205 Live – October 24, 2018: The Most Underrated Man In WWE
IMG Credit: WWE
205 Live
Date: October 24, 2018
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators; Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
We have another big one this week with Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami in a Falls Count Anywhere match. These two have been feuding for a long time now and that means we get to see Ali going insane and selling like he’s on the verge of death for one of the best performances you’ll get on the show. Other than that….I’m not sure it really matters all that much. Let get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
The opening video looks at the history of Ali vs. Itami, including Itami putting him on the shelf for a few weeks.
Opening sequence.
Lince Dorado vs. Mike Kanellis
Maria and the rest of the Lucha House Party are here too. Dorado wastes no time in knocking him into the corner and scores with a headscissors. Mike chills in the corner for a bit where Maria offers some advice. It seems to work as Kanellis pounds away in the corner and we see TJP watching from the back at the designated “stand right here to watch the match” location. Dorado sends him to the floor but the screeching Maria offers a distraction so Mike can punch him in the face.
A running clothesline in the corner keeps Dorado in trouble and we hit the chinlock. Mike switches it up by cranking on both arms with a boot in the back as the camera keeps looking at Maria. I completely agree with this show’s new direction. A knee to the back sets up more arm cranking but Dorado comes back with a hurricanrana. That just earns him a superkick and Maria is somehow even more cocky. Dorado gets up and hits a few clotheslines, followed by a flip into a kick to the back of the head.
A top rope hurricanrana gets two and Maria is losing it in a hurry. Dorado can’t get him up for a slam so he settles for an enziguri. It’s too early for the shooting star though and Kanellis gets two off a spinebuster. The Golden Rewind gets Dorado out of trouble and there’s a slingshot dive to the floor. Now the shooting star connects for two as Kanellis gets a foot on the ropes. Kanellis heads outside to beat up Kalisto and Gran Metalik but the distraction, followed by sending Dorado’s head into the ropes. Whatever Kanellis calls his version of Cross Rhodes is good for the pin at 11:32.
Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting to and you can feel the star power with Maria shining through. She’s definitely more interesting than Mike, but maybe Mike just needed a chance to do something other than job to low level guys. He won clean here and being a guy who wins something on 205 Live is better than losing all the time on Raw and Main Event.
Drake Maverick thanks the fans for the first 100 episodes. Tonight’s main event showcases some of the best stars of the show’s first two years but we need to start on the next 100 shows. That’s why next week, we’ll have a #1 contenders match to find Buddy Murphy’s first challenger.
Brian Kendrick promises to show Jack Gallagher no mercy next week.
We look back at Tony Nese winning last week’s five way match.
Lio Rush says he didn’t lose last week because you win a match like that by luck. If Nese wants to show that he’s better, he can face him next week on his own.
Murphy isn’t worried about whoever he faces. Nese says it doesn’t matter which of them is Cruiserweight Champion because it’s a new era on 205 Live.
Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali
Falls Count Anywhere. Itami starts with the strikes and then kicks him out to the floor. That means a RESPECT ME but Ali comes back in with a running hurricanrana. A slingshot dive to the floor gives Itami two and an angry looking Itami takes him back inside. Itami breaks up a springboard with a kick to the ribs, dropping Ali face first onto the apron for a really painful looking crash. Itami sends him into the barricade and gets two off a kick to the back.
The kickout gets another RESPECT ME and we hit the chinlock. Ali is right back with kicks of his own, including a superkick but Itami kicks him right back down for a layoff. The rolling X Factor gives Ali two more and Itami heads outside. Ali follows him though and gets backdropped over the barricade. You know what Itami wants next? Someone to RESPECT HIM of course.
Ali pops back up and dives off the barricade and knocks Itami over the announcers’ table. Itami grabs a half crab on the table but switches to throwing Ali off the table for a crash instead. It’s time to go into the crowd with Ali superkicking him down for two. That’s enough time over the barricade so Itami takes him back to ringside for a whip into the steps. A clothesline turns Ali inside out on the ramp for two more and it’s time to stack up the steps on the floor.
Itami tries a superplex onto them but Ali knocks him onto the steps with Itami landing on his feet. That means a high crossbody for two on the floor and they’re both down again. Since one is required, Ali pulls out a table but gets kicked in the face and thrown around ringside. A trip sends Ali into the steps again as he can’t get any sustained momentum.
As a bunch of fans hold up signs saying WE WANT WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS (with one kid stopping to read the sign he’s holding), Itami can’t crush Ali under another set of steps. With one set of steps bridged against the other, Ali gets a running charge and springboards off with a tornado DDT on the floor. Ali is done with this and puts Itami on the table on the floor (Ali: “I don’t respect you!”) for a 450 (that table split clean too) for the pin at 15:21.
Rating: A-. Ali is one of the most reliable people in this whole company anymore and you knew this was going to be another great performance. They did a good job here of going around the arena instead of using like two places. The falls count anywhere part helped a lot as well as there was a reason to believe the match might be over instead of having to wait or them to go back to the ring. I had a great time with this, which is all you can expect from Ali anymore.
Drake makes Ali vs. Nese for the #1 contendership next week to end the show.
Overall Rating: A. Another highly entertaining show with the main event easily carrying things and a perfectly watchable match to kick things off. Ali getting back into the title hunt is long overdue and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him get a title shot. The key there is I’m not sure who is going to win next week (or if anyone wins at all) and that’s a great feeling to have coming into a match. Awesome show this week and check out that main event.
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Can’t wait for DJZ vs Mustafa Ali at the next Evolve show (that’s officially booked). Also, any chance on you doing the Ring Warriors show? Eli Drake & Jeff Cobb had a great match on that show this week.
Not likely. Just too much else to do already.