205 Live
Date: August 1, 2017
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

It’s back to the title scene now with a #1 contenders match between Ariya Daivari and Akira Tozawa, the winner of which will get the Cruiserweight Title shot at Summerslam. Other than that there isn’t much of importance going on around here but I’m sure we’ll see the midcard feuds built up as well. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the build to Daivari vs. Tozawa, both of whom want the shot at Neville. Daivari has injured Tozawa’s shoulder but Tozawa is fighting through it like a true warrior. They’re not exactly hiding the fact that it’s going to be Tozawa getting the shot.

Opening sequence.

The announcers have a broken table due to Baron Corbin attacking Shinsuke Nakamura and getting Attitude Adjusted through the table.

Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher

Before the match, Kendrick says he’s tired of talking about Gallagher, who belongs in the circus instead of in this match. Gallagher punches him in the face at the bell and fires off some knees in the corner before ramming him head first into the buckle. We can’t even get a clean break out of the corner so you can tell Gallagher is serious tonight. Kendrick tries to crawl away so Gallagher stomps under the ropes for the DQ at 1:21.

Gallagher keeps up the beating until Kendrick bails into the crowd. This was a very different side of Gallagher and it was working pretty well for me.

Mustafa Ali and Rich Swann are playing WWE2K18 in the back when TJP interrupts. Ali leaves so more trash is talked, setting up a match next week in the name of friendly competition. For now though, they game. These young punk kids playing video games in the back all night.

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

Nese gets in a lot of trash talk about his physique on the way to the ring. He’s not done yet either as he brags about said physique, which no one in Cleveland could accomplish. It also caused his team to win the main event last week instead of Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann. As for Metalik, he must be covered from head to toe because his physique just can’t measure up. Metalik has a pre-taped promo of his own, thankfully compete with subtitles.

Nese wastes no time in hitting the posing so Metalik handsprings off the ropes and grabs an armdrag. Now it’s Metalik posing and hitting a dropkick to put Nese outside. Nese slides back in and tries a baseball slide but Metalik jumps up and hits a top rope Asai moonsault onto Nese the second he hits the floor. That’s some insane timing. Back in and Nese gets two off a faceplant and it’s off to a bodyscissors. Metalik breaks up a superplex and gets his own two off a high crossbody. The rope walk elbow is good for the same but Nese kicks his legs out. Tony’s running knee in the corner is good for the pin at 6:29.

Rating: C+. I’ve liked Metalik since the Cruiserweight Classic and he still looked good here. I’m still not sure why he’s stuck on Main Event far more often than not. Nese is a fine choice for a midcard heel with the whole physique thing being a really easy idea that is always going to work.

Neville doesn’t care who he faces because they’ll have to bend the knee and kneel before the King of the Cruiserweights.

Ariya Daivari vs. Akira Tozawa

The winner gets Neville at Summerslam. Daivari dedicates the match to the Iranian gold medalist to keep up his tradition. Tozawa drives him into the corner for a loud chop to the chest and it’s time for some AH AH AH. More chops set up the running backsplash but it’s way too early for the top rope backsplash.

Instead Daivari cuts off a suicide dive with a crossbody and sends him outside for a good posting. Tozawa gets thrown up the ramp but he dives back in at nine. The slow beating continues back inside and it’s finally off to the logical armbar. Daivari switches up to a Cobra Clutch Crossface before Daivari slams him shoulder first into the mat.

The frog splash misses though and Tozawa makes the fired up comeback, including a Shining Wizard for two. Daivari trips him off the top though, sending the bad shoulder into the ropes. The frog splash is good for two, only to have Tozawa kick him in the face. There’s a suicide dive, followed by the top rope backsplash to send Tozawa to Summerslam at 11:18.

Rating: C+. Pretty obvious ending aside, these two had a solid match. Daivari is trying as hard as he can and is FAR better than what he used to be, though there are far better and more interesting heels on the roster. At least it could have been worse though, which is actually a lot more positive thing than I would usually say about him.

Neville is watching in the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show this week as 205 Live is really starting to find its groove. Now the problem is very simple: they need to find an audience. We’ve been over the problems with this show time and time again so I’ll spare you the details, but as long as they have one major story and a bunch of skippable minor stories, this show isn’t going anywhere positive anytime soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: July 18, 2017
Location: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

We have another showdown tonight as Mustafa Ali and Drew Gulak blow off their feud in a 2/3 falls match. This is all about high flying vs. mat wrestling and seems like the big ending. We also have Akira Tozawa vs. Neville II on the horizon but first, Tozawa has to get some revenge on Ariya Daivari. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at all the great high flying around here before shifting to Gulak’s No Fly Zone. We move on to a recap of Gulak vs. Ali, including their trading the first four matches, one of which included Gulak trying a top rope splash when he was pushed too far. This video makes the feud seem far more important and interesting than it probably is, which is exactly the point.

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali

2/3 falls and I guess this is how they keep the arena from emptying out to open the show. Gulak wristlocks him to start but gets caught in a hammerlock. Ali grabs a pair of rollups for two before he grabs both arms and spins Gulak around into a third rollup for the first fall at 1:53.

Gulak gets more aggressive to start the second fall but eats a dropkick for two. A monkey flip is broken up though and Gulak dumps him to the floor for a big crash. Back in and Gulak grabs a chinlock while yelling a lot. Ali gets all fired up and doesn’t mind the knees to his face. It’s time for the comeback with a series of clotheslines and a kick to the head, followed by the rolling neckbreaker. They head outside with Ali hitting a hurricanrana but landing on the back of his head for a bad sounding thud. Back in and Gulak sends him head first into the middle buckle, setting up the Dragon Sleeper for the tap at 7:55.

Ali says he can continue so Gulak kicks him in the head. We hit the chinlock again before Ali fights up for a hurricanrana out of the corner. That doesn’t work as well either though as Gulak plants him with a powerbomb to counter and knock Ali silly again. A reverse hurricanrana puts Gulak down and a big flip dive to the floor draws a one man HOLY S*** chant.

Back in and they do the high crossbody spot that ended one of their earlier matches with Gulak rolling through for two. Another enziguri sets up Ali’s tornado DDT for two more, only to have Drew take his head off with a clothesline. Gulak takes WAY too long going up though and actually decides to come back down, only to get caught in another hurricanrana. The inverted 450 puts Drew away at 16:52.

Rating: B. That might be the longest 205 Live match to date and that’s a good thing. This is the kind of match that needed more time to make things work. Ali winning is probably the right call, though again I would have liked to see Gulak keep going with this idea and gain a few followers. If Ali doesn’t go anywhere from this, I don’t see the point in having him win here but that’s one of the least of this show’s problems.

We look at Titus O’Neil throwing in the towel for Akira Tozawa. Post match, Tozawa got Titus to get him a rematch with Daivari.

Earlier today, Tozawa told Apollo Crews that he was fine but Crews reminded him that Titus stood up for him because he cares about the two of them.

Brian Kendrick vs. Devin Bennett

Before the match, Kendrick asks Bennett, who is from Manchester, England ala Jack Gallagher, if the people of Manchester are proud of Gallagher. This is America and it doesn’t work the same as things do over in England. Here you have to work hard and not be a clown like Gallagher so Devin can walk away now if he wants to. Devin is ready to go so Kendrick beats him down while asking if Bennett is a clown. Bennett’s head is kicked into the ropes and Kendrick chops away in the corner. Kendrick offers him a free shot and is incensed when Bennett takes it. A boot to the face sets up the Captain’s Hook for the tap at 1:35.

Video on last week’s I Quit match between Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar with Cedric stomping on the arm with a chair wrapped around it to make Dar quit. After the match, Dar dumped Alicia Fox in what sounded like a major heel turn but was received like a face turn.

TJP doesn’t think much of what he did last week and thinks it’s only Rich Swann who has a problem with it. They still have issues from when TJP eliminated Swann from the Cruiserweight Classic so next week they can have a tag match with both of them picking a partner.

Akira Tozawa vs. Ariya Daivari

Daivari again dedicates the match to the Iranian gold medalist. He defeated a Japanese wrestler to win his medal and history repeated itself last night. Tozawa comes in with a very bad shoulder and starts fast with the fake out right hand to the face. Daivari makes things harder on himself by missing a charge into the corner, only to bail to the apron before Tozawa can try the top rope backsplash.

The bad shoulder is sent into the post and Tozawa is in big trouble. Tozawa tries a sunset flip but gets stomped in the shoulder, leaving Daivari to pose. Daivari takes a bit too long though and gets sent outside for the suicide headbutt (which probably should have hurt the shoulder too). Back in and Daivari is right back on the shoulder but a Shining Wizard gives Tozawa two. A Codebreaker on the arm sets up a top rope splash for another near fall on Tozawa, who grabs a quick rollup (and maybe the trunks) for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C+. Good match here but again it’s hard to get into Daivari as he’s one of the most generic heels I’ve seen in a long time. He’s just kind of there with the “Iran is awesome” stuff and that’s not enough to work too well when he’s not the most interesting wrestler in the world. Tozawa would seem to be heading towards a rematch with Neville but they’re taking their time advancing things.

Post match Daivari posts Tozawa’s shoulder and stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show had some better wrestling but the problem continues to be a lack of reasons to care about most of these people. They all feel very low level compared to everyone else on the roster and that makes for some difficult shows to sit through. There were two good matches on here and the show still felt especially long. I know there are a lot of reasons to dislike 205 Live but above all else, they need to give me a reason to care about or connect to the roster.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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Main Event
Date: June 29, 2017
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

We’re in the big city this week as Main Event seems to be changing things up a bit, which is one of the best things that could happen. Just getting some fresh blood around here is a nice change of pace and it’s always great to get away from some of the same repetitive names that frequent this show. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Brian Kendrick vs. Cedric Alexander

Kendrick kicks him in the face at the bell and it’s a very early Captain’s Hook, sending Cedric bailing over to the ropes. A butterfly suplex gives Brian a one count but Cedric fights up and catches Kendrick with a spinning elbow to the head. The springboard clothesline gives Cedric two more and frustration is starting to set in. Kendrick kicks him in the face again but he can’t get Sliced Bread #2 just yet. Instead it’s a standing Spanish Fly into the Lumbar Check to give Cedric the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C-. They got a lot of stuff into this one and that makes the match more entertaining than it would be at normal speed. Kendrick has proven that he’s one of the best in the division at putting people over and Cedric seems right at the brink of moving away from pack and getting up to the top of the cruiserweights. It would be better than dealing with Dar at least.

From Raw.

Here’s Roman Reigns to open things up and the WE WANT STROWMAN chants are already out in full force. Reigns: “If you let me get this out you might like this.” He admits that he got choked out last week and Braun Strowman returned to pick the bones. The ambulance match is on and Reigns is ready to drive Strowman out of the building.

Cue an ambulance backing into the arena (I was hoping for a Scott Steiner cameo) so Reigns goes to investigate, only to find…..no one in the back. Instead Strowman jumps him from behind and throws Roman onto the stage. Braun isn’t done with him though and throws Roman back off the stage and against the ambulance. Reigns gets tossed into the ambulance with the doors closed without much effort.

We see the final portion of the gauntlet match with Sasha Banks finally slaying the monster Nia Jax. Alexa Bliss comes out for a staredown with Banks.

Revival vs. Anderson and Gallows

Dash and Anderson start things off but Dawson tags himself in less than ten seconds later. Karl gets in a clothesline and drags Dawson over to Gallows but the Revival does their standard distraction to take over. Anderson and Gallows easily knock them to the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Dawson failing to fight out of trouble but a rake to the eye works a bit better. We hit an abdominal stretch and of course Wilder is there not only to grab the arm but also to switch places without a tag. That’s SO Arn and Tully. Anderson kicks Dash in the face and makes the hot (?) tag off to Gallows for the house cleaning. The Magic Killer is broken up and another blind tag sets up the Shatter Machine to put Anderson away at 10:07.

Rating: C. I could watch Revival for days (all day, all night you might say) and seeing Anderson and Gallows as faces oddly worked here. It feels like the fans want to cheer them and it’s not like they’re doing anything as heels. Why not try them out, especially if you have the Revival right there as heels?

We’ll wrap it up with one more Raw clip.

Here’s Paul Heyman to talk about Samoa Joe not fearing Brock Lesnar. Heyman could have taken a cheap shot at Joe in the back and been saved by everyone breaking it up but he’d rather have Lesnar do it himself. This brings out Lesnar but Joe grabs him from behind on the stage and puts on the Koquina Clutch. Lesnar turns purple but drives Joe into the video wall, only to get choked down again. The locker room comes out to break it up but Brock looks really shaken.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the best Main Events I can remember in a good while. Both matches were fine and the stuff from Raw was especially good this week (throw in Enzo and Cass and it’s even better). Somehow Great Balls of Fire is looking good and this show showcased that quite a bit.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: June 27, 2017
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

We’re in an interesting place here as we have the upcoming Cruiserweight Title match with Neville defending his title against Akira Tozawa at Great Balls of Fire, but a lot of the build isn’t even taking place on the cruiserweight show. The title being spread across two different shows makes things a bit odd but more importantly, it means you don’t really have to watch this show when you can get most of the story on Raw. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at the setup for the title match, including Tozawa signing with Titus Worldwide in exchange for the title shot.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show as the ladders are cleared out.

Jack Gallagher should have expected Tony Nese to fake an injury like a true rogue would have. He won’t make the same mistake against a villain like Brian Kendrick.

Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher

With the announcers making Anchorman references, here’s Kendrick dressed up like Gallagher for some reason. Kendrick calls Gallagher a laughingstock, just like the huge embarrassment that England doesn’t realize it is. He sees Gallagher as a pint sized William Regal imitation and Jack really doesn’t seem pleased. Kendrick, wrestling in the suit, grabs a headlock to start and twists his fake mustache at Gallagher.

Jack comes back with his corner headstand but Kendrick is smart enough to just stand in the middle of the ring and tell Jack to “come on stupid”. He’s got his insults cranked up to eleven tonight. Kendrick sends him hard into the corner to bang up Gallagher’s ribs as this has been one sided so far. Jack gets in a dropkick but Kendrick hits him with the umbrella for the DQ at 3:04.

Rating: D+. This was angle advancement (or at least the start of one) instead of much of a match. I can always go for a heel smart enough to not fall for the usual tricks of someone like Gallagher. If you’ve seen any match from Gallagher, there’s no reason to go after him when he’s in the corner and thankfully Kendrick was smart enough to get there. This should be entertaining going forward.

Kendrick breaks the umbrella over Gallagher.

Drew Gulak thinks his loss last week shows off the reason for his No Fly Zone. The fans are smart enough to know he’s not going to lose to some high flying move because Mustafa Ali beat him with a wrestling move when the high flying failed. Ali comes up and accuses Gulak of not being able to fly. Well I’d hope so. I mean, humans normally can’t do that. Gulak seems offended but hopefully he doesn’t go out and get wings attached to his back in some complicated surgical procedure.

Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak

They hit the mat to start with Ali getting a bit of an advantage until Gulak pops him in the jaw. Gulak gets in a kick to the chest and stomps on Ali’s chest to keep him in trouble. We hit the neck crank (because of course we do) and then the chinlock to show off Drew’s versatility. Back up and Ali’s comeback is quickly cut off with a suplex into the corner, earning Drew a verbal lashing from the referee.

Ali grabs a tornado DDT for a breather and takes Gulak to the top. With the referee telling them they have a minute left, Gulak shoves him off the top and starts looking nervous. Gulak’s knees start shaking and he goes up, while doing the Jimmy Snuka I Love You sign. The splash misses and Ali rolls him up for the pin at 6:54.

Rating: C. I’m getting into this feud more every week as they’re starting to add in a few twists instead of just doing the same basic stuff over and over. While I’d love to see Gulak gain some followers and go somewhere with the idea, Gulak going crazy and not knowing what to do next has possibilities as well. Setting this up in the promo before the match was perfectly done and played off in the match. It’s basic storytelling, which you don’t get enough of in WWE.

Noam Dar apologizes to Ariya Daivari for losing his bag and tells Ariya to take it out on Cedric Alexander tonight. Daivari doesn’t want the money back because $15,000 is nothing to him. That’s cool with Dar, who is broke thanks to Alicia Fox and her Facetiming. Speaking of which, Fox calls him again but Daivari hangs up on her. Dar still owes him so Daivari breaks his phone.

Ariya Daivari vs. Cedric Alexander

Feeling out process to start until Alexander is sent to the apron for the springboard clothesline. Daivari avoids a charge and kind of hiptosses him into the corner to take over though, setting up a dropkick from the apron. We hit the chinlock for a good while until Cedric fights up with a kick to the head. Cue Dar for a distraction though, allowing Daivari to hit the hammerlock lariat for the pin at 4:57.

Rating: C-. Again, this was much more about the angle than anything else. The problem is that with the Gallagher vs. Kendrick match, the angle actually felt fresh. This on the other hand, feels like something we’ve seen forever THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS. There’s no reason for Dar and Alexander to keep fighting as we’ve seen them go at it time after time and now they’re still going just because. That’s bad writing, which is a horrible plague on WWE.

Post match Dar beats on Alexander and tells Fox (at home) that the Cedric Alexander chapter is over. Dar: “Yo Alicia! WE DID IT!”

Here’s Neville to wrap up the show. He’s been hearing about a new challenger and unfortunately, that someone has been misguided and mislead. Of course he means Tozawa, giving us the AH AH AH from the crowd. Neville doesn’t care about the white noise that is Titus O’Neil but Tozawa is about to find out that he’s not on the Neville Level. Tozawa comes out and says AH a lot, which only seems to annoy Neville. The fight is on and Neville is kicked to the floor to end the show. Good segment here as Tozawa needs to be portrayed as closer to equal with Neville, or at least getting inside his head.

Overall Rating: C+. This was about setting things up for the future and it did very well in that regard. The big story here was setting up the Cruiserweight Title match and given how awesome that has the potential to be, hopefully they don’t manage to screw anything up. The rest of the show helped to build things up but the quality may vary depending on your individual taste.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: May 23, 2017
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re getting closer to Extreme Rules and that means we’re setting up another Austin Aries vs. Neville match. That would be the third match on pay per view between the two, which suggests to me that they really need to build up some fresh stars. Maybe that can be Cedric Alexander, who returns tonight. On top of that we also have a street fight between Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa to finally blow off their feud. Let’s get to it.

Brian Kendrick talks about how great Tozawa is and now he’s come here. Kendrick took it upon himself to take Tozawa under his wing but Tozawa disrespected him. That meant it was time to learn a lesson, and another lesson, and another lesson. Then Tozawa thought he could teach Kendrick something because he hasn’t learned anything yet. Now things between them need to end and Brian can think of no better way than in a street fight. Good talk from Kendrick here as he kept it simple and laid everything out there while conveying emotion at the same time.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the street fight.

Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari

I wrote Daivari’s name down as soon as Swann’s music hit because…..well who else would you have as a heel jobber on this show? I mean, they’re also fighting over Swann causing Daivari to ruin his $1,500 shirt last week but I only remember that thanks to the nifty video package. After some yelling from Daivari, Swann sends him outside for a baseball slide.

They both head outside this time with Swann being sent into the LED ring skirt. Back in and we hit an armbar, followed by a Codebreaker to the same arm. It’s off to a cobra clutch for a good while until Swann fights up with the good arm. The big spinning kick to the head gives Swann two, followed by the Phoenix Splash for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here as it was just a step above a squash. Swann is in a weird place as he’s one of the better stars on the roster and could pretty easily hang with Aries and Neville but for some reason he hasn’t been near the title, at least not for the long term, in months. Then again it wouldn’t be hard to throw him in there pretty easily, which is always a good thing.

Post match Noam Dar comes out to shove Swann off the top for a big crash to the floor.

We look back at the history between Aries and Neville.

Neville and Aries (eating a banana of course) join us via satellite for an interview. Graves asks is Neville sees this as the biggest challenge of his career and Neville is instantly annoyed at such a suggestion. Aries doesn’t like Neville saying that he’s beaten him twice and brings up the cheating. Neville calls that slander but Aries says it’s just truth. Not that it mattes as Aries has a bunch of submissions ready, capped off by the Last Chancery to take the title that belongs to him. Neville says bring it. Really good segment here and it’s nice to have something that doesn’t break down into a physical brawl.

Cedric Alexander vs. Johnny Boone

Not to be confused with the former WCW referee. A big elbow to the face sends Boone outside and he looks a bit shaken. Boone comes back in and eats the springboard clothesline, followed by the Lumbar Check for the pin at 1:33. That’s how you bring a star back.

We look back at Drew Gulak and Tony Nese attacking Mustafa Ali last week.

Gulak gives us something like a campaign commercial, talking about how horrible it is when cruiserweights ruin the division’s good name for the sake of drawing applause. Join him in his campaign for a better 205 Live.

Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa

Street fight and Kendrick starts with his jacket still on. Brian tries for an early weapon but gets taken down by a suicide dive instead. A hiptoss onto the announcers’ table is good for two back inside and Kendrick is in a lot of trouble early on. The right hand sends Kendrick to the apron but he low bridges Tozawa to the floor for a big crash.

A table is pulled out but they slug it out instead of setting it up. Tozawa’s dive is broken up with a thrown jacket and Kendrick suplexes him on the floor for good measure. It’s time to get creative as Kendrick wraps duct tape around Tozawa’s mouth before putting on the Captain’s Hook. Thankfully Tozawa only uses the ropes to climb to his feet and the hold isn’t broken.

Sliced Bread is broken up as Brian is sent outside, leading to a fight on the stage. Kendrick gets the better of it and tapes Tozawa to the post for a whipping with the belt. Now it’s table time, prompting Phillips to say Kendrick made a name for himself in the Attitude Era. Given that he debuted in 1999 and didn’t really get anywhere aside from various indies until 2002, I don’t think that’s quite right.

Anyway Tozawa frees himself somehow and whips Kendrick IN THE FACE with the belt. That doesn’t do him much good though as he jumps into the Captain’s Hook. The escape sends them both outside again with Tozawa firing off kicks and snapping off a Saito suplex for a painful sounding thud. Kendrick goes face first into the steps so Tozawa can put him on the table for a HUGE top rope senton backsplash. Brian is completely done so Tozawa throws him inside for the pin at 14:32.

Rating: B+. So often in these matches, it feels like they’re just wrestlers doing spots that you would see in a fight. This time, it felt like we were watching a fight between two people who used wrestling moves, which is a major upgrade. I had a lot of fun with this and Tozawa hitting the huge spot at the end to finish the match and feud looked definitive instead of something to set up another match down the line. This should set up Tozawa to fight for the title and I have no idea why that wouldn’t be the case.

Kendrick is helped out as Tozawa celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event is easily enough to carry the show and having Tozawa finish the feud against Kendrick makes things even better. Things are looking up around here but Aries vs. Neville needs to wrap up so we can move to a fresh direction in the title scene. I like the show almost every week but they need to do something to draw in some viewers and make fans care, because this show apparently is a bomb in the Network viewership. Granted that’s not surprising but that doesn’t make things any better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: May 16, 2017
Location: SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

So we’re coming up on Backlash and, again, the Cruiserweight Title match will see Neville defending against Austin Aries. This really needs to be the final match between the two as it’s becoming a bit tiresome. Aries doesn’t need to win the title but the feud needs to end one way or another. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at TJP/Neville defeating Jack Gallagher/Austin Aries last night on Raw, only to have Neville turn down another request for a title shot.

Aries interviews himself about facing TJP tonight (again) and calls him Neville’s lap dog. The knee is banged up but he’s still ready to go.

Opening sequence.

The announcers chat a bit.

Noam Dar vs. Gran Metalik

Sweet. I’ve liked Metalik since he debuted and it would be nice to have him featured around here some more. Dar almost immediately bails to the corner to start so Fox gives him a kiss on the cheek. Metalik armdrags him down but seems to hurt his own elbow in the process. It doesn’t seem bad though as he dropkicks Dar to the floor again.

An Alicia distraction lets Dar take over for a few seconds but Metalik runs the ropes (his trademark) to send Dar outside for a third time. A top rope Asai moonsault drops Noam again and both guys are down. Dar goes after the knee to take over before switching to the arm. At least it makes sense as Metalik was favoring the arm earlier.

Metalik reverses a suplex though and Graves thinks exhaustion is setting in. If you’re exhausted six minutes into a match, you have no business being around here. The Metalik Driver is broken up and Dar snaps the bad arm across the ropes. Metalik gets in a kick to the head and a top rope elbow for two but the rope walk is broken up with a kick to the leg. Dar’s running kick finishes Metalik at 8:57.

Rating: C+. The arm was fine for a story here and Metalik losing to Dar in his first match on 205 Live in months. Dar is starting to pick up some steam again which is a good thing, especially with Cedric Alexander returning in the near future. Fox and Dar are a strong pairing together and I really don’t get why they were split up in the first place.

We look back at Akira Tozawa defeating Brian Kendrick last week, only to have Kendrick lay him out post match. Next week, it’s a street fight.

Kendrick loves the idea because he can be creative with how he hurts Tozawa.

Cedric Alexander is back next week.

Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali

And never mind as here’s Drew Gulak to destroy Ali.

Gulak promises to make an example out of Ali and Nese adds a running knee in the corner.

Rich Swann wants to be as far away from Dar and Fox as he can get. A deliveryman comes up with a package for Richard T. Swann but Swann says that’s not him. Instead he says it belongs to that guy over there, which is Ariya Daivari. Ariya says it’s his $2,500 sunglasses but, without opening the box, knows it’s not the sunglasses. He leaves so Jack Gallagher comes up to open the box, only to have Daivari say that’s his. Gallagher leaves and the box contains powder. So not only do deliverymen randomly talk to Swann about their deliveries, but Daivari has deliveries sent to whatever arena they’re in that week.

The announcers think this is WAY funnier than it was.

TJP vs. Austin Aries

Why did they drop the Perkins? It’s still on TJP’s shirt and it’s not like people are going to forget the full version. Aries scares him out to the floor to start and takes a quick rest on the top rope. Back in and Aries takes over in the corner before hitting the slingshot hilo. The knee seems to be bothering Aries but he’s still able to grab an early Last Chancery attempt.

TJP is out almost immediately but gets sent outside to keep up the beating. Aries heads up top but gets dropkicked, tying his knee up in the ropes. The slow attack on the knee begins with TJP kicking away and putting on something like a half crab over the top rope for a nice move. TJP rakes his boot over the face because that’s what heels do. It’s off to a leg crank until Aries fights up with a gutbuster and STO.

The Pendulum Elbow sets up a jumping elbow to the seated back for two but a shot to the knee brings Aries right back down. The Wrecking Ball dropkick rocks Aries again but the Detonation Kick is broken up. TJP is sent outside (we get it already) for a suicide dive with the leg nearly giving out. Back in and a chop block sets up the kneebar on Aries, only to have TJP grab the ropes instead of settling for the tap out. Aries slips out of a fireman’s carry and slaps on the Last Chancery for the win at 12:25.

Rating: B. How many times have these two fought now? The knee stuff is more about setting things up for Sunday and that works fine, though is there anyone we could swap in for TJP? Couldn’t Nese or Gulak do this in a one off match? TJP is improving as a heel but he needs something fresh.

Post match Neville comes out to stay on the knee but Gallagher makes the save with the umbrella to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They really need some fresh blood near the top of this show as both main feuds feel like they’ve been going on forever. I could easily see Aries vs. Gallagher starting up soon but please get us away from Aries vs. TJP and Kendrick vs. Tozawa. The latter seems to be wrapping up next week though and Alexander returning should give us a little more energy. Good show, but it’s getting a bit repetitive.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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205 Live
Date: May 9, 2017
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

The show goes international this week on the final part of the UK tour (at least on TV that is). The top stories continue to be Austin Aries vs. Neville for the Cruiserweight Title and Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa, which just keeps going somehow despite being fairly far past its expiration date. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at Neville recruiting TJP to help him against Aries and getting annoyed at TJP wanting a title shot as a result. Jack Gallagher was brought in as well but Aries had his back. They’re taking their sweet time setting up a tag match out of this whole thing.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Gallagher for an opening chat. The fans call him Jackie Boy, which Gallagher seems to appreciate. Jack gets to the point: he was attacked by Theodore Jeeves Perkins but this man made the save. Aries comes out to the delight of the London crowd. He’s been brought out here so Jack can toast him, but there’s something more important.

As a point of honor to thank Aries for his help, Gallagher is going to do whatever he can to make sure Aries makes it to his title match at Extreme Rules. It’s time for the beer (Aries: “I’m more of a red whine kind of guy myself.”) and Jack sings a little For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow. Cue Neville with his pyro (Gallagher: “BLOODY H***!”) to interrupt though because he’s sick of these two.

Neville thinks Gallagher is a parody of British people but Aries calls him out for getting disqualified at Payback. The champ holds up the title for a real toast to Aries as TJP runs in from behind. The brawl is on with Gallagher taking a beating until Aries dives over the announcers’ table to take Neville out. TJP takes some beer to the face and the Fivearm puts Neville on the floor. More beer is consumed. This was quite the brawl and makes me want to see these four have a tag match so well done indeed.

Rich Swann runs into Noam Dar and Alicia Fox. Swann thinks Dar is thinking with the wrong part of his body but Fox says she’d never leave a real man (again). Dar promises that Rich will get what he deserves.

Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali

We hit the mat after Nese’s early posing doesn’t get him very far. That just earns Tony a cartwheel into a moonsault for a standoff, followed by something like an Octopus hold. Ali his a very big flip dive to the floor as we see Drew Gulak looking distraught in the back. Thankfully we’re back in the ring pretty quickly so I don’t have to listen to the fans shouting TEN every time the referee counts.

They’re already back on the floor though with Nese dropping him face first onto the barricade and table for a nice power display. The key to Nese is that he might not be far stronger than the rest of the division but he’s strong enough that it’s noticeable, which is all it needs to be. A suplex onto the top rope gives Tony two and we hit the torture rack. Nese hits the high flying for a bit with a middle rope moonsault but Ali comes back with a middle rope hurricanrana for a breather.

The rolling neckbreaker sets up another hurricanrana on the floor and Nese is in trouble. That only lasts until he gets back inside though as Tony wins a slugout and drops a knee for two. Ali flips out of a pumphandle slam though and it’s a tornado DDT into the inverted 450 for the pin on Nese at 10:44.

Rating: B. The time seemed to play a major role here as these guys beat each other up for a good while until Ali got the better of it. They’ve got something with people like Gulak and Nese having specific styles to go against the more standard cruiserweight style. It also makes sense to have Ali, the cruiserweight, win on the cruiserweight show. Good match here and one of the better ones the show has had in awhile.

Ariya Daivari yells at the guy who shined his shoes for a sub par job. He also runs into Akira Tozawa and yells at him for messing up a $1500 shirt. Feud coming I’d assume.

Cedric Alexander will be back soon.

Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa

There’s no handshake here (not exactly shocking) and Kendrick kicks him in the face at the bell in retaliation for last week’s attack. Tozawa shrugs it off though and kicks Brian in the chest with a few shouts thrown in for good measure. They head outside though with Kendrick getting in a Sliced Bread to really take over. Tozawa dives back in at nine for a good false finish but he gets caught in a modified armbar.

A camel clutch keeps Tozawa in trouble and a cobra clutch makes it even worse. He certainly has the clutches covered. Tozawa fights up and hits a running boot to the face, followed by a Shining Wizard for two. Kendrick drops him with a dragon suplex but the Captain’s Hook doesn’t last very long. Things speed up until Tozawa gets in a Saito suplex, only to miss a top rope backsplash. Another Sliced Bread is broken up though and Tozawa grabs a rollup for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. I liked this one too as they were again allowed time and put together a good match as a result. Tozawa getting the win is the right call as the feud has gone from Kendrick getting in every cheap shot he could until Tozawa started to turn the tide and then never looked back. Solid match here as the story continues.

Kendrick snaps post match and sends Tozawa into the steps. He gets crushed in between the steps and Kendrick says this is the last lesson: no one messes with him. Tozawa is out (with his eyes open) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t know when it happened but at some point this turned into one of the more enjoyable shows of the week. They’ve found a rhythm of going from story to story and making each of them work. The wrestling is good as well and they’ve even set up a match for next week. Good show here and it’s turning into something fun, which I really didn’t expect.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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205 Live
Date: April 25, 2017
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re closing in on Payback and that means the upcoming title match is starting to run out of steam. One of the problems with 205 Live is you can only get so much mileage out of a single title match and it seems that we’ve reached that point. Austin Aries vs. Neville is entertaining but they’re running out of things for them to do. Let’s get to it.

We open with the traditionally long recap of the main feud, which includes TJ Perkins and Jack Gallagher getting involved with the title participants to add some fresh blood.

Opening sequence.

The announcers chat as the ring is set up because this show MUST air right after Smackdown and couldn’t possibly be on earlier, thereby letting the fans go home a bit earlier and not resulting in a horribly empty arena.

Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa vs. Noam Dar/Brian Kendrick

Take two feuds and put them into one match. The brawl is on before the bell with the good guys sending them outside for running dives. That’s one way to wake the crowd up after spending eight minutes getting to the opening bell on a match that only lasts about fifty minutes in the first place. Swann and Kendrick start things off with Dar kicking Rich’s legs out to take over.

That means it’s time for the required arm work with Dar cranking and stomping. Kendrick grabs a chinlock before doing a cool midair takedown to stop Swann’s dive to the corner. Swann finally kicks Brian in the face and brings in Tozawa to clean house. With Kendrick being knocked to the floor, Tozawa grabs a Saito suplex on Dar, followed by the Shining Wizard for the pin at 5:24.

Rating: C. They kept the energy up here with Tozawa continuing to look like one of the better performers on the roster. The problem is they’re only on lesson #4 and that means this feud could go on for six more weeks, despite the feud already being done for the most part. Swann vs. Dar needs a little bump as there’s only so much you’re going to get out of the Alicia Fox breakup, especially when she doesn’t seem to be involved anymore.

Tozawa says lesson #4 is always choose wisely, such as picking the right partner.

Neville is ready to destroy Aries on Sunday because everyone must bow to the king.

Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali

During the entrances we go back to last week where the Caucasian Drew Gulak held up a sign saying NO FLY ZONE during a match between two wrestlers of Middle Eastern descent. Leave it to WWE to either miss that subtlety all together or just be that stupid. Speaking of which, here’s Gulak to hold up his sign and join commentary.

Feeling out process to start with Nese running him over and stopping to pose. Ali comes right back with the same thing in a nice touch as we hear about all the unnecessary high risks for the sake of pleasing the audience. You can hear the politician character in Gulak and that’s an interesting way to go. I believe he did the same thing in CZW and it’s smart to go with something that worked once before.

We hit a neck crank on Ali as Gulak analyzes the potential damage it could do. You know, like an analyst is supposed to do but hasn’t done in about ten years. Mustafa comes back with a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog and a moonsault press for two. Gulak is VERY displeased because that was so dangerous. The rolling neckbreaker sends Nese to the floor so Ali runs the apron and flips over the corner for another dive. That should set up the inverted 450 but Gulak pulls Nese to the floor for the DQ at 7:28.

Rating: C+. They’re getting somewhere with this Gulak character, which is what he’s been needing for months now. The guy isn’t interesting on his own so you give him a character and let the natural talents take over. Why is that something that WWE can’t get with the majority of their characters? I’m sure Vince likely having nothing to do with 205 Live isn’t connected whatsoever.

Ali dives on Gulak to get some revenge.

Jack Gallagher vs. Neville

Non-title. Gallagher works a headlock as we hear about Neville not losing a singles match since October. That’s a great example of someone who benefits from not dealing with the 50/50 booking, though it might have something to do with being on a show that only lasts an hour a week. Gallagher kicks the champ in the face to knock him outside but Neville grabs William III and throws it up the ramp. That earns him a rare dive from Jack but the champ comes back in with a missile dropkick.

We hit a headlock on the mat before Neville just stands on Jack’s head. That’s quite the simple way to be a heel, which is often the best possible option. Gallagher gets in a headbutt and a dropkick but Neville nips up. He shouts at Gallagher, earning himself one heck of a headbutt for two. Jack can’t get in a belly to back superplex though as Neville palm strikes him in the face. Some kicks to the back of the head send Jack into the buckle, followed by the Rings of Saturn for the tap at 10:49.

Rating: B. They’re letting Gallagher get closer to finally beating Neville but I can’t picture that happening until after the title change. Gallagher is still great between the bells but there’s only so much that he can do when you haven’t won a singles match outside of Main Event since February.

Neville puts Gallagher in another Rings of Saturn on the ramp, drawing out Aries for the save (including a discus Fivearm that COMPLETELY missed) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was one of the better shows they’ve done in a good while with three solid matches and story advancement throughout. I’m not sure what they can do with the upcoming stories as this is the only place to blow them off, though there’s no way they can do a special with the limited amount of stories and talent they have. Good show though and that’s something they haven’t had enough of recently.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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205 Live
Date: April 18, 2017
Location: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

For once, we’re actually addressing one of the major problems around here as TJ Perkins has become a third major name in the division. Perkins has also turned heel, which gives Austin Aries something to do as he gets ready for his Cruiserweight Title shot against Neville. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show.

We open with a recap of Neville getting inside TJ Perkins’ head and turning him to the dark side in his feud against Austin Aries.

Opening sequence.

Akira Tozawa vs. Tony Nese

Feeling out process to start until Tozawa is sent outside. That only seems to tick him off so he scares Nese out to the floor as things slow down a bit. Back in and Nese elbows him in the face to take over for the first time. We’re off to an early neck crank and here’s Brian Kendrick. A suplex sets up another chinlock but Tozawa knees his way out of a second suplex.

Tozawa sends him outside again for another suicide dive but gets sent throat first into the ropes to slow him down. With the referee distracted, Kendrick tries a kick to the head. Thankfully the referee actually catches him and says no, allowing Tozawa to graba rollup for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: C. I’m liking the Kendrick vs. Tozawa feud but they’re reaching a point where it’s just continuing for the sake of continuing. Adding Nese to the mix could help things out a bit as you can only have the two of them fight for so long before it stops doing anything for anyone. Good little match here though with the ending making sense.

Nese isn’t cool with that and decks Kendrick. Tozawa says that’s lesson #3: always have eyes in the back of your head.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat (complete with an unnecessary bell) about giving Alicia Fox all the gifts. This brings out Noam Dar and Alicia Fox (with separate entrances) with the latter saying that she thought Dar was the future face of 205 Live. He’s young and talented but then she saw the other side of him: he’s annoying, his cologne smells terrible and he thinks he can cook (“Just not in every room.”). She’s been using him and if she hears that ALICIA FOOOOOX one more time, she’s going to snap.

Fox tells him to get out of here before switching her attention to Swann. She thanks him for the gifts, which Swann says all game from the heart. Now Swann wants to give her what she deserves. Cedric Alexander is one of Swann’s best friends and she broke his heart. There’s a word for people like Fox but Swann won’t say it. The world knows what she is though and that’s his real gift. Fox SNAPS over the WHAT treatment and screams a lot, which she really does very well.

Mustafa Ali vs. Ariya Daivari

Earlier today, Ariya Daivari arrived in a very nice car. So he’s rich now. Ali grabs the arm but Daivari looks disgusted by being touched. Some flips don’t get Mustafa very far so he sends Ali outside for a flip dive over the ropes. Back in and Daivari grabs a belly to back suplex onto the apron, followed by a spinebuster for two.

Ali comes back with some knees to the ribs and a dropkick…..but we’ve got feedback. Cue Drew Gulak with a bullhorn to shout “I AM NOT LYING! NO HIGH FLYING!” The distraction lets Daivari pull Ali off the top and hit a hammerlock clothesline (the Rainmaker, which is still just a clothesline) for the pin at 6:50.

Rating: D+. I’ve watched this match twice now and I really didn’t remember a thing of it until Gulak came out. It’s a very forgettable match as Daivari continues to become more and more of a stereotype, which is almost never a good thing. The match isn’t even bad and it helps set up Gulak vs. Ali but there’s nothing to remember here.

Gulak says he sees a bright future around here and has nothing against Ali but his style needs to change.

TJ Perkins vs. Austin Aries

Perkins bails to the floor to start so Aries has a seat in the ring. Back in and it’s already time for the armdrags into the armbar as it seems they have a lot of time here. Perkins reverses into the headscissors and, of course, dabs. The threat of a Last Chancery puts TJ outside again but Aries gets crotched on top to slow things down again. A dropkick gets two with TJ putting one foot on the chest for a dabbing cover.

Now it’s off to something like a standing figure four with a butterfly lock on the arms. Perkins misses a standing flip splash though and gets dropped by an STO. A side slam gives Aries two but it’s too early for the 450. Aries jams his knee on the landing and there’s the kneebar. It’s only the first attempt though and Aries makes the rope. Aries slugs away but gets caught in a strike rush.

The discus Fivearm misses and they botch the double chickenwing gutbuster, basically turning it into a low blow for two instead. Now the forearm connects to set up the 450 but Perkins gets his feet on the ropes. The Last Chancery (with Aries crossing his legs to avoid putting pressure on the bad knee) sends TJ to the ropes again and Aries isn’t sure what to do. The Detonation Kick doesn’t work so Aries claps his hands around TJ’s ears, setting up the Fivearm for the pin at 11:48.

Rating: B-. Perkins is rapidly improving with this heel character and his in-ring work has gotten better too. I’m not wild on having him lose here but at least it was in a match with some time that went back and forth instead of being mostly one sided. Good main event here and Aries looks strong going into the pay per view.

Post match here’s Neville for the brawl with Aries and it’s a quick Last Chancery. Perkins makes the save though and the double beatdown ensues. Neville grabs the Rings of Saturn with TJ taunting Aries to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I know you hear it a lot but the scheduling of this show really, really hurts it. Smackdown ended it at 10pm and by 10:15, the arena was probably 1/3 empty. By the time the show ended, it was probably close to 1/3 full. This show was entertaining but the fans just do not care to stick around and watch it. Move it before Smackdown and just air it on tape delay. I really don’t know why the show MUST go on at 10pm but that’s what WWE seems to go with and it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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205 Live
Date: April 11, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re in the post-post-Wrestlemania era now and that means things can start to get back to normal. Last week Austin Aries became the new #1 contender to the Cruiserweight Title but since his win, Cruiserweight Champion Neville has been getting inside TJ Perkins’ head. This could mean a potential change to the title match so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Aries vs. Neville, as well as Aries winning last week’s #1 contenders match.

Opening sequence.

Brian Kendrick vs. Mustafa Ali

Kendrick works on the arm to start as we hear about Drew Gulak’s quest to get rid of high flying. Graves calls it the WWE equivalent of a mother in law. More arm work frustrates Kendrick out to the apron and things slow down a bit. Ali pops up and moonsaults over Kendrick in the corner before sending Brian outside again.

The first big dive takes Kendrick down and we cut to Gulak watching in the back and getting rather annoyed. Kendrick crawls underneath the ring and pulls Ali’s shoulder into the post to take over for the first time (nice idea with the veteran presence etc). We hit a seated cobra clutch for a bit before a good looking spinwheel kick drops Brian again.

The rolling neckbreaker gets two and Kendrick charges into a knee in the corner. Brian breaks up the inverted 450 and grabs the Captain’s Hook for….a bell without a submission. The referee says the match isn’t over and we see Akira Tozawa holding the bell up. Kendrick is livid and gets kicked in the head again, setting up the inverted 450 for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C+. Good match here and you can see Tozawa starting to get the hand over Kendrick, who isn’t going to take this well. It also helps that Ali was close enough to the ropes that you could believe he wasn’t finished so he comes off looking fine too. Nice stuff here as the long form storytelling is still working.

Tozawa says that’s Lesson #2.

We look back at Neville getting inside Perkins’ head, leading to Perkins defeating Aries on later that night on Raw.

Perkins thinks Neville is right because he’s the hero of the Cruiserweight Classic but can’t get a break around here. Jack Gallagher comes up to say this is poppycock but they’ll have a match later tonight. Perkins doesn’t want to hear it.

Rich Swann vs. Johnny Ocean

Johnny stomps away in the corner to start and shouts a lot in the process. Fans: “WE DON’T KNOW YOU!” Swann shrugs it off and kicks Ocean down, setting up a jumping splash. The Phoenix splash wraps Ocean up at 2:16 and you can hear him tell Swann “thank you so much” during the count.

Post match Swann talks about sending presents to Alicia Fox but here’s Noam Dar to interrupt. Swann is LYING about giving her those presents and blows are about to be struck, only to have Fox come out. She believes Dar but she’s seen Swann looking at her. Cue a courier with another present, which Dar says is from him. Fox opens it and is covered with exploding powder. That’s uh….quite the plan from Swann. It’s a good thing he knew Dar would not only be in the arena but also knew that he’d come out there in time.

Aries thinks Neville wants Perkins around as a puppet instead of a friend. It turns out that Aries is a puppet master so he’s capable of dealing with this. Now if you’ll excuse him, he has a banana to finish.

TJ Perkins vs. Jack Gallagher

Gallagher goes to his usual bag of tricks early on with the hand walk to escape a headlock, followed by an armbar, complete with a toss of his hair. TJ gets taken to the mat and caught in a headscissors, only to bounce back and forth to escape. That earns him a dropkick to the floor but Perkins runs off before it can be Mary Poppins time.

Back in and Perkins has to pause due to the corner headstand spot but he can grab a DDT on the leg to take over. The leg work begins with Perkins stomping away and wrapping it around the bottom rope. We hit an Indian deathlock, followed by something between a Sharpshooter and a Figure Four in a pretty cool looking hold.

Unfortunately TJ turns it over and puts Gallagher right in front of the ropes so it’s quickly broken but it did look good while it lasted. Perkins takes him right back to the mat and grabs another leglock, this time while grabbing the arms in a butterfly lock. Gallagher grabs his own foot and pulls it away for the escape before grabbing a modified powerslam for two. With the leg almost completely gone, Jack takes him to the top for a belly to back superplex and one heck of a crash.

TJ rolls outside but gets pulled back inside, only to grab a kneebar. Somehow Gallagher manages to roll over for the rope but goes with a spinning backbreaker onto the bad knee in a bit of a dumb move. The pain sends Gallagher rolling to the floor but he’s able to block the Wrecking Ball and hit one heck of a headbutt for two. Perkins goes off with strikes but gets nailed with another headbutt. There’s just nothing left in the leg though and Gallagher can’t hit the running dropkick. Instead TJ sends him into the post for the knockout before hitting the Devastation Kick for the pin at 15:30.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here as the cruiserweights continue to be able to show off at a very high level when they have the time to do so. The leg was the focus of the match and played into the ending, which goes back to Perkins’ run in the Cruiserweight Classic. I could go for a refocused Perkins, who really can be one of the best around when he’s on his game.

Neville comes out to congratulate Perkins to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it’s just the post-Wrestlemania season but I’ve been liking this show a lot more than usual lately. The development of Perkins (which has taken place in the last twenty four hours) is a great addition to the show as Aries and Neville have been alone at the top for a few months now. This was another good episode and the show has been on a bit of a roll lately.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6