Championship Wrestling From Hollywood Episode 319 Review: The Kikutaro Edition

Kikutaro is on this show. That’s all you need to know.

To watch this episode of Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, or to check out shows from promotions such as ROH and CMLL, check out the Fite TV app. The  Fite TV app also features the last ROH PPV, Best in the World 2017, featuring Cody Rhodes vs. ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels. Also be sure to check out CXF 8: Cali Kings on the Fite TV app if you’re an MMA fan. You can read my recaps of the non-tournament bouts here and my recap of the tournament bouts here. The Fite TV app will also have the upcoming RIZIN FF event. If you don’t know what RIZIN FF is, well, it’s the new Pride FC.  It’s really awesome.

We start with Grant yelling at the audience. As bad as the fake crowd noise is, having some guy screaming and taking attention away from workers is even worse. He interviewed Kikutaro. I love Kikutaro, but Grant ruined this segment. Kiku is asked about his opponent, Devin Sparks. Kiku cut a great promo, despite Grant’s existence. It was stupid how they didn’t use Joshua Shibata for this interview, since he is legitimately Japanese. It would’ve made for a better segment.

Then the Red Carpet Rumble intro is played before Galli and Laquasto intro the show. They run down what happened last week in the Pac 3 vs. Ryan Taylor/Dicky Mayer match. It was supposed to show what happened, as there was a graphic with the words “LAST WEEK” on the upper left-hand corner. Instead, we just see Galli and Laquasto talking. This was hilarious.

Devin Sparks (w/ Young Bos Ichi & Ni) vs. Kikutaro

So this was an amazing segment and match.

First off, Kikutaro had some ridiculous entrance music. CWFH seems to think since he’s Japanese, he should have some stereotypical Japanese music. They also had a Hispanic dude (or a dude who looked Hispanic) doing ring intros in Japanese. Joshua Shibata, actual Japanese guy, was nowhere to be seen. Oh well, he’s probably moved on to bigger and better things.

The match starts out with Kikutaro trying to get the commentary guys to clap with him. The referee ended up counting Kikutaro out. That was the entire match. Kiku argues this and asks for a rematch. The match restarts with Kikutaro charging at Sparks who is in the corner. Sparks moved out of the way, and Kikutaro ran into the referee. This resulted in a D.Q. for Kikutaro. Kiku pleaded with the referee, and got on the mic speaking Japanese. He had the Hispanic looking guy translate for him. Kiku challenged Sparks to a third match with the promise of a bigger payday. Sparks charged the ring, and we get a third match. The Young Boys got involved this time, and during the commercial, the referee ejected the Young Boys.

Now onto the actual match!

So now we have a fourth restart to this match. This was your usual Kikutaro comedy match. He did all his usual hits, like kicking Sparks in the head when he did a drop down, slow motion chops, being too short to do an Atomic Drop, and the running into a boot while the opponent is in the corner gag. Kikutaro did a great job in this match. The commentators didn’t do a good job at calling the match though. Excalibur is probably the only person outside of Japan qualified to call one of his matches. Sparks got the win with a Stunner. This was an entertaining match and segment. Kikutaro rules. We need more Kikutaro in our lives.

Post match shenanigans: Devin Sparks is interviewed by that Karl guy. He cut a promo about being in the Red Carpet Rumble. After this, we get a commercial for a phone sex line again. Dave Marquez has zero shame. After a commercial break, Grant interviewed Tito Escondido. He says he’s gonna be a smart and fighting champion. If he really wants to prove it, he should face Kikutaro.

Zicky Dice vs. DJ Hyde (w/ the fake Marquez son)

This was built up as “United Network Showcase” match. DEEJ was representing CZW, and Dice was representing Freelance Wrestling. This started out very slow and sloppy. Zicky nearly dropped DJ as he went for a Fireman’s Carry to a spot in the corner. This entire match was really slow and boring. DEEJ won with a Lariat. Ebessan vs. Kuishinbo Kamen matches were more intense than this match.

After a commercial break, Karl Mandik interviews Scorpio Sky as he’s about to head to the ring for his match with Rocky Romero. Then Grant interviews Rocky Romero. After that, we get our main event.

United Television Championship Match: Rocky Romero (c) vs. Scorpio Sky

The match starts off with both guys countering everything the other was doing. Eventually the match slows down when Rocky took control and worked over Sky with submissions. Sky would eventually make a comeback, but Rocky cut him off and started working over his leg. The match continued on with Sky selling Rocky’s leg work whenever he was on offense. Rocky hit several spots, including a tope suicida and a springboard dropkick to Sky as he was draped on the top rope.

The finishing sequence saw Sky trying to mount comebacks by countering Rocky’s offense. They ended up in a striking exchange. Rocky would hit a takedown on Sky and pass into mount, and Sky would take him down as well after they stood back up. They both rolled out of the ring and brawled at the commentary table while the referees tried to break things up. The match ended up being thrown out, and the fans chanted “LET THME FIGHT” as the referees intervened. This was a good way to close the show.

Final Thoughts

The Kikutaro segment was great. Lately I think Devin Sparks’ act has been getting stale, and his matches aren’t very entertaining. This match was fun though. Kikutaro’s antics with the commentators before he got counted out was my favorite part of the entire segment. I hope CWFH brings in Kikutaro more, as he could help produce some entertaining television. This show desperately needs workers who are actually entertaining.

Rocky vs. Sky felt like a standard “work a hold” type match meant to tell a story at first. It was good, but it was really the closing angle that made the segment good. It built up some animosity between the two, and the brawl was a fresh way to close the show. Obviously this will set up for another match between the two. Hopefully they have an intense match the next time they face each other.

While the show produced some entertaining segments, there were still things to hate about it. The continuation of the Sky vs. Rocky feud is annoying in the sense that this company always runs too many rematches. The DJ Hyde vs. Zicky Dice was slow, boring, and pointless. He keeps being pushed despite the fact that he sucks and isn’t a draw. I know he owns CZW, but CWFH gets nothing out of their partnership with them. DJ Hyde being on these shows is fucking pointless. If CWFH really wants someone from CZW to play the fake Marquez son’s hired gun, they should bring in Matt Tremont. He has credibility with fans and would draw a few people. On top of that, he’d have better matches. Grant continues to suck too.

Don’t just take my word for it. Check it out on the Fite TV app and decide for yourself.