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: 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.

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 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:

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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 2, 2017
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s a new month and that means we’re still in the Neville vs. Austin Aries world as Neville got himself disqualified to retain the Cruiserweight Title on Sunday, meaning we’re likely seeing a third match. Other than that we have some midcard feuds, including another round in the Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa story. Let’s get to it.

We open with some post-Smackdown video of Chris Jericho being taken to the back. I like that a lot more than rushing him out for the sake of starting the far less important show. At least it adds some realism.

The traditional opening recap looks at the Cruiserweight Title match and Neville telling TJ Perkins that Austin Aries is their problem. Aries then defeated Perkins with the Last Chancery.

Opening sequence.

The announcers talk for a bit because WE NEED DISTINCT COLORS FOR EVERY SHOW OR THE COMPANY WILL FALL APART!

TJP vs. Lince Dorado

No more Perkins apparently. They hit the mat running to start and it’s a double nipup into a standoff. Dorado sends him to the floor and the Asai moonsault makes things even worse. Back in and TJP stomps away in the corner, drawing threats of disqualification. Only if the storyline calls for it of course.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before TJP puts him on the top and starts going after the mask. Dorado elbows him back and mostly hits what I think was supposed to be a moonsault double stomp to the back with TJP still on his feet. That sounds like a fairly dangerous spot but it could have been a mistimed moonsault press. Dorado’s high crossbody gets two, followed by a superkick for the same. TJP goes after the mask again though, allowing him to get the kneebar and the submission at 7:04.

Rating: C+. This was a better match than I was expecting from Dorado, who rarely does much for me. TJP (I’m not wild on the new name) could be a major player in the division and the heel turn really has done him a lot of good. Having him win a hard fought match like this one is what he needs, though a win over Aries would help even more.

We get a sitdown interview with Brian Kendrick on his feud with Akira Tozawa. They were friends for a long time but now Tozawa thinks he’s too good for Kendrick to be his protege. Tozawa is paying attention to the fans when he needs to be winning matches. Kendrick says he’s done playing……and then he gets his head kicked off by Tozawa, who says lesson #5 is to always end an interview with impact.

Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak

Before the match, Gulak promises to bring true change to 205 Live. Gulak headlocks him to start and yells about how Ali needs to get smart. Ali apparently does just that with an armdrag and hurricanrana, only to have Gulak hide in the ropes. Another flip only seems to annoy Gulak as he blasts Ali with a clothesline for two, followed by a camel clutch. Ali fights up and grabs his neckbreaker but his top rope splash hits raised knees, giving Gulak the pin at 5:03.

Rating: C+. I liked the story here more than the first match and that’s a good sign. This fit the story they were going for quite well with the clear ending, though I’m curious to see where they’re going. Gulak probably needs to gain a follower in the future but he’s doing well enough on his own for now. Getting wins is the next important step as he has to be proven right for this to mean anything.

Post match Gulak says this is proof that his message works and he’s the future around here.

We get a long recap of Alicia Fox breaking up with Noam Dar thanks to Rich Swann, setting up a feud between the two of them.

Rich Swann vs. Noam Dar

Swann’s trunks have little wings on the hips. The bell rings and Graves says that it was a lot longer than a four hour flight for Dar. The announcers stop to chuckle as this is a reference to Phillips’ extramarital affair that came out on Instagram. That’s quite the risque line but Phillips seemed ok with it.

Swann headlocks Dar to the mat to start and a dropkick takes us right into the chinlock. Dar finally gets up and crotches him on the top, followed by a clothesline out to the floor. Back in Dar starts in on the arm with an armbar and some cranking. We hit the slow heel offense, including a chinlock and a belly to back suplex. Swann makes his comeback but a kick to the leg puts him on the floor again.

Noam’s arm work goes nowhere as Swann runs back inside for a running flip dive. The Phoenix splash connects but Swann’s arm bangs onto the mat and it’s a delayed cover for two. Back up and Dar CRANKS on the arm, only to have Swann kick him upside the head. Rich dives into a Fujiwara armbar until a rope is grabbed. Not that it matters as Dar hits a running kick to the face for the pin at 13:07.

Rating: B-. The match worked but I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have a match built around destroying a relationship be built around arm work. That being said, Swann sold the arm well and the match was solid enough. I’m not sure how they can keep the feud going after a clean loss like this but they’ve pulled it off before.

Post match Alicia comes out and reunites with Dar.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a night of good wrestling and storyline advancement, which is a positive sign considering there were no title implications all night. That’s the right idea as you can only do the Neville vs. Aries stuff so many times before it gets boring in a hurry. Good show though as 205 Live continues to be an inoffensive, easy to watch show.

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

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:

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

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:

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

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

Main Event
Date: March 9, 2017
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

Back to the land of the misfit toys that no one cares enough to repair because they weren’t all that fun in the first place. I’m sure we’ll get to hear about how amazing Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg will be, despite it not being likely to last as long as either match on this show is going to be. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jinder Mahal vs. Curtis Axel

Dang from a pay per view to Main Event in the same week. Some people might say that the Fastlane match was COMPLETELY POINTLESS but I’m not supposed to complain about free wrestling or something. Curtis chops away in the corner as you can see droves of people going to the stairs. A jumping knee to the chin puts Axel down and some kneedrops make things worse. That earns Jinder some angry right hands in the corner and the Hennig necksnap for two. The PerfectPlex is broken up though and Jinder grabs a cobra clutch slam for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: D. For those of you who were begging for Jinder to get his head back you see. Axel continues to be someone whose time has passed and there’s almost no way to recover but at least he got that token Intercontinental Title reign a few years back. These guys are the Main Event Players and it’s no surprise that the match was as meaningless as it was.

Package on Sunday’s main event which is longer than the main event itself.

To Raw!

Here’s Chris Jericho to get us going, which is the absolute best thing they could do to keep the crowd from turning on the show. Tonight is the rebirth of Chris Jericho because last night at Fastlane he screwed Kevin Owens out of the Universal Title. A few weeks ago, Owens took a knife and he stuck it in man.

Jericho wants Owens out here right now so here’s Kevin. Owens starts to talk but Jericho immediately cuts him off and wants to know why he was stabbed in the back. Kevin says there was no stabbing in the back because they were never best friends. Remember who his best friend used to be? Sami Zayn, who Owens stabbed in the back as he would do over and over again.

Jericho is just a tool and Owens did whatever he could to keep the Universal Title. Chris was there to watch his back because he knew what to expect but he was also gullible. Then Jericho outlived his usefulness by accepting the match against Goldberg on Kevin’s behalf. Last night Goldberg would have been outsmarted but Jericho got the better of Kevin last night.

Jericho calls trusting Owens the worst thing he ever could have done but now he has friends around this arena. Chris: “I’ve got the friends of Jericho! CHEER ME ON MAN!” Jericho isn’t done with Owens though because last night was the beginning of a road that ends at Wrestlemania. The match is made but since the show is in a month, let’s have a fight right now. Owens comes down to the ring for the brawl until Samoa Joe comes in to jump Jericho. Sami Zayn runs out with a chair for the save and house is cleaned.

To Monday again.

Here’s Goldberg and EGADS the booing starts when the music stops. Goldberg holds up the title and says it belongs to the people as much as it belongs to him. Goldberg says he has information he’s never mentioned before but the CM PUNK chants start up. He kind of rolls with them but here’s Paul Heyman instead. Heyman knows he’s not man enough to get in the ring with Goldberg but he knows someone who is.

Cue Brock Lesnar for the staredown with Heyman saying that no one is happier for Goldberg than Lesnar himself. Only one of them can walk out as the winner because the other will walk out of Wrestlemania as the loser. Lesnar extends his hand as Goldberg looks at Lesnar, meaning it’s an F5 for the new champ.

Jack Gallagher/Mustafa Ali vs. Tony Nese/Noam Dar

Gallagher does his headstand in the corner to scare Nese off so he brings in Dar to take Ali’s headscissors. You know what that means. Yeah apparently WWE thinks that a basic move on a nothing show is going to get the next Undertaker Loses reaction so CUE THE FREAKING CROWD SHOT.

Back from a break with Ali armdragging Nese into an armbar. Gallagher comes in and gets beaten down as well with the tag formula going full steam ahead. Jack escapes a body vise and makes the hot tag to Ali for the rolling neckbreaker. Gallagher is brought right back in for the headbutts, setting up the inverted 450 to give Ali the pin at 9:15.

Rating: C-. This felt like it was out of the early days of the cruiserweight division and that’s not a good thing. There’s no particular reason for these four to be fighting (or teaming together for that matter) but they had ten minutes to do their thing, which wasn’t all that impressive. It’s certainly not bad but nothing you’ll want to see again.

And now from the end of Raw.

Here’s Strowman to finish what he started last night. Roman’s music starts but is quickly replaced by a gong because here comes Undertaker. The fans are WAY into this staredown but Braun bails into the crowd as the fans cheer for Undertaker. As Undertaker goes to leave, cue Reigns for the real staredown. The fans aren’t quite as into this and boo Reigns out of the building as he says this isn’t about Undertaker. Reigns says it’s his yard now (that’s all this match needed to set it up) and that earns him a chokeslam. We get a shot of the Wrestlemania logo over Undertaker’s shoulder before he walks out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. In what’s becoming a horrible trend, there’s nothing to talk about with the original stuff, which becomes a rather irritating problem. The good thing is that we had a strong Raw to balance things out and give us some good clips. I know there’s a reason for this show to stay around but the lack of effort is getting really tiresome.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/01/27/kbs-reviews-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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