205 Live – June 6, 2017: I Guess Neville Isn’t a Gamer
205 Live Date: June 6, 2017 Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
It’s actually time for a new challenger this week. Neville retained his Cruiserweight Title at Extreme Rules and that means Austin Aries is finally in his rear view mirror. Now it’s time for TJP to get his shot in exchange for all the help he’s given Neville over the last few months. Neville didn’t take kindly to his claim at a shot and attacked him in advance. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at TJP helping Neville with Aries and then being attacked anyway. It didn’t feel like a face turn though, making tonight more heel vs. heel.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Noam Dar for a match, though he doesn’t have Alicia Fox with him. Well so much for this one being interesting. As a VERY loud fan keeps asking about Fox’s whereabouts, Dar talks about Cedric Alexander losing Fox to him, the better man. Fox is at home recovering but she wants Cedric to move on already. Cedric cuts him off and we’re ready to go.
Noam Dar vs. Cedric Alexander
Cedric goes after the arm to start so Dar goes to the ropes, screaming in faux agony. Dar’s headlock works a bit better until Alexander pops up and dropkicks him to the floor. Back in and Cedric gets kicked off the middle rope before it’s time to work on the arm. A kick to the chest doesn’t work as well though and Alexander kicks him in the face.
That just earns Cedric another kick to the leg and things slow down again. An awkward looking rollup gives Dar two and another kick to the face gives him the same. You might notice a pattern in Dar’s offense here and that’s not a good thing. Alexander charges into a boot but is still able to reverse the running kick into the Lumbar Check for the pin on Dar at 7:07.
Rating: C. Dar continues to be one of the most annoying talkers (in a good way) and weaker in-ring performers on the brand. He’s just not interesting to watch in the ring and that’s going to catch up with him. I can’t get interested in someone who does a bunch of running kicks to the chest and works on armbars for the rest of the match. He’s good on the mic but at some point, the bell has to ring.
Cedric says they’re done.
Video on TJP winning the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic.
TJP says Neville has a TJP problem.
Mustafa Ali vs. Louie Valle
Ali grabs the wristlock to start but gets his throat snapped across the top rope. A hard ax handle to the chest gives Valle two and Louie stomps away in the corner. Ali comes right back with a kick to the head and the rolling neckbreaker but cue Drew Gulak with a siren before the inverted 450. Drew: “SAFE AND SOUND! FEET ON THE GROUND!” Not that it matters as Ali reverses a cradle into the pin at 3:34.
Rating: D+. This was just a way to give Ali some momentum back and continue his feud with Gulak. I’m not sure where they’re going to wrap things up but I’d have Ali join him for a bit. At some point just having Gulak on his own doesn’t work and he’s going to need some followers. I know I say that every week but it’s still a problem that needs to be fixed.
Gulak keeps talking on his bullhorn until Ali hits a running flip dive to take him down.
Video on Rich Swann’s rise to the Crusierweight Title and eventual partnership with Sasha Banks.
Swann is speaking Japanese with Akira Tozawa when Titus O’Neil comes in and asks to speak to Tozawa alone. Titus wants to spread his Brand international and says Tozawa should talk to his best friend Apollo Crews about the opportunity. As usual, Tozawa seems confused but that might be due to Titus imitating his barking/shouting/grunting thing.
Neville isn’t worried about TJP because TJP was just a means to an end.
Cruiserweight Title: TJP vs. Neville
TJP is challenging. After the Big Match Intros, Neville takes him straight into the corner and slaps TJP’s head a bit. That earns him a front flip and some head slapping of his own so Neville grabs a headlock to slow the pace a bit. TJP wristlocks him down into an armbar They take turns flipping out of holds until TJP grabs something like a Sharpshooter/Figure Four hybrid, which sends Neville right to the ropes.
A Tarantula keeps Neville in trouble but he pulls TJP to the floor and stops to glare at the announcers. TJP is in big trouble back inside and a missile dropkick makes things even worse. The champ gets too cocky though and a backdrop sends him outside for a corkscrew dive and a big crash.
There’s the slingshot dropkick into the double chickenwing gutbuster for a close two and the shock sets in on the kickout. Neville misses a knee so TJP kicks it out, only to charge into a superkick. The Phoenix splash misses as well and the kneebar goes on but Neville rolls into the Rings of Saturn to retain at 14:07.
Rating: B. This was better than I thought it would be as TJP set up the leg as well as he could have. They’re really pushing the idea that Neville is clearing out the division, which is going to make whoever takes the title all the bigger deal. It’s almost hard to believe that he’s only held the title for five months. Let him do his thing and then move up to the main roster, like he should have been all along.
Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped a lot and helped this show as more of a stand alone episode rather than something that moved the main story forward. Neville needs a new challenger, which he can get in the next few weeks. In theory that would have been Tozawa but he’s getting to deal with Titus O’Neil for reasons of general nonsense. Not a bad show this week but it’s nothing you need to see.
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Extreme Rules 2017 Date: June 4, 2017
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves
It’s the night of extreme, which is loosely translated as “night of gimmicky rematches”. The main event is a Fatal Five Way for a future shot at Brock Lesnar and the Universal Title, likely coming at next month’s Great Balls of Fire. The stories aren’t the strongest this time around so it’s going to be mostly up to the in-ring action. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Kalisto vs. Apolo Crews
Kalisto has been feuding with Crews and Titus O’Neil for a few weeks now with Titus stealing a tainted win over him last week. Feeling out process to start with the announcers talking about LaVar Ball trying to buy into the Titus Brand. If you don’t know who that is, leave it at that and consider it a good day. Kalisto takes over with some speedy technical stuff and sends Crews to the floor for a big springboard dive. He tries another dive but gets kicked in the head for his efforts as we take a break.
Back with Crews holding a front facelock but having to clothesline Kalisto down to break up a comeback. Kalisto makes his real comeback with the corkscrew springboard shoulder as Titus plays cheerleader. A small package gets two on Crews, followed by one heck of a tornado DDT for the same. Crews comes back with a Samoan drop but his standing shooting star only gets two. Titus offers some suggestions but the distraction lets Kalisto hit a quick Salida Del Sol for the pin at 9:35.
Rating: C+. That was a lot better than I expected and if it leads to Crews beating the fire out of Titus, so be it. Basically whatever gets Crews pushed better than he has been so far on the main roster with a bit of a character/personality to him is an improvement, as we’ve been seeing him waste away for over a year now. Kalisto continues to be the guy that should be near the top of the cruiserweight show but for now he’s just a low level performer who fights heavyweights on the main show. You know, because the cruiserweight division is nonsense
The opening sequence talks about about things going extreme and how this is all about facing Brock Lesnar. You might remember him even though you haven’t seen him in two months.
We recap Miz vs. Dean Ambrose. They feuded on Smackdown late last year but now they’re both on Raw so we’ll just keep it going. Miz got a shot at the title but Ambrose got disqualified, setting up this rematch.
Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Dean Ambrose
Ambrose is defending and can lose the title via DQ. They start slowly with an exchange of hammerlocks as the announcers talk about this being Miz’s 92nd pay per view match. A slap to the face annoys Ambrose so he hammers away in the corner. Dean keeps his cool and sends Miz outside for a suicide dive, followed by a whip into the barricade.
Things settle down though as we make sure that the EXTREME show doesn’t get too intense. Another yell from the referee allows Miz to get in an apron DDT for two. A neckbreaker is good for the same and Miz kicks him in the face for good measure. Three corner running dropkicks and the running corner clothesline has Dean in trouble but he’s still able to punch Miz out of the air.
Neither finish can hit so Dean sends him outside for another dive. Back in and Ambrose grabs a rollup for two, only to tweak his knee coming off the top. That means it’s off to the Figure Four with Dean finally getting over for the rope break. Dean gets crotched on top and Miz pulls him away, taking the turnbuckle pad with him.
The champ catches himself from sending Miz into the buckle but Miz uses the distraction to hit some YES Kicks. The big one is countered into a Figure Four on Miz but another rope grab is good for the break. They both limp on the bad leg for the slugout for a double knockdown before we FINALLY get to the obvious idea as Maryse slaps Miz. The referee says no and ejects Maryse though, allowing Dean to grab a rollup for two. Miz gets smart though and sends Dean into the referee but that’s still not a DQ. Instead Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 20:02.
Rating: B. I’m happy with Miz getting the title back but sweet goodness they were waiting around until the gimmick played into the ending. The slap not counting was pretty obvious but at least the DQ thing set up the ending. The problem here is very simple though: there’s not much interest in these two fighting again because they did it for so long back in December and January. But hey, at least Cena got a marriage proposal in there before they send Miz right back where he was a year ago first right?
Bayley thinks Alexa Bliss was no Rock and Mankind but she’s been watching Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and Steve Blackman to get ready for tonight. She also saw Wonder Woman and feels empowered to take the title back.
Sasha Banks/Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox/Noam Dar
Swann gets a great hometown pop with one fan in particular really seeming happy. How do I know that? It’s because they cut to the one fan’s reaction during the entrance. The women start but it’s off to Dar before anything can happen. That means Swann has to come in to kick Dar in the head a bit before handing it back to Banks. The Bank Statement has Fox in trouble until Dar pulls her to the ropes.
Fox takes over on Sasha for a bit but another kick allows the hot tag to Swann, who gets almost no reaction this time around. A running flip Fameasser drops Dar and the spinning kick to the face makes things even worse. Everything breaks down and Sasha hits the double knees off the top to drop Dar on the floor. Back in and the Phoenix Splash ends Noam at 6:23.
Rating: D+. Well that was filler. Seriously what else can you call something like this? They have a six match card and one of the matches gets less than six and a half minutes. That being said, this was a match that shouldn’t have gone any longer because it has no place on a pay per view card. Also why does Swann get to survive the hometown curse?
The winners dance.
Elias Samson sings about how bad Baltimore is. This goes nowhere but does manage to kill off three minutes.
We recap Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss. Alexa kind of cheated to win the title last month and then attacked Bayley with a kendo stick. Tonight it’s a kendo stick on a pole match but the question is whether Bayley is capable of getting extreme.
Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
Bliss is defending and gets sent into the corner early on, only to send Bayley outside. She’s too short to reach the stick though, which falls out to the floor instead. A belly to back suplex on the floor makes things worse for Bliss and Bayley grabs the stick. Graves: “It’s like she went from Prince Adam to He-Man!” Bayley takes too much time pulling the stick back though and gets speared down, allowing Bliss to hammer away with the stick. The beating is cut off with a Bayley to Belly but Bayley can’t follow up. More stick shots knock Bayley silly and the DDT finishes her off at 5:13.
Rating: F. So to recap: Bayley is the biggest star in NXT and then is booked like a huge loser in WWE. The fact that NXT was booked by Dusty Rhodes’ protege and WWE is booked by a “creative team” has nothing to do with this I’m sure. Yeah I’m sure they didn’t think that the simplest idea in the world (Bayley is an underdog who gets beaten down but keeps coming back because she has heart and loves what she does) needed to be completely redone in a horrible way or anything.
Just hand her the title almost right out of the gate, let her win an overbooked match at Wrestlemania and everything will be fine. It’s certainly not creative’s fault at all. Nah, it’s all on Bayley, just like all those other hot prospects in NXT who just can’t make it work for whatever reason on the main roster. All on them of course.
To clarify some of that rambling mess: this was a horribly booked match. The whole idea was building towards Bayley finding her inner anger and using the stick. They built it up well enough and then…..nothing. She had one chance to swing the stick and then Bliss just beat her up to retain in a very short match. There was no late hope spot, there was no comeback and there was nothing for the fans to get behind. This was just a step ahead of a squash instead of something interesting, which makes the last month or two a complete waste. Bliss looked great but Bayley continues to be completely mishandled.
Did I mention I REALLY don’t like WWE creative as of late?
Tag Team Titles: Hardy Boyz vs. Cesaro/Sheamus
The Hardys are defending in a cage with both members needing to escape to win, meaning no pinfalls. Cesaro and Sheamus head for the walls and the door to start but the champs pull them back in without much effort. A few whips into the cage set up a few Poetries in Motion against the cage. The advantage doesn’t last long as Cesaro sends Jeff into the cage. It’s still too early to leave though as Jeff makes the save.
They trade some escape attempts to no avail until Cesaro ax handles Jeff. Sheamus misses the Brogue Kick and gets caught in Matt’s tornado DDT to put all four down. The champs are up first and go up the cage, only to have Cesaro and Sheamus make quick saves. Jeff actually manages to get to the floor but that leaves Matt in a handicap match. The Side Effect drops Sheamus and Cesaro is put down as well but Matt can’t escape just yet.
Jeff tries to help and even pulls him halfway over the top before Cesaro punches him down to the floor. That means Matt gets pulled back down into the ring for a double Razor’s Edge (cool spot). A Brogue Kick drops Jeff again but Matt keeps Sheamus from escaping. Back to back Twists of Fate allows Matt to get his legs over the top until Cesaro hits an uppercut.
A super White Noise knocks Matt silly but here’s Jeff to dive off the top with a Whisper in the Wind to take Sheamus and Cesaro down again. Matt gets up and drags Jeff’s body towards the door as Cesaro and Sheamus go up over the top at the same time. Matt is on the floor first but can’t get Jeff out (again), allowing Cesaro and Sheamus to drop down and win the titles (for a face pop) at 15:45.
Rating: B. Uh, is it just me or does that ending not make sense? Matt and Jeff escaped first but Jeff’s escape is rescinded for going back in? When has that been a rule? It’s not the worst ending in the world and I’m fine with Cesaro and Sheamus as champions (imagine saying that six months ago) as they had to get the titles off Matt and Jeff somehow, likely without pinning them. The match being good always helps too.
We recap the Cruiserweight Title match. Austin Aries has lost to Neville twice in a row, both times via some shenanigans. Tonight it’s a submission match with Aries coming in on a bad leg, though he made Neville tap in a tag match six days ago.
Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Austin Aries
Aries is challenging in a submission match. Feeling out process to start with Neville working on an armbar instead of the taped up neck or bad knee. Aries smacks him in the back and hits a slingshot hilo, only to have Neville bail to the floor to escape the Last Chancery. Back up and Aries tweaks his knee coming off the ropes to give Neville a target. A dragon screw leg whip has the leg in trouble but Aries hits a few shinbreakers with the good leg.
The neckbreaker across the ropes is broken up and Aries might have hurt his arm on the landing. The arm is fine enough for Aries to take Neville’s leg out again and grab a figure four until Neville makes the ropes. Ignore this being a SUBMISSION match, meaning the rope shouldn’t be a break.
The Rings of Saturn go on Aries in the middle of the ring but he gets his feet to the ropes for another break. Now it’s Aries grabbing his own Rings of Saturn, only to have Neville grab the referee. That’s the threat of a DQ (ERG!) so Aries lets go to tell the referee not to do it.
Neville gets in a superkick and puts Aries on top but gets caught in a sunset bomb. The Last Chancery goes on but Neville crawls to the floor, only to have the hold stay on. Neville taps to no avail because the fall has to be in the ring. Aries misses the suicide dive to send him crashing to the floor. Back in and the Red Arrow hits Aries’ back, setting up the Rings to make Aries tap at 17:23.
Rating: B+. Other than actually growling at the referee to STOP WITH THE DQ THREATS BECAUSE IT’S A FREAKING SUBMISSION MATCH YOU STUPID PEOPLE, this was really entertaining stuff. Above all else though, it needs to be the finish to the feud. Aries has lost every single time and now he lost as clean as you can in a match like this (which STILL shouldn’t have disqualifications). Let it be over now and give us Akira Tozawa or someone else challenging for the title.
Great Balls of Fire ad with a 1950s theme because that’s the best they can come up with.
Lesnar’s title defense will take place at Great Balls of Fire.
We recap the Fatal Five Way, which is really happening because Braun Strowman is injured and we need a new #1 contender. Kurt Angle put five guys in a single match with the winner facing Lesnar next month.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe
Winner gets Brock next month, one fall to a finish and anything goes. It’s a big brawl to start with Reigns being left alone in the ring until Bray Wyatt comes in to keep him from being lonely. Wyatt gets caught on the middle rope for a Samoan drop, followed by one to Joe for good measure.
Balor sends Reigns to the floor, leaving Bray to come back in and beat on Rollins and Joe. The three are sent outside for a big flip dive from Balor, only to have Reigns send him into the barricade. Joe breaks up the apron dropkick to Wyatt and sends Reigns into the steps. There isn’t much else to do here other than list off moves, as is so often the case in matches like this one.
Wyatt and Joe get together to hit people with steps, including a shot to Reigns which draws some solid cheers. They officially make a deal and take over on Balor inside as Corey is waiting on them to turn on each other. Seth starts a comeback but gets DDTed onto the steps for his efforts. Bray grabs a chair and cleans house again until he and Joe take turns backsplashing the chair onto Balor.
Joe finally misses a charge into a chair and Bray misses the crossbody, allowing Reigns to remember that he’s in the match. Roman gets the expected house cleaning segment until Bray takes him outside for a Rock Bottom onto the table. Now it’s Rollins coming back with a springboard clothesline on Wyatt, followed by a double Blockbuster to Bray and Joe.
Things speed up with Rollins loading up a suicide dive to Bray, who pulls Joe into the path instead. Back in and Sister Abigail plants Rollins, only to have Joe break it up and start the inevitable fight with Bray. Balor comes back in with a chair to break up the Koquina Clutch before dropkicking everyone in sight.
It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but Reigns comes back with a spear to drive Balor and Joe through the barricade. Seth is back up with a frog splash to drive Bray through the table but stays down holding his knee. The knee is fine enough for him to stand up for a staredown with Reigns as the chair is still in the ring. A quick Superman Punch gives Roman two, followed by Seth’s low superkick getting the same.
Another frog splash gets two more but here’s Bray for failed Sister Abigail attempts on both guys. Roman spears Bray down and hits Rollins with another Superman Punch. Balor takes one of his own but still comes back with the shotgun dropkick and Coup de Grace. It doesn’t matter though as Joe comes back in with the Koquina Clutch on Balor for the win at 29:10.
Rating: A-. I think I can go with Joe vs. Lesnar if I absolutely have to. This was a WAY better match than I was expecting with the extra time doing it a lot of favors. They had all five looking strong with the Bray/Joe alliance working fine for a story during the match. Joe winning is a good idea as he can get a rub from working with Lesnar, despite having almost no chance at actually beating him. I had a great time with this one and the ending is a very good call.
Overall Rating: B+. This was actually a heck of a show, albeit one that isn’t going to mean a thing after…..oh I’d say tomorrow. That’s a common problem in WWE and I’m not surprised to see it continue here. The idea of having a title match to build towards is a nice change of pace and should help the show a lot. Add that to a lot of really solid wrestling (only the Bayley vs. Bliss match was really bad, which is due to the booking instead of the action, or lack thereof) and you have a much better show than I ever would have guessed.
Results
Miz b. Dean Ambrose – Skull Crushing Finale
Sasha Banks/Rich Swann b. Alicia Fox/Noam Dar – Phoenix Splash to Dar
Alexa Bliss b. Bayley – DDT
Cesaro/Sheamus b. Hardy Boyz – Cesaro and Sheamus escaped the cage
Neville b. Austin Aries – Rings of Saturn
Samoa Joe b. Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns – Koquina Clutch to Balor
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205 Live – May 31, 2017: Just Get It Over With Already
205 Live Date: May 30, 2017 Location: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules and that means the very final push towards what is hopefully the last Neville vs. Austin Aries match. That’s not all though as we also have a guest star in the form of Sasha Banks. I’m sure that has nothing to do with how poor the viewership has been for this show. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of Aries vs. Neville while they change the ropes. You know, to make sure we know the difference between the 205 Live cruiserweight show and the 205 Live knitting show that airs on local access in western Maine.
Opening sequence.
Here are Noam Dar and Alicia Fox with the former saying this is the closest people in Atlanta will ever get to true love. Alicia: “You complete me.” Dar: “That’s right fluffy button.” They don’t like Rich Swann and Alicia Fox, who interrupt in a hurry. The two of them have a lot in common too, such as dancing, fashion, and getting revenge on the people in front of them. The ladies insult each others’ hair and of course that means it’s on.
Noam Dar vs. Rich Swann
Swann chops away to start and Dar bails to the floor, only to eat a dropkick back inside. Dar scores with a penalty kick so Fox screeches quite loudly. We hit the arm crank with Banks looking very out of place as a cheerleader for a cruiserweight act. Swann’s arm is bent around the top rope and a running forearm to the chest is good for two. That’s enough for some posing though and the ladies are looking either nervous or elated.
Rich grabs a belly to back suplex and a good looking hurricanrana brings Dar off the middle rope. Sasha hits the cheerleading again and Swann gets two off a small package. He misses an enziguri though and gets caught in an ankle lock, which is quickly rolled out to the floor. Fox gets in a trip so the brawl is on (with Fox losing some hair), allowing Dar to hit his running knee to the face for the pin at 7:50.
Rating: C-. Dar is a good heel but his in-ring abilities aren’t the best. The arm work makes sense to start but when he follows it up with an ankle lock and a running knee, it doesn’t really seem to make much difference. I’m still not sure why Banks is here other than star power, but she’s really not fitting.
Cedric Alexander doesn’t have time to care about Dar and Fox because he has to make up for lost time with his WWE dreams.
Cedric Alexander vs. Corey Hollis
Cedric flips around to start and gets in a dropkick to put Corey in the corner. Hollis elbows him in the jaw and grabs a double arm choke. That goes nowhere as Hollis charges into a knee, followed by a Tajiri handspring into an enziguri. The springboard clothesline sets up the Lumbar Check to put Corey away at 2:41.
Video on Akira Tozawa.
Quick recap of Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali, which is mat wrestling vs. high flying.
Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali
Gulak comes out with his NO FLY ZONE sign so Ali hits a running flip dive to take him and the sign down. Drew says ring the bell (though he doesn’t seem to know where he is) so Ali sends him outside for a running knee off the apron. They chop it out on the floor with Gulak’s few shots having very little effect. Back in and Gulak sends him outside with Ali landing on his knee. Drew stomps away and asks if Mustafa wants to fight the message. We hit a seated abdominal stretch for a bit before Ali fights up with some clotheslines. Ali heads up top for a high crossbody but Drew rolls through for the pin at 5:03.
Rating: C. That’s the second time in a row where Mustafa has tried high flying on Gulak but gotten caught in a quick pin. Hopefully this leads to Ali accepting Drew’s teachings and joining him, which could set up a mini stable in the future. Gulak needs some followers and Ali would be a good place to start.
In the back, Drew says that was a victory for the way a lot of people want 205 to go in the future.
Here’s Austin Aries for the hard sell to end the show. After a quick plug for his upcoming book, Aries talks about the tap heard round the world. Neville has been saying no one is at his level but then he tapped out. We see the end of the tag match with Neville tapping, followed by a separate clip of just the tap. Aries goes over their history together but here’s Neville to say that was nothing more than a fluke. Cue TJP from behind and another double beatdown is on. Aries gets caught in the Rings of Saturn to end the show with no Jack Gallagher making the save.
Overall Rating: C. This show was perfectly acceptable and that’s about as good as I can go with it. Neville vs. Aries ran out of steam over a month ago and yet another beatdown segment isn’t enough to make it interesting again. There are several people ready to move into the title picture and hopefully they get the chance after Sunday. Good enough show but nothing you need to see.
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:
205 Live – May 16, 2017: Stop In The Name Of Something New
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.
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205 Live Results – May 9, 2017: When Did That Happen?
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.
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205 Live – April 25, 2017: If You Build It, He Will Lose
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:
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:
205 Live – April 11, 2017: The Post-Post-Wrestlemania Roll
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:
205 Live Date: April 4, 2017
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
One more Orlando show to wrap up the week. We’re in an interesting place with the cruiserweights as Neville retained the title over Austin Aries, leaving us with no #1 contender and no one not named Aries is even in his league. Tonight we have a four way for the #1 contendership, which could see Aries get another shot or someone new get in there. Let’s get to it.
I was in the arena for this show with the hard cameras on my left and the Titantron almost straight in front of me.
Long package on Aries vs. Neville.
Opening sequence.
The announcers chat for a bit.
Akira Tozawa vs. Brian Kendrick
Rematch from last week. Kendrick comes out to talk about lesson #10. Fans: “TEN! TEN! TEN!” The chants change Brian’s mind about the crowd, who he had pegged as a bunch of goofballs. The lesson is all about psychological supremacy, though I’m distracted by the most obnoxious sign ever in the front row: “The person behind me can’t see.”
That’s one you see at a lot of shows and it makes my head shake harder every time. I mean….you’re going to a big show, you spend a lot of money on tickets, and you actually take the time to make a sign for the sole purpose of ruining someone else’s night? You paid your money so now you need to make sure that other people wasted theirs? That’s completely pathetic and something that can’t be defended. Grow up man.
Kendrick bails to the floor at the bell but Tozawa still beats him to the punch to take over. The backsplash gets two but Kendrick is ready for the fake out punch and grabs a rollup for two. Not that it matters as Tozawa kicks him in the face to take over again. A bad old fashioned thumb to the eye sets up a leg lariat for two on Tozawa. Kendrick can’t get the Captain’s Hook so he settles for a reverse chinlock instead.
Back up and Tozawa grabs a hurricanrana before knocking Kendrick to the floor. Kendrick claims a poke to the eye but the referee says it was a forearm. Naturally he’s goldbricking so Tozawa dives at him instead, only to tweak his knee. This time it’s Tozawa goldbricking though and Brian gets rolled up for the pin at 5:17.
Rating: C+. This was a good way to extend the feud (some might even call it fine) but I’m really not sure how much longer they can carry this out without a big change of pace. Kendrick has grown on me a good bit in this story and it’s making Tozawa look better as well, especially since he finally won a match.
Tozawa says that was lesson #1.
Oney Lorcan vs. Rich Swann
Lorcan is an NXT callup but he’s billed as a replacement for an injured Noam Dar, meaning this might be a one off appearance. Oney charges at Swann at the bell and scores with a series of running uppercuts. It’s off to an abdominal stretch as Swann looks overwhelmed to start. A bodyscissors keeps Swann in trouble for a bit until he escapes for a kick to the head.
Lorcan catches him up top but can’t hit a half and half superplex as Swann backflips out. A running Alabama Slam into the corner gives Oney two but Swann scores with some clotheslines for a breather. Swann kicks him down a few more times and adds the Phoenix splash for the win at 6:42.
Rating: C+. If Lorcan didn’t have a full callup coming in, there’s a good chance he earned a spot with this performance. He beat the heck out of Swann here and that’s one of the best things that he could possibly have done. Sometimes you just need to showcase yourself and Lorcan did so very well here.
Post match Swann says he’s been the one sending the gifts to Alicia Fox. That’s how you move a story forward in a hurry. Phillips brings up the possibility that Swann is lying.
Drew Gulak stops Mustafa Ali in the back and suggests competing a bit more conservatively in the four way. Ali doesn’t want to hear this but Gulak says change is coming so be on the right side of history.
Some of the WWE UK Title tournament are here, including Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, Pete Dunne (big pop) and of course Tyler Bate, who gets his own entrance. There’s going to be a weekly UK show on the Network in the near future.
Here’s Neville for a chat before the main event. No one is on the Neville Level and it feels nice to be proven right. Neville can’t believe people think he ripped at Aries’ repaired orbital socket out of desperation. That’s nonsense. He did it because Aries deserved it. Neville thanks us for never believing in him because it’s made him royalty. He’ll be at ringside for the four way, or as he calls it, four more lambs to the slaughter.
Mustafa Ali vs. Jack Gallagher vs. TJ Perkins vs. Austin Aries
Ali and Gallagher are knocked to the floor to start, leaving Aries and Nese to work on an arm each. Perkins’ corkscrew dive takes Ali down again but it’s already time for the Mary Poppins spot. Thankfully Aries breaks it up and dropkicks Jack to the floor. All four take turns coming back in and get a few shots here and there until Gallagher does his headstand in the corner to stop a charging Mustafa.
Perkins comes back in with the kneebar on Jack but Aries makes the save with a Last Chancery. Ali goes after the eye though, leaving Gallagher to grab a reverse DDT on Perkins. Aries grabs one at the same time on Gallagher, leaving Ali to roll in with the neckbreaker to take all three down at the same time. Back up and Ali gets crotched on top, setting up Gallagher and Aries for a double superplex. Aries isn’t done though as he dives onto Ali and Perkins, allowing Gallagher to get in the Mary Poppins spot.
Back in and Perkins takes a wicked tornado DDT from Mustafa with Aries making the save. Aries loads Ali up for what looked to be a superplex but stepped aside so Gallagher can nail his running corner dropkick, sending Ali crashing outside. Perkins and Gallagher slug it out until Perkins takes the headbutt. Gallagher falls to the floor though, leaving Aries to hit the Fivearm to put Perkins away at 11:24.
Rating: B. It was fun, albeit a bit messy. These guys beat each other up though and Ali’s bump near the end was a good looking crash. Aries is the only logical move here as he’s the only person near Neville’s level. We’ve seen the other three already and none of them were anything of note. There’s a good reason to believe Aries can pull it off in a second match and it should be fun to see.
One quick live note: you could tell the fans were burned out by the time the main event started. One fan in the section next to me went on a HILARIOUS string of insults against Perkins, shouting every few seconds about how terrible he was and how he needed to stay out of the ring. I don’t know if it was just due to being tired from the week or something similar but the sections around him were in stitches. Then he went a bit too far and knew it.
Fan: “ROMAN REIGNS IS A BETTER WRESTLER THAN TJ PERKINS!”
Everyone else: “NO! DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!”
Fan: “I APOLOGIZE! I PROMISE TO FADE AWAY AND CLASSIFY MYSELF AS OBSOLETE!”
Anyway, trash talk ends the show.
Overall Rating: B. This was one of the best episodes of the show to date but you could tell the crowd was just done by the end. After Wrestlemania, Raw and anything else you did in the previous days, there was no way anyone was going to give this show their full attention. Some of the fans did leave before the show but other than a few seats in front of me, you really couldn’t see any major pockets of suddenly empty seats. Good show, but a bad spot on the schedule.
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:
Wrestlemania XXXIII Preview: Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Austin Aries
The one I’m looking forward to most. Maybe.
This is the match I’ve been looking forward to more than any other. There’s something about this match that makes me think they’ll tear the house down and almost nothing would please me more. These guys have worked hard and built up a match where I can’t imagine either of them losing, which often makes for the best part of the show. Much like the battle royal, I’d much rather they be on the pre-show for the sake of giving it extra time than cramming it in between Pitbull and a New Day segment.
As for a winner……dang I actually have to pick one now don’t I? I guess I’ll go with Neville as Akira Tozawa can be set up as his next opponent, which should make for a rather entertaining match in its own right. There’s a good reason that these two are going to be in such a high spot on the crowd and it’s a place they’ve certainly earned. As Aries put it, he’s the guy you call on to elevate a show and that’s what he’s going to do here. Give these two twelve minutes and there’s a good chance it’s one of the best matches of the night. Neville retains in a near classic.
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: