205 Live – February 21, 2020: Hokey Smoke They Did It
IMG Credit: WWE
205 Live
Date: February 21, 2020
Location: Gila River Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Jon Quasto, Aiden English
I fear this show more and more every single week. The biggest problem continues to be the uninteresting talent being pushed as the focal points of the show and by that I mean the Singh Brothers, and to a lesser extent, Ariya Daivari. They aren’t the kind of people you build a show around and yet that’s the best this show can get. By that I mean it’s the best talent WWE will allow on here because they gave up on 205 Live a long time ago. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening recap.
Opening sequence.
Joaquin Wilde vs. Raul Mendoza
Feeling out process to start as they do the test of strength/bridging near falls/they know each other so well sequence. Back up and Mendoza charges into a headscissors for two before bailing to the floor for a breather. Wilde slaps him in the chest but charges into a kick to the head in the corner. A hurricanrana puts Wilde on the floor and gets taken down with a running Cannonball.
Back in and Wilde hits a sunset bomb out of the corner before shoving Mendoza off the top and outside. Wilde throws him back in and teases a springboard, causing Mendoza to try to dropkick him out of the air but Wilde hangs on in a smart move. The actual springboard crossbody gets two but Mendoza is right back with Rhea Ripley’s standing Cloverleaf. That’s pulled down into a bodyscissors with Wilde making the rope in a hurry. Wilde gets two off a rollup but Mendoza is back with a running kick to the face for the pin at 8:11.
Rating: B-. This was as good as if not better than anything on this show in about a month as it was a pair of talented people getting a few minutes to showcase themselves. It’s a match we’ve seen before but after so many weeks of the same people over and over again, these two were a breath of fresh air. They didn’t even have a great match but they had a good one and something we hadn’t seen in a good while.
We look at Jordan Devlin retaining the Cruiserweight Title on NXT.
Post loss, Lio Rush was upset but Tyler Breeze came up to mock him. I think you know where this is going.
Samir Singh vs. Tyler Breeze
Well why go with something that could be good when you can have a Singh match? Aiden is so sick of the Singhs that he threatens to walk out on the match. Samir forearms Breeze down and hits the dancing because he has to get that in. A belly to back suplex gives Breeze two and he dives onto Samir for taking a break on the floor. Sunil gets in a few shots though and Samir scores with a top rope elbow to the face. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Samir goes up, only to dive into the Supermodel kick to give Breeze the pin at 3:24.
Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but they kept it short and Samir was a bit more serious than usual. It’s nice to see that for a change as they keep going on with the same shtick far too often. Both of the brothers are fine enough in the ring but my goodness the same stuff for so many weeks and months has ruined anything positive they could offer.
Post match Sunil tries to jump Breeze and gets superkicked as well.
We look back at Tony Nese and Mike Kanellis defeating Brian Kendrick and Ariya Daivari last week, thanks to Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
In two weeks: Lio Rush and Tony Nese captain five man teams in an elimination match between newcomers and 205 Live originals. I know that’s not some revolutionary idea but it’s something DIFFERENT for a change and that’s what this show has been dying for over the last few months.
Ariya Daivari/Brian Kendrick vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan
No DQ. It’s a brawl in the aisle before the bell with Daivari throwing Lorcan off the stage (for a rather short drop). Kendrick gets whipped hip first into the steps and Lorcan is brought inside for the opening bell and a near fall as Burch and Kendrick fight in the crowd. Lorcan throws Daivari over the barricade and into Kendrick, who is taken inside for a beating.
It’s Daivari coming in with a chair, only to get sent face first into said chair. Again: Daivari is not very good at….anything really. Burch tells Lorcan to get the table and they set one up at ringside. Kendrick saves Daivari from going through the table and sends Lorcan through it instead with a Death Valley Driver from the apron. Lorcan goes over the announcers’ table and Daivari throws in a ladder. Naturally, Daivari is sent into the ladder because he’s a sitcom character at this point.
Kendrick Russian legsweeps Burch off the ladder and Daivari adds a splash off the ladder for two. Lorcan Hulks Up to slug it out with Kendrick but Daivari makes the save with the chair. A running Blockbuster sends Kendrick onto the chair and Burch duct tapes Kendrick to the turnbuckle. Daivari tales the assisted spike DDT onto (not through) the table. Another one inside finishes Daivari at 12:16.
Rating: B. Again, it’s the kind of match that works for the dual reason of they were trying hard and it was something fresh around here. These guys beat each other up rather well and the weapons were the right touch here. Burch and Lorcan are two of the better people around here and if you can get some better opponents for them more often than not, they could be the focal point around here.
Overall Rating: B-. It’s hard to believe that this was an entertaining show but that’s what we got here. Maybe it was seeing the Singhs get kicked in the face or maybe it was the two rather good matches but I had a good time with this one and as usual it isn’t too long. Now I have no reason to believe that this will be the norm, but when you expect the usual drek and get a good show, I’ll certainly take it.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Recent Comments