205 Live – April, 2, 2019: Some High Quality Sign Pointing
IMG Credit: WWE
205 Live
Date: April 2, 2019
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Aiden English
It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania so I think you know what to expect. That would be a segment on the Cruiserweight Title match and a bunch of other stuff that feels like business as usual because only two people from this show get to make Wrestlemania. In other words, the show should be fine. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Drake Maverick gives us the regular preview/recap.
Opening sequence.
Kalisto vs. Oney Lorcan
Lorcan wastes no time blasting Kalisto in the back of the head but Kalisto is fine enough to get a rollup. A few more shots send Oney outside for a baseball slide and a crossbody gets two back inside. Lorcan gets physical and sends Kalisto hard into the barricade while asking if Cedric Alexander saw that. He’s even smart enough to break up the count before driving Kalisto back first into the apron.
A quick comeback bid is cut off by another shot to the mask as it’s almost all Lorcan so far. The waistlock goes on and we cut to the back where a ticked off Buddy Murphy is….walking! Back to the ring where Lorcan gets two off a clothesline to the back of the head and slapping on a bodyscissors. That’s switched into a chinlock as the slow pace continues. Kalisto fights up and nails a kick, only to flip into and out of the half and half suplex.
The hurricanrana driver gets Kalisto out of trouble but Lorcan knocks him to the apron again. Kalisto is fine enough for a Salida Del Sol on the apron for easily his biggest offense of the match but he can’t get Lorcan back in immediately. Instead Lorcan catches him on top but the super half and half is broken up. That means an elbow to knock him off the top but the 450 hits Lorcan’s raised knees. Now the half and half connects for the pin on Kalisto at 12:32.
Rating: C. Lorcan brings a different kind of intensity to the show and that’s something that has been lacking (at least on someone with potential) around here. He could be a star down the line and pinning Kalisto clean is a good star. The good thing is that Kalisto is basically bulletproof around here so the loss isn’t going to hurt him at all.
Cedric Alexander comes in to Maverick’s office where the boss tells him that he’s lost a few times recently. That means Alexander needs some time off, which is why he didn’t get to face Lorcan here. Cedric isn’t happy but agrees to have the match later.
Tony Nese isn’t worried about the pressure of Wrestlemania because Murphy is already cracking. Murphy went to the Performance Center because he didn’t think Nese would be there…but here’s Murphy to jump Nese from behind. The fight breaks out and they go through a curtain, bringing them into the arena. Referees and agents break it up after Nese gets the best of it, including the running knee to the head. That lets us have some high quality sign pointing, which hasn’t been around very often this year.
Mike Kanellis vs. Akira Tozawa
Maria Kanellis and Brian Kendrick are the seconds. Technical sequence to start with Tozawa taking him down by the leg to send Kanellis bailing to the rope. The Black Widow sends Kanellis straight to the ropes again and it’s time for Tozawa stomping away in the corner. A discus clothesline finally gives Mike a breather and he stomps away as well. The chinlock goes on and Kanellis gets two off three straight vertical suplexes.
Another chinlock doesn’t last long so Kanellis grabs a powerbomb for two. Maria demands aggressiveness and apparently that means a double arm crank. Since it’s a pretty simple hold, Tozawa is up with a hurricanrana into the corner. A fireman’s carry faceplant into a basement dropkick to the face gives for two on Mike. Kanellis is right back with a spinebuster for two of his own but the Black Widow cuts him off all over again.
They fall outside and Kanellis neckbreakers him off the apron for a near knockout. Kendrick tries to check on his buddy and gets knocked down, allowing Tozawa to snap off a super hurricanrana for two back inside. They trade kicks to the face and it’s a double knockdown to make Maria nervous. Tozawa tries a sunset flip but Maria grabs the hands for two before getting caught. The break is enough for Tozawa to finish the flip for the pin at 15:50.
Rating: C+. I’d assume a third match between the two for the trilogy match, which doesn’t sound like the worst idea. Mike and Maria have gotten a little better in recent weeks but they still have a lot of ground to make up after being unused for so long. Tozawa losing in the end will be fine, assuming that’s what actually happens.
Another video on Nese vs. Murphy wraps us up. And yes, it’s officially on the Kickoff Show.
Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show well enough, even if Nese is as uninteresting of a challenger for a title match as you can have. They’re setting some things up for after Wrestlemania in a smart move, but there’s only so much you can do with fifty minutes and a single match of note to build towards. The show still needs some fresh blood, but at least Lorcan is there to help solve a bit of the problem.
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