestling was a thing in Hong Kong.
JT: So for me personally, I actually didn’t know Ariya was Shawn’s brother until they said so. Like for me Shawn Daivari was a guy before my time, who I only experienced through like highlights of him managing Muhammad Hassan, Great Khali and Kurt Angle. So I had thought “Oh maybe he got in good shape and got the call again!”. Nope, I soon learned I was wrong. But cool for Ariya to get the opportunity, I was intrigued to see how he’d do. As for Hoho, again I had no clue there was even wrestling in Hong Kong. I was even more intrigued to learn he was the founder of his own promotion! So I was real interested to see how he’d do!
S: And would you look at what he’s wearing? How about those baggy shorts and a t-shirt? That’s Homicide and B-Boy’s things!
JT: Look, in Hong Kong wrestling, you get what was given to you. I mean commentary even told the story of how when he went to train to become a wrestler, his mom had signed him up to do Judo instead, likely because there were no “pro wrestling schools” like here or in Ireland. He earned the respect of his local community and helped gain a foothold for wrestling in Hong Kong, so I’ll leave the man and his gear alone. On the other hand, that dastardly Ariya Daivari is following in the same footsteps as his detestable brother! He says that he’ll do whatever he needs to do to win in this tournament! Honestly, what else could we expect from a Daivari?
S: Hoho, I ask for your forgiveness. My joke was ill timed and immature. I’m sorry. Your shorts are nice.
What did we get from the younger Daivari? IRAN NUMBER ONE, BUBBA!
JT: Funny that you make that mention, because Ariya represents the contingent of Iranian wrestlers in Minnesota! Along with his brother Shawn, The Iron Sheik himself was from Minnesota, adding to the decorated history of wrestling from that state, including the Hennigs, Vern Gange, Ric Flair and of course, Brock Lesnar. Ariya says he wants to be the best in the history of the state, so he’s got a lot to live up to. As such, he’s all business tonight, as he’s the first person to refuse the handshake at the start of the match.
S: He wouldn’t get away with that if he were in Ring of Honor in the mid 2000’s now, would he? He’d be out the fucking gap so he would, him and Jimmy Rave would be getting absolutely pelted with toilet paper so they would. Rotters.
JT: On top of refusing the hand shake, the crowd also just seems to have a fun time chanting “Hoho” and are quickly behind him. The bell rings, quick headlock by Daivari, followed by some athleticism as he gets a shoulder block, cartwheels over the drop down, but thenHoho with a Dropkick, running forearm in the corner then another dropkick!! Before Hoho can get too much going, Daivari ducks a clothesline and gets a Neckbreaker for a 1 count. He slows the pace down, stomping on Hoho in the corner, throwing him hard into the corner. He tries to follow up but Lun moves out of the way and hits the ropes only to get hit with a high knee to the face. Triple H & Brutus Beefcake smile from afar. 1–2–Sweet!! This was inevitably going to happen since we’re looking back on not just the wrestlers but the culture around wrestling at the time. Gotta say, I do not miss people doing that Too Sweet thing with the nearfalls.
S: UGGGGGGHHHHHH GODDDDDDD! The fucking bane of my existence was this shit, that and the god damn ‘ten’ chants for ten counts, they’re coming soon, people.
JT: I was gonna point out, they don’t do the ‘ten’ chants but what they did do here was count 1 ahead of the referee. So he’d say 5, the fans would yell 6. I didn’t have it noted anywhere specifically in my notes, it was just happening on both episodes we watched. Just annoying shit. You’re at a wrestling show, watching good wrestling!! Why are you trying to entertain yourselves when you’ve got live entertainment in front of you already?!?
S: Because this is the era of when every crowd of fans are always trying to get themselves over, you see.
JT: Well it sucks. At least they’re chanting for Hoho though? Like now they’ve got a full on Jim Dugan “Hoooo” chant going to get our boy fired up.
S: Now that’s the kind of chant we can all get behind. Imagine the tag matches we could’ve gotten on Heat if Hoho were around in 2006 to team up with Jim Duggan? Absolute scenes.
JT: With the people behind him, he tries to fire up but Daivari cuts him off by grabbing the hair. Hey, he said he’d do anything to win. Again Hoho tries to fire up and out of the rest hold, but Daivari hits him hard with a knee to the gut. He goes to follow up with a high kick, but Lun ducks!! But Daivari keeps rotating, spinning and connecting with another high kick!! He covers, 1—2–Kickout!! Daivari is starting to feel like he’s got this in the bag, and that Hoho is no match for him. He slaps him around disrespectfully, but as he goes to inflict further punishment, he runs into a spinning heel kick!! Lun with double hand chops, then he reverses a whip into the corner and gets a Missile Dropkick. He gets a waistlock, standing switch by Daivari, elbow by Hoho but Daivari cuts him off with a Discus Elbow. Ariya goes up but no water in the pool for the Frog Splash!! Hoho with a running knee to the back of the head, then a Superkick!! 1—2—Kickout!! Hoho pulls him up and gets a bridging German!! 1–2–3!! Hoho Lun with the comeback and the victory!!
S: I gotta say, I don’t think I enjoyed this more than the opener but this match flowed really well, didn’t it? Daivari is a really technically sound wrestler and he rarely fucks up, I thought Hoho did well too but I have to say that he has the facial expressions of a man who doesn’t have a clue where he is or what he’s doing, doesn’t he? I mean that in a jovial way, people. That’s what adds to his charm after all.
JT: Yeah I was gonna say, the CWC was a very positively received event for the most part, but I did see some criticism thrown Hoho’s way. That said, in this match I didn’t really see it. It’s probably because he was with Daivari, but I thought this was a perfectly adequate match. Daivari led the action, he got the crowd behind Hoho, and then the action slowly ramped up until he got a nice conclusive finish, a victory for the young upstart. But you’re right about his facial expressions, he’s just looking dead ahead. Honestly for realism, a guy just being expressionless and entirely focusing on the match (probably in his case, trying to remember his spots and sequences) is perfectly fine. Fighting requires a lot of concentration after all. I just don’t know how well that translates to Western wrestling fans, with our love of drama.
S: I remember hearing a lot of criticism directed at Hoho alright and I thought it was always a bit unfair on him. He’s a perfectly sound wrestler who would probably get better with a bit of seasoning and more experience under his belt, he’s a bit of a cult hero in the world of wrestling and I can see why. Yeah his expressions are very bizarre but that’s just the charm of Hoho Lun, right?
JT: We love our oddballs over here on the Power Hour. So, with Hoho’s victory comes Daivari’s defeat. Shall we run down how his career has gone since losing this match? This’ll be one of the less surprising ones for those of you paying attention to WWE.
S: We most certainly shall, what’s Ariya up to these days for those who don’t know?
JT: So despite losing here, Daivari has gone on to become one of the longest tenured members of the Cruiserweight division. He was there for the start of the division post CWC and has pretty much been on the roster the whole time aside from injuries. He’s a lower card character who is usually at best trading wins if not just losing to elevate others. That’s really been his job, to elevate others. Just like he did tonight with Hoho. He was in one of the first feuds on 205 Live, fighting Jack Gallagher to an “I Surrender” match. He was a member of the Zo Train during that era of 205 Live. He managed Hideo Itami during the end of Hideo’s WWE run. Most recently he’s formed an alliance with Tony Nese, working as a veteran duo to face off against the division’s young faces. Oh, and he and his brother Shawn got to work together at the Greatest Royal Rumble PPV where the two Iranians insulted Saudi wrestling prospects, but were chased off by Mansoor. He doesn’t have an impressive win loss record in WWE (he’s always lost more matches than he’s won every year of his career), going from an indy wrestler to earning a WWE paycheck and regular work for 5 years is a lot better than many people have ever had in wrestling. I mean he’s been in WWE longer than his brother was.
S: That’s kinda crazy that Shawn was in WWE way shorter than he was but is almost better known. He’s never been a guy that’s going to be elevated but in wrestling, you always gotta have those loyal guys who are willing to put others over. The fact he’s been getting a payday for this long too, gotta respect it. I honestly didn’t think he’d be around that long. You also reminded me of all his highlights too, thanks James!
JT: I really think he’s benefited from the small size of the 205 Live Roster. Even though he’s never been booked strongly, they’ve always found something for him to do, because their roster is small and they’ve gotta make the most of who is at their disposal.
S: That is very true because even to this day, he is prominently featured on nearly every 205 Live episode in the last three years.
JT: And he’s still going to this day! His most recent match? NXT on May 18th, eating the pin in a losing effort with Tony Nese against Isaiah “Swerve” Scott’s new stable-mates in Hit Row, Ashante Adonis & Top Dolla. Still elevating people 5 years later.
S: God bless him. You get that coinage, Ariya!
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Small (Hurt) Business
JT: So before we get into our next match, there’s an advertisement on the show for the upcoming WWE Draft!! Remember that? 2016, return of the Brand Split with the birth of SmackDown Live on Tuesdays?
S: Oh you bet I do. It was a pretty surreal time that not only was the Brand Split being revived but SmackDown is also both moving to Tuesday nights and being live. It was pretty crazy at the time but looking back on it now, the moving of SmackDown going live saved that show forever.
JT: Yeah I think we forget just how irrelevant the blue brand got in the mid 10s. 2013-2015 was just a miserable period of time for the brand, I stopped watching it then because it was legitimately like 50% Raw recaps and rematches from Raw. You top that off with having a lot of B Tier level programs from 2010 onward and the show was just in dire need of refurbishment.
S: The 2013-2015 period of SmackDown is what we call ‘Worst SmackDown’ on the Power Hour. The importance of SmackDown going live and being its own separate brand is very understated, I feel.
JT: There’s so much that has happened on Smackers since the split that it’s 100% been one of the best moves in years.
S: Absolutely and speaking of moves, is there some sort of wrestling match coming up next?
JT: That’s right!! Up next we have France’s representative Clement Petiot, facing off against America’s Cedric Alexander!!
S: Cedric Alexander! Fresh out of ROH and shed nearly 25 pounds to make weight for the CWC. Jaysus you’d have him and Saez making weight for county, they’d be great in the team.
JT: Cedric’s got a lot of support behind him, not only does he have that base of support from being an American Indy wrestler, but cutting weight automatically gives me reason to get behind them. I mean we all know everyone in the tournament worked so hard to get here, but that’s physical proof of their commitment to their craft.
S: I think he’s probably the guy that has the most fanfare behind him. Like he may not be many people’s favourites to win the tournament but he’s gotta be the guy with the most support from the fans so far.
JT: Speaking of fan support, how familiar were you with Cedric at this time?
S: Cedric was someone who I was quite familiar with because of his work in PWG and ROH. I’d seen a fair few of his matches and he had a moveset which really stood out to me because of his agility and power. Petiot was another guy who I wasn’t familiar with at all but was someone I was intrigued to see.
JT: Yeah I wasn’t familiar with Petiot at all, but I was familiar with Cedric. The first time I would’ve watched Cedric is at ROH Final Battle 2014, where he teamed with the Addiction against the Young Bucks & ACH in a losing effort. After that, I would’ve known him as a heel with manager Veda Scott after he used a wrench to end Moose’s undefeated streak. His time in ROH was fine but honestly not super memorable in my mind, he was never in anything truly exciting or positioned all that highly on the card. He also had some PWG matches but he didn’t get the same sort of shine some other CWC competitors got though.
S: Yeah those things I all remember, especially beating Moose’s streak with a wrench for some odd reason but that really was Cedric’s position for all those years. We all knew he was a fantastic wrestler but he was always kept in a certain place on the card and never really elevated beyond that.
JT: Yeah he felt like he had all the potential in the world but never moved up the ranks like he should have. So seeing him here felt like an interesting chance to see him get a new, fresh start.
S: Yeah and you couldn’t be more happy for the guy because you get the feeling that the revamped Cruiserweight Division in WWE was what Cedric may have needed for himself around this time.
JT: But hey, we’re doing a lot of talking about Cedric but he’s got a tough task in front of him. Not only does he want to make his name synonymous with Charlotte NC like Ric Flair, but he’s against a tough opponent. Petiot looks real shredded, and he’s been trained by Lance Storm. He doesn’t do flips, but he’s bigger than a lot of guys, and he knows that if they can’t fly, then what can they do? Also fun fact, he’s got a Master’s Degree in Sports Legislation!
S: Jim Ross would admire the attitude of Petiot so he would, JR is always a huge advocate for wrestlers to turn pro but also have your trade in your back pocket as your B plan in case you end up out of the wrestling business. I admire the common intelligence of Petiot here.
JT: Again, to go back to Alejandro Saez, a lot of these guys outside of America don’t have a ton of chances for matches. So having a degree means you’ve got that much of a chance to get a good side job while you’re between matches.
S: It’s what literally every wrestler should do, either have a normal every-day job on the side that doesn’t require a degree or just get your degree, if it’s attainable to you then pursue wrestling. It’s the most secure life you could have as a wrestler.
JT: Back to focusing on Cedric: Did you recognize the song that Cedric came out to?
S: Nowadays it’s forever Cedric’s theme song but back then, I’ve a feeling that this was something WWE have used before in some capacity now that you say it.
JT: Honestly I have no clue! I just thought that it’s interesting that Cedric *spoilers* still has this theme song, even to this day. It even came back now that he’s out of the Hurt Business! It’s just a fitting song I suppose.
S: It’s a very inspiring piece of music, isn’t it? Like it’s a total babyface theme.
JT: Totally. And if he didn’t get he was the hero in this match, Petiot pulls him in close when they shake hands. The crowd wants Cedric to preserve but will be able to survive the grinding tenacity of France’s finest?
S: There’s only one way to find out then, isn’t there?
JT: You’re right about that! So, the bell rings and we get lots of transitions as the two of them chain wrestle. As the pace starts to pick up, Cedric shows the skills that brought him to the dance, as he rolls over a drop down, hits two arm drags, sending Petiot to the floor. He runs and goes for a dive, only to then backflips off the ropes as Petiot tries to run out of the way. Having been shown up, Petiot runs back in, but Cedric side steps, leapfrogs, and then backflips into a Headscissor followed by a picture perfect Dropkick right to the face. You mentioned earlier that Cedric had impressed you before with his excellent looking offense, I imagine a lot of people saw exactly what you saw for the first time right here.
S: Yeah for real, this just have been such an eye opener for fans unfamiliar with Cedric at this time. Cedric was always super agile but with the weight he’s dropped, he looked like he became even more agile than he already was. Absolutely exceptional wrestling from him in the opening stages.
JT: But hey, Petiot was not to be outshined. Cedric chases him to the ropes but gets dumped over the top rope to the apron. Cedric goes for a shoulder to the gut but Petiot clobbers him with a knee!! Cedric falls back in the ring and Petiot goes to work on him, laying shoulders into his gut in the corner and hitting him with big clubbing blows to slow the match. He gets a Suplex, but Alexander kicks out at 1. He gets Cedric up, whips him hard into the corner, then hits a Gutwrench Suplex for a nearfall. Cedric was impressive early but Petiot has worn him down and is controlling the pace. Cedric tries to start a comeback, but Petiot avoids a Clothesline in the corner, hits an Enziguri to the back of Alexander’s head, then hits him with a shoulder tackle that sends him into the corner. He follows up with a running knee to the face!! 1—2—Kickout!! Creative sequence right there by Petiot to keep the match in his favor!
S: Going back watching this and not remembering much of what Petiot did in this match, I’ve gotta say that I was really fucking impressed by him in this sequence! Like Daivari, he is just such a fundamentally sound wrestler. Then you find out he was extensively trained by Lance Storm in the SWA training centre and we now know the key to being a solid wrestler.
JT: For all his strong fundamentals though, he’s gotta put away his opponent. He continues to keep Alexander down as he just hits him harder than Alexander can respond. Petiot manages to hang Cedric up between the ropes again and goes for a knee but Cedric pulls himself back in and snaps him off the ropes. This opening allows Cedric to strike with one of his signature moves, a Springboard Clothesline! Momentum is starting to turn in Alexander’s favor as he hits a running corner forearm, then another. Cedric goes for the Brainbuster but Petiot blocks and goes for a clothesline but Cedric ducks and pulls him in for the Lumbar Check but Petiot turns it into a headlock takeover and sends Cedric away from him. With the created face, both men
rush up to their feet, but Petiot strikes first as he hits a Discus Clothesline!! He sends Alexander end over end!! He covers, 1—-2–Kickout!! That may have been Petiot’s best shot because he tries to go for another one, but Cedric ducks and grabs a hold of him, lifting Petiot up and driving him down onto his knee with the Lumbar Check!! Cedric covers, and gets the 1—2—3!!! Cedric withstand the onslaught from Petiot and gets the victory to a happy crowd. Gotta say, I think out of the first 3 matches on this show, this one was my favorite. What about you?
S: Absolutely man, I thought this match was a really fun match and I’m in total agreement with you there. The matches on this episode seem to get better with each passing match. Thought these two worked well together, liked Petiot too. I focused on him a fair bit because we all know how Cedric wrestles. They complimented each other’s styles well and the finishing part with the reversals, the ONE near fall (feels so good saying that) and the Lumbar Check finish to boot. Liked it.
JT: Yeah I thought the finishing sequence was particularly good if you were familiar with Alexander, because he frequently used a Brainbuster as a finish around this time. So they teased that, had Petiot’s great clothesline, and then the great sudden finish at the end. It was a nice comeback for Cedric, in a nicely paced match. This match definitely benefited from getting a lot more time than the first 2 matches, and I look forward to seeing if that’s a trend that continues throughout the CWC.
S: Yeah let’s hope so, because nowadays it’s very tough to have a great match in a short amount of time. So we’re both in agreement that this match was pretty damn good, right?
JT: Certainly!! Great match, great job by both guys. Now, again spoilers, we know where Cedric Alexander is. But do you want to know what Clement Petiot has been up to since his first round elimination?
S: Oh absolutely because I have not heard his name much at all since the CWC.
JT: Well you probably didn’t hear about him because he only worked 3 matches under his real name of Clement Petiot in his whole career, including this one. He went back to working the European independent scene, under his ring name Tristan Archer. Does that name ring any bells for you?
S: That name certainly does ring a bell! I recognise his name from wXw shows, he wasn’t at any of the shows I went to when I went to 16 Carat Weekend right before the pandemic but Tristan Archer is a name I’m more than familiar with. Never even knew they were the same guy!
JT: I’m sure many European wrestling fans recognize him more by that name than his given name. As you pointed out, he has experience in WXW, unsuccessfully challenging Bobby Gunns for the WXW Unified Championship in 2020, as well as participating in WXW’s 2020 Catch Grand Prix, finishing the Round Robin with 6 points. He has also had 2 matches in Progress back in 2019, one was a losing effort to Lucky Kid in a Strong Style 16 qualifier. The other was victory during a crossover show with APC, which stands for Association les Professionnels du Catch. It is in the suburbs of Paris, running out of a small banquet hall, but from a comment on cagematch, it’s apparently “France’s first Super Indy”. Now Petiot’s win was important because it was actually the APC Championship, the company’s top belt. That reign would last for 302 Days before the belt was vacated and won again by Archer, leading a 70 Day reign before being defeated by A-Buck on August 30th 2020.
S: Good on him! Becoming a regular in wXw and helping to establish the French wrestling scene is quite a decent way to make a name for yourself after your highest profile match. Even getting to wrestle Bobby Gunns for the wXw Title too. More than happy for him because I think he was good enough to be snapped up by WWE if you ask me.
JT: Maybe he didn’t sign on because there wasn’t an NXT UK that would let him stay close to home while earning McMahon money, maybe he just wasn’t interested. I’d agree though I certainly think he was good enough to get at least a few more looks in on WWE TV, if not getting actually signed to NXT/205 Live. But back in our timeline, at the time of writing, he had a match just last week on May 22nd, losing to Tom LaRuffa in a Triple Threat #1 contenders match for the BodyZoi Title for Belgium’s BodyZoi Wrestling promotion. He also unsuccessfully participated in a Battle Royal to become #1 contender to the WXW Unified Championship on WXW We Love Wrestling #12 on May 14th.
S: And you can probably catch that battle royal on the WWE Network for $9.99…
Look at how they massacred my boy… 😦
JT: Dread it, run from it, your destiny of ending up on the WWE Network still arrives.
S: We’re looking at you, New Japan!
—————————————————
Whoa oh oh oh, I-bu-shi for me and you
JT: Hey speaking of that there promotion, we’re on to our main event of the first episode of the CWC!! Representing American Samoa and the Anoa’i Wrestling Dynasty, it’s Sean Maluta!! And his opponent, representing Japan, it’s the Golden Star, Kota Ibushi!!
S: KOTA IBUSHI! WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!
JT: Easily one of the biggest names in the tournament, and a man who back in 2016, was the biggest freelance wrestler in Japanese wrestling. What did you know about him as a wee lad in 2016?
S: I was very familiar with Kota Ibushi in 2016 because of his work in NJPW and I vividly recall the time he showed up in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Dallas and I absolutely flipped out. I was just so taken aback by how much of a shock it was, so when I heard that he was gonna be in the CWC, I was so excited.
JT: Ibushi was someone I was aware of but not someone I had seen a lot of at this point. I had seen his most famous match (on a worldwide scale anyway) which had been at 2015’s Wrestle Kingdom 9. That was of course his fantastic matchup against Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, where he came up on the losing end. That’s about all I had seen of him. But I still heard about how he won that year’s (2015) New Japan Cup, which got him an IWGP Title match against AJ Styles. Of course that featured the amazing moment where thanks to interference from former DDT Tag Partner Kenny Omega, AJ caught him in a Styles Clash out of the Phoenix Splash. Despite that success, he would leave New Japan in early 2016. Ibushi was something of a bachelor, in the sense that he had all the talent in the world, and rather than signing somewhere long term, he’d bounce around the indies for however long he pleased. So seeing him show up in WWE, it felt out of nowhere.
S: Agreed, in retrospect and knowing the position which Ibushi holds in professional wrestling in 2021. This seven month period is a real hazy period for Ibushi’s career now that we think about it. It’s such a damn fever dream to look back on.
JT: Even at the time, it’s odd. I mean again, though he has a history of moving from place to place, he had been in contention for NJPW’s 3 heavyweight singles titles over the course of a year, but he walked away. I mean facing Nakamura at WK is no small feat, they don’t just let anyone do that. But he decided to try it with WWE. Alright, that’s enough about Ibushi for now. What about Sean Maluta, Seán? Whatcha think about him, what did you know about him?
S: I hadn’t a blue’s clue as to who my fellow Sean in Sean Maluta was heading into this show. This is becoming a real trend with these first round matches, it’s one guy who people will be familiar with versus someone who many wouldn’t be as familiar with or flat out do not know. It’s an interesting dynamic for first round matches and it works really well as your mindset going in is that you expect a great standard from the familiar but are going in blind with the other, that being the unfamiliar.
JT: Yeah that’s the way this has been going. Although I will say, Bryan & Mauro mentioning that he was part of the Samoan Dynasty instantly boosted his credibility. I didn’t bet on it, but honestly coming into this as a paranoid “Roman always wins” smark in 2016, I had a sneaking suspicion that Maluta would actually get the upset on Ibushi.
S: Ah yes, the period which all young smarks around our age went through. This is how bad it got, folks. We thought it was inevitable for the Samoan Dynasty to reign over all of WWE and hold all the belts.
JT: Will Sean Maluta and his fun tassel gear get the victory tonight? Will he survive the intimidation of someone as accomplished as Ibushi and make it through to the other side? Or will Ibushi show the WWE Universe for the first time the expression of his wrestling?
S: I think it’s time we find out how this one goes down. Take it away, James!
JT: The two shake hands, the bell rings, and we begin our main event of episode 1!! Hard kick to Maluta’s thigh to start the match, immediately establishing how dangerous Ibushi’s kicks are. Maluta has some supporters in the crowd but is easily drowned out by the roar of support for Ibushi as they chain wrestle. Maluta with a knockdown, starting to build momentum until Ibushi nails a huge kick to the chest. Maluta manages to get Ibushi down again and goes for a big shot early, but Ibushi rolls out of the way of a frog splash and Bryan show’s his in ring expertise by debating if it was too early to go for something so big. After all, missing the splash leaves him wide open for a beautiful springboard Missile Dropkick from Ibushi. Kota ducks a clothesline and gets an Exploder Suplex. He tries to follow up on him in the corner, but runs straight into a Boot, then catches a Diving Blower from Maluta!! Ibushi pops up into the air and lands right on his neck!! I don’t know why, but this bump has always mystified me, like Ibushi kind of just floats through the air, almost gracefully and then somehow lands right on his neck.
S: This is a prime example of Ibushi always finding a way to land on his neck. He falls almost like a ragdoll with that bump, it’s uncomfortable looking alright but the grace behind is just elegant. It’s like a folding bed pillow.
JT: That’s actually a really good way of framing it, it’s like a big pillow just falling weightlessly then crumpling up. So that puts him out of commission and rolling to the floor, allowing Maluta to load off a big shot. He’s gotta take risks to make this upset happen. So with Ibushi on the floor, he hits the ropes, bounds forward and leaps for what I think was supposed to be a Tope Con Hilo, but there’s a problem. He jumps too early. So instead of a picture perfect dive like Metalik pulled off early, we get an interesting looking thing. Because he jumps too early, he can’t entirely clear the top rope, so he tumbles forward, and keeps tumbling as he goes over the ropes to the apron and does one more revolution as he comes off the apron and down on Ibushi. Essentially it looks like he rolls up the ropes, down the ropes, off the apron and onto Ibushi.
S: And to this day, some say that Maluta is still rolling. Rolling, rolling, rolling towards freedom.
JT: Gotta say, it’s one of the oddest dives I’ve ever seen. Not bad or ugly like some poor attempts have gone, just odd looking.
S: Yeah it’s bizarre and probably a botch but to be fair to Sean, he recovered well on it
JT: Yeah regardless of what was planned, he still bowled over Ibushi, but he’s unable to get the victory as Kota kicked out at 2. He’s gotta keep pushing his advantage, as Maluta hits with a kick to the gut, then to the head, followed by a Neckbreaker!! 1–2–Kickout again! He starts hitting some kicks to the chest of Ibushi, but it seems to only fire up Ibushi, leading to a Dropkick to the face by Ibushi as Maluta hits off the ropes!! Maluta goes for a pair of punches, Ibushi ducks both and nails slaps to the chest, a kick to the leg, a roundhouse kick to the chest, then a kick across the sternum and a Standing Moonsault by Ibushi!! Vintage Ibushi!! If you’ve seen an Ibushi match before, you’ve seen him do this, and man every time it’s still great.
S: Agreed, it’s absolutely gorgeous to watch Ibushi do his thing. He’s one of the most graceful wrestlers of his generation and having him being shown to a WWE audience who hadn’t seen him must have been a real treat for them.
JT: So Ibushi puts Maluta up on the top rope, going for a Superplex perhaps, but Maluta counters and sends him chest first off the mat. Maluta now tries to reposition himself, struggling to stand up on the top rope after a long, hard fought match, only for Ibushi to come back with a leaping Pele Kick!! He connects flush on Maluta’s head, causing him to spill to the floor!! But Ibushi is not done!! With Maluta out on the floor, he runs from one corner, jumping to the corner and over the top, and then Springboarding to the floor with a Moonsault!! It’s the Golden Triangle Moonsault!! What a fucking signature move!! Doing a Moonsault to the floor is impressive enough, but jumping to the ropes, turning and hitting your spot is just a step above.
S: I absolutely adore whenever Ibushi busts that move out but honestly, the move which made me flip out more was that fucking leaping Pele Kick! I honestly jumped out of my bed when I saw that not gonna lie.
JT: Yeah like I said when he got hit with the Codebreaker, he just has this way of floating through the air. His Pele is just the smoothest, floaty back flip that perfectly catches his opponent’s head. Also props to Maluta for selling that set up excellently. He gave a reason for why he’d be in that position for Ibushi to kick him (by acting like he couldn’t get up top) and then took a great dive to the floor off the kick.
S: It’s amazing spots supported by great psychology. The best of both worlds.
JT: And we’re still not done!! Ibushi brings him in the ring and goes for a Dragon Suplex, but Maluta with a back elbow to the face, then a Superkick!! He folds Ibushi!! 1—2–Kickout!! He still cannot put him away!! He starts hitting some step kicks to the face, trying to ramp up as he goes along, but as he goes for the big one, Ibushi steps out of the way and nails a big High Kick of his own!! He crumpled the Samoan with that one, leaving him prone to get pulled in, lifted up, and driven down to the mat with the Golden Star Powerbomb!! The Sit out Last Ride!! He covers, and gets the 1—2—3!! Ibushi moves on to round two to close out our first episode of the CWC!!
S: I thought this was quite the pretty fucking grest match to be honest with ya man. Very good match, despite the one hiccup with Maluta’s dive to the outside I thought it was a very well worked match. The commentators made you believe that there’s the slight possibility of Maluta upsetting Ibushi which was effective for when he nailed the savate kick, great near fall. Ibushi looked brilliant as he usually does and the Golden Star Bomb is a gorgeous move, he didn’t even have to bust out the Golden Star Press to have a spectacular finish. Thumbs up.
JT: Yeah this was a really great match. I think it’s helped by the fact this is the main event, so it gets to run a bit longer, but it’s got all the big things you’d expect from this sort of action. You’ve got lots of great strikes, you’ve got crazy high flying moves, you’ve got quick action, and you’ve got an impactful finisher. Like you said, Maluta’s dive was the only real hiccup in this, and even then it really wasn’t that bad. A whopper to close out the first episode!
S: Absolutely, a really fun episode which more or less got better with each passing match. We all know Ibushi is fucking amazing but Sean Maluta, he more than held his own and speaking of which. JAMES! What is my fellow Sean up to these days?
JT: So although Maluta would come up unsuccessful here, he’d actually show up a few times on WWE TV for the next few years while also taking a handful of Indy dates around the US. His time on WWE TV didn’t get much better in terms of results though, as he lost to the likes of Taijiri, The Brian Kendrick, and Noam Dar on 205 Live, and the likes of Hideo Itami, Bobby Roode, Patrick [REDACTED], Drew McIntyre, Heavy Machinery, Adam Cole, Mansoor, and Cameron Grimes on NXT. His last WWE match against Grimes in 2019, and it only went 6 seconds as Grimes immediately defeated him with his finisher. Sadly his CWC match was the longest of his WWE career at 9:40, and no matches he’d have afterwards would ever break the 5 minute mark. Kinda surprising given his pedigree, no?
S: Yeah for real, I knew he had a lot of enhancement appearances but like I’m shocked he never got signed and was given a proper go because he’s a really damn solid wrestler. One thing I do remember from his tenure is Drew Gulak while commentating on 205 Live referred to him as ‘Sean Majobber’. Don’t know why but sure look.
JT: Well hey! Just because his time in WWE wasn’t successful doesn’t mean there’s nothing left for him! After all, in 2020, he actually made 10 appearances in AEW!! That said, it wasn’t much different in the new company. To date he has only appeared on AEW Dynamite & Dark but in a losing capacity every time, in both singles and tag action. In order, he has lost to Lance Archer, the tag team of Kip Sabian & Miro, The Dark Order’s Ten, The Varsity Blondes, The Dark Order’s Evil Uno & Stu Grayson, The Gunn Club, Best Friends, The Gunn Club again, Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss and his most recent AEW match. That was of course, a 1:50 squash at the hands of Danny Limelight on AEW Dark back in January. New scenery, same result sadly.
S: That’s a pity because we clearly get enough of an impression that he’s a good enough wrestler to be a solid mid carder or a Cruiserweight level wrestler but sure look, not everyone can be that level and sometimes wrestlers are just best suited to making others look good. I’m happy that he’s getting work though.
JT: Yeah, honestly getting consistent work at all is tough as a wrestler, so anyone who makes televised appearances at all should be applauded. And there’s still a positive note to end on! His most recent match was for the Massachusetts promotion Beyond Wrestling, one of the more notable indies in the US today. Alongside veteran Indy wrestler Jaka as “The Island Kings” they won a tag match against “The Jollyville Fuck-Its” (Russ Myers & T-Money) in a little over 10 minutes on Beyond’s “Time Capsule” event on April 10th. Maybe this is the start of something new for Maluta, and he’s turned a corner. Even if it’s not though, to get time in not one but two of America’s biggest promotions is a good job.
S: Yeah that’s really good for him, I know Beyond probably isn’t as popular as what most American indie promotions used to be but like they’ve still got that pedigree on an independent wrestling level to the point where this is a good gig for Maluta to have. Oh and Beyond nearly have three million YouTube subscribers for some bizarre reason. Must’ve busted that algorithm real big. Anyways! James, what were your overall thoughts on the first episode of the Cruiserweight Classic?
JT: Top to bottom, this was a great show in my opinion. We got 4 matches that were all pretty good, in quite different ways. Metalik/Saez was quick, snappy lucha libre type action. Lun/Daivari was a more traditional American style match, with the traditional heroic comeback and detestable heel. Alexander/Petiot included a lot of solid striking and Ibushi/Maluta was about as close as you can get to a “Cruiserweight style” main event, with a little of everything. Top that off with slick presentation and solid commentary, you’ve got a recipe for a good time.
S: Absolutely, I’ve gotta agree with you there. A very enjoyable close to 50 minutes of wrestling which was presented so fucking well. I really love how this thing flowed too. I think it was a really good introduction to this ten week project which WWE are putting a lot of stock into which is shaping up to be their biggest Summer in a long ass time. I’d recommend checking this out if you ask me.
JT: A very solid start. But will episode 2 be just as good? Well, we’ll tell you just that, during the second half of today’s episode. But first, we’ve got a little recharging to do.
S: Coffee keep! Two Americanos to dine please. It’s the Recharge baybee.
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The Recharge
JT: Welcome back to the Recharge!! For any new readers or folks who just forgot, this is basically our halfway point. This is a chance for you, dear reader, to have a stretch, drink some water, get some fresh air, all that nice stuff. And so us, it’s a chance to get out of the topic du jour for a bit. We can talk a bit about what’s going on in our lives at the time of writing, about what’s going on in the wrestling world right now, and play a little trivia. It’s a fun time.
S: Exactly, it’s a mechanism for us to just take our mind off of what we’re reviewing, talk about our everyday lives at the moment outside of reviewing wrestling and ask ourselves some trivia questions on the old wrestling. To go back to our general normal life discussions, you’ve had a real big event happen in your life recently, haven’t you, James?
JT: That’s right! I recently got an external hard drive for my PS4 so that I can quit worrying about hard drive space and can just get games I’m interested in rather than debating uninstalling something to get a new game. I know the PS5 is out now but I share this console with my brother and I kinda want a PS5 to be my own thing, plus they’re expensive right now and there’s nothing on it right now that feels like a must buy. So I’ll stick to keeping my PS4 the best it can be. Oh yeah, I also finished my degree and graduated college. I guess that was cool.
S: How could you shed such little light on a bachelor’s degree? That more or less means that you’ve a nice little cushion for your future life in the working world! But that external hard drive for your PS4 sounds pretty dope too if you ask me.
JT: I haven’t set up the damn thing yet but it’s nifty. Gives me more space than I’ll probably ever need for like $60. But in all seriousness, it feels great to be done. Admittedly I had a real rough go of it my first year, but things smoothed out over time and I’m stuck with it. I graduated with my degree in English, with a minor in History. Now, I know English Degrees are a bit of a joke in some circles. I mean truthfully the idea of “what do you even do with a degree in English” as opposed to like a degree in biology is fair in a sense. But for me my degree is more proof that I am a hard worker, that I have critical thinking skills, that if a task is out in front of me, I’m in it for the long haul. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to be doing for a career, but I figured if I was going to be in college for 4 years, I was going to study things that I cared about and that didn’t drive me up a wall like Math did so often. Ultimately it’s my degree and if I’m going to have to do the hard work, I’d prefer reading and writing to doing lab reports.
S: Yeah I’d agree with you there, I did English in my first year of university down in Maynooth mostly from home due to the pandemic and accommodation rates being fucking stupid expensive. My first definitely got better as it went on because the beginning of it all was just totally alien to me but now I’m one year down and two more to go! I’m delighted for you getting your degree too, James. It must be an incredibly relieving feeling to have.
JT: It was and it wasn’t in a way. It was because obviously, that was what I had been working towards the last 4 years. So to finally be done was like a weight coming off my shoulders. At the same time though, that’s the end of my college experience. I had to move back home and say goodbye to my college friends, which is always sad. Especially because I went to school in a different state from my home state, and with the pandemic it’s like I’m saying goodbye with no clue when I’ll see them all again. But the internet helps make things easier. I can’t wait for you to get to graduation though, it’s a special feeling. And since you brought up, I gotta ask how school’s going for you? Have you been doing your studies online this whole time?
S: College has been pretty good, obviously the online classes take away the whole socialising part away but luckily enough for me, media studies is a course which has a few practical elements to it so I’ve been able to travel up and down to Maynooth once a week. Twice in a few weeks. In that time I’ve been doing a film production course so with that, I did some short camera exercises, an interview with Kefin Mahon of the Attitude Era Podcast, Cinema Swirl, How2Wrestling and all that brilliant stuff. If you want to see that interview, I can make it a public video for all of you to see. As well as that, we also had to make a student documentary which was shot in one day and that’s currently being marked. The travelling did get very strenuous to be honest, I’d be really exhausted with loads of travelling just for two hours of classes and then more travelling on the way home but all in all, I’m more than happy to have completed my first year of college.
JT: Online classes are something else, am I right? It’s certainly a one of a kind experience that we went through, but hopefully that’ll be coming to an end sooner rather than later and you can experience a more normal college life. Alright, I say that’s enough irl chit chat, anything you want to talk about in the world of pro wrestling?
S: Well as of this writing, Double or Nothing is on tonight and since Revolution I’ve been watching more or less every bit of programming that AEW has offered so I’m pretty excited to watch it. How about you, James? Are you pumped, psyched and/or jacked for Double or Nothing 2021???
JT: I’m fairly interested. Since I’m home now, I have no excuse not to watch, but I haven’t. I’ll try to get more back in the loop after DoN. Honestly the thing with me and AEW at this point is it feels like they’re about to turn a corner and get to some real interesting stuff. Personally speaking, I’m not totally interested in a bunch of the stuff they have going at the moment. Orange Cassidy & PAC are cool, but I don’t think they have much chance of beating Omega. Cody/Ogogo has been a mess. I’m not all that’s interested in Page/Cage as a feud. I’m ready for The Pinnacle/Inner Circle to wrap up. But that said, it feels like those things are all reaching a breaking point. Like if Page beats Cage, who is really stopping Page from finally going after Omega? The Cody/Inner Circle stuff feels like we’re about to hit the next chapter where something dramatic happens, like maybe a Cody heel turn or someone in the IC betraying the rest of them. Christian is also pretty much the favorite to win the Casino Battle Royal, and I like the sound of Christian/Omega. We’ll just have to wait and see how DoN goes though, won’t we?
S: Yeah it’s definitely gonna be a show where some stories are gonna conclude and some stories will kick off for definite. The Nightmare Family vs Factory feud has probably run its course and it’s surely time for Cody to move on to something different or it could be a case where he gets the bollocks knocked out of him and he’s written off to go on paternity leave since Brandi is due in the next month or so. Christian vs Omega is a match I definitely wanna see too, Canadian Wrestling’s past vs it’s present.
JT: On the positive side, I want to shout out to Miro for finally finding his groove. Glad he’s turned a corner and is past all that initial “gamer” stuff. I like him, I like Best Friends, but that wasn’t very good stuff. Shoutout to the Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston stuff. They’re very good together, and I cannot reiterate how happy I am that Eddie Kingston has had the last year he’s had. He’s always had the ability to have a great run like this, but the fact he’s finally getting it is A+. Also shoutout to Sting getting in a ring again, good for him. Good year for “Guys who we thought we’d never see wrestle again coming back”.
S: It really is and it’s a great sign for those that could be looking to make a comeback in the future too. So we’re both fairly hyped for Double or Nothing, we’ve talked about our respective progressions and completions of third level education but now I think I may be time for some wrestling trivia perhaps???
JT: Yes, let’s get into some trivia!! So, here’s how the trivia section here on The Recharge goes. One of us will ask the other an open-ended question, and the guesser will get 3 chances to get the question right, with an additional hint to help them out. Seán would you like to ask your question first or would you like to try and answer mine?
S: I think I’ll bide my time asking my own question so I’ll allow you to take the floor and present your question to me.
JT: Alright, very good choice. Did some digging to come up with this question and dare I say? I think it’s a pretty good question. Here goes. So as Mauro & Daniel Bryan mentioned, Kota Ibushi coming into the CWC had faced a lot of former/future WWE talent. This also remains true after his time in the CWC too. He’s had a lot of success against a variety of opponents, including the likes of Finn Balor, Low Ki, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles. But some folks, some just have his number. Shinsuke Nakamura for example, faced Ibushi twice and beat him both times. So with that all said, here’s my question to you. Can you name an active member of the WWE roster who beat Kota Ibushi in singles action, who Ibushi hasn’t managed to beat? I’ll add the extra help that their matches have happened in Japan, so don’t worry about any sort of Crossover show. Just someone who beat Ibushi in Japan, who he hasn’t got a win back over, and is currently on any of the WWE roster. There are at least 2 possible answers, if not more that I haven’t discovered. And again, strictly one on one matches. I’m not here to get you with a “In 2007 while Corey Graves pinned Ibushi in a Tag Match”. They’re an active competitor, currently under contract (so no D-Bry) in WWE who has beaten Ibushi in one on one action, without also losing to Ibushi. Not including Shinsuke of course.
S: Sounds good to me, James. You clearly came prepared for this wrestling trivia today because I’m still struggling to conjure up some sort of question today. Alright so I think I’m gonna straight in and just ask for my hint please, James.
JT: Alright I’ll give you the circumstances for the two guys I was able to find. And just because this question is a little difficult, consider this a freebie. You can use your hint again later if need be. So one of them is a member of Monday Night Raw, and they’re not an Indy wrestler but a WWE developed talent, who fought Ibushi during a period where they left WWE. Their match was in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The other fought Ibushi multiple times in DDT. They’re an Indy wrestler, and if you know a thing or two about DDT, you might know that they can be a little sillier than other promotions. That’s about all I’ll say for now.
S: Alright so with the second guy and considering it was in DDT, I’m gonna say it was El Generico, the friend or some say the dual personality of Sami Zayn. Would I be right in saying that?
JT: Guess I gave the game away a bit. It’s 100% El Generico, known pal of Sami Zayn. They squared off on 3 separate occasions, but Generico won every time, including once to win DDT’s top prize KO-D Openweight Title, and once to retain it. Since you got that so easily, wanna take a crack at the other guy I found?
S: I most certainly will, a WWE talent who fought Ibushi while out of WWE. By any chance was it one, Shelton Benjamin?
JT: On the money again!! In 2013’s G1 Climax, newly minted member of Suzuki Gun Shelton “X” Benjamin defeated Ibushi in the show’s opening match as he caught Ibushi out of mid air with Paydirt. Good job Seán! In trying to find interesting Ibushi facts, I also found that he faced Nick Jackson one on one for the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title, which has got one of his only singles title matches (outside of TNA of course).
S: Back of the net! Top corner and celebrating to the crowd, giving it large. That was a really good question by the way, James, brilliantly researched too. Also, Kota Ibushi vs Nick Jackson is a match I need to see. It sounds fucking spectacular.
JT: If I remember correctly, they were half of a crazy 4 way match back in Chikara some years ago. And based on the Golden Lovers/Young Bucks match, they probably have great chemistry. Sounds like a great match to me.
S: Speaking of great matches, that fucking four way from Chikara is certainly one of them. Anyways, I think I’m gonna have to come up with some sort of question, aren’t I?
My question today regards one cult hero Ho Ho Lun, now we all know that Ho Ho is probably not one of the most polished wrestlers in all fields of it but he’s fine, sure we’ll leave him be. Anyways! Ho Ho Lun was under contract with WWE from 2016-2017 but James, how many televised matches did our old pal have during his tenure with the fed?
JT: Oh man, good question. I don’t remember him being for very long (spoilers for the CWC) but I also remember that they really tried to make things work. So I’m going to start off with a clean dozen. He had 12 matches.
S: It was not twelve, I’ll give your hint now and say that the number of televised matches he had was less than ten. Would you like to take your second stab at this?
JT: I would, I’m gonna guess half of my original guess, 6 matches!!
S: It was not six, I would give you another hint but that would both break our rules and it would probably give it away. Your final guess, James?
JT: Alright I’m gonna have to try and get lucky. I’m gonna go with lucky number 7!!
S: So close! If you went one below instead of one above your second guess, you would’ve nailed the question. Ho Ho Lun had a total of FIVE televised or WWE Network aired matches, two of them were in the CWC with his first and, spoilers, second round match. Three were in NXT all to losing efforts against DIY (Ciampa and Gargano) where he teamed with Tian Bing in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round Match. The last two were against Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and The [REDACTED] Dream. What a career.
JT: Well, I’ll be sure to do even more investigating into his career when it comes time to see what he’s spent his last 5 years doing. But that’s in the distant future. For now, why don’t we head back to our main story? Ready to get into episode 2?
S: Let’s do it man! Let’s leave this here Recharge Café!
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Damian Slater vs The World
JT: Alright we’re back in business, starting up the second half of today’s episode with Episode 2 of the Cruiserweight Classic!! Round 1 continues, we’ve got the same faces as last time introducing us. Corey Graves in the control room, Mauro Ranallo on commentary, and Daniel Bryan with him. Oh I’m sorry, I mean NEW SMACKDOWN LIVE GENERAL MANAGER Daniel Bryan!!
S: The draft must be upon us then! Daniel Bryan the new GM of SmackDown Live and Mick Foley as the new GM of Raw. This Daniel Bryan is one busy boy, let me tell ya. Commentating and a GM?
JT: He is now! But hey, that announcement was really nice considering we weren’t sure what Bryan’s future was after this commentary gig ended. So it’s reassuring to know he’ll still be hanging around after this job is done. Anywho, we’ve got some wrestling to get to don’t we! Kicking off this 2nd episode, we’ve got a battle of the South Pacific!! Representing Australia, it’s Damian Slater, against another representative of Japan, none other than Tajiri!!
S: Australia vs Japan. Kangaroo vs Macaque. Slater vs Tajiri.
I cannot tell you how happy I was as a wee smarky 15 year old to see Tajiri being brought back to WWE in a Cruiserweight tournament. Like I was over the moon to see him here and every time I get to watch him, I know I’m in for a treat. Former three time Cruiserweight Champion and former Light Heavyweight Champion, probably one of the best Cruiserweight wrestlers from the late 90s to mid 2000s. Damian Slater though, much like what the trend with the CWC seems to be, I wasn’t very familiar with Slater at the time.
JT: Yeah a lot of first round matchups live off this pairing. Take one person who fans would be more familiar with, and pair them up with more obscure wrestlers representing a far away land with a smaller wrestling scene. Like you, I didn’t know about Slater, but I certainly knew Tajiri. Tajiri was someone I was very interested in, having seen him in Ruthless Aggression Era highlight videos on YouTube. Probably the first match of his I saw was as Eddie Guerrero’s tag partner against Team Angle on the SmackDown 10th Anniversary DVD. His snappy kicks were a very funny watch, and his green mist is a favorite gimmick of mine, still to this day.
S: Kicks are to be expected for sure but will we see the green mist? May we even see the red mist? Or will we see the most poisonous of all, THE BLACK MIST???
JT: Well I hope Damian Slater did his research, because if Tajiri catches you off guard with any of those, your career could be damaged forever. Luckily it appears Slater did do his research. He knows he’s an underdog coming into this. In Japan & Australia he has been put against the best, as an underdog against them, but has come out on top before. That’s why he’s called “The World Beater” which is a pretty great nickname if you ask me. He’s okay with being an underdog because they don’t know his moves and how to counter them. He’s not in it just to be involved, he’s here to win. Tajiri though, he doesn’t even get a promo. Maybe it’s because he’s Japanese (although Ibushi did a promo) but probably because he’s well known with WWE’s roster, he doesn’t even need to speak. Everyone knows he’s here to win and he’s going to run through everyone to do it. Tajiri doesn’t play nice.
S: He’ll kick seven shades of shite out of ya if you’re not careful, kicks on him like getting hit with a baseball bat. Also, the nickname “The World Beater” is a brilliant moniker. It’s a great substitute for the oftentimes overused *insert underdog moniker here*.
JT: Well let’s not waste time, let’s get right into the match! So we kick things off with some chain wrestling. Slater nicely gets out of a wrist lock, but as he gets one of his own in on Tajiri but the veteran just steps between the ropes and steps out, tying up Slater in the ropes. Quick arm trap pin by Slater gets a nearfall, but Tajiri gets in control as he focuses the arm on the Australian with kicks. Slater manages to hit a Dropkick but goes for another and misses, allowing Tajiri to kick the arm as Slater’s kneeling on the mat. He then locks in a double wrist lock on him, and Slater has no choice but to run to the ropes for safety. Tajiri goes back after the arm but Slater spins out of his reach and gets a jumping high kick to the head of Tajiri, sending him to the floor. This allows Slater to line him up and nail a Corkscrew Pescado to the floor onto Tajiri!!
S: Very gorgeous from Slater there, I noted how smooth Slater was in these opening spots. The Corkscrew Pescado got a nice old reaction from me too.
JT: Yeah I thought it was pretty impressive. But Slater isn’t here to impress, he said he’s here to win. So slides back in, but Tajiri grabs the arm, so Slater kicks him away and gets a Tornado DDT out of the corner, then a Running Knee to the head!! He covers, 1–2–Kickout!! As impressive as he is, he still hasn’t put away Tajiri and he still hasn’t won over the crowd, who are strongly behind Tajiri. Do you think this is an odd thing? Like do you think they were working this to have the crowd behind Tajiri or are you like me in thinking that Tajiri is kinda heelish here?
S: It feels like it’s a face vs face dynamic but since Tajiri has always been the wiley, sneaky wrestler and now he’s the 20+ year veteran, he’s always gonna be the more heelish of the two. With the way that Slater is being put over as this underdog, it does feel like this match was being booked to have Slater be cheered on but because of who he’s against, that was probably never going to happen.
JT: Yeah you make a good point, Tajiri even at his nicest has always been a mean fighter. I’m sure they were aware that he’d get cheered no matter what, and just looked for a way to work to Slater’s strength. So back to the match! Slater scores with a Low Dropkick to the leg, trying to go for a submission and stop his kicks but Tajiri kicks him off. They start trading kicks now, Slater hitting the leg but Tajiri hitting the arm. Tajiri seems to have hit the go ahead kick, but then Slater sweeps the leg!! Tajiri rolls back to the corner, Slater chases him in but Tajiri moves out of the way and gets the Tarantula!! He lets go a 4, he goes for Buzzsaw Kick but Slater dodges and hits a kick to the gut. He sends Tajiri across but Tajiri with the Handspring Back Elbow!! He follows up with a Thrust Kick to the face, and then the Buzzsaw Kick connects!! 1—2—3!! Tajiri cuts Slater to pieces and moves on to the second round!! Seán, your thoughts. Grace us.
S: I thought this match was a fine wee match, Tajiri at this age is obviously going to be slower than what he used to be but for what he lacks in speed he more than made up for in knowledge and he nailed all of his spots perfectly too. I was really impressed with Slater not gonna lie, much like Petiot in his match against Cedric, I was especially keeping an eye on Slater and he impressed me, he’s a very smooth worker. Grand opening to the show. Definite positive.
JT: Agreed. I thought Slater came across as someone with a lot of talent even in defeat. I like that because he’s not as spry as he used to be, Tajiri focused the arm, so we got lots of smartly placed kicks and nifty submissions. Since this was the opener, it didn’t get a ton of time but they did a great job with the time given to them.
S: Absolutely, I thought these two worked really well together. Tajiri has probably had loads of televised matches which have been given not a lot of time so this must have been a cakewalk for him almost
JT: Just a warm up and his road back to the top. Unfortunate for Slater to have been matched up against such a seasoned pro. Shall we talk about what he’s been up to as of late?
S: Absolutely! I’m intrigued to hear what the last five years have been like for him.
JT: After the CWC, Slater returned to Australia, although he trained with TJ Perkins in Los Angeles for an extensive stint post tournament. In Australia, he’s really hit up about every promotion he can, including Melbourne City Wrestling and Wrestle Rampage in South Australia, although his home promotion is Explosive Pro Wrestling in Western Australia. Shortly after the CWC, he won WR’s top title for the second time, the Australian National Championship. This actually kicked off his second reign with the title, winning it back from the man who took it from him in the first place. Jonah Rock. You might now know him as NXT’s Bronson Reed. Though he’d lose the title back to Rock after 295 Days, he’d win EPW’s tag title as part of the stable “The Untouchables” with Marcus Pitt in 2018. He also at one point represented Australia’s famed The Mighty Don’t Kneel faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling, winning one tag match but losing two others during NJPW’s Fallout Down Under tour.
S: Well I’ve gotta say, I’m absolutely delighted for him. I knew he was in TMDK because of an issue of FSM I purchased a few years ago and he was featured in it. That’s so great to hear that he’s had all this success back in Australia and even getting to wrestle for NJPW, he’s more than deserving of it. I do hope that he would get a regular big platform to showcase himself because he’s damn good.
JT: Well he’s still going Down Under, his most recent match was in EPW, defeating Bruno Nitro on their April 17th Collision Course event. He’s 33 now, which is by no means old, but I think he just broke in at a tough time. He debuted in 2005 and was wrestling full time by 2007, making him a real veteran on the Australian scene. I think he’s in a case where it’s not a case that he isn’t talented enough to do more, but as a veteran of the scene he’s sticking around to help give a helping hand to the next generation of guys. Like he is in the spot a lot of the members of a place like FWA would’ve been, too old to really capitalize on the hot British Indie scene of the mid 2010s, but good as veterans to help that next generation blow up.
S: Yeah it’s a case of starting wrestling at the wrong time in a sense because if he debuted around the same time as the likes of Adam Brooks, Jonah Rock and Robbie Eagles. I think he would’ve gotten those real big bookings in Europe and the US more often. Probably would’ve gotten a BOLA booking too and everything.
JT: Also it’s ultimately up to him. Maybe he’s just more happy to stay close to home than to make frequent, long trips to Europe and the US. Regardless, I think he can happily look back at the biggest match of his career and say he did his part valiantly.
S: Agreed, they both worked well together and Slater can hold his head up high because he did a great job.
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Return of Da Mack
JT: Alright we’re gonna keep rolling along through this show. Up next, we’ve got a battle of flash and charisma. Representing The Philippines, it’s TJ Perkins, facing off against Germany’s own Da Mack. Both these guys like to be flashy both inside and outside the ring, how well did you know them heading into this contest?
S: TJ Perkins I was very familiar with because of his work in so many damn promotions over the years under various personas. Whether it be under a mask as Puma or Manik in TNA or just as himself as TJ Perkins or TJP everywhere else. I knew what to expect coming in. Da Mack, I was not aware of him at all, nowadays I know very well of Da Mack because of his work in the German wrestling scene such as wXw where he’s a former Tag Team Champion and Shotgun Champion and being part of Bad Bones’ stable RISE. Coming into the CWC, I didn’t really know what to expect really.
JT: Again, I was in a similar position to you. I would’ve been familiar with TJ Perkins from TNA work, and also from PWG’s 2014 Battle of Los Angeles, where he won his first round match against Bobby Fish, losing in the second round to eventual winner Ricochet. Like when I watched that in preparation for the 2015 BOLA, that’s when I connected all the dots, putting a name to the mask. Likewise, Da Mack was completely off my radar, but he immediately made himself memorable with his unique look and attitude.
S: Yeah for real, his look is inspired by Michael Jackson. Say what you will, we’re not getting into all that. It is a super cool look and he’s got a great personality too, upbeat German who loves to dance? How weren’t you signed?! You could’ve been the next DJ Gabriel!
JT: I think another Cruiserweight would certainly object to another DJ Gabriel on the roster, since that would deny him his special lady, but we’ll get to him soon enough. Da Mack says he’s The Urban German, Hamburg’s finest. He’s got the style and attitude, he wants to be the Michael Jackson of wrestling. TJ meanwhile talks about how he started wrestling at age 13, and how he’s got a versatile in-ring style. He thinks he’s stylish and that he incorporates style into his wrestling. He says it’s easy to make wrestling look easy. Both of these guys talk about wrestling with style, but the only thing better than wrestling with style is winning with style. And only one of these guys can win this. Shall we see who gets the W?
S: I think it’s about time we run down this battle of two confident, flashy Cruiserweights. Take it away, JT!
JT: Friendly handshake, the match begins. Quick and clean looking chain wrestling at the start, topped off as TJP cartwheels through a hold and hits a Dropkick. TJP with a Headscissor from the mat, holds on, spins and slams Da Mack down to the mat. Pin off it, Da Mack gets up but Perkins brings him down again and with the Headscissor. To top it off and rub salt on the wound, TJ hits a little dab. Bryan says “OH AND A DUBSTEP”. Bless Daniel, he’s about as stuck in a wrestling bubble as a man can get.
S: I didn’t hear that at all! Fucking hell hahahaha. Dubstep on the haters! Them pesky kids and their dubstepping. Paul Pogba, sure in 2016 he’s constantly at that auld dubstepping bollocks. Here comes Graeme Souness to put a stop to this dubstepping nonsense and slate him on Sky Sports until we’re all cold in the ground. Down with dubstepping!
JT: As Bryan sits embarrassed about his lack of pop culture knowledge, TJ pins him again, Mack gets up again, TJ tries to twist him down but this time Mack cartwheels out but gets a roundhouse to the gut. TJP charges, Da Mack leapfrogs twice and hits a Dropkick. Jumping forearm in the corner, followed by chops to the chest. TJP pushes him back, but Mack rolls through and jumps up with a palm strike right to under the chin. He throws TJP through the ropes, but Perkins catches the ropes and swings through to the apron. He dabs again, Mack charges in, Perkins slides under him and rolls him up into a Boston Crab with the arms trapped. He lets go of the arms and goes for a Muta Lock but Mack escapes to ropes. TJP goes for a Triangle Dropkick but Mack cuts him off and pulls his legs out from under him, Perkins hitting face first off the apron. Mack slides back in the ring, hits the ropes and nails a Top Con Hilo!! Impressive high flying by Mack, showing a great range of skills, with his technical skills on top of his athletic skills. Da Mack sends him in, and starts playing to the crowd with a Stomp to the Back, then a Clap behind his back, then a stomp, and back to square one. Both guys certainly take every opportunity to show each other up, no?
S: Oh it’s a game of showmanship alright and this is another example of it. This stomp clap delay that Mack was doing was probably one of my favourite spots of the matches which we’ve reviewed so far, it very much reminds me of Human Tornado when he’d do this type of spot.
JT: I think it’s kinda understated how important spots like this are in a big tournament like this. Like with everyone pulling out their craziest moves, you need something to differentiate yourself. Even if it’s something silly like this or his moonwalking. You can bet I remembered Da Mack after this match.
S: Definitely. These silly spots with a bit of the showmanship is something which really makes Da Mack stand out among the rest of what is a field of proper serious wrestlers, it seems.
JT: So off the stomps, Mack goes for a Penalty Kick to cap it off but Perkins ducks and rolls him down to his back. TJ runs the ropes, Mack gets up and swings for a clothesline but TJ ducks and gets an Octopus Hold in. He then transitions out, bringing him to the mat for a Muta Lock!! He yanks back hard on the neck, but Mack gets the ropes!! Mack pulls himself back up to his feet in the corner, TJ charges in but Mack gets an elbow, and follows up with a Corkscrew Senton!! Both men are down, we’re back to square one. They get up, Mack with a forearm, Perkins with an uppercut, then he ducks the shot from Mack and hits a Spinning Hook Kick!! But Mack with a Palm Strike!! Mack runs the ropes, Perkins with a Low Dropkick to the knee!! Perkins goes behind him and hooks the arms for what Bryan speculates is a Tiger Suplex, but Mack rolls through for a cover!!1–2–Kickout!! They both spring up to their feet, Mack jumps into the corner at TJP, but TJ moves. However Mack catches himself on the corner, and is then able to leap up to the top rope, coming back down with a Flying Kick to the head of Perkins!! He covers, 1—2—-Kickout!! Trying to follow up, Mack lifts him up for a suplex, but TJ goes behind and drops him onto the middle rope, setting up a Wrecking Ball Dropkick to the face!! Mack is down in the corner, so TJ goes up top and leaps for a 450, but nobody home!! Mack calls for the end, but he runs for a Headscissor only to get planted into the mat for a Facebuster from TJP!! TJ picks him up onto his shoulders, and hits a Detonation Kick!! Mack is out on his feet, so TJ runs, rolls him through and gets him into a Knee Bar!! Bryan points out that Mack hurt the knee on the top rope kick, and now he’s in the middle of the ring with nowhere to go! He escaped TJ’s submission holds before, but this time it’s too much!! The Kneebar forces Mack to tap out!!
S: I’ve gotta say, I thought this was a very good match. I know we’ve said this about quite a few pairings already but TJP and Da Mack really worked well together. It’s so annoying that Perkins is such a damn good wrestler because of how much of a fucking dickhead he is. Have to give the devil his due, he did a good job and looked very slick. Not to take away from Da Mack by any means because I thought he more than held his own here, he had a cool entrance and some fun showboating to boot. There were a lot of spots I really liked in this match. The Tope Con Hilo from Mack, the Muta Lock, great strike exchanges between them too. Nice Tiger Suplex, Detonation Kick and the Knee Bar as well. Really enjoyed this one.
JT: Gotta say, I feel like they rushed to the end a bit. Like one of them was told “You’ve got 3 minutes left” and they had about 5 minutes of moves left to do, so they kinda squeezed a lot in quickly, which is probably the only real criticism I have about this one. It’s got lots of charm to it, and some solid action. As you said, TJP is not someone I’d hang out with irl, but he’s got skills in the ring. I especially thought his submissions looked nice and snug. So, you mentioned a bit about it before we broke down the match, shall we talk about Da Mack’s career post 1st round exit
S: Absolutely, I think I’m fairly caught up with his career up to a certain point but he’s a wrestler who I’ve not heard much of since around 2019.
JT: Okay first, it’s worth noting that post CWC, Mack participated in the “Wrestling World Championships Cruiserweight Tournament” hosted by PCW/WXW/CZW and including other Indy talent. He won his first round match against CZW’s Zachary Wentz (now NXT’s Nash Carter of MSK) but lost in the Semi-Finals to Beyond Wrestling’s AR Fox (the eventual winner). He also participated in 2017’s Pro Wrestling World Cup hosted by WhatCulture Pro Wrestling, defeating Cem Kaplan in the first round but losing to Lucky Kid in the German Qualifier finals. Now as a German wrestler, like many others, Da Mack made his home in Germany’s WXW promotion, as you mentioned. Funnily enough, actually during the filming of the CWC, Mack was in the midst of his only singles title run in WXW. He was the Midcard Shotgun Champion, holding it from April to September 2016, with defenses against the likes of Bobby Gunns, former Tag Champion partner Axel Dieter Jr (aka WWE’s Marcel Bartel) and even a No Contest in a Title for Title match against WXW Heavyweight Champion Jurn Simmons (thanks to Dieter’s interference). Who would he lose the title to? Just some guy named Pete Dunne. In 2017, he’d compete in the 16 Carat Gold Tournament, but lose in the first round to Cody Rhodes. 2017 was also marked by a feud with Bobby Gunns, capped off with a Loser Leaves Town match, which Mack lost. Shortly after, Mack turned heel in WXW by costing Ilja Dragunov in order to join RISE faction. As a part of RISE, Da Mack would win the WXW Tag Titles another two times, but with the implosion of RISE in 2018-2019, he along with other Klinger loyalists were defeated and booted from the faction. Okay I know you’re more of a WXW guy than I am, does my history sound about right to you?
S: From the knowledge I have gathered from fellow wXw fans on Twitter and with various interactions, what you said there sounds very right to me. It was weird that a lot of dudes from RISE really just disappeared around that time and haven’t returned since, I remember hearing that Klinger had a massive falling out with either CMJ or whoever was the head booker at the time the bust up happened was and that’s why a lot of the RISE guys disappeared. He certainly carved out a nice resumé for himself in the mid to latter parts of the last decade for himself. Did you manage to catch when his last match to date was on Cagematch by any chance?
JT: I did! Sadly it may seem like our friend Mack’s had the peak of his career and is on the downturn now. At 34, Mack has yet to wrestle in 2021, with his last match being for Germany’s Unlimited Wrestling promotion, losing to Crowchester in a match for their vacant Unlimited Challenge Title in September of 2020. Considering the number of matches he had in 2019 & 2018 dropped off into teens as opposed to logging over 50 matches in 2015/16/17, his career may be in its ending stages. It would make sense really, there’s not a whole lot of money going around for Indy wrestling in general, and though Germany’s one of the biggest European nations for wrestling, I still can’t imagine it’s the most high paying gig. Maybe determined it’s time to slow things down, find another job and start working there more often to keep his body fresh and healthy. Wrestling is a taxing profession after all. But alas that’s only assumptions, I’ve seen no declarations of retirement, and he might just show up to a show near you in 2021.
S: That’s such a real shame because post CWC for a good two or three years, he was building up such a good reputation in wXw and in Europe. Like with RISE he was such a despicable heel who people wanted to see get his ass kicked and it showed that he can be a great face or heel. That honestly sucks to hear but with the state of the European scene, especially in the UK and Ireland, this is probably something that’s gonna happen to a lot of guys who are not signed.
JT: Much like Damian Slater, it feels like Da Mack got this big highlighted performance just a little too late in his career. Either of them get it when they’re just a few years younger, we might be talking about them like we talked about Daivari, as regular fixtures of WWE programming. Or maybe as well known names in other companies outside of our countries. But again, at least they can take solace in the fact their name will forever be linked to this event.
S: Absolutely and to be fair to Mack, he’s certainly carved out a nice career for himself on a certain level to be fair to him.
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Prince Ali, Fabulous He
JT: Before we move on to our next match, I’d like to point out that we got an ad for our main event at Battleground 2016, The Shield Triple Threat!! Ain’t it crazy that we got this match only once, and at Battleground of all places??
S: I tweeted that out as soon as I saw this ad. Like it’s such a fever dream looking back and seeing that The Shield Triple Threat was used for fucking Battleground of all shows. The only reason it must have been used on Battleground is that because the Brand Split 2.0 comes into play after this show and the three lads are split up across Raw and SmackDown, they felt this was the only chance to do it. Even though they would all be on Raw by April of next year…
JT: That match felt like such a guarantee to be a WrestleMania Main Event and the time just was never right. Funny how things work out.
S: I was convinced that if we didn’t get the brand split then it would probably have been the main event for WrestleMania 33 to be honest.
JT: Perhaps in a world where Roman’s leukemia doesn’t return in late 2018 and Dean doesn’t leave WWE in 2019, they run it back for WrestleMania 35 instead of doing Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins.
S: Yeah actually, now that you say it that probably would’ve been the best time to do it if all the circumstances had just been right. We’re not reviewing Battleground by the way, folks.
JT: We’ve got enough on our plate already. That said, I would recommend it. It’s a good show. Yes, even with a Darren Young singles match on the card.
S: He’s making himself great again, James! Speaking of great, what have we got up next on this episode of CWC action?
JT: Up next we’ve got a real belter! More first round action coming up!! Representing Pakistan, it’s Mustafa Ali!! And he’s facing off with Puerto Rico’s Lince Dorado!!
S: Ohhhhhhhh baby! In the words of Jim Ross in the amazing hit single “My Ass”, the time has arrived.
JT: So starting off with the usual question, I’ll come out and say I didn’t know either of these guys before this match. I thought Lince looked cool because of his mask, but that was about the only thought I had about either guy before this match.
S: Yeah I wasn’t familiar with these two guys either coming into it, I think it’s an interesting dynamic as opposed to the first six matches of the first round where it’s one guy I know versus one guy I’m not familiar with at all. What do you make of young, boyish looking Mustafa Ali?
JT: Folks, we’re giving the game away here, but odds are if you’re reading our blog you already know about Mustafa Ali. He’s got a real different looking heading into this one. He doesn’t have his facial hair grown out much at all, he’s got his hair slicked back and on the shorter side, and he’s got a scarf around his neck along with a leather jacket. This is quite a departure from what we’ve come to know him for.
S: The camera work too, it just isn’t shaky enough from my liking if you ask me. Needs to be slightly tilted to one side and be very shaky with a few blokes in shitty masks coming out behind him if you ask me. Real ones know.
JT: And whatcha think about Lince? He’s got a nice little outfit doesn’t he?
S: He’s got a lovely ditty on for this match so he does, he’s up there with Gran Metalik in terms of wrestling gear that oozes proper regality. Proper emperor energy off him.
JT: Mustafa Ali says in his promo that he’s been a wrestler for 13 years now, and that he considers himself well rounded. This is do or die for him, but there’s nobody he can’t beat in this tournament. Meanwhile Lince Dorado says he has Lucha Libre experience from all around the world. This is a chance to show this is where he belongs. He got a good reception coming out, but Ali doesn’t seem to care for him much, as he slaps Dorado’s hand away instead of shaking it. I’ve got nothing else to preface this match with, do you?
S: Nah nothing really to be honest, I think it’s time we run down our second to last match of the show!
JT: Ali is off like a flash right at the bell, going after Dorado with punches, but Lince quickly gets ahead of him with a Flying Headscissors that sends Ali to the apron. Lince nips up to his feet then bounds to the ropes, going for a springboard off them at Ali on the apron, but Ali rolls under his attack, so Dorado falls to the floor. Mustafa lines him up and comes with a Flying Knee off the apron right to the head of Dorado. Dorado manages to hit a chop and make some space, going for a leg lariat in the corner, only for Ali to duck through the ropes to the apron. Despite hitting legs first, Dorado still manages to land on his feet, living up to his name of The Golden Lynx. Yet, he cannot avoid a kick from Ali, who then slingshots himself through the ropes, rolling and jumping up with a Neckbreaker on Dorado!! Both these guys just have great maneuverability. Though Metalik is the most pure Luchador we have seen in this tournament, I’d argue this is the most pure Lucha Libre match we’ve had in this tournament so far. Both guys are just constantly moving, constantly repositioning themselves with the greatest of ease and skill.
S: For sure, like this is pure Lucha Libre on display here with these two lads. Even within the first half of this match, they’re out of the blocks with quick offensive moves like the Flying Headscissors and the Leaping Neckbreaker. It’s just go go go from out of the gates of this one.
JT: After the Neckbreaker, Ali tries to follow up but Lince backs him off with some kicks. He tries to roll back into a Headscissor but Ali rolls him up to his feet, picks him up, and dumps him across his knee for a Backbreaker that gets a 2 count. From there, he quickly hops from the second rope up to the top and goes for a Moonsault, but Dorado rolls out of the way!! Then he follows up with a Dropkick!! Ali gets up misses a back fist and catches a Enziguri, then Lince charges into the corner, but is sent onto the apron, only to come back in with a Springboard Hurricanrana!! This sends Ali to the apron, where Dorado swings over the top rope to hit with a kick, and then runs and hits a Headscissors off the apron!! Ali flies down to the hard floor below!! We get our first “Holy Shit” chant of the tournament, but they should’ve held their horses, because as Mustafa struggles back up to his feet, Lince springs off the ropes with an Asai Moonsault to the floor!! First the Headscissor to the floor, then the Moonsault!! Mwah!! Lovely stuff from Lince Dorado!!
S: Absolutely sensational from him there, the thud from that headscissors to the floor, like slapping a big hunk of beef. That bump must have sucked to take. That Asai Moonsault too, absolutely picture perfect was that. Such a thing of beauty from Dorado, liquid wrestling.
JT: But Lince’s not done yet!! He’s looking to put this match away!! He rolls Ali back in, goes up top, and leaps off with a Crossbody!! 1—2—Kickout!! Before Lince can hit another big move, Ali stuns him with a Jawbreaker. He tries to follow up with a Suplex but Dorado blocks and goes for the ropes, only for Ali to pull him back in. As he’s yanked back, Lince hits a back elbow to Mustafa’s face, then follows up with a Jumping High Kick!! Ali is out on his feet, Lince runs off to the ropes, Springboards back, and lands on Ali’s shoulders to hit a Reverse Rana!! 1—2—KICKOUT!! Bryan can’t believe he even saw such a move, yet alone that Ali kicked out!! Dorado is really becoming desperate to win, so he grabs Ali and puts him up top, but before he can do whatever he is planning Ali cuts him. With Ali on the middle rope, and Lince looking out onto the ring from the top, in one motion Ali springboards up to the top, grabs Lince, and backflips back down into the ring for a Springboard Top RopeSpanish Fly!! 1—2—-SOMEHOW A KICK OUT!! Ali cannot believe that didn’t win the match, so he’s gotta go to his Hail Mary, his biggest weapon to put Lince out for good. He climbs up top, facing out towards the fans, and somehow jumps backwards while flipping forwards, AN INVERTED 450 SPLASH!! BUT NOBODY HOME!! Lince got out of the way!! And now he’s heading up top and Ali crashed hard!! Perching up in the corner with Ali down below, Lince leaps, and scores with a Shooting Star Press!! He covers!! 1—-2—3!! Both men took a lot of risks, but Lince’s risk ultimately pays off as he gets a very well earned pass to the second round!! Seán, let her rip. Give this the praise it deserves.
S: Oh baby, where do I even begin to praise this piece of brilliance? I suppose where I can start off with is that these two up to this point have had the best match and the best chemistry of any two wrestlers from the first seven matches. I thought that the spots that were busted out in this match were flashy and phenomenal, like every move in this match caught the eye of the viewer watching through and the fans in attendance. Like I gushed about the first half being brilliant but that finishing stretch you just reeled off, absolutely incredible stuff. The Jumping High Kick followed by a god damn Springboard Poisoned Frankensteiner from Lince. A freaking Springboard Spanish Fly from Ali for a near fall! Then the finishing stretch with the Inverted 450 being missed followed by a Matt Sydal like gorgeous Shooting Star Press. An amazing couple of minutes from two amazing wrestlers. I’d urge anyone to check this one out if you’re looking for the best matches kept to a short amount of time. Five years later, the match still holds up and it’s still an amazing watch.
JT: It would make a lot of sense that these two would have great chemistry, considering they had wrestled before! You can find it on YouTube!! They wrestled each other back in 2013 for Dreamwave Wrestling, an Illinois Indy. It went like 20 minutes too!! It’s not like they’re storied rivals but it’s more experience than any other first round opponents have against each other. Aside from the fact that both these guys are good in their own right, having that experience with each other definitely goes a long way towards making this a fantastic match. Like I don’t know about you, but I’d be hesitant to let a guy I’ve never met handle a Headscissor off the apron. If I’m Lince and I get dropped during that, I’d be very injured. I also don’t think you get as clean a Spanish Fly if these are two dudes who have never had a match against each other before. It’s just that little extra help that makes everything so smooth and well executed.
S: It makes total sense that these two have wrestled before in the past because they wrestle with such familiarity among one another, there’s a trust between the two of them and that’s why this match looks as natural as it does. Back to the trust, it’s clear that they’re able to go all out with the action with some of the crazy spots because of how well they know each other. These two lads only wrestled five seconds shy of six minutes and the fact they’re able to get the crowd invested in a match this short is a testament to how brilliant they both are. Top drawer stuff.
JT: Wait, only 6 minutes?? Holy crap, I didn’t even realize this was that short!! That’s a testament to how great these two are, that they managed to take me on a journey that sucked me in, honestly more than a lot of 15 minute or longer matches have lately. Big props to them.
S: Just under six minutes, Cagematch has this match going 5:56 while Wikipedia has this at 5:55. It’s just exceptional work between the pair of them, if you can have a great match in this amount of time, that’s a sign that you’re a TV ready wrestler in my opinion.
JT: Gotta say, that’s been a big benefit of this tournament, lots of great matches, all of them fairly short. We need a little more of that nowadays if you ask me, sometimes doing more with less is more impressive than just doing a lot.
S: For sure and it’s how tournaments should always be, you should make the average time per each round progressively longer building towards a grand final. As well as that, the fact that the wrestlers involved have to try and beat their opponents within a set time limit makes each match feel like a race against time.
JT: So all in all, a humongous thumbs up. Now, I know you know what has happened to Mustafa Ali since losing this match, but won’t it be fun to stroll down memory lane?
S: Let’s do it man! I’ve a feeling a lot of memories are gonna be reappearing when you run this down.
JT: So after getting the first “This is Awesome” chant of the tournament, Mustafa Ali has gone on to have the best career out of anyone eliminated in round one, if you ask me. Honestly, he’s had one of the most successful careers after this tournament period, out of anyone. So his first appearance post CWC was in NXT as part of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Lince Dorado, but in a losing effort. Ali’s real ascent began once 205 Live began and he entered his feud against Drew Gulak, with his “No Fly Zone” agenda. Their heated rivalry made him one of the most popular Cruiserweights on the show, leading to him making it onto WWE’s biggest show. In the finals of a tournament to determine a new Cruiserweight Champion, Ali lost to Cedric Alexander but lost at WM34 to a very entertained crowd. He’d spend the rest of the year putting on some of the best matches in 205 Live history, including a No DQ match against Buddy Murphy. He’d continue to chase Murphy into the fall but fail to win his Cruiserweight Title. That’s where the Cruiserweight Chapter of his career would end. And I think we can say, it was quite a fun run he had.
S: Yeah for real, he was there during the real teething process of 205 Live. Like he had to go through wrestling in front of oftentimes dead fucking audiences who couldn’t give a shit and had to endure really poor creative decisions. He was there during what I’d call the peak of the show which lasted about over a year, from about January 2018 until April 2019. He had some bloody excellent matches on 205 Live too, his matches with the likes of Gulak, Buddy Murphy, Gallagher, Hideo Itami and loads of others. He was probably the best wrestler on 205 Live to never be given the Cruiserweight Championship if you ask me. A real pillar of that show.
JT: Even though he never won the Cruiserweight Title, bigger things were coming for him. In December 2018 he pinned WWE Champion Daniel Bryan on his first night in SmackDown, becoming a full time part of the main roster. He’d compete in the 2019 Royal Rumble and was supposed to be in the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Title, but an injury forced him out. This of course, is what began the KofiMania storyline of 2019, as Kofi Kingston replaced him. Ali would still get a Title match, against Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan at the next month’s Fastlane. Ali would continue to be a part of WWE TV for months afterwards, fighting for midcard titles, facing Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell, and competing on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series 2019. After an extended absence, Ali re-emerged in 2020 in Dark Matches and on the Main Event before revealing himself to be the leader of the heel Retribution Stable. Though the stable ultimately fizzled out, it’s not nothing to be given a faction in WWE, and Ali has shown his ability as a great heel on top of years of face work. Ali is still in pursuit of his first Title in WWE. But hey, how many other Cruiserweights can say they got a WWE Title match on PPV? How many can say they got their own faction? He helped make 205 Live the best it can be, and really moved up the ladder for it. And I still think he has more to achieve in his career.
S: For sure, you couldn’t have said that any better. Like there is clearly trust in Ali from WWE’s end. Yes, Retribution was a massive dud but at least he got a faction, like he got a PPV match with Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan too! I do honestly hope he can finally win a title in WWE because he’s grafted for it and he’s fully earned it at this story, easily the most successful wrestler from the eliminated side of the CWC.
JT: I was really hoping he’d win the US Title off Riddle, but alas I’ll take Sheamus. But Ali will have his day, it will happen!!
S: We’re all pulling for ya, Ali!
Watch it be the 24/7 Title now…
JT: I think that belt’s officially in the dirt. But yeah, hoping for all the best for our pal Mustafa! Who would’ve thought that after only making it in as a substitute due to visa issues for a Brazilian wrestler, he’d not only still be in WWE, but he’d be forging a very respectable career?
S: I couldn’t believe that when I was researching this show on Wikipedia, like what a break for Mustafa Ali to be what originally was a substitute to being a WWE employee for five years. I wonder what that Brazilian wrestler is up to now?
JT: I hope the Brazilian wrestler Zumbi is doing okay, and I hope that Ali continues to kill it. Maybe he can buy him a drink one day, who knows.
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Open the Main Event Gate
S: Boy howdy! Do you know what time it is, James???
JT: Is it in fact time for our main event of night 2 and last match of this episode of the Power Hour?
S: That it sure is, it’s match number eight of this two disc edition of the Power Hour! Japan’s Akira Tozawa vs the USA’s own from the Motor City, Kenneth Johnson!
JT: That’s right we’ve got a very interesting mix of styles here, with one of Japan’s finest against a homegrown American boy. Starting with the usual question, did ya know either guy before this match?
S: Alright so Tozawa was someone I was starting to become familiar with and I was really liking what I saw with his stuff from PWG in highlights and matches and just some “Top 50 or 60 Moves of Akira Tozawa” videos on YouTube so because of liking what I saw of his work, he was probably one of the guys I was most excited to see and he was one of the dudes I was actually rooting for to win from when the field was announced! Johnson on the other hand, can’t say that I was familiar with the name coming into this match.
JT: For me, Tozawa was a name I probably saw a bunch of times, but I doubt I ever saw a match of his before this. But I knew he just had some moves that had been shared on Reddit. So that was the only exposure I had to him, people going “Tozawa is a cool wrestler” and “Look at this awesome move!”. And likewise, Kenneth Johnson was totally unknown to me. But as we’ve already encountered today, that just means he’s got a chance to just totally catch us off guard with his skills.
S: Exactly and with the unknowns against the more familiar names, the unknowns have usually shone in this capacity with our more matured eyes!
JT: So in Akira Tozawa’s promo, he says that The fans will be entertained just by watching me. He has an energetic style, and it has always been his dream to wrestle for WWE. Meanwhile Kenneth Johnson says that he’s a hard fighting man, he’s fought his whole life. He’s learned to have heart and determination. He’s here to inspire others, this is his dream. Of course, it’s important to note that Johnson overcame his speech impediment to be here, which is lovely to hear. Super happy for him. But he’s got a big test in front of him, a graduate of the Dragon Gate Dojo, and a man with….music that sounds like Kill Bill for some reason?
S: Is this Tozawa’s theme we’re talking about here?
JT: That’s the one!
S: Ah yes, the theme song which has stood the test of time for Tozawa. It’s not a bad theme though, it’s got a real mobile sports game ring to it and it’s pretty catchy to be fair.
JT: For some reason, I thought he had something different. It’s funny to see the number of themes people had their entire WWE career starting with this tournament.
S: Yeah for real, like Metalik has had something similar but not the same. Cedric has had the same theme along with Tozawa and Mustafa Ali had something completely different altogether.
JT: I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for this as we continue into the rest of the tournament. So, shall we get to our final match, our main event match?
S: Sounds pretty good to me, man. Take it away!
JT: Tozawa chants as the match begins, with a shake of hands. There’s some grappling as Tozawa takes Johnson to the mat. Tozawa tries to roll through the wrist lock but Johnson rolls through too. They are looking evenly match
early on as they grapple. Of course, for pretty much the whole time, Tozawa is yelling at the crowd. First time viewers, myself included, would come to learn this is just normal for him. He’s got Johnson in a wrist lock, but Johnson grabs the top rope and uses the ropes to front flip forward out of a hold!! He gets a Sunset Flip, but Tozawa rolls through with a Shining Wizard!! Tozawa yells, the crowd yells back, Tozawa shushes the crowd. Ain’t this just a great comedy bit? Just, screaming??
S: It’s a very good gimmick that he has with it. Like it’s funny to hear some of the great screams he has, he has great range with them too. I think all he needs to add to this is, I don’t know, maybe someone like a Titus O’Neil as his manager to boost his status a bit, you know?
JT: I’m choosing to ignore that for now. So the two guys end up trading chops back and forth, with Bryan doing his best to try and put over Johnson’s compared to the very crisp slapping sound off Tozawa’s. Speaking of Tozawa, rather than keep this battle going, he decided to take out Johnson with a chop, instead hitting a jab right to the jaw. He follows it up with a Big Senton, but Johnson kicks out at 2. From there Tozawa tries to slow the match down with a Grounded Abdominal Stretch by Tozawa after a few kicks, but Johnson fights out of the hold. Tozawa tries to go for a German but Johnson blocks and fights out again. He nails the slippery American with a Big Discus Forearm, but as he hits the ropes, Johnson connects with a Single Leg Dropkick!! They both get up, Roundhouse to the gut by Tozawa, the he tries a follow up High Kick, but Johnson ducks, only for Tozawa to slide between his legs and go behind for a German but Johnson lands on his feet (sort of) and they run into a double clothesline. One thing I think this tournament has done so far, is avoid cliches. Like though every match has seemingly had a big dive of some kind, they’ve all been different types. And aside from that, I feel like they’ve mostly avoided repeating a lot of cliche spots. Something like this double down is more effective when it’s broken out rarely. It really works to give this match the feeling that these two are quite evenly matched, not in experience but in their different skills.
S: Yeah I liked the more traditional booking which was used in this one. The 50/50 booking between the two in this match makes it stand out with not only the style but the general story of the match. The double down spot especially gives it this feeling that it’s more of a traditional Western Wrestling match with them two being equals in their offense.
JT: Both men get up and start trading shots again, with Tozawa beginning to fire up. He goes for a Discus Elbow, but Johnson ducks and catches him for a backslide, which he turns out somehow into a Codebreaker!! He then picks him, pulls him in and hits him with an Inverted Unprettier type move, which he usually finishes off people with!! He covers, 1–2—Kickout!! He goes to the second rope for what looks like Too Cold Scorpio’s Tumbleweed but is very wide and Tozawa moves out of the way. Tozawa sends him into the ropes, Johnson goes for a Wheelbarrow, Tozawa blocks and goes for a German, Johnson rolls through 1—2—-KICKOUT!!! So close!! They get back up, Johnson goes for a clothesline, quick snap German by Tozawa!! Dumps him right back on his neck!! He deadlifts Johnson up, and gets a bridging German Suplex!! Again down on the back of his head and neck!! His shoulders are down, 1—-2—3!!! Tozawa picks up the victory!!
S: A pretty good match, not as good as Ali vs Dorado but that’s not to take away from these two because they had good chemistry even though this was probably their first match against one another. I really thought the stalemate booking throughout this one added to the match and the story of Johnson having loads of heart and being a tough nut to crack. It really gave me vibes off of Ibushi vs Maluta in that the underdog really could pull off the upset. Johnson has got some unique looking signature moves, the Inverted Unprettier I don’t think I’ve seen before or since. The Tumbleweed was a little bit off the mark but he does a very lovely Single Leg Dropkick, much like what Dante Martin in AEW does. I must say that Tozawa’s Snap German Suplex is one of the most explosive moves I think I’ve ever seen, it’s absolutely class. Tozawa going over was the right decision, Johnson looked strong in defeat and great throughout the match too. Thumbs up from me.
JT: Honestly I thought Johnson was one of the less polished wrestlers we’ve seen thus far unfortunately, but I still think he was a worthy inclusion into this tournament. His story is genuinely inspirational, and all the talk of “his heart” was not just wrestling mumbo jumbo. Dude genuinely tried his hardest and worked really hard not just to get here but to compete. Like you said, he had a lot of unique offense, and even the stuff that didn’t go perfectly was still a respectable try. Also like you mentioned, that Snap German is something else. The hip strength necessary to just power and guy up and over so quickly is astounding.
S: Yeah it’s crazy some of the things that Tozawa can do, that can be said for like every graduate of the Dragon Gate Dojo too. Back to Johnson for a second, I do feel that if he was a guy who got a little more seasoning, he would’ve gotten more cleaner in the ring if you ask me.
JT: Agreed, although as I looked at his time after the CWC ended, I don’t think he ever actually got there sadly.
S: Awh man, that’s a real shame. What’s his career post-CWC been like anyways?
JT: Well from my research, it looks like there really isn’t a whole lot to discuss, because I could find very little about him. It turns out from looking at his Cagematch page, he only has about 15 matches in his career, with only about 9 before the CWC. Now of course, Cagematch doesn’t have every company and every match ever. But it has a good grasp, and it’s crazy to see that he made it to such a big stage with so little experience. That’s just a testament to his work ethic. Since the CWC he has had 4 matches, 3 of which were for WWE. First was losing in a dark match during later CWC taping against Drew Gulak & Tony Nese with Lince Dorado. Then he had 1 match in 2018 for San Antonio based Branded Outlaw Wrestling, winning against “The Great Scott”. Johnson would be back in a WWE ring in 2018, competing on the Purple Brand in a losing effort against TJ Perkins. His final recorded match was actually on Monday Night Raw in 2020, the night after the Royal Rumble. Facing off against Aleister Black, he ended up losing in 35 seconds after a few hard shots and then the Black Mass. From looking at his twitter page, he was advertised for a show at Branded Outlaw Wrestling in March 2020, but the show never happened, presumably due to COVID. Looking at his page, he hasn’t tweeted much lately but he does tweet about wrestling related things when he uses his account. Well, wrestling and a line of faith-related workout clothes. Looking at the site, it really just seems like a positive brand, all about working through the tough obstacles we face in life, including getting in shape. I figure this, if someone turns to religion and finds the strength they need to push forward, that’s cool with me. Life can be hard, if God makes it easier for you and you’re not using your faith as an excuse to be prejudiced against others, I’m happy for you. Given Johnson’s struggles with his speech impediment, this feels fitting for what he’s done in his life and what he can do for others.
S: For sure and it’s good that he’s using his faith in religion as a means to spread positivity and a platform to inspire others to do what he did and overcome adversity and better yourself. Even though he may not be getting a lot of wrestling experience, it’s great to see that he’s still being what he was going into this tournament. An honest, hard working, positive guy. Good on ya, Kenneth!
JT: Yeah even if he didn’t win in the CWC, you gotta think there’s at least a few folks out there who shared similar struggles as him who saw him competing and said “You know what, if he can chase his dream, I can chase my dream!”. So, as far as where Kenneth Johnson will go in 2021 and beyond, I’m not sure. I think it’s safe to assume that he’s probably living in Texas (due to him showing up lately only at shows in the Texas area) and his twitter activity. Maybe he’ll work as a local competitor for a Texas show when WWE’s touring comes back, maybe he won’t. Regardless, I’m sure I can speak for both of us when I wish good luck to him, good luck in his career and thank you for putting yourself out there to help and inspire others.
S: I’m in total agreement with you there, James, couldn’t have said it any better. I hope Johnson is living a really happy life for himself right now.
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Powering Down
JT: Alright, that about does it for this episode of the Power Hour!! We’ve got 2, very fun episodes of the Cruiserweight Classic done, now with lots of little extra pieces of knowledge mixed in. I feel quite content, I feel like we’ve come out on the other side of this episode with a much richer knowledge of the talented fellas who helped make the first two episodes so exciting. Again, shoutout to Alejandro Saez, Ariya Daivari, Clement Petiot, Sean Maluta, Da Mack, Mustafa Ali and Kenneth Johnson for their contributions. It can be easy to forget the guys who get eliminated early, but I hope that for all you readers, as well as my Power Hour partner, and even for myself, that we remember their names and careers for what they helped create.
S: Exactly and whenever people come at you with their knowledge on Gran Metalik and Kota Ibushi, how about you serve them your Clement Petiot or Alejandro Saez card to let them know that you’re just as big brain as they are. It’s been as fun as ever reviewing with you, James and I’ve gotta say that this has been both an entertaining and an educational pair of reviews in this two disc special of the Power Hour.
For those wondering where are our usual awards for Match of the Night and MVP, just a heads up that we’re saving our usual end of show awards for the end of each round of this tournament. So at the end of each round, we’ll have our new Match of the Round and MVP awards. So stick around to find out who those recipients may be!
JT: It would only be fair to grade all the first round matches against each other, no? If we’re not going to look at the shows on an individual level (as you saw there’s just a little to little content for us to really do one CWC episode per Power Hour episode) might as well stack them all up against each other. I’ve been very diligent about this business, if I do say so myself. Right now, I’m keeping a list of the matches we’ve seen in order from my favorite to least favorite, and likewise with our competitors. So be prepared next time for me to let loose.
But with that said, we can still rule regarding what we’ve seen, at least a little. So Seán, let me ask you a tough question, which did you prefer? Episode 1 or Episode 2?
S: In the words of Mr. Burns, ooh a tough question but a fair one, I think I preferred Episode Two in all honesty. Both episodes were great, don’t get me wrong but I think I preferred this one due to the match quality being just that step above the first episode. Episode One set the standard, this episode brought it up a level. Tajiri vs Damian Slater where Slater was better with a rewatch. TJP vs Da Mack was a real fun match with some snug looking submissions, fun showboating and nice spots. Ali vs Lince, I mean what a match, there’s nothing more I can say about it. Tozawa vs Johnson might have been the weakest of the four matches but getting to watch Tozawa do what he can do is always a pleasure. So yeah, Episode Two just slightly edges out Episode One. What about you, James?
JT: Actually, I’m gonna have to say that I’m giving the slight edge to Episode 1! I think they had a lot to live up to with that first episode and they delivered. You got some lucha libre, you got some more traditional American storytelling, you got a real hard hitting affair and then a main event with a hot commodity doing a little of everything. But hey, this isn’t about “Which one is good and which one is bad”, this is a case of “Which episode is good, and which episode is just somehow even better than that?”. Both shows were super easy and enjoyable watches, and I cannot wait to get to episodes 3 & 4.
S: Neither can I, man because even after the first two episodes I’m just so glad that we’re in this current season and getting to talk about what is really an important time period in wrestling for me. This Summer of pro wrestling in general was just such a brilliant time for me and I’m glad I’m getting to share my thoughts on it as a whole. Episodes 3 and 4 should be an absolute blast like last time because next time, we’re gonna be reviewing the second half of the First Round! Featuring the likes of Zack Sabre Jr, Drew Gulak, Rich Swann, Brian Kendrick and a clash of NXT tag team partners as our final First Round Match!
JT: What time we’ll have next time on the Power Hour!! But with that comes the conclusion of our second episode of this season. I hope you’ve all had a fun time reading our review and retrospective on the CWC!! For now, it’s goodbye from me James!!
S: And a chat ya from me, Seán!
JT: So for now, keep rolling down the line, Cruiserweight Style!!
S: Cue that 205 pound train!
The JT & Seány Mc Power Hour 