205 Live – February 5, 2019: I’m Not Sure How You Make That Sound
IMG Credit: WWE
205 Live
Date: February 5, 2019
Location: Angel of the Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Aiden English, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph
It’s time to find out the #1 contender for the Cruiserweight Title as tonight is a four way match with the winner getting the Elimination Chamber title shot. Other than that we have a somewhat heated up Ariya Daivari, which isn’t likely to go very far because it’s a heated up Ariya Daivari. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Drake Maverick previews the four way between Lio Rush, Cedric Alexander, Akira Tozawa and Humberto Carrillo, with Buddy Murphy saying the challenger doesn’t matter.
Opening sequence.
Brian Kendrick vs. Mike Kanellis
Maria is is in on commentary again this week. Feeling out process to start with Maria saying last week’s loss doesn’t count because it wasn’t even a match. Mike runs him over and shout that this is HIS show, which isn’t the best battle cry in the world. Kendrick doesn’t like the sound of that and forearms Mike out to the floor. That just means a quick Maria distraction so Mike can run him over and get in a good posting. A suplex gives Mike two and it’s off to the chinlock as Maria says Mike only needs to win one match to become a legend.
Mike kicks him to the floor but Brian gets in a posting of his own for a breather. Back in and Kendrick grabs the Captain’s Hook for a bit, with Mike getting a single finger on the rope. Mike gets two off a superkick and frustration is setting in. A spinebuster is good for the same so Mike pounds in elbows to the chin. For some reason Mike lets up and Kendrick tells him to bring it, earning himself a kick to the face. With that not working, Mike tries a neckbreaker but gets reversed into Sliced Bread (Maria: “NO!”) for the pin at 10:36.
Rating: C-. I’m almost curious about where the Mike thing is going, as he hasn’t had any kind of a story, though at least he’s getting the chance to actually do something. He’s not the most thrilling guy in the world but he and Maria make for a good act. I had fun with this one, though a losing streak isn’t the best sign for Mike’s future.
We look back at Ariya Daivari laying out Hideo Itami after last week’s main event.
Daivari says he was tired of being the only person to have Itami’s back. Itami kept talking about respect but no one respected him until he took it last week.
Rush says he’s beaten Tozawa twice and has Alexander’s number. It’s time for Murphy to feel the rush.
Kendrick says Tozawa won last week and he’ll do it again tonight. Tozawa says he knows he can beat Murphy. If Tozawa can speak English, why is Kendrick here?
Carrillo says he’ll win the title at Elimination Chamber.
Alexander says he was running through the Cruiserweight Title tournament at this time last year but this time, he only has to beat three people.
We look back at Tony Nese attacking Noam Dar, earning himself a suspension.
Maverick tells Drew Gulak that he and Jack Gallagher can’t be in Carrillo’s corner, because no one is going to be in anyone’s corner. They leave when Dar comes in, saying he wants Nese next week. That’s a no, so Dar threatens to take care of Nese somewhere else. Drake agrees, making it a No DQ match next week.
Akira Tozawa vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Lio Rush
Elimination rules with the winner getting the shot at Murphy at Elimination Chamber. Rush starts talking trash, telling Tozawa that he’s beaten him twice and that he doesn’t know who Carrillo is. All three go after him so Rush bails to the floor, allowing Tozawa to hit a suicide dive. Back in and Cedric trades armdrags with Carrillo until Tozawa slingshots in to knock Carrillo outside. Rush breaks up another suicide dive and hits one of his own on Tozawa.
The big spinning tornado DDT plants Carrillo for two and Rush is right back with the trash talk. Carrillo kicks him down but walks into a missile dropkick from Tozawa for two more. Rush kicks Tozawa in the head for two of his own but Tozawa avoids the Final Hour. Cedric is right back in though and the Lumbar Check gets rid of Rush at 5:30.
That leaves us with three so Carrillo kicks Alexander in the head a few times. A heck of a missile dropkick nails Alexander, setting up a standing moonsault for two. Cedric is right back up on the apron but slips off and bangs up his knee, though he manages to clothesline Carrillo anyway. All three are down for a bit, which is a nice touch for a little reset. Tozawa kicks Cedric out to the floor in a big crash and shoves Carrillo off the top. The top rope backsplash gets rid of Carrillo at 9:56 and it’s down to Tozawa vs. Alexander.
Cedric takes his time getting back in and only has one good leg. The elbow pad comes off and Tozawa grabs the Octopus Hold until switching over to a rollup for two instead. Stereo big boots to the face give us another double knockdown and the fans are rather pleased. Tozawa gets up first and counters the Neuralizer into a snap German suplex, followed by a second one for two more.
Alexander is smart enough to roll away before the top rope backsplash can launch and drops Tozawa on the apron to take over. Back in and the fans are split in their cheering as the Lumbar Check is countered. Alexander gets him in an electric chair (after circling the ring a few times due to nearly dropping him) but gets countered into a reverse hurricanrana. The top rope backsplash sends Tozawa to the Chamber at 17:03.
Rating: B. This felt like a showdown for the sake of getting a big prize down the line, which is exactly the point. Tozawa winning wasn’t the biggest surprise after last week as Carrillo isn’t ready, Rush isn’t getting a shot at Murphy and Alexander has been done several times before. Tozawa makes sense and is a fresh option, so having a good match to get to the logical ending was rather nice.
Post match Murphy comes on screen to say he’ll be waiting on Tozawa at Elimination Chamber.
Overall Rating: C+. Another nice show here with a good main event and a perfectly watchable step forward in another story. Having another title match set up for the pay per view is a good moment and a sign that we might be getting more regular title matches on pay per view. That’s something the title has needed for a long time now and the regular TV show has been backing it up as well. Good stuff here, again.
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