205 Live – March 26, 2019: The New Blood
IMG Credit: WWE
205 Live
Date: March 26, 2019
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Aiden English, Nigel McGuiness, Vic Joseph
The tournament is over and that means there’s nothing left to do but build towards Tony Nese vs. Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight Title at Wrestlemania. There’s no way to write that up to make it sound exciting, and that’s the problem with the whole thing. It’s just not a very interesting title match, but who else was supposed to get the shot? That’s not a good sign but maybe they can make it better. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We recap last week’s tournament final with Nese defeating Cedric Alexander but getting attacked by Murphy to end the show.
Opening sequence.
The announcers, without a table, preview the title match and the rest of the show.
Lucha House Party vs. Drew Gulak/Humberto Carrillo/Jack Gallagher
Before the match, the House Party welcomes us to the show and says it’s Lucha Time, sounding like something out of Power Rangers (so it’s awesome). Metalik and Carrillo start things off and that means an early flip off. Carrillo works on the wrist but can’t do much as Metalik spins out. It’s another standoff with Metalik doing a slow motion lucha dance before, of course, more flipping.
Both guys backflip into another standoff so it’s off to Gulak and Gallagher, who are both sent outside. That means a bunch of flips from the House Party into a triple pose, much to Gulak’s annoyances. We settle down to the House Party working on Gulak’s arm, complete with Metalik diving off the top with a double stomp to said arm while holding Penelope the Pinata. I’m not sure what that changes but maybe it’s a cultural thing.
Kalisto comes in for the standing on Dorado’s shoulders splash as Gulak can’t get anything going. A distraction finally lets Gulak dropkick Dorado off the apron and Gallagher gets in a few cheap shots on the floor. Gallagher comes in legally for the first time with Gulak telling Carrillo to watch and learn. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Gulak comes back in for two off a clothesline. Gallagher gets rolled up but the kickout sends him over to the corner for the tag to Metalik.
That’s fine with Gallagher, who takes him down and unhooks part of the mask. Carrillo comes in and hits a springboard kick to the face and it’s back to Gulak for a knee to the face. The fast tags continue with Gallagher coming back in and taking a double handspring elbow from Metalik. The ice cold hot tag brings in Kalisto as the fans are just dead for this. A hurricanrana driver gets two on Carrillo and Gallagher and Gulak get backdropped to the floor.
That means a suicide dive from Kalisto and springboard moonsaults from Dorado and Metalik. Somehow a great spot like that only gets a minimal reaction as this just isn’t working for some reason. Carrillo kicks Kalisto down off the top and it’s a Tower of Doom to bring Kalisto, Gallagher and Gulak down. We hit the parade of strikes to the face, followed by Dorado’s shooting star press for two on Gulak. Carrillo kicks Kalisto down but Gulak calls off the moonsault. More “coaching” from Gulak lets Kalisto hit a quick Salida Del Sol for the pin at 15:29. Gallagher’s shocked face is a great touch.
Rating: B-. Rather nice match here, despite a weak crowd. Carrillo never felt like a fit with Gulak and Gallagher and it makes sense to have something like this happen in their first match together. They might get to Carrillo later, but for now it’s the logical way to go. The House Party continues to entertain, but how many times can they do the same trios match before it loses its magic?
Post match Gulak and Gallagher yell Carrillo, who isn’t happy.
Mike and Maria Kanellis aren’t relieved about the win over Akira Tozawa last week because Mike is that good. It wasn’t Maria that got the win anyway because Mike was the one who slammed Tozawa’s head into the mat and if you disagree, you’re just a hater. Drake Maverick comes in to say that they’ll have a rematch next week with Brian Kendrick in Tozawa’s corner.
Buddy Murphy is at the Performance Center and says Tony Nese forced his hand last week. Nese has always been behind him because Murphy is a cruiserweight hybrid. As Murphy keeps going, Nese appears in the window behind him and comes in for the brawl, with agents and wrestlers breaking it up. Good segment, which did nothing to fix the fact that it’s Tony Nese.
Cedric Alexander vs. Ariya Daivari
Hang on a minute as here’s Oney Lorcan to sit at ringside and watch. Cedric is distracted so Daivari takes him down and talks trash, showing the offensive strategy that has led him to such success around here. A headlock takeover works better for Cedric and he forearms Daivari in the face to keep him in trouble. Daivari is back with a hard clothesline for two and we hit the chinlock.
Back up and it’s too early for the Lumbar Check so Daivari kicks him in the head. The Million Dollar Dream is blocked and Alexander gets in his own enziguri. Alexander’s springboard Downward Spiral gets two, followed by a superkick for the same. Daivari knocks him down again though and hits the Persian Lion splash for a near fall of his own. A whip to the floor lets Alexander hit a big flip dive but he messes up Lorcan’s jacket. That’s too far for Oney, who yells at Alexander until Daivari rolls him up for the pin at 12:24.
Rating: C+. One of Daivari’s better matches but the important thing here is Oney Lorcan coming up to 205 Live. This show really needs some new talent and Lorcan is as good as any other option they realistically have at the moment. I’m not sure how good it’s going to be if Alexander keeps getting the focus, but at least it’s a fresh feud for a change.
Lorcan jumps Alexander from behind and a brawl breaks out to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Two good matches with a new talent added, though it’s still next to impossible to get fired up about Tony Nese, who really hasn’t done anything to make me cheer him. He won a match last week and really, that’s about it. There’s a very big difference between being a face and being attacked by a heel and WWE doesn’t seem to get the difference. What we got here was good, but I’m not thrilled with the upcoming title match.
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“There’s no way to write that up to make it sound exciting, and that’s the problem with the whole thing”
It’s a shame too, with guys like Kanellis, Lorcan, and Carrillo there, who would all be new challengers, or at least fresh to the main event. Or, end Lucha House Party, and give literally any of them a shot.
The problem isn’t the lack of talent, it’s putting talent in the wrong spot. Kanellis and Nese could have their stories swapped, and it would instantly make them both better.
Kanellis sucks and was also garbage in TNA.
Nese is a way better wrestler and doesn’t deserve the loser gimmick that Kanellis does.
I was saying to switch stories, not gimmicks. And I’m not saying I’m a fan of the guy, but at least it’s not Cedric, Gulak, Tozawa again.
Let me clear it up for you.
Kanellis should be nowhere near a Wrestlemania title match.