205 Live
Date: August 15, 2017
Location: Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

Things have changed in a hurry around here as we now have a new Cruiserweight Champion. Last night Akira Tozawa defeated Neville for the title in quite the surprise. Their rematch is this Sunday but tonight we have Tozawa’s official celebration, because celebrations need to be well regulated. Let’s get to it.

As you might expect, we start with a look back at Tozawa winning the title.

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander/Gran Metalik vs. Drew Gulak/Tony Nese

Drew gives a speech about how Nese might be a show off, but he’s a show off who is the picture of health and fitness. Nese starts with Alexander but hang on a second as we need to hit that bicep pose. A crossbody gives Cedric two and we hit the near fall exchange. Gulak comes in and eats a dropkick to the ribs before it’s off to Metalik for a nice backflip. Metalik springboards into an armbar but one heck of a slap only seems to tick Drew off.

It’s Metalik in trouble until a spinning bulldog and dropkick drop Nese. Tony bails outside so Metalik walks the ropes for a moonsault. You know, just because. Back in and Gulak offers a distraction to let Nese take over but Metalik is right back with a hurricanrana. The hot tag brings in Cedric as everything breaks down. A spinning elbow to the jaw drops Gulak for two and there’s the springboard clothesline to Nese. The Lumbar Check ends Gulak at 7:40.

Rating: C. I’m digging this Alexander vs. Nese feud as Alexander is easy to relate to, which isn’t something that happens too often around here. It’s easy to get behind the idea of someone getting annoyed over someone obsessed with their physique. Metalik is entertaining as well, but unfortunately Gulak has lost all of his steam without the No Fly Zone, which now seems to be completely dead.

Ariya Daivari, Noam Dar and Lince Dorado are talking about how Neville lost the title. Cue Neville of course, sending all three away without another word. Neville throws a chair.

Brian Kendrick vs. Mustafa Ali

This is over Kendrick interrupting an Ali interview earlier today (which they don’t even bother showing us). Kendrick looks very nervous as he comes to the ring and he looks underneath said ring for signs of Jack Gallagher. Ali takes him down to start and Kendrick seems panicked over the idea of a basic move. A dropkick gets two on Kendrick, followed by a crossbody out of the corner for the same. The announcers are pushing the heck out of the fact that Kendrick isn’t himself, which makes me think he’ll win anyway.

Ali gets shoved off the top but rolls through a sunset flip anyway. The inverted 450 is broken up with Ali landing HARD on the turnbuckle, setting up the Captain’s Hook. Ali hangs on way longer than he should be able to and makes the rope. Back up and a hard kick to the head sends Ali outside with Kendrick sending him into the LED apron. Kendrick wedges Ali’s foot into the steps and loads up something, only to have Gallagher run in for the DQ at 5:02. Hey I was right.

Rating: C-. There’s an idea here but I’m really not sure where it’s going. Gallagher could really use a change of pace and this might be the right way to go, though they can’t quite go back to his usual stuff after it’s over. Ali got in some good offense here but looked pretty defeated by the end. At least it wasn’t a squash by a distracted Kendrick though.

Gallagher chases him off.

Rich Swann is ready for his victory dance over TJP but Ariya Daivari comes up to say he’s facing Swann instead for not given reason.

Ariya Daivari vs. Rich Swann

Rich ducks a shot in the corner and dances away, as is his custom. A headlock slows Daivari down (not that he was going very fast in the first place) until they head to the apron. Swann kicks him to the floor but charges into something like a Stun Gun onto the apron for a painful looking crash.

Back in and we hit a seated full nelson to stay on the neck. Swann fights out and hits a running flip Fameasser, only to get caught in a reverse DDT. Daivari misses the top rope splash though and it’s time for the Phoenix Splash….only to have TJP come out with his leg in a cast and using crutches. The distraction sets up the hammerlock lariat to give Daivari the pin at 5:06.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to and that’s always a nice surprise. Swann got in some good offense but Daivari was even more of a surprise than expected. TJP vs. Swann needs to wrap up soon, though I’m not sure how likely that is with the leg being banged up like that (assuming it’s real of course).

Kendrick is getting out as fast as he can, but not before mentioning a potential duel with Gallagher.

Here’s Titus O’Neil to introduce Tozawa for his championship celebration. Tozawa talks about this was his dream for so long and calls it easy. Titus tells Tozawa thank you for making their dreams realities. Dancing ensues but here’s a somewhat disheveled Neville to interrupt. He talks about bringing honor to the title but then it was all gone in one day.

With his voice cracking, Neville promises to make everything better in less than a week. A clock comes up on screen counting down to Summerslam, which is how long Tozawa has left with that title. Neville charges the ring but gets dropkicked down from the apron. Tozawa beats him up on the floor and then kicks him off the apron for good measure. The champ sits on Titus’ shoulders to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Better show than usual this week but it makes me think that Sunday’s Cruiserweight Title match isn’t going to do much for me. Neville vs. Tozawa is already starting to feel played out and like something that doesn’t need to be on Summerslam. The rest of the show was entertaining though and that’s more than you can get out of 205 Live these days. Good show, but firmly under the 205 Live dome.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

205 Live
Date: August 8, 2017
Location: Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

We’re north of the boarder this time around and the big story is TJP vs. Rich Swann, who have been having “friendly” competitions for weeks now. This week though it’s a little less friendly as they’re facing off in the main event. There’s likely some more about the Cruiserweight Title match but I’m sure we’ll be getting development on the 205 Live exclusive stories as well. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of TJP vs. Swann with TJP talking about how Swann can’t handle losing, including in the Cruiserweight Classic. Swann beat him a few weeks back and TJP has gotten a bit more sinister since then as he tries to get things even.

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Cedric Alexander

Nese does his long posing entrance on the ring again and the counting abs thing is starting to grow on me. Hang on a second as Nese needs to pose some more. Cedric takes him down with a leg trip and kicks Nese away, setting up a dropkick and his own bicep pose. Alexander sends him outside for a dive but gets caught in a gutbuster back inside.

Tony ties him in the Tree of Woe for the crunch kicks to the ribs, which is becoming one of my favorite spots. We hit a bodyscissors to stay on Cedric’s ribs for a bit, only to have Alexander fight up with an enziguri. The springboard clothesline gets two on Nese and a fan starts chanting boring. Nese ducks a clothesline and nips up, only to eat an elbow to the jaw. They fight over a rollup until Tony grabs the trunks for the pin at 7:24.

Rating: C+. Nese has grown on me in recent weeks and the gimmick is getting better and better every time he’s out there. He’s a perfectly acceptable power heel, which isn’t something you have many of out here. On top of that you have Alexander, who continues to be one of the most naturally smooth wrestlers around here and I still don’t know why he’s not in bigger matches.

Post match Nese says you saw the difference between a great athlete and a premiere athlete. This sounds like they’re setting up something more going forward.

Brian Kendrick doesn’t think much of Jack Gallagher attacking him last week as it only proves that Gallagher is a fake. Besides, all that matters is he won. Gallagher comes in from behind and beats the heck out of Kendrick again.

Noam Dar vs. Mark Thomas

Before the match, Dar says he’s been watching Thomas for years, which just seems to confuse Thomas. Somehow Thomas is still chasing the dream, which Dar can’t relate to because he’s a WWE superstar at 24. Thomas punches him down to start and Dar needs a breather on the floor. Back in and Dar unloads on him with shots to the back and a European uppercut. The running enziguri (Nova Roller) ends Thomas at 1:51. Just a squash.

Corey Graves brings out Akira Tozawa for a sitdown interview. Before he can answer any questions though, here’s Neville to say this should be his interview. Neville isn’t happy with his old friend Corey trying to hype his match without talking to the hype himself. Tozawa isn’t competition for the King of the Cruiserweights but he takes off his tie. He asks Neville what he thinks he’s doing before dropping Neville with a shot to the head. Neville bails before Tozawa can try the top rope backsplash. That’s fine with Tozawa who decks Neville again for good measure. This was perfectly acceptable.

TJP vs. Rich Swann

Swann is back in his old trunks. TJP takes him to the mat to start but gets headlocked for his efforts. Back up and they trade flips over the other before catching stereo kicks to the ribs. Swann chops him down again and gets in a clothesline to put TJP on the floor, setting up a corkscrew dive from the middle rope.

Back in and we hit the hammerlock on TJP as the fans chant for Graves for some reason. A pair of suplexes give TJP two and he grabs a bow and arrow hold for some extra punishment to the back. It’s back to an armbar and that BORING chant starts up again. That goes nowhere so they both miss middle rope dives but Swann is able to catch him with a dropkick to knock TJP off the ropes.

Swann’s double underhook is countered into the kneebar but Rich is right next to the ropes. A kick to the head sets up a standing moonsault for two and Rich is getting frustrated. The Phoenix Splash misses though and Swann winds up on TJP’s shoulders for an electric chair into the corner. The Detonation Kick ends Swann at 10:29.

Rating: B-. Nice match here and that electric chair looked great. TJP winning clean is interesting and likely sets up one more match as Swann won the initial match. These are two of the better talents in the division and I’m liking TJP mostly being a heel again. It naturally suits him and that’s what the show needs at this point.

Post match TJP gets in Swann’s face to brag about the win before doing Swann’s dance. After some replays, TJP catches up to him in the back and asks what’s wrong. Swann isn’t cool with that victory celebration and is starting to know who TJP really is.

Overall Rating: C+. The show has found its groove but at the same time, it’s not exactly the most entertaining thing in the world. The best thing I can say about 205 Live is that it’s not the worst show in the world and that’s really not a good place to be. It’s no secret that this show doesn’t need to exist and that’s not a good thing. I’d be surprised if the show is around in another few months and that’s probably for the better.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher

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

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

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

Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik

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

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

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

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

Ariya Daivari vs. Akira Tozawa

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

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

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

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

Neville is watching in the back to end the show.

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

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

Main Event
Date: July 27, 2017
Location: Verizon Center, Washington D.C.
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

It’s the nation’s capital edition of the show and that means….well nothing of note really as we have the random assortment of matches which could go anywhere on this show. That’s a good thing though and hopefully the Raw highlights are better than what they do around here at times. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese

Nese glares at him a bit and gets armdragged down for his efforts. That earns Alexander a hot shot onto the top rope and the springboard moonsault for good measure. It’s off to the Tree of Woe so Nese can work the abs (both Cedric’s with the kicks and his own with the crunches) and it’s off to a bodyscissors. Cedric fights back with some shots to the face though, followed by the great looking springboard clothesline for two. Nese gutbusters him to stay on the ribs, only to get kicked in the head. The Lumbar Check gives Cedric the pin at 5:28.

Rating: C+. They had something going here with the rib stuff and that’s a lot more than you can ask for on a show like this. Alexander is one of the most consistently entertaining and polished performers on 205 Live….but it’s still 205 Live. He hasn’t been near the Cruiserweight Title and I have no idea why. Would Alexander vs. Neville really be the worst feud in the world?

From Raw!

Here’s Kurt Angle to open things up. Angle talks about the weight being lifted off his shoulders since he’s announced Jason Jordan as his son (Quick sidebar: why would having an illegitimate son from nearly thirty years ago cost him his family? Are Angle’s wife and family so nuts that they can’t accept him dating in college?).

As for the #1 contendership, Brock Lesnar will be defending against…..someone we’ll find out later as Braun Strowman interrupts to say he better be getting the title shot. Cue Samoa Joe to say he wants another shot at Lesnar because he knows he can finish him. Strowman and Reigns can finish each other but he better get his title shot. Roman comes out to say Joe and Strowman haven’t done anything to earn a shot and lists off all of his accomplishments.

Angle changes his mind again and makes the four way for Summerslam. Joe isn’t happy but the brawl breaks out anyway with Joe and Reigns hammering away on Strowman. That lasts all of thirty seconds before they start fighting each other. Strowman gets back up and beats on Reigns before dominating Angle’s security. Joe gets the choke on Strowman until the locker room comes out for another failed save attempt. Reigns spears Strowman down but he pops right back up and sends Joe and Reigns outside.

And again!

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

The winner gets Bliss, who sits in on commentary, at Summerslam. Feeling out process to start with Bayley grabbing a rollup but getting smacked in the face. Bayley gets in a kick and the charge in the corner, only to get knocked off the top as we take a break. Back with Bayley fighting out of a double arm crank and getting two off a facebuster. The Backstabber into the Bank Statement has Bayley in trouble until she flips over into a rollup for two.

They slap it out with Banks getting the better of it, only to miss the top rope knees. Bayley knees her in the head but gets caught with a Shining Wizard to put both of them down. A fired up Bayley gets more aggressive than she’s been in a long time and slugs away, only to have a superplex broken up. Sasha hits a frog splash but Bayley reverses the cover into a rollup for the pin and the title shot at 13:14.

Rating: B-. Good match here as Bayley continues her short road to redemption. Having Bayley win the title on the big stage could be interesting but it’s more likely that Banks turns on her to cost Bayley her chance. At least they’re building up the card in a hurry though as this is the second match announced in about two hours.

Kalisto vs. Apollo Crews

Crews doesn’t waste time and grabs a slam to start, followed by the good looking dropkick. He’s certainly athletic. A headscissors sends him outside though, followed by a hurricanrana to stagger Crews even more. Kalisto gets kicked out of the air though and we take a break. Back with Crews getting two off a slingshot senton and Kalisto’s sunset flip getting the same.

The masked one gets in his variety of kicks, including the rolling kick to the head. The hurricanrana driver looks to set up the Salida Del Sol but Kalisto has to settle for a tornado DDT for two instead. A moonsault misses though and Crews’ Toss Powerbomb is good for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C+. They were flying around well enough here and Kalisto continues to look quite good. He’s such a random former two time US Champion as this is about as high as he gets anymore. Well save for that time when he beat Braun Strowman for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear.

Clips of Kurt Angle announcing Jason Jordan as his son.

And finally.

Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins vs. Miz/Miztourage

Ambrose hammers on Axel to start and runs him over for some right hands and elbows to the head. Rollins comes in for a knee drop as we see Sheamus and Cesaro watching. That….could be interesting actually. Miz comes in and eats a Sling Blade, followed by the Miztourage being cleared out as we take a break. Back with Rollins in trouble as Miz cuts off a hot tag attempt.

Miz gets two off a neckbreaker and it’s off to Axel for a dropkick (Axel: “HOW GOOD WAS THAT???”). Rollins fights off Dallas but it’s still not enough as Miz grabs a DDT for two more. We hit the YES Kicks with Corey singing Miz’s praises because he can. The good old double clothesline puts both Rollins and Miz down, followed by a quick roll over to Ambrose for the hot tag.

House is quickly cleaned, including a rebound lariat on Dallas. The top rope elbow is good for two as everything breaks down. Axel escapes Dirty Deeds and it’s the Skull Crushing Finale for two on Ambrose. Stereo suicide dives put the Miztourage down though and it’s Dirty Deeds to put Miz away at 17:47.

Rating: B-. They got along well enough but I can’t imagine they’ll put the Shield back together for real anytime soon. The match wasn’t great or anything though it’s not like this was supposed to be a classic of any kind. I liked the match and they did a good enough job of keeping the crowd going. I’m not sure where this is going at the end but it’s got enough of my attention.

Post match Seth puts out the fist for the Shield pose but Ambrose leaves him hanging to end the show.

Opinion: B. One of the best shows they’ve had in a good while and for the first time in a long time it’s because of the original content. The two matches were energetic and felt interesting, even if they don’t mean anything either way. It’s a very entertaining show and that’s a rather nice surprise, which you don’t get to say around here, pretty much ever.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

205 Live
Date: July 25, 2017
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

Tonight is more about the midcard as we have a “big” tag match between TJP/Tony Nese and Cedric Alexander/Rich Swann to advance the Swann vs. TJP feud. Other than that Ariya Daivari is facing Neville for reasons that I really don’t understand. If Daivari is the best they can do for an upper midcard heel going after the heel champion, they’re in bigger trouble than it seemed. Let’s get to it.

Neville is really not pleased with Daivari messing with people above his level. That was a critical error by thinking that Neville’s kingdom was open to a hostile takeover. Daivari did well last night but tonight he’s learning the difference between an injured animal like Akira Tozawa and the King of the Cruiserweights.

Opening sequence.

Ariya Daivari vs. Neville

Non-title with Akira Tozawa on commentary. Daivari dedicates this to another Iranian Olympian and promises to hurt Tozawa later. Ariya heads straight to the floor to start and then does it again as there’s no contact in the first minute. They do the same thing a third time until Neville goes after him, only to be sent into the barricade and LED ring skirt. The frog splash gets two back inside as Neville hasn’t had any actual offense yet.

The hammerlock lariat is broken up though and there’s a superkick to put Neville in control. A missile dropkick puts Daivari on the floor where Neville whips him into various things. Neville stops to yell at Tozawa so Daivari sends them into each other. Neville can’t beat the count and gets counted out at 4:36.

Rating: D+. I was liking the match more than I was expecting to until we got to the lame ending. That ending doesn’t make Daivari look like anything special but keeps him around Neville due to getting a win. Daivari did look better than he does otherwise but he’s really not interesting enough to warrant this spot.

Neville and Tozawa are about to go at it but the referees break it up for the sake of Tozawa’s shoulder.

We look back at Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak’s 2/3 falls match last week.

Here’s Brian Kendrick for a chat. He’s tried to help us over and over but all he gets are attacks, both physically and on social media. Why can no one see the difference between fighters like him and clowns like Jack Gallagher? Kendrick puts Gallagher’s picture on the screen and talks about various features such as Gallagher’s hair or eyes…..which are replaced by clown features instead. Gallagher finally comes out to chase Kendrick off. This was really, really stupid.

Swann and Alexander are in the back with Cedric talking about how he’s glad that the crazy ex-girlfriend is gone. Nese and TJP come up to brag about how awesome they’ll be with Nese saying Alexander is a consolation prize. A brawl is cut off by TJP’s music starting up.

TJP/Tony Nese vs. Cedric Alexander/Rich Swann

Swann is now in long tights instead of trunks and starts with Nese. Actually hang on a second as Tony drops to a knee and poses, saying everyone can appreciate that for a second. They exchange leapfrogs until Swann flips over Nese and scores with a dropkick. Cedric comes in and spins Nese around by the arm before handing it right back to Swann. A double dropkick to the back gets two and it’s off to TJP. That means a little dabbing, followed by a PLEASE STOP DABBING chant.

Cedric ankle scissors him into a dropkick and the villains are sent outside. You know two good faces aren’t going to let that go, meaning it’s a running flip dive from Cedric and a Phoenix splash dive from Swann. Back in and Cedric works on an armbar, which for some reason warrants a weak CM Punk chant. A Nese distraction lets TJP run Cedric over though, mainly because good guys aren’t that bright at times.

Nese ties him into the Tree of Woe and drops to his back for some situps and kicks to the ribs. Tony isn’t pleased with getting small packaged for two so he hammers away with quite the aggression. Back to TJP for a foot to the face and more dabbing. A chinlock sets up the spinning springboard forearm (no nipup though) for two. Alexander fights out of a double arm crank and takes TJP down, setting up the hot tag to Swann. Not that you would know it was hot as the fans barely react but take what you can get.

Swann and Nese strike it out until Rich jumps over a legsweep and kicks him in the head. It’s already back to Alexander for a quick running C4 as everything breaks down. Nese throws Swann onto the announcers’ table, leaving Alexander to hit his handspring enziguri for two more. Nese breaks up the springboard forearm though and TJP steals the pin at 12:21.

Rating: B. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to as they were given time to set things up and go on to the ending. I could have gone for a few more minutes, which isn’t something that I often get to say around here. Swann vs. TJP is a solid feud and the blowoff match should be good, especially if TJP goes full heel on the way there.

Overall Rating: C+. That Gallagher/Kendrick segment aside, this was a rather solid effort from the smaller guys, though some of the talent involved still drags down what would be an otherwise better show. Daivari doesn’t do much for me and Kendrick’s stuff was just stupid. Other than that though, good show this week.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

205 Live
Date: July 4, 2017
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

We’re in the desert this week as the build towards Neville vs. Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Title continues. It’s hard to say what else we might be getting on this show, but there’s a good chance that it’s going to be more of Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar in the feud that won’t die. Let’s get to it.

Titus O’Neil is in the back talking to Akira Tozawa, who is over in Japan training. O’Neil runs into Ariya Daivari and Mustafa Ali, who he recruits and promises not to hit. Titus certainly has some great energy and he’s a better fit as a manager than a horrible manager.

Opening sequence.

Announcers chat for a bit.

Here’s Titus for a chat, including a clear podium and pictures of both Tozawa and Neville. Titus praises Neville but knows he’ll be no match for the Power of Tozawa. This brings Neville out and we see the ending to last night’s show with Braun Strowman destroying both Titus and Apollo Crews. Neville is cut off by a YOU’RE NOT STROWMAN chant but suggests that Titus take a seat and watch what happens when he’s mad at someone.

Neville vs. Lince Dorado

Non-title and Titus sits in on commentary. There’s something amusing about Dorado making his entrance while the ring crew takes the big carpet to the back. Neville powers him down to the mat to start but Dorado starts to flip around, including escaping a German suplex. A monkey flip drops Neville again as Joseph is now wearing Titus’ sunglasses and hat. Neville gets pulled out to the floor in a heap for a hurricanrana off the apron but Dorado is sent knees first into the steps. Back in and Neville powerbombs him into the Rings of Saturn for the tap at 3:59.

Rating: C-. Just a squash here but I get one heck of a kick out of watching Neville just mauling people. Dorado isn’t going to lose anything by getting beaten down by Neville, who basically does this to everyone. Whenever someone finally takes the title off of Neville, it’s going to be a huge deal and it’s because of matches like this one where Neville looks great.

TJP has requested a match with Rich Swann to get back on track with some friendly competition. He seems to be turning back to the good side.

Jack Gallagher vs. Tony Nese

Nese poses at him to start and Gallagher makes the questionable choice to accept a test of strength. With that going nowhere, Jack takes him down for about five straight rolling crucifixes for the same number of near falls. Nese finally sends him hard into the ropes and hammers away to really take over. Jack gets tied in the Tree of Woe so Nese lays on his back and kicks away while doing situps at the same time. Sounds like the evolution of Scott Steiner.

Back up and Nese grabs a fireman’s carry but bends Jack around his neck to grasp his hands, kind of like a reverse torture rack. Jack slips down and tries a cross armbreaker but Nese powers out again. Nese tries something like a Lionsault but tweaks his knee on the landing (Is anyone else getting tired of that?), setting up the headbutt and running dropkick to give Gallagher the pin at 6:09.

Rating: C. They had a story here with Nese getting a bit too flashy for the sake of showing off, allowing Gallagher to catch him in the end. All Gallagher needed was a single opening to get the win, which should help keep him strong in the feud with Brian Kendrick. That has some potential, especially after how good the feud with Tozawa was.

Post match here’s Kendrick on screen, this time dressed like a stereotypical Revolutionary War Era Englishman. Kendrick lists off some dates in the American Revolution, all of which involve the English losing. Brian promises to rid 205 Live of the British scourge. Was this really the right idea on THE FOURTH OF JULY? The USA chants while the good guy, from England, is in the ring would suggest otherwise.

We look back at Cedric Alexander beating Noam Dar (yet AGAIN) last night on Raw.

Dar is getting his neck looked at and is told to keep icing it. Alicia Fox comes in and Dar talks about wanting the Cruiserweight Title. That is NOT cool with Fox who wants Dar to deal with Cedric. This better get some votes for Worst Feud of the Year because it’s lasting longer and is more unpleasant than a bad fungus.

TJP vs. Rich Swann

They grapple to start with TJP grabbing a wristlock but getting taken down into an armbar. That’s countered into a headscissors on the mat, only to have Swann pop up and flip over TJP for a running dropkick. The threat of a dive to the floor sends TJP running and Swann dabs a bit.

Swann misses a charge though and crashes out to the floor for a nine count, followed by an armbar back inside. Rich gets kicked down for trying a comeback as Joseph keeps calling TJP Perkins. If that’s allowed, why not just call him TJ Perkins? I’m going to assume it’s something stupid and move on. We hit a Muta Lock on Swann until a rope is grabbed, meaning it’s time for the real comeback.

Rolling Thunder and a modified Michinoku Driver get two each but TJP is right back with a springboard forearm into a nipup. That just earns him a spinning kick to the head (Swann’s former finisher) but TJP pops right back up with the double chickenwing gutbuster for a near fall of his own. The kneebar is broken up so it’s a double kick to the head to drop both guys. TJP’s Detonation Kick is countered and we hit a pinfall reversal sequence with Swann reversing a sunset flip into a cradle for the pin at 12:17.

Rating: B. This was the kind of longer wrestling match you don’t get often enough. They were playing up the idea that they knew each other so well and Swann just caught him in the end instead of really beating him. It’s nice to see Swann getting a win here to get himself back on track, even if it’s just in the short term.

They shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Sometimes you need an episode that barely focuses on the title, which is what happened here. Neville had a squash but Tozawa wasn’t around and the champion’s match was by far the shortest match of the night. There was also a good main event and that makes for an entertaining hour, though the Cedric vs. Dar stuff needs to crawl in a fire somewhere soon.

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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Main Event
Date: June 22, 2017
Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

I’m not sure what the point is in having the cruiserweights on this show. Given that they’re already appearing regularly on Monday Night Raw and their own show, that makes three different shows they’re on every single week. That’s more than anyone else gets and I’m really not sure how much it helps anything. Maybe they’ll switch things up a bit this week. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kalisto vs. Rhyno

That’s already a bigger match than most of these shows have. Rhyno throws him around to start but gets kicked in the face and out to the floor. Back in and Rhyno starts taking over in the corner, basically making him the heel in the match despite getting that hard to shake legends pop. A whip into the corner sets up ye olde chinlock but Rhyno goes up top for no adequately explored reasons, allowing Kalisto to snap off a hurricanrana for two. Rhyno breaks up the Salida Del Sol and grabs a superplex for two of his own. Kalisto doesn’t seem to mind and hits the Salida Del Sol for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: D+. No time to go anywhere but a power vs. speed match will always have something of value in them. I’m still a bit thrown by Rhyno as a heel though as he’s basically a legend at this point with the old school fans remembering his days of slightly above average quite fondly.

To Raw for the first time.

Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about being on the cover of the game. He brings up his heel turn from a few years back and everything it brought him. The problem was he couldn’t look in the mirror. Now he’s on the cover of the game and it’s his second chance. This cover belongs to both himself and the fans because it’s THEIR cover.

Cue Bray Wyatt to talk about how he feels the struggle in Seth’s soul. Seth is still conforming to whatever the people want and he’s just not that man. Rollins says he’s THE man and lists off some accomplishments. Bray says he’s here and blows out the lantern before coming out to the ring. Thankfully Seth is smart enough to dive on Bray as he walks very slowly to the ring.

And again, this time from the ending.

Here’s Angle to announce the attacker. He brings out Enzo, Cass, Revival and Big Show to really set the stage. Angle starts with Big Show, who says he’d fight someone face to face. If Angle thinks he did it, maybe he doesn’t need to be on Raw anymore. Show leaves and Cass is very happy until Kurt cuts him off to talk about Revival. Angle says it wasn’t them because enough referees and agents saw the two of them elsewhere.

Corey Graves says he has some information though. A few moments ago Cass said he had a golf ball sized lump on the back of his head, but the medical team said they never treated him. Cass starts backtracking but Graves has security footage. We see Cass staging the scene of the crime and laying on the ground like he’s unconscious. Cass admits he did it and yells about how tired he is of Enzo running his mouth about whatever he’s always talking about. No one behind the curtain likes Enzo and Cass felt bad for him.

Cass finally snapped and it felt good to lay Enzo out from behind. He unloads on Enzo for all the years of having to put up with him and wanted to see how smart Enzo really was. It turns out that Enzo is even dumber than he looks and nothing but dead weight holding Cass down. All Enzo does is have his mouth write checks that he can’t cash but now Cass isn’t behind him anymore. Enzo gets kicked in the head to end the show.

Gran Metlalik vs. Tony Nese

Nese drives him up against the ropes to start and that’s just not something you do to Metalik. You know, the guy called the KING of the ropes. I guess Nese isn’t as smart as he looks, which is fairly insulting when you think about it. Nese misses a moonsault and gets sent to the apron, followed by the floor. A nice flip dive takes Nese down again and we take a break. Back with Metalik walking the ropes for a dropkick and that top rope elbow for two. Metalik can’t hit his namesake driver as Nese slips down the back and gets in a superkick. The suplex into the corner and running knee put Metalik away at 6:52.

Rating: C-. Considering over half of that match was during the break, I really don’t know why they timed the match like this. Just show more of the stuff from Raw and cut this one down a bit. Nese winning makes sense, even though he has nothing going for him at the moment. Metalik’s normal stuff was as entertaining as usual.

We get the long video on Samoa Joe vs. Lesnar.

One last Raw moment as we join the very end of Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe where Braun Strowman returned and laid Reigns out. The challenge for the ambulance match at Great Balls of Fire wraps us up.

Overall Rating: D+. Almost completely standard Main Event here and that’s not the best thing in the world. The main difference was of course a fresh match between Kalisto and Rhyno, which I can certainly go for after all the times we’ve seen the same people on this show. That being said, with Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas now on Raw, maybe we need to find some new Main Event Musketeers.

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 20, 2017
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

We’re continuing down the road towards Neville vs. Akira Tozawa for the former’s Cruiserweight Title, though for some reason this includes a big detour into Titus O’Neil Land. I’m assuming this is WWE’s way of attaching the shows to the main roster, but there are some more interesting options than O’Neil. Let’s get to it.

Rich Swann is talking with Tozawa in the back with Swann being ready to face Neville in tonight’s main event. Titus comes in and wishes Swann good luck. With Rich gone, Titus has a contract ready for Tozawa to sign. Tozawa won’t do it yet so Titus offers a 5% on Tozawa’s first merchandise. Say…..the Tozawa Towel? That’s still not enough so Titus promises to have the perfect deal ready for Raw. Titus leaves and Tozawa just shakes his head.

Opening sequence.

Jack Gallagher vs. Tony Nese

Fallout from Nese telling the injured Austin Aries to get out of his ring last week. Gallagher wastes no time with doing the headstand in the corner to slow Nese down. They fight over a top wristlock until Gallagher eats (ok not really) a clothesline to the back of his head. We hit the Tree of Woe with Nese dropping to his back to kick Jack in the chest for a unique bit of offense.

Jack fights up and grabs a butterfly suplex for two as Aries (with his trusty banana) are watching in the back. The headbutt connects but does more damage to Jack than Nese, as is typically the case. You might want to switch things up there Jack. Nese goes shoulder first into the post and let’s pause for some goldbricking. Tony grabs the rollup into (read as near) the turnbuckle, followed by the running knee for the pin at 5:02.

Rating: C. Totally acceptable match here with Jack wrestling him even until getting caught up by the cheating, which tends to be an issue for someone of his virtue. That’s a great way of showcasing the good vs evil idea here and it makes Gallagher’s character fit even better. If nothing else it would be a great way to spark a heel turn down the line.

Noam Dar is on his phone with Alicia Fox again, talking about wanting to move on. Cedric Alexander comes in because OF COURSE this is still going. Alexander does his weekly chat about wanting for this to be over but Dar says he threw Alexander’s bag in the river. Cedric holds up his bag and has no idea what’s going on.

Cue Ariya Daivari to say his $15,000 bag is missing. Just play the wah wah waaaaah music already. If nothing else it would be better than Cedric spending weeks saying he wants this thing to be over despite beating Dar EVERY SINGLE TIME. In other words, here’s the story and we’re going with it far past the point it should have ended.

We recap Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali as Drew channels his former characters in CZW and Evolve (yes I know what Evolve is). There’s an interesting idea here but again, Gulak needs some followers if this is going to go anywhere.

Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali

What is this, their third showdown? If nothing else Gulak’s music is growing on me a bit. On the way to the ring, Drew shouts into his bullhorn about wanting ground based offense and top wristlocks instead of inverted 450s. Ali dropkicks him through the ropes and hits a running corkscrew plancha for good measure. Something close to a moonsault press gives Ali two but he gets shoved over the top and down to the apron on his wrist.

We hit something like a keylock (clearly the setup for the top wristlock, which is what you call foreshadowing….or maybe me overthinking it) for a bit, followed by an abdominal stretch. The wrist is wrapped around the top rope, only to have Ali come back with a dropkick. The slingshot rolling neckbreaker looks to set up a middle rope dropkick but Gulak tries to counter into a rollup. Ali reverses into one of his own though and grabs the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t as good as their previous match but the idea of Ali winning is something that could keep this going. That being said I’m not sure why this feud needs to continue without a few big developments. You can only get so far with them trading wins and bringing in another person or two would do them a lot of good.

Gallagher runs into Aries in the back with the latter suggesting they form an alliance of cutting corners. Jack doesn’t like the idea but agrees to an accord (Aries: “I thought you had a Lincoln.”) because they’re international brothers of the mustache.

We look at Neville attacking Rich Swann last week on Raw.

TJP comes up to Swann and accuses him of….I think colluding with Neville but Swann points out how ridiculous that is. It seems to turn into a TJP pep talk, though it’s quite the odd segment.

WWE2K18 ad featuring Seth Rollins.

Tozawa is now sitting ringside courtesy of the Titus Brand.

Neville vs. Rich Swann

Non-title. Swann goes right for him and dropkicks the champ out to the floor. They roll around on the mat for a bit before another dropkick sends Neville outside again. Well to be fair Swann has done the same things since his debut so having him do the same thing twice in a match makes sense. Neville gets thrown outside for the third time and Swann hits a good looking running flip dive.

Back in and something like Rolling Thunder hits raised knees so Neville sends the banged up ribs into the barricade. They run in front of Tozawa to remind you that he’s here (despite not really needing to be) before Swann goes into the barricade again. Swann’s ribs bounce off the announcers’ table, only to just collapse back inside.

Rich pops back up enough for a superkick to drop Neville (making Swann roughly 18 times more effective than the Young Bucks). A kick to the head gets two on Neville and Swann knocks him away while whispering to avoid the Phoenix splash. Neville does as he’s told and the Rings of Saturn make Swann tap at 10:41.

Rating: B. Now that’s a good story with Swann fighting through the injury and giving it everything he had, only to come up short in the end because he tried one too many big spots and got caught. You don’t get that kind of thing around here too often and it’s no surprise that Neville was the one to pull it off. Neville is just on another level than these guys right now and it’s pretty ridiculous to suggest that he doesn’t belong in the heavyweight ranks.

Neville stares Tozawa down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is the kind of 205 Live that I love watching: one with a tight ship that addresses every story going on with the show and sets up something for the future. It’s like they took a lesson from NXT and actually focused on advancing things along a set path instead of just saying “here’s the end goal, nothing matters as long as we get there”. Throw in a good main event and I’m rather content with the night.

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 13, 2017
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

It seems that we have a new challenger to Neville’s Cruiserweight Title as the champ called out Akira Tozawa last night on Monday Night Raw. Hopefully that doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing a lot of Titus O’Neil as a bonus because he’s been hitched to Tozawa for reasons unclear. We should also be hearing something about Austin Aries’ future. Let’s get to it.

Tozawa is getting ready in the back when Titus comes in to say he’s gotten Tozawa a main event match against TJP tonight. Akira tries to say something about the Titus Brand but Titus cuts him off and says Tozawa signing would mean, in song, that it’s raining yen. Tozawa really doesn’t seem impressed and I can’t say I’m surprised.

Opening sequence.

The announcers (with Joseph being welcomed to the team) preview the show.

Cedric Alexander vs. Ariya Daivari

Cedric flips out of a wristlock to start and the threat of a kick to the head sends Daivari running away. Back in and Daivari drives Cedric back first into the corner but he comes right back with a good looking dropkick for two. Cedric’s springboard clothesline is broken up and we hit the neck chinlock. One heck of a jumping knee to the head gets two on Cedric and it’s off to the chinlock again. Cedric fights up and hits the handspring enziguri for two, followed by the springboard clothesline. Hang on though as here’s Noam Dar with Alicia Fox on his phone. Cedric kicks him down and grabs the Lumbar Check for the pin at 6:53.

Rating: C+. That might have been the least interesting and worst run-ins I can remember in a very long time. Alexander keeps beating Dar and making him look like a goon so why is he still doing this stuff? The Fox stuff is about as annoying as it can be (in a good way) but what is the point in this story continuing when Alexander has won all the matches and showdowns while saying it’s over? I really don’t get this one.

Post match Cedric grabs the phone and ignores Fox before hanging up on her.

Here’s Austin Aries for his first comments after losing to Neville again. He was thinking this would be a bit of a different kind of moment but he’s out here without his Cruiserweight Title. While he’s ready to keep going, WWE thinks he needs to be medically cleared and he has to take some time off.

This brings out Tony Nese to say to say Aries needs to get out of the ring before he starts fading into the past. Aries brings up making Nese tap out recently, which means violence is teased. This brings out Jack Gallagher (Where has he been?) to say this is a city about having fun. If Nese thinks he’s Aries’ replacement, that makes him the biggest joke of all. Nese swings so Gallagher takes him apart with the umbrella.

TJP runs into Rich Swann, who thinks the fans were starting to believe in him again but that changed in a hurry. Swann wants the old TJP back.

Video on Mustafa Ali but it’s cut off by Drew Gulak, who doesn’t think Ali has the fans’ best interests in mind. On the other hand, Gulak only cares about making fans happy, albeit in a safe way. They square off next week.

Gallagher vs. Nese next week as well.

TJP vs. Akira Tozawa

Tozawa shouts a lot and grabs a headlock. A kick to the chest and the screaming backsplash give Tozawa two as Titus O’Neil is watching in the back. TJP finally gets in a dropkick to knock Tozwa out of the air but his arm is a big banged up. He’s fine enough to work on a neck crank with an arm trap as things slow down a bit.

Back up and Tozawa hits a nice springboard forearm into a nipup, making him like Shawn Michaels with worse hair. For some reason this brings up a CM PUNK chant until TJP puts on a something like a standing Indian Deathlock. That’s switched over to a butterfly lock until Tozawa comes back up with a hurricanrana. TJP bails to the floor and eats a suicide dive for little reaction.

Back in and Tozawa gets crotched on top, setting up the double chickenwing gutbuster for two. They slug it out with Tozawa getting the better of it, only to have TJP grab a quick kneebar. Tozawa grabs the rope so TJP kicks his mouthpiece out. Not that it matters as Tozawa comes right back up with a Saito suplex and the top rope backsplash for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: C+. This took a bit to get going but the last few minutes were quite good. TJP’s kick to the face looked awesome, as did Tozawa speeding things up into the Saito suplex. This was the kind of win that Tozawa needed to follow up on the Kendrick feud. Now if only he can ditch Titus, he would be firmly in line for a Cruiserweight Title shot.

Post match Titus is singing It’s Raining Yen in the back when Neville comes up. Neville really doesn’t care about any of this because Tozawa isn’t ready for the Neville level. Titus says Tozawa is the future to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show here as they’re setting up a fresh challenge for the title, along with giving us an update on Aries. I still don’t get the point in having Alexander vs. Dar continuing but maybe they’re setting up something in the future. This might not have been the best show on its own but it helped set stuff up for the future, which is also very important.

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali

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

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

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

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

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

Cedric Alexander will be back soon.

Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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