We investigated the face-stabilized Open-Hole Compression (OHC) test method for evaluating the effects of fiber waviness on the compression strength of continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. Temporal evaluations of the load-deformation response, acoustic emissions and optical microscopy are used to understand the failure modes and damage progression in the OHC specimen. The failure modes observed are structurally correlated to matrix failure and kink zone formation leading to fiber fracture. The results show how the resin pocket plays a more critical role than the layup in influencing the initiation of damage in the composite specimens.