WWE 205 Live Review // 13th February 2018

The first round of the Cruiserweight Championship tournament continued on 205 Live this week, with former 'Zo Train members Drew Gulak and Tony Nese colliding in the main event. But how did it all go down in Bakersfield, CA? Lets take a look! 

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament First Round Match // Drew Gulak def. Tony Nese // Submission

Drew Gulak found himself in the Quarter Finals of the Cruiserweight Championship tournament after a brutally dominant victory over former 'Zo Train partner, Tony Nese. A real different match to your typical WWE outing, full of unique offence, hard strikes and some lovely technical wrestling. The match was paced really well, with Nese initially trying to match Gulak's technique and striking game, often coming out on the losing end, before later on the match picked up the pace as Nese hit a beautiful Fosbury flop dive and went on to miss a 450 splash attempt. As much as Gulak looked dominant, Nese was particularly impressive here, there was also a lot of action that felt super fresh, Nese put on a gorgeous submission that seemed to wrap himself all over Gulak, whilst he also later hit an Alley Oop into the top turnbuckle and escaped an armbar attempt with a running powerbomb into the bottom buckle. Both men also sold the hard-hitting bout, with Nese out on his feet for much of the last third, whilst Gulak did some lovely detail work, moving his fingers to suggest a nerve issue towards the end of the clash. 

The finish was superbly done, making Gulak look like a real force to be reckoned with in the tournament going forward. Drew's facial expression after getting a slap from Nese on the outside told the whole story of what was about to happen next and then delivering on it. Gulak viciously threw his former friend into the lower half of the announce table twice, with Nese appearing to be completely out of it. The referee being unable to stop Gulak from assaulting Tony upped the drama and made Drew look like a bastard as he hit a massive lariat, two powerbombs and then locked on the Gu-Lock to seal the deal. As much as I enjoyed Gulak's powerpoint gimmick, it was great to see him return to this vicious and commanding in-ring style that made him a stand-out in places like CHIKARA and CZW. Gulak hadn't won one-on-one since October, but it appears he's set for a much brighter future under Triple H's watch.

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament First Round Match // Mark Andrews def. Akira Tozawa // Pinfall 

Mark Andrews made his return to 205 Live, picking up his first singles match win in WWE since the United Kingdom Championship Tournament, with an upset win over Akira Tozawa. For me, this was the first match of this tournament that failed to live up to expectations. That isn't to say this wasn't an enjoyable match, because there was some very good action in the second half, but the first portion of the match didn't do a great job of setting out the stall and letting what would have been an unfamiliar audience know what Andrews is all about. A technical start followed up by a number of submission attempts from Andrews was alright, but it wasn't what I wanted to see between these two pacy highflyers and put Andrews in a weird position of looking like the stronger competitor, when perhaps he has always worked better as the underdog fighting from underneath. Considering the type of match that Gulak and Nese had in the main event, I would've preferred to see this match take on a much different tone to how it started, with a little bit of sloppiness on Mandrews part also not helping get the crowd onside. The conclusion was much improved however, with a series of lovely reversals, with the highlight coming as Andrews went for a frankensteiner, which was blocked by Tozawa who looked to counter with a powerbomb, only for Mark to hit a wicked rana from the middle rope. I'm happy to see Mark Andrews head to the Quarter Finals and hopefully we'll get to see him at his best next time round. 

Also This Week 

- A special look at Buddy Murphy, who'll be making his debut next week against Ariya Daivari.

- Drake Maverick told Gentleman Jack Gallagher that he was no longer allowed to wrestle in suits, telling Gallagher to "sort himself out" before next week's match with Mustafa Ali.

ATPW Scale Rating // 7.17 out of 10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

RAW 1279 Review // Roman Reigns vs. Elias // Intercontinental Championship

The past month on RAW...

RAW 1275 Review // The Miz vs. Matt Hardy // Intercontinental Championship
RAW 1276 Review // Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro & Sheamus // RAW Tag Team Championship
RAW 1277 Review // The Shield vs. The Miz, Cesaro & Sheamus
Survivor Series 2017 Review // Raw vs. SmackDown 
RAW 1278 Review // The Miz vs. Roman Reigns // Intercontinental Championship

With Survivor Series firmly in the rear view mirror and with nine weeks until the Royal Rumble, it seems we're in for an interesting two months on RAW. The 27th November episode came to us from Knoxville, Tennesee and was main-evented by Roman Reigns' first Intercontinental title defence against Elias, with Reigns being moved into a new feud with Samoa Joe post-match. There was also a curious angle that saw Kane in action against Jason Jordan and then Finn Balor, before Braun Strowman turned up for some revenge, whilst Seth Rollins clashed with RAW Tag Team Champion Cesaro, with both men's partners absent from ringside. But was RAW 1279 any good? Lets take a look!

Elias stepped up to Roman Reigns

then...

Intercontinental Championship // Roman Reigns def. Elias [Elias Samson] // Pinfall

With The Miz written off TV to do a film, Roman Reigns was shifted into a feud with Samoa Joe, but not before he'd spent a big portion of the episode opposite Elias. The opening segment of the show set the tone for the interaction, with Reigns cutting a run of the mill promo, before being interrupted by The Miztourage, who introduced Elias. Not a whole lot else actually happened. Considering Reigns had issued an open challenge on social media, having it answered by Elias was a let down. The Drifter has done some good character work in the mid-card, but it's hard to pick out a match of his that has come anywhere near exciting me. Had the challenge not been issued a week in advance it wouldn't have been as bad, but allowing the fans (and other roster members) to get interested in who could step out to face Reigns and to then provide Elias as the answer seemed like a misstep. The highlight of the segment was The Miztourage joining up with Elias as the trio has potential to entertain, whilst also opening up a programme when The Miz is ready to return.

Before the main event (coming at the top of the third hour) could get underway, Elias was allowed to shine as he did an extended concert alongside Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. This was the best part of the one-night story with Elias controlling the crowd with ease. The Drifter has a good sense of when to bring the crowd up and when to settle them down, threatening to stop at multiple points, only to continue with his sweet tunes, much to Knoxville's displeasure. Dallas and Axel playing the harmonica was a bizarre twist, but meant the concert could continue way past what we usually see from a solo Elias, resulting in a decent sized "We Want Roman" chant. This segment provided even more evidence that an Elias, Axel and Dallas trio could work extremely well as a mid-card act and under other circumstances do well from an Intercontinental Championship run.

Unfortunately the match couldn't follow the concert, not helped by some strange booking. With the crowd chanting "We Want Roman" by the end of the prior segment, it would've made sense to have Reigns come straight out of the gates with a big face shine, yet instead we got five of the dullest minutes of wrestling in recent memory. Wear down holds, general beat down stuff and a few slow and clunky moments littered the opening exchanges and struggled to grab the audience or hold my attention. The best moments came from the interference from Axel and Dallas as the pair bought something mildly interesting to match, popped the crowd and then Axel got speared out of his boots on the floor after a nice bit of build. There was also a handful of decent near falls for Elias with the Miztourage being used well to increase the threat to Reigns' title run, as the Drifer came close with a diving elbow drop and a wicked spinning sitout powerbomb. Eventually, Reigns picked up the win in fairly convincing fashion with a spear. Post-match, Reigns was assaulted on the ramp by Samoa Joe in an intense angle. The two have clash three times already on RAW this year, but a full blown feud could prove fruitful as the show bides time between now and the Road to WrestleMania.

Kane def. Jason Jordan // Countout 

then...

Finn Balor [Prince Devitt] def. Kane // Disqualification

Well, this was a strange close to the show. Kane vs. Jason Jordan was supposed to be our final match, but it didn't last long with Jordan getting thrown over the top rope and selling his knee, getting counted out. There wasn't much to the match at all and it seemed like just another way of furthering the story that Jordan is trying to look tough, whilst simultaneously pussying out at any sign of things not going his way. After Kane murdered Jordan, Finn Balor came roaring out to let us know that Vince McMahon really doesn't see anything in him. Balor actually got some decent offence in on Kane, but after a shotgun dropkick sent the Big Red Machine into the barricade, the former WWE Champion came back with a chair to cause the DQ. Kane smacked Balor about a bit with the chair, in a grim metaphor for Balor's current trajectory, before Braun Strowman came out to make the save. It was a needlessly complicated piece of booking, that whilst aiding Jordan's story somewhat, did very little for Balor. It's clear that the company has cooled on him as a top level guy, but feeding him to Kane (who will inevitably be fed to Strowman) seemed unnecessary with such a deep roster.

The show would conclude with Strowman dishing out a beating to Kane, as a receipt for last week. Whilst The Monster Amongst Men lobbing people around and wielding a chair will always be fun to a certain level, there was also Kane escaping through the crowd whilst gasping for air. This was after Strowman drove the chair into the steel steps with Kane's throat at the other end and then repeated the act. Obviously, this was supposed to be a reply, after Kane did the same to Strowman last week, but became an uncomfortable watch, going on way past what was necessary. Perhaps in the middle of the show it would've been, at the very least, not quite as jarring, but having the newly babyface Strowman ram a steel chair repeatedly into another man's throat, even as a revenge attack was a strange way to end the show. Having the Devil's Favourite Demon stagger away through the crowd, gasping for breath has to be one of weakest ending's to an episode of RAW in the last few years. Surely, the running powerslam on the steps was a good enough ending? 

Seth Rollins def. Cesaro [Claudio Castagnoli] // Pinfall 

The best match on the show, pretty much saved the messy upper card as Seth Rollins and Cesaro put on a great television opener. After a handful of TV matches over the last two years, this still felt like a fresh pairing and with a little extra time they seemed to really get their teeth in this, with a series of creative highspots. The fameasser on the apron from Rollins, as well as Cesaro slamming Seth into the post, during the break, stand out in particular. However, the match's driving forces was the amazing selling on display from both men and how that was woven into the story, creating added drama at points. Simple things like Rollins selling a backbreaker by not being able to hit the Falcon Arrow, and then selling an eye-poke by blindly swinging in the corner made all the difference, whilst Cesaro also did some nice grit-your-teeth style work, getting over the physicality of the contest. The Swiss Superman got a couple of good near falls against the two time WWE Champion, including the Kingslayer spending sometime in the Sharpshooter, before a smooth sequence resulted in Rollins nailing the King's Landing and falling into the cover. Post-match, Rollins told Charly Caruso that The Shield was still a unit, comically talking about Dean Ambrose being on honeymoon, before announcing he and Ambrose would be cashing in their rematch clause for the RAW Tag Team Championship next week in Los Angeles.

Cruiserweight Championship #1 Contendership Tournament Semi-Final // Rich Swann def. Akira Tozawa and Noam Dar and Ariya Daivari // Pinfall 

After Kurt Angle admitted he'd let the Cruiserweight division got off the rails, claiming he didn't even know what The 'Zo Train was despite it dominating 205 Live for months, the RAW General Manager booked a tournament to crown a number one contender, with the first semi-final happening this week. Rich Swann, Akira Tozawa, Noam Dar and Ariya Daivari put on a four-way sprint, that featured lots of enjoyable action, even if the crowd was a little flat. There could have been more storytelling with Dar and Daivari both in the 'Zo Train, but as a showcase for the four's in-ring talent this was a good starting point for anyone looking to jump into 205 Live. The Swann vs. Tozawa section was some of the best straight-up wrestling on the show. The pair have lots of history in Dragon Gate and DGUSA, but this was the first time they'd been on opposite sides in WWE and it was brilliant to watch. Dar would also put in a great showing down the stretch as he desperately clawed to get the win anyway possible, connecting well with both Swann and Tozawa, getting a decent bit of heat, before eventually taking the pin after a Phoenix Splash as Swann advance to the final on 1281.

Bray Wyatt def. Matt Hardy // Pinfall 

For an eight minute portion of the show, Bray Wyatt going over Matt Hardy featured a lot of talking points. The match itself was a short and straightforward victory for Wyatt, as he weathered a Hardy storm, kicking out of a Side Effect, before winning with Sister Abigail. However, the stuff that book-ended the match was much more noteworthy. We began with a wild promo from Wyatt, as he spoke about Thanksgiving and then proceeded to shout "You're all dead" four or five times. I'm not quite sure what it was supposed to be, but it was the first Wyatt promo in a long while that has felt different and engaging. It's difficult to ignore being told that you and everyone else is in fact dead, by laughing 285lb man. Post-match, things were all about Matt Hardy as WWE finally prepared to pull the trigger on "Broken" Matt. It had been referenced that Hardy's attack on Elias last week had seen a change in the former United States Champion, which to be honest I hadn't clocked, but now made perfect sense. Hardy sat in the corner, screaming a few times, before doing the signature "Delete" gesture that we haven't seen for a little while. A "Broken" Matt feud with Wyatt has bags of potential if WWE can keep more to the Final Deletion style than they did with the House of Horrors, whilst the return of Jeff Hardy in 2018 opens doors to other potential stories

Paige, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville [Daria Berenato] laid out Sasha Banks

After the surprising return and debut last week, Paige, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville couldn't match things this time round with an oddly booked segment. Originally supposed to be a six man tag with Mickie James and Bayley tagging with Sasha Banks, when neither came out, Paige later brought up footage of the pair nursing injuries backstage. This lead to an overly wordy segment, including Mandy Rose seemingly not knowing how to walk, in which Paige explained the reasons behind attacking the roster last week. Basically, it was the same kind of thing we've heard time and time again from performers after time off, moaning that they were forgotten about while injured etc. Paige is strong on the mic, but giving time to Deville and Rose seemed like a poor choice, especially having them do it after walking to the ring to surround Banks. Deville struggled with dealing with the "What?" chants, whilst Rose positioning herself on the hard-cam side of the apron resulted in some awkward camera angles. The beatdown followed the same pattern as last week's, with Banks taking Bed of Roses from Rose, a jumping roundhouse kick from Deville and a Rampaige from Paige. Oh, the trio is also called Absolution now and after a lengthy explanation, I still have no idea why.

Samoa Joe def. Titus O'Neil // Submission

Quick squash that was mostly strikes, before Joe used a separation by the referee to lock in  the Coquina Clutch for the submission victory. After the match, Apollo Crews tried to stand up to Joe, but ended up caught in the Coquina Clutch as well.

Asuka [Kana] def. Dana Brooke // Submission

An in-vision promo from Dana Brooke called Asuka a "slow-starter" before The Empress of Tomorrow made Brooke tap out to a cross-armbreaker in under five seconds in a laugh-out loud moment. After the match it was teased that Asuka had some involvement with Absolution when the group hit the ring, but didn't attack.

Finally... 

Not a great RAW this week, with a number of poor booking decisions that left performers exposed, but also featured a couple of good to very good TV bouts. Roman Reigns vs. Elias was highlighted by the involvement of The Miztourage, but the match itself was poorly put together, whilst Kane's matches with Jason Jordan and Finn Balor seemed unnecessary and Braun Strowman's attack on the Big Red Machine's throat was a shitty way to conclude. This left Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro as the only top segment to deliver, with the pair having a cracking opening bout, that the rest of the show struggled to follow. Asuka destroying Dana Brooke in seconds, the Cruiserweight four-way and the potential for "Broken" Matt in WWE gave the undercard a boost, but the new Absolution faction lost some of the edge they had last week in an ill-advised promo, in lieu of the advertised trios match. 

There's still no idea what the show is going to do to keep things interesting before the Royal Rumble, but we've got Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to look forward to next week, as well as the live episode on Christmas Day for 1283 and the 25th anniversary special as the go-home for the Rumble on 22nd January for 1287.

205 Live 52 Review // Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak // Street Fight

A different kind of episode from 205 Live this week, with one storyline spanning the whole hour at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Whilst the biggest match on the episode was Akira Tozawa facing Drew Gulak in a Street Fight, that bout was part of an episode-arcing narrative where Enzo Amore had members of The 'Zo Train compete in matches in order to prove themselves worthy of representing the brand, this included Noam Dar & Ariya Daivari tagging up against Rich Swann and Cedric Alexander and Tony Nese battling Mustafa Ali, alongside multiple backstage segments. But was it any good?

Street Fight // Akira Tozawa def. Drew Gulak // Pinfall (11:11) 

then...

Tony Nese def. Mustafa Ali // Pinfall (7:06)

then...

Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander def. Noam Dar & Ariya Daivari // Pinfall 

The show kicked-off with The 'Zo Train celebrating Thanksgiving, with Noam Dar desperate for some scran, Enzo Amore told his pals they'd all have matches to prove themselves tonight and in a bizarre turn of events the Gobbledy Gooker returned, only for it to be revealed it was Drew Gulak (or the Gobbledy Gulaker) all along, as Gulak continued to be the star of 205 Live....The fun continued with Gulak inside the ring as he cut a promo about wanting a Street Fight because Enzo Amore was from the streets and because Gulak is "Enzo adjacent", that meant Gulak was from the streets, by proxy...

For various story-based reasons, Akira Tozawa's victory over Drew Gulak went on first, when it really should've been the main event. The match was a run of the mill plunder brawl, with a couple of good highspots along the way. Gulak blocking a suicide dive and hitting a verticle suplex on the metal part of the entrance ramp, Tozawa destroying Gulak's "No chants" sign with a backdrop driver in the corner and Tozawa hitting a somersault senton off the announce table were amongst the highlights of fun clash. There times when the action dragged a little, not helped by a dour crowd, who were waiting for the next spot and desperately clamouring for tables. A little time chopped off would've helped, as it seemed the duo didn't have enough content to fill the time. The win came with a spot that sounded better on paper, as Tozawa hit a diving senton with Gulak draped on a table and inside a bin. It looked cool, but was a little clumsy in it's exclusion. This loss leave Gulak with just one singles win in his last eleven outings. A personal highlight was the crowd chanting "No chants" which was hilarious, either being a great moment of self-aware irony or clueless stupidity. You tell me, Houston.

After Rich Swann, Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali took the piss out of the Zo Train, Enzo Amore told Tony Nese that he had to do whatever it took to win next, in order to represent the Enzo Brand correctly...

Whilst it garnered the weakest crowd response, Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali was my favourite match on the card. I've kind of accepted that the crowd is tired after SmackDown and unfamiliar with the majority of the talent and therefore the only reaction most of these matches are going to receive are move pops and even then sometimes spectacular stuff doesn't even raise a smile with some of these audiences. Ali and Nese wrestled a wonderfully creative bout, with tonnes of stuff that made me sit up and take notice, especially when the action was on the outside of the ring. Ali's ridiculous diving somersault senton to the outside, followed up by a lovely spot on the barricade when Nese blocked a moonsault attempt by the announce table. The two also did a great series of athletic reversals that concluded with a Tornado DDT, as well as Ali pulling out a wicked forward roll X-Factor, that had me popping like a mad man at home and the crowd shrugging their shoulders. The most surprising thing about the match however was the result as Nese pinned Ali after ramming his opponent's head into the corner post and finishing him off with The Running Nese. Not just because Ali had been undefeated since early July, whilst Nese hadn't had a win since early August, but also because I just presumed that all of the 'Zo Train were going to end up staring at the lights.

Backstage, as Ariya Daivari and Noam Dar pumped each other up for their tag team match, it was revealed Drew Gulak had been placed in "time out" following his loss and had also put the Gobbledy Gooker costume back on...

I've found the thing that enjoy about 205 Live the most and especially within this episode, is how many of the performers appear to be free to do anything they like and this results in little moments of joy. And as someone who loves little moments, Noam Dar swinging around the tag rope at the beginning of this tag bout made me happier than someone whirling around the tag rope should make any 24 year old. Dar's character work throughout this one was fantastic, as he looked to catch up Drew Gulak as the star of the 'Zo Train, by high-fiving Amore whenever the Scot did anything well, as well as jumping into a hug with Cruiserweight champion at one point as well. Dar's shenanigans aside, this was a sound tag team match, sticking mostly to a basic structure, with Cedric Alexander as the face in peril, whilst Amore playing interference on the outside and his occasional frustration at his team gave the match a little more depth. After a couple of decent near falls, the finish included all five guys well with interference from Amore, Daivari taking an elbow from Alexander, who then took a baseball slide from Dar, before the Scottish Supernova turned round into a spin kick from Swann, before the deal was sealed with a Phoenix Splash.

Enzo Amore began a beatdown as soon as the match was over, with Tony Nese and Drew Gulak arriving to take out Akira Tozawa and Mustafa Ali when they turned up to help out. The show came to a close with Dar and Daivari hitting signature moves on Alexander and Swann, before Amore resurrected Bada Boom Shakalaka with help from the Zo' Train, with the quintet managing to garner a decent amount of heat...

A vignette aired for the debut of Hideo Itami [KENTA], with the message "Coming Soon ".

Finally...

Credit to whoever is in charge of 205 Live creative for trying something different and something that certainly wouldn't have worked on RAW and SmackDown and perhaps would've struggled on even NXT. The story meant the card was almost backwards, but each match had, at least, some purpose and offered something different from the ones that had gone before it, whilst the backstage segments were more hit than miss. Drew Gulak was once again on fine character form, whilst Noam Dar stepped up to the plate to challenge him with a great character show in the main event as well. I'm interested to see how Tony Nese being the only team member to win his match plays out, as well as how the beaten down babyfaces look to get revenge once again for the vicious beat down. There's no more PPV's for the brand until next year, so there's plenty of time to focus on getting the stories right and hopefully with even less focus from the main creative the brand will continue to produce a different kind of show to RAW and SmackDown. Now if only we could move when and where it was taped that'd be grand!

Review by James Marston

205 Live #44 Review - Enzo Amore addresses the Cruiserweight Division

On 26th September 2017, WWE aired the 44th episode of 205 Live, live on the WWE Network, from the Gina River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The show featured Enzo Amore addressing the Cruiserweight division, as well as appearances from Neville, The Brian Kendrick, TJP, Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann. But was it any good? Lets take a look. 

The show began with a recap of what happened on RAW the night before, featuring Neville attacking Enzo Amore during his Certified G Championship celebration, whilst the rest of the Cruiserweight division watched on the ramp. This after RAW General Manager Kurt Angle agreed to put a no-contact clause in place where anyone attacking Amore would not receive another Cruiserweight championship shot. 

A defiant Enzo Amore addressed the Cruiserweight Division (8:35)

Enzo Amore's heel turn over the last month or so is finally beginning to pay off and the Cruiserweight champion opening 205 Live this week provided us with a strong promo, that built on the stellar work done the previous night on RAW. Amore coming out tapped up and on crutches, as he hobbled to the ring, sold the beating he'd received, helped by Amore taking his time and milking the injuries for all it was worth. Enzo took his time with his promo as well, playing with some of his mannerisms that initially made him a popular babyface and telling a story about his mother being at ringside on Monday night and how hearing the crowd chant "You deserve it" made her feel. For a man who had previously had a strong connection with the crowd and used it to fuel his initial success, hearing Amore turn on them was particularly powerful as he delivered the promo with a viciousness that has rarely been from Muscles Marinara. The most interesting storyline note, however, is the idea that because of Kurt Angle creating a non-contact clause, all of the Cruiserweight division was now unable to get a shot at the Cruiserweight title. This opens up interesting storytelling possibilities with Amore claiming that he will die with the championship. Perhaps we'll see someone like Hideo Itami, Johnny Gargano or Oney Lorcan get the call-up to challenge Amore at Tables, Ladders and Chairs next month? Either way, I'm actually actively interested in this purple brand story!

Akira Tozawa def. Tony Nese (8:00)

A good opener here with Drew Gulak on commentary helping things along also. Nese has a number of entertaining moves, that work with his gimmick when in control, like the crunch kicks with Tozawa in the tree of woe, whilst Tozawa has proven ability as a scrappy babyface. The Glendale crowd seemed the least up for Tozawa's "Ah" chants, which dented the matches energy a little, but that didn't stop Nese and Tozawa putting on some really good wrestling inside their two minute window. Whilst The Stamina Monster's comeback of running rana and Saito suplex was decent, the gear change as the two exchanged strikes was a brilliant piece of work with the two going back and forth with hard strikes, before launching into a series of reversals that concluded with Nese flipping out off a back suplex to get a two count with a roll-up. Tozawa racked up his third victory in a row with a spinning roundhouse kick, followed up with his Drop Zone diving senton. This wasn't worth going out of your way for, but a pleasant match with one thrilling sequence.

Post-match, Drew Gulak treated us to more of his powerpoint presentation, introducing his idea of Drewtopia and attempting to ban celebrating. This resulted in a spinning roundhouse kick from Tozawa. 

Enzo Amore and Ariya Daivari were part of a lengthy backstage conversation, that essentially boiled down to Daivari blaming Monday's attack on "mob mentality" and asking Amore to be in his corner against Neville later on. 

Before TJP's match with Lince Dorado could begin, Rich Swann legged it down the ramp to scrap with TJP, who then legged it through the crowd to escape. 

Backstage, Jack Gallagher and The Brian Kendrick cut a promo ahead of Gallagher's match with Cedric Alexander next week, bringing up ideas of cruelty and seasons and things. 

Neville cut a brilliantly performed promo about last night being the best night of his life..."Keep one eye open buddy, because you never know where this creature will be lurking" 

Neville def. Ariya Daivari (5:18)

A pretty basic match here to close the show, but one that did a decent job of introducing the potential that the King of the Cruiserweights has as a babyface. Neville took an absolute beating from Daivari with Byron Saxton and Vic Joseph putting over the idea that he had been thrown by the loss to Enzo and the fact that Amore was at ringside. The former champion got chucked into the barricades on multiple occasions, took an rope-hung reverse DDT, a knee strikes and a forearm and sold well, making a man who hasn't won in his last seven look like a world-beater at points. Neville's offence was limited to a couple of kicks and it seemed like Enzo Amore being at ringside would end up costing him, only for the Geordie to duck Daivari's hammerlock lariat, hit an armdrag and lock in the Rings of Saturn for the submission victory in a crisp flash finish. Whilst it would have been nice to see Neville crack out the Red Arrow for the victory, but the submission victory arguably put over his mindset better. This isn't going to be the happy-go-lucky babyface "Man that Gravity Forgot" that we saw in 2015/16, but a much more focused and violent Neville, an extension of the King of the Cruiserweights character that has blossomed as a villain, except now he's beating the shit into guys like Enzo Amore and Ariya Daivari.

After the match, Enzo Amore almost immediately clobbered Neville with a crutch to the back, before laying in some forearms whilst the referees attempted to remove him.

A solid episode of 205 Live this week, with Enzo Amore's change of character providing an entertaining opening monologue and closing the show with punch and impact. Akira Tozawa vs. Tony Nese was the better of the two matches, but Neville's victory over Ariya Daivari gets the former a chance to put together how his King of the Cruiserweights character is going to work as a fan favourite. This feels like the most exciting time for 205 Live since it's inception with lots of potential for storylines and in-ring clashes, but the show will always suffer for as long as it comes after SmackDown airs live.

Review by James Marston

WWE 205 Live #26 (23/05/2017) Review

On 23rd May, WWE aired the 26th episode of 205 Live from the Huntingdon Center in Toledo, Ohio. The main event saw the culmination of the feud between The Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa as the pair went toe to toe in a street fight, whilst Austin Aries, Cruiserweight Champion Neville, Rich Swann and Ariya Daivari were also featured. But was it any good? Lets take a look. 

• The show opened with a brilliant package with The Brian Kendrick explaining the history of his feud with Akira Tozawa, finishing by promising to teach the final lesson tonight.

Swann def. Daivari

A decent opening match here, as Rich Swann got his opportunity to shine against Ariya Daivari, before getting jumped by Noam Dar during his celebration. The bout was your stand layout as Swann got a face shine with funky dropkick, before Daivari took control after sending Swann into the apron-tron with a hammerlock applied and Swann overcome hitting a Front flip Fameasser and spin kick for a near fall, followed up with a Phoenix Splash for the victory. The former Dragon Gate star sold his arm particularly well after going into the screen, including all the way through the celebration and it makes sense that Daivari would target it because of using the Cobra Clutch and Hammerlock Lariat as finishers in the past. I would've liked to have seen more creative offence from Daivari when targetting the arm, as a couple of unconvincing wear downs lost the crowd a little. The initial attack was brilliant, but without a vicious follow up it's impact drifted. The Dar attack continues the pairs feud around Alicia Fox with Swann taking a nasty bump off the top rope to floor after a push from the Scottish Supernova. 

•  ICYMI - A video package looking at the history between WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville and Austin Aries ahead of their Submission match at Extreme Rules on 4th June. 

Aries and Neville Interview

Neville has been a revelation since switching heel and becoming the face of the Cruiserweight division and it what started as a split-screen interview conducted by Corey Graves, he excelled in his Geordie condescender role. The King of the Cruiserweights was all over this segment as he pulled some of the most glorious facial expressions, showing disagreement with Austin Aries as the Greatest Man That Ever Lived claimed he deserved his title shot and explained Neville's underhanded tactics in previous bouts. Aries held his own, eating his trademark banana and talking up how his past and submission acumen would help him overcome The Man That Gravity Forgot, but lacked a killer line or barb that would've lifted his promo. These two have done some good work building towards Extreme Rules with two strong PPV matches, lets hope they finally nail it in their submission match. 

• Cedric Alexander made his return, having been out since February, with a squash match victory over Johnny Boone (not the former WCW enhancement talent). Everything was going swimmingly until Boone sold Alexander's finish, The Lumbar Check, in the weirdest way. 

Tozawa def. Kendrick in a Street Fight

Boy, I loved this match. The feud between The Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa has been running for most of the year and has provided some of the most entertaining content of anything from Cruiserweight division with Kendrick attempting to teach Tozawa lessons after The Stamina Monster initially refused to be mentored by the Man with a Plan. This bout took all that months of build, the different lessons that had been taught by both men to each other and wove them into terrifically physical Street Fight. Corey Graves did some of his best work on commentary, making sure that when there was a call-back to the lessons, like Kendrick throwing his jacket to halt a suicide dive because "anything can be used as weapon" or Tozawa attacking Kendrick with his own belt because "you should never leave anything on the ground", w that the audience was fully aware. The two used the gimmick creatively with Kendrick bringing the purple wristtape he's used to tie the Dragon Gate star to the ropes, only to wrap around his opponents mouth and apply the Captain's Hook and then later tying him up around the ring post outside the ring to lay into him with a belt.

The intense physicality was sold superbly by both men, who made it look every inch of the war that it was. By the time the two were battling around ringside, hitting Gordbusters of the steel steps, snap saito suplexes onto the floor and driving heads into the steps, Tozawa looked out on his feet and Kendrick could barely move. The Japanese sold the match all over his body and face, grabbing at his back after it had been whipped and had this beautiful dazed look on his mush. The finish was an utterly ridiculous Diving Senton to the outside through a table, in which Tozawa almost went into orbit before smashing Kendrick to bits in the ultimate final lesson. Yeah, the crowd wasn't as hot as it crowd wasn't as hot as it could have been and Tozawa rolling Kendrick into the ring was a weird end to a street fight, but seeing the pair lying in the ring post-match after Akira had draped himself across the Wizard of Odd for the cover made up for all of that. This match deserved to be seen by a bigger audience and you should watch it if you haven't already.

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.47/10

No conclusion needed, Kendrick v Tozawa was lovely, watch it.

TV Review: WWE 205 Live #6 - TJ Perkins v Neville 2

On 3rd January, WWE aired the first 205 Live episode of 2017, highlighted by "The King of the Cruiserweights" Neville taking on former Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins. The episode also featured Tajiri, Noam Dar, Jack Gallagher, Tony Nese and Mustafa Ali, but would that be enough to kick-start the brand's year? 

Neville continued to be featured prominently this week, defeating TJ Perkins to give him his 4th win in a row since returning at Roadblock: End of the Line. This was a very watchable outing, with the roles of each clearly defined, with Perkins attempting to use his speed, whilst Neville wrestled smart, taking his time and using his savvy to take control at numerous points throughout, whilst also always having his eye on hitting his new superplex finish. The two paced the action well across the twelve minutes, knowing when to turn up the heat and placing the more impressive spots (eg. Perkins' springboard Frankensteiner) at the right points to drive the contest forward. I would have liked to see more of the pair duking it out with strikes and reversals, like was when The Fil-Am Flash went for the TJP Clutch and got caught with a tasty German suplex, as the pair have the potential to produce something special in this style. The finish was handled well with Perkins selling a leaping enziguiri as if he'd been knocked out, leading up to a superplex where it seemed like Neville was having to heave a deadweight up and over, having clearly already earned the win. As enjoyable as this match was, it must be noted the pair could be having matches above this level together if given the right opportunity, making it a shame that WWE has already given them two bouts together, therefore devaluing any potential future clashes.

The shows only other notable match was Mustafa Ali pinning Noam Dar in a strong match that managed to grab the initial indifferent crowd. Both men deserve heavy praise for managing to win over the Jacksonville audience, having the confidence to weather the early storm and build something that was both engaging and exciting by the time of the final bell. Whilst it won't be in the discuss for Match of the Year, or even Match of the Month, being able to connect with audience through wrestling, especially one that seems to have decided it isn't interested, is a skill that should see both Dar and Ali well in their WWE runs. The contest was fairly simple in it's execution with The Scottish Supernova working a no-nonsense style early doors, focusing on Ali's arm, before a comeback (all with Ali selling wonderfully), a handful of near falls for each, before Ali picked up the upset win with a beautiful imploding 450 splash. The pair took their slim six minutes and work within the boundaries to create a match that benefited them both, you can't really complain about that!

Any Other Business...

• Tajiri defeated Sean Maluta – Jack Gallagher defeated Tony Nese via Disqualification after Ariya Daivari interfered. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.25/10

205 Live earns itself a relatively low rating because of the simple fact that it didn't make the most of it's 45 minutes. Despite two good matches, the rest of the show ended up coming across as a budget version of WWE's other weekly programming. Backstage segments, short matches or run-in finishes, it just doesn't feel like it's own entity yet. The brand needs to start using it's time on Monday Night RAW to build any stories it wants to tell, before utilising this time to create exciting and entertaining match ups that can create a buzz among the demographic that is mostly likely to be seeking it out online. Overall, my opinion on 205 Live is not bad, could do better.

Review - James Marston 

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TV Review: WWE NXT #212 - Austin Aries v Andrade Almas

With Andrade Almas and Austin Aries colliding inside the ring, would this week's episode of NXT manage to turn around the brand's recent poor form?

Austin Aries continued to gain momentum, as he went over Andrade "Cien" Almas in a good match. The contest was a strong showcase for both men, who seemed to have some deal of early chemistry with each, as they went through a series of slick action. The action before the ad break was nicely balanced, with Almas managing to stay one step ahead of Aries' tricks of the trade, whilst also showing a degree of showmanship himself as he out-whited Aries run around the ring by pulling out the old spider between the top and middle rope situation. There was some nice little touches, like Aries pulling on Almas' tights as Cien attempted to escape a headlock, which managed to add a little extra spice to what could have ended up a fairly straightforward bout, at least structure wise. The finish was well performed with The Greatest Man That Ever Lived turning Almas' springboard rana attempt into a snap powerbomb, before transitioning seamlessly into the Last Chancery for the victory. Almas' double knee smash in the corner was protected throughout, with Aries managing to dodge the move twice, which would set-up a potential rematch between the two nicely. It would perhaps be worrying for NXT that whilst the crowd were split on Aries, they seemed pretty indifferent about Almas.

Cruiserweight Classic contestants Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese made their NXT debuts in a losing effort to the hot and cold tandem TM61 [Nick Miller and Shane Thorne] in a cracking tag bout to kick off the show. To my knowledge, this was the first time that Nese and Daivari had ever been in the same match, let alone tagged together, so I was  surprised to see how fluid they were as a unit, putting on some cool double team sequences and working over Thorne well. There was some nice little touches to their work as they controlled the match and found different ways to prevent the hot tag to Miller that I got a real kick out of. The mid-match dive sequence that saw Thorne almost end up in orbit was also damn impressive stuff. The conclusion felt like a slight deflation, however, as Thorne was back inside the ring almost immediately, and whilst his selling was strong, I'd have preferred to have seen him do it on the outside of the ring as he attempted to recover from his prolonged beatdown. TM61 went on to win with Thunder Valley on Daivari as they continue to show promise, but not completely deliver it. 

NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura had his first outing since winning the belt, in a simple squash bout with Steve Cutler. Nakamura is always an entertaining performer to watch and this match resembled a cat playing with a ball of string as he batted Cutler about the ring, appeared to let him take control for a moment just for a change and then rocked him with an inverted exploder suplex and a Kinshasa to get the win. Even with Nakamura being the Champion, this match didn't deserve to go on last, because Cutler is still pretty much enhancement talent for the brand and the one win that he was given last week wasn't going to convince anyone that he was either a viable opponent for Nakamura or that he was capable of having a good match (even with some of the calibre of The King of Strong Style). Samoa Joe's appearance on commentary gave the most interesting developments, as he appeared much more subdued following losing the NXT Championship and walked out following a brief stare down with Nakamura.

Ember Moon made her NXT TV debut, picking up a swift victory over Leah Von [Leah Von Dutch] in another good showcase for the former Anarchy Championship Wrestling performer. This felt like an abridged version of Moon's Takeover: Brooklyn II bout with Billie Kay and I enjoyed it much more because of that. All the focus was on Moon and Von did a good job of allowing her opponent to shine, by extenuating certain elements of her character, managing to get a strong reaction out of the Winter Park crowd in the process. That diving corkscrew stunner finish Moon has is a thing of beauty and now perfectly called The Total Eclipse. Asuka claimed she'd driven the competition out of NXT, and at this moment with only two broadcast contests to her name, it feels like Moon could be #1 Contender, already. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.81/10

A much better show from NXT this week, than what they've put out over the previous two episodes, as the show contained two quality contests. Austin Aries and Andrade Almas had a cracking outing that complemented both of their styles well and probably deserved to end the show, whilst TM61 continued to develop in a stellar tag team collision against the debuting Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese. The other two matches were quick squash matches for Shinsuke Nakamura and Ember Moon, both of which showcased the talents well, but it's hard to rate that kind of match particularly highly, especially when one of them includes the NXT Champion. 

Whilst this show was an improvement, as a whole it still was a below average hour of wrestling.  

Content - James Marston
Banner Credit - Kai Stellar