205 Live – June 5, 2018: A Show In Search Of An Ace
205 Live
Date: June 5, 2018
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph
It’s a fresh start around here as Cedric Alexander has dispatched Buddy Murphy to retain the Cruiserweight Title. Therefore we need a new #1 contender and that could be almost anyone on this show, though Mustafa Ali is another likely candidate. Other than that…well there will probably be some matches that don’t seem to be leading anywhere. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Drake Maverick narrates a recap of last week’s title match and previews tonight’s show.
Opening sequence.
Lince Dorado vs. Brian Kendrick
Kendrick has Drew Gulak with him but no Jack Gallagher. It’s an aggressive start for Kendrick who takes him into the corner and hammers away to start but gets kicked out to the floor. The lucha noisemakers don’t distract Kendrick very well as he sidesteps a baseball slide and hits one of his own to take over again.
Back in and a side slam gets two as Drew reads the history of lucha libre from his Lucha and You brochure. Kendrick stomps and chokes in the corner as Gulak admits that he was trained in lucha libre, which shows him how terrible it is. We hit the chinlock until Dorado is back up with a spinwheel kick. A high crossbody gets two and a suicide dive takes Kendrick down again. Gulak yells at Dorado but he’s right back in with the Golden Rewind for the pin at 7:35.
Rating: C-. I’d assume this is setting up some big showdown between Gulak and Lucha House Party but hasn’t he beaten all of them already? Dorado is the weakest of the trio and he was perfectly watchable here. It’s a good idea to let him win here as it helps build him up later on when Gulak gets another win over him.
Post match Gulak runs in and beats Dorado down until Lucha House Party runs him off.
Clips of last week’s title match. Fair enough, as it was awesome.
Mustafa Ali, who is looking more jacked than usual, is ready to beat Buddy Murphy tonight and get back into the title hunt. He’s got the heart of a champion.
TJP vs. Bryan Keith
Keith is in what would be described as a cowboy outfit without the hat. TJP takes him down and grabs a mic to compliment Keith’s boots and mispronounce the town. He keeps talking as he stomps on Keith, asking for better competition. Some threats to go to Raw or Smackdown set up a modified Sharpshooter with TJP threatening to go there soon before cranking back for the tap at 2:12. Very entertaining squash with a different twist on the idea.
A very cocky Lio Rush is coming soon. Really it’s not like he was going to work anywhere else but on 205 Live but that’s not the best thing in the world after his big controversy down in NXT.
Next week: Lucha House Party vs. Gulak/Gallagher/Kendrick. Makes the most sense.
Tony Nese speaks for Buddy Murphy for some reason, saying that Murphy will beat Alexander next time. Murphy says you can’t stop the unstoppable.
Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy
Murphy goes straight with the power by driving Mustafa into the corner and no selling some chops. A dropkick works a bit better for Ali and there’s a big corkscrew dive to the floor. Back in and Murphy catches him on top so it’s a fireman’s carry into a gutbuster onto the turnbuckle for a big crash and a near fall.
Ali spins around him into a crucifix for two anyway but Murphy is right back with some backbreakers. An inverted hurricanrana (and a good one) gets Ali out of trouble and a superkick has Murphy tied up in the ropes. Ali gets two off a splash but bangs up his own ribs in the process. Murphy is smart enough to strike away at the ribs, only to charge into a boot in the corner.
The rolling X Factor is broken up and it’s time to head to the apron. This time it’s Murphy messing up and running knee first into the post to give Murphy a target of his own. The fans deem this awesome and it’s out to the floor again, this time with Murphy being sent up to the apron, only to jump back down with an INSANE tornado DDT to the floor. With Murphy trying to remember what planet he’s on, here’s Hideo Itami to break up the 054 for the DQ at 12:12.
Rating: B. It’s not as good as Murphy’s match from last week but it was still a good effort with that tornado DDT looking outstanding. Sometimes that one big spot is all you need but here you got a heck of a match to surround it. Neither of them taking a fall is the right ending and it can help set up Itami as the next challenger down the line. Good, hard hitting main event here.
Itami lays Ali out again to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Another completely acceptable but not great show here, which is a lot better than things used to be around here. It also helps that we’re getting a really strong match on every show and some of the stories are starting to come together. They still need the ace of the show and Cedric isn’t going to be that guy, but I don’t think anyone else they have at the moment is either. Still though, solid effort this week.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Recent Comments