205 Live – December 6, 2019: It Worked Once
IMG Credit: WWE
205 Live
Date: December 6, 2019
Location: Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Commentators: Aiden English, Tom Phillips
I’m not sure what to think about this show anymore. NXT has taken away everything that mattered about this show and made it even less important than it was before, assuming that was actually possible. The only thing you can hope for are a few good matches, which are always a possibility around here. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
The opening video looks at Lio Rush vs. Angel Garza. Tonight they get to pick each other’s opponents.
Opening sequence.
The announcers recap the ending of Smackdown with Bray Wyatt possibly cutting hair without a license.
Angel Garza vs. Raul Mendoza
Mendoza gets aggressive to start and knocks Garza to the floor for an early breather. Back in and Garza gets caught in a front facelock and then a cravate for a change of pace. The announcers talk about women wanting to ride Garza and how much English misses Humberto Carrillo as Garza breaks out and yells at someone in the crowd. That’s broken up so they run the ropes, only to have both of them try an armdrag at the same time.
Garza knees him in the ribs but Mendoza snaps off a springboard armdrag. A middle rope hurricanrana sends Garza outside so Mendoza hurricanranas him there as well. Garza pulls him hard off the apron (that was nasty) though and Mendoza is in trouble in a hurry. Mendoza is so banged up that there is no focus on GARZA TAKING OFF HIS PANTS. A running kick to the chest puts Mendoza down in the corner so we get to see the removal of the pants, with English being VERY pleased.
The slingshot reverse DDT into the low superkick gets two on Mendoza and we hit the half crab (minus the stepover). That’s broken up and Garza misses a charge, going shoulder first into the post. Mendoza makes the comeback with a dropkick and it’s just sad to see the fans having no emotion to any of this. Garza catches him in the corner though and hits a running dropkick to both legs (always looks cool).
The Wing Clipper is blocked though and Mendoza grabs a rollup for two. An exchange of superkicks puts both guys down though and we get a breather. They chop it out until Mendoza snaps off a Spanish Fly for two. Garza slides out to the floor so that’s a big flip dive from Mendoza. Back in and Garza hits a superkick, setting up the Wing Clipper for the sudden ending at 12:11.
Rating: B-. Garza continues to look like a star every time he’s out there, if nothing else due to the smile alone. The fact that he can back it up so well in the ring makes it even better as there is very little he can’t do. Mendoza on the other hand is someone who can have a good match with anyone and is an excellent hand, which is going to keep him around for a long time to come.
We look back at Jack Gallagher snapping last week.
Gallagher has since sent out a tweet saying “I’m done.”
Singh Brothers vs. Trent Newman
Actually hang on as here’s Tony Nese to interrupt. He’s taking this match instead and doesn’t seem interested in the Singhs’ opinion.
Tony Nese vs. Trent Newman
Nese takes him into the corner for some early chopping before nipping up to avoid a chop from Trent. A kick to the ribs lets Nese pose before snapping Trent’s throat across the top rope. The middle rope moonsault gets two back inside as the Singhs are still at ringside. Trent gets in an enziguri but gets caught on top and suplexed into the corner. The running Nese is good for the pin at 3:41.
Rating: D+. I’m almost scared to imagine what this is going to mean for Nese as working with the Singh Brothers does not offer the brightest potential. Then again, it’s not like Nese has anything else going on at the moment. The match was just a squash, but it feels like the start of something for Nese and I guess that’s better than nothing.
Post match Nese leaves and the Singhs hit Trent with the Bollywood Blast.
Video on Isaiah Scott.
Danny Burch vs. Lio Rush
Non-title. Burch grabs a headlock to start with Rush going to the ropes for a rare form of escape. Another headlock puts Rush down for a bit and it works so well that they do it again, though this time Burch goes with a reverse Crossface (cool). Back up and Burch punches Rush to the floor before whipping him into the barricade as this is one sided so far.
Back in and we hit the neck crank, followed by another right hand and yet another chinlock. Rush fights up and hits the clotheslines to set up the handspring elbow. Burch gets sent to the floor for the suicide dive as the silence continues. The spinning kick to the face gives Rush two but Rush headbutts him down without much effort.
The middle rope dropkick hits Rush for two more but he blocks the German suplex. That’s fine with Burch, who powerbombs him first and then gets in the German suplex. A hard clothesline gives Burch two but Rush is right back with the springboard Stunner. That means it’s time for the Final Hour, only to have Garza come out to shove Rush off the top for the DQ at 12:58.
Rating: C+. This took a long time to get going with a bunch of chinlocks and nerve holds before getting into the back and forth action that made it work. The DQ ending was the right way to go as Burch hasn’t been around very long and doesn’t need to be taking a pin. The champ doesn’t either so this is as good as they could have done.
Post match Garza gives Rush the Wing Clipper and holds up the title, with Rush crawling for it, to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. It was an entertaining show, which may have been due to the show being a bit shorter than usual. That can help a bit here as it feels like they’re keeping things a bit tighter instead of stretching things out. Throw in the actual story from top to bottom and it makes for a nice enough show. I don’t believe it means anything for the future, but it worked for one week.
Results
Angel Garza b. Raul Mendoza – Wing Clipper
Tony Nese b. Trent Newman – Running Nese
Lio Rush b. Danny Burch via DQ when Angel Garza interfered
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