205 Live – November 1, 2019: Maybe They Can’t Help It
IMG Credit: WWE
205 Live
Date: November 1, 2019
Location: Keybank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Aiden English
It’s time for the show that continues to exist for no adequately explained reason outside of the need for content. Lio Rush and the Cruiserweight Title were back last week to prop things up a bit but that wasn’t enough to hide the fact that the lack of star power/interest from the fans are killing this show. Maybe this week can be better. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a recap of Rush returning last week and Tony Nese setting himself up as the next challenger.
Opening sequence.
Isaiah Scott vs. Ariya Daivari
For those of you who didn’t get enough of it last week. Daivari jumps him before the bell and a short beatdown ensues on the floor. Back in and Daivari sends Scott hard into the corner as the referee is as ineffective as you would guess. More referees come out (three times nothing is still nothing) to check on Scott, who wants to start the match. The bell rings and Daivari charges into a jumping knee to the face but Daivari sends him back first into the apron.
They get back in with Scott eating an elbow but stomping away in the corner anyway. Daivari gets in a cheap shot though and we’re already in the chinlock, because Daivari needs one less than three minutes in. Daivari says he can do this all day and I don’t doubt him for a second. Scott fights up with a suplex and stomp to the back as the fans are already gone. An Iconoclasm is broken up and it’s a snap German suplex into the jumping Downward Spiral for two on Daivari.
Rating: C+. The action was better but my goodness Daivari is boring. The guy could give out free ice cream and money and he still wouldn’t be interesting. He’s every generic wealthy foreign heel that you can find and that is hardly enough to keep my attention these days. Scott continues to look like a star in the making but can we PLEASE get him a better opponent?
We look at the Singh Brothers trading the 24/7 Title with R-Truth at Crown Jewel.
Jack Gallagher vs. Ray Jazikoff
What a name. Gallagher takes him down by the arm and ties up three out of four limbs at the same time. Back up and Ray sends him into the corner, only to have Gallagher do his hand stand to get Ray to pause. The headbutt puts Ray outside and there’s a whip into the barricade. The Gentleman’s Dropkick against the barricade knocks Ray silly and the regular version finishes him off at 3:29.
Rating: C. Total squash here and Gallagher is showing a nice mix of heel and face stuff. He was extra aggressive here and yet still charming, which is a good place for him to be. That dropkick is awesome and looks like it would knock anyone silly. I’m not sure Gallagher is ever going to get above the midcard, but at least he’s got his stuff down cold.
Next week: NXT UK joins 205 Live.
Lio Rush vs. Raul Mendoza
Non-title. Rush headlocks him down to start and the cockiness is on full display. A kick to the head misses and Tom refers to Raul as Luis Mendoza in a Mighty Ducks reference. What is with commentary being so off on Friday? English was a disaster on Smackdown and now this. Are they that worried about the Saudi situation?
Rush snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and follows with a suicide dive to shot off. Back in and Rush shouts at the crowd and the silence is nearly deafening. It’s too early for the Final Hour though and Mendoza hits an enziguri to catch him on top. A suplex into a swinging neckbreaker gets two and a running dropkick is good for the same. We hit the chinlock as the fans start cheering for English.
Back up and Raul hits a hard clothesline for two more but Rush grabs a jawbreaker. That just earns him a running boot to the face to give Raul another two but Rush is smart enough to roll to the apron as Raul goes up top. They slug it out on the apron with the fans finally getting into something.
Rush knocks him to the floor though and hits the bottom rope moonsault, only to bang up the ribs even more. Back in and Rush hits some forearms, followed by a series of strikes for a near fall. Raul gets in a dropkick for two but Rush rolls into a half crab of all things. The rope is grabbed but Raul’s knee is done, allowing Rush to hit the springboard Stunner and the Final Hour for the pin at 14:36.
Rating: C+. Another technically fine match in front of a crowd that absolutely does not care. Rush is someone who can do a lot of things in the ring but his calling really seems to be as a loudmouthed guy hype man. It’s a lot more memorable than someone else with suicide dives and frog splashes. 205 Live is full of them and while Rush is impressive, it isn’t like he’s one of a kind.
Post match Rush shows Mendoza respect. The camera on the other hand shows multiple sections of the arena that are at best 25% full. I know that has been the case forever but how long is WWE going to put up with those visuals?
Overall Rating: C. I know I bring it up almost every time but my goodness those crowd shots are so sad to see. The wrestlers are trying but they’re fighting a completely lost game. What amazes me more than anything else is how much WWE just accepts that the show is worthless and they don’t care about the crowds not being there. WWE never does something like that, but maybe it’s just that there is no way around the whole thing? Either way, it looks awful, even for a perfectly watchable show.
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