TV Review // NXT UK #1 // Pete Dunne vs. Noam Dar

It feels like we've been waiting a long long time for NXT UK to finally begin. The rumours, the non-starts, the Takeover classics, Pete Dunne battering Enzo Amore on RAW, the three sets of tapings with no episodes aired...it had been almost two years since WWE UK first began to take shape. But on 17th October 2018, WWE finally aired the first episode of NXT UK on the WWE Network, with footage coming from the 28th July taping at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England. 

The premiere episode brought us a United Kingdom Championship main event as Pete Dunne put the title on the line against 205 Live regular Noam Dar, whilst Moustache Mountain's Tyler Bate & Trent Seven, Toni Storm, Mark Andrews, Dave Mastiff and Joe Coffey all appeared. But was it any good? Lets take a look. 

A big ol' pompous opening that felt very Triple H, as it discussed building an empire and showed some of WWE's history with the UK. 

The first match of the show saw ICW's Joe Coffey get the better of PROGRESS' Mark Andrews in a battle of UK Championship Tournament semi finalists. The pair had a rock solid bout, that played to their strengths, with Coffey able to display his power and Andrews pulling out a lot of very pretty fast paced offence, with a healthy dollop of the underdog babyface fire that made him a top name on the BritWres scene. Mark Coffey's distractions at ringside worked well to develop the dynamic between the brothers, whilst also building to the spot of the match nicely when Andrews nailed a moonsault onto both men at the same time. Cambridge was super hot for Mandrews from the very beginning and I think that had a massive impact on my enjoyment of this one, as it bought a new dimension to the dynamic and meant that every fight back from the smaller man felt that little bit more important. I'm still unsure whether WWE realises how much of a diamond they have in Mark Andrews. On that note, Coffey would pick the win moments after the moonsault spot, nailing an overhead belly to belly suplex and the Aw'ra Best for the Bells lariat to earn the first ever victory on NXT UK. 

Stat - The only other match between the pair had the same result when they battled at Discovery Wrestling in Edinburgh, Scotland back in November 2015.

After the match, the Coffey Brothers began to lay into Andrews, with "Flash" Morgan Webster heading out for the save. A nice early bit of storyline and what could a fun feud between these two teams. All good so far. 

Moustache Mountain were seen wheeling their suitcases through Cambridge, looking like a pair of b i g s t r o n g b o i s. 

Eddie Dennis made his debut in a video package, discussing his history with Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews, with some classic pictures of all three flashing on screen, before Dennis revealed he had some stories to tell. This has a lot of potential and was one of the elements of this episode that made me most excited to see what was to come from the brand.

Former NXT Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) came out to say a few words. I don't really know what else I can say here, because nothing really happened, with the segment seemingly acting as a way to simply shoe-horn Bate & Seven onto the first episode without having them compete. I mean, there was nothing wrong with the pair interacting, they're both entertaining to watch and managed to hold the crowd with their banterous chat, but there also wasn't anything resembling substance. There was no feud to push or surprise interruption, this was just a thing that happened for a bit. Even the discussion of the NXT Tag Team titles ended up abruptly, because at this point there's not enough teams to have a division, which is an odd thing to have to point out on your first episode. The rest of the promo was a bit circle-jerky, discussing the achievement of NXT UK and how the fans had been a big part in it happening. I'm hoping NXT UK doesn't continue this habit of repeatedly patting it's own back, because it will get old fast. 

Dave Mastiff is in action next, so we get a little look at what Mastiff is all about, which is basically bodying lads. 

A recap of how Noam Dar earned his WWE United Kingdom title shot last June, with his four-way victory over Travis Banks, Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews.

Dave Mastiff picked up his first victory on WWE TV in a quick, one-sided match with the debuting Sid Scala (IPW:UK). Mastiff looked very impressive here, showing off not only his range of power moves, but also his innate charisma as he laughed at any offence that Scala managed to get in on him. The 16 year veteran owned the space, showing off his range of agility with a wicked closing sequence of moves that included a front dropkick, release german suplex and a 315 lb cannonball. Scala is someone who could offer a lot to NXT UK in the future and his bumping performance here should have put him in good stead to do just that.

Match stat - This was Dave Mastiff's first televised victory since defeating Grado to win the vacant World of Sport Wrestling Championship on New Year's Eve 2016.

Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya (strangely uncredited) interviewed Nina Samuels backstage as Samuels said she wanted to make a name for herself at the expense of Toni Storm. For me, the promo felt a little forced, with Samuels coming across as nervous throughout, whilst it also taught me very little about Samuels or her character, with a general "insert name" here feel. This could have been anyone. 

Considering Toni Storm's only previous WWE losses have come against NXT Women's Champions Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler, it was no surprise to see her pick up a clean victory over the debuting Nina Samuels (Pro Wrestling EVE) here. This match didn't click for me, with Samuels looking awkward when on both attack and defence, whilst she also struggled to stand out as anything other than a generic heel foil. Obviously the match was designed to showcase Storm, but considering the amount of offence Samuels got in, I felt like I learnt next to nothing about her from this performance, with the character coming across your basic wrestling villain. This wasn't helped by some sloppy offence, including a poor tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. That isn't to say that the match didn't have it's bright spots, because some lovely stiff forearms from Storm as part of her comeback and an early tease of the running double knee smash that would later help Storm on route to her victory. The finish felt a little familiar with a similar set-up to how Dave Mastiff went over Sid Scala a few minutes earlier, as Storm hit a German suplex into the corner to set up the knee smash, with the addition of a Storm Zero adding a little differentiation. 

Stat - These two had previously faced off at WrestleForce in Southampton in 2015, British Empire Wrestling in Tooting and Westside Xtreme Wrestling in Tufnell Park both in Greater London in 2017, with this match leaving Storm with a 3-1 record. 

Next week - Tyler Bate vs. Wolfgang in a 2017 United Kingdom Championship tournament semi-final rematch.

The main event saw Pete Dunne successfully retain the United Kingdom Championship in a very good match with Noam Dar. A strong example of the meshing of a classic British technical outing and WWE style main event, this clash gave plenty of hope that NXT UK will be able to find its own distinct style, whilst still appealing to a wider audience. The match managed to be both all-action and storyline-based with the early part of the match showing this off perfectly as whilst numerous threads for later in the match were being woven we also got a great spot as Dunne's trademark backflip out of the corner was thwarted by a chop block, before Dunne also used his signature X-Plex and then a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Dar worked as the matches aggressor, targeting Dunne's knee in anticipation for the Champagne SuperKneeBar, but the crowd split about 70/30 in favour of Dunne, which created a cool football match type atmosphere on the screen. A series of delicious back and forth strikes, followed up by a superb submission exchange seemed to have the Cambridge Corn Exchange rocking and would be my pick for the best wrestling in the match, although the gorgeous Bitter End reversal into the CSKB by Dar was also a major contender. I'd have loved to see these two go another ten minutes, because their work was so crisp and precise and it felt like they'd only scraped the surface of their creativity together. The finish had been hinted at all match with Dunne attempting the finger snap on Dar multiple times and Dar repeatedly flashing his pinkies up with cocky swagger, so therefore it was only fitting that Dunne would eventually bend Dar's pinky back and stomp it right into the mat. The spot looked horrible but in the absolute best way and set up for the Bitter End to seal the victory.  For me, this was the best that Dar has looked in his time with WWE, given the opportunity to work a type of match that suits his style with an opponent capable of helping him to raise his game when needed. 

I was half expecting a big attack angle to close the show and lead into next week, but instead the commentary posed the question of who could possibly take the belt off Pete Dunne. This was a pretty cute way to end the first episode, especially because, as of now, it's rather difficult to pick someone from the pack as the person who could do it. Building the show around a dominant champion is an interesting move to kick off the brand with, but one that should provide plenty of scope for storytelling, as well as a number of top class matches. With the thought that it can surely only be a matter of time before Dunne finds himself on an even bigger stage, I can't wait to see who will the one chosen to step up from the pack and take over his role as the face of the brand.

Stat - Pete Dunne continues to be undefeated in singles action on WWE TV since losing the final of the 2017 United Kingdom Championship tournament. With the run now at 16 matches, Noam Dar joins a list that includes Roderick Strong, Ricochet and Adam Cole, Dunne's overall singles records stands at an impressive 19-1.

A strong debut episode for NXT UK, booked ended by a good opener and a very good main event. The middle of the episode could have been tighter, with the women's match and the Moustache Mountain appearance not really working for me. There's certainly lots of space for improvement, which will come as the wrestlers become more acclimatised to regularly working with WWE and WWE becomes more aware of the performers it has on it's books and what they are capable of both in the ring and within the various storylines and feuds that we'll hopefully see develop. It's clear that this isn't the finish product, just like the early episodes of NXT only showed glimpses of what that show would become and Iooking forward to seeing how the show finds it feet and who from the roster of talented performers steps forward and takes this considerable opportunity by the horns.

Written by James Marston 

205 Live 53 Review // Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak & Tony Nese

The last month on 205 Live

205 Live 50 Review // Enzo Amore Welcomes the UK Championship Division to the 'Zo Show
205 Live 51 Review // Kalisto vs. Drew Gulak
Survivor Series 2017 Review // Kalisto vs. Enzo Amore // Cruiserweight Championship
205 Live 52 Review // Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak // Street Fight

As 205 Live celebrated a year on the WWE Network, Lexington, Kentucky was our host for this week's episode. The show featured The 'Zo Train's Drew Gulak and Tony Nese going up against Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali, ahead of the four facing off in the Semi-Final of the Cruiserweight Championship #1 Contendership Tournament on Raw next week. But was it any good? Let's take a look! 

Drew Gulak & Tony Nese def. Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali // Pinfall

Drew Gulak has steadily risen to being the most over element of 205 Live, due to his undeniably great character work and weird charisma, that was on clear display here. Whilst the tag team match was nice build up for Raw's tournament semi-final, it was the pre-match promo that was the real highlight. Fuck, I love Gulak. With ab king Tony Nese by his side, Gulak explained that the team were called "Team PowerPoint" due to Nese's power and Gulak's points. The former CZW World Heavyweight Champion was on fine form here, to the point that he received a "PowerPoint" chant from the Lexington crowd and then quickly told them to shut up, because chanting is against his rules. Magnificent. The match was a solid affair, with a decent story of Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali struggling to work cohesively with the four way in the back of their minds. The stretch saw a good near fall for AliXander with it seeming like they'd finally got their act together with a diving crossbody doomsday device, before Nese got a flash pin on Ali, after Alexander was knocked off the apron, in a neat swerve finish.

Kalisto def. Gentleman Jack Gallagher // Disqualification

This was a decent technician vs. luchadore outing, with a couple of good spots, as well as the beginning of a new feud as The Brian Kendrick attacked Kalisto for the disqualification. Prior to that Kalisto and Gentleman Jack Gallagher had worked really well together, with a lovely sequence to open proceedings as they exchanged holds and got over the contrasting styles. The standout moment of the match was the work the pair did in the ropes, which was creative and distinct, with the contest being worth checking out for that moment alone. The finish saw The King of Flight running through Gallagher after escaping a gorgeous straightjacket surfboard, hitting a Listo Kick, Basement rana and Salida del Sol for what was looking like a decisive victory until Kendrick got involved. Gallagher and Kendrick have perfected the bully beatdown recently and this was another well put together situation as Kendrick used his jacket to restrain Kalisto so Gallagher could headbutt the fuck out of the former United States Champion. Kendrick's non-title feuds on 205 Live have been some of the best work on the programme, so here's hoping this one with Kalisto continues the Man with a Plan's excellent form.

Rich Swann def. Noam Dar // Pinfall

A solid outing for Rich Swann to set him up for the final of the Cruiserweight #1 Contender's tournament in two week's time. The contest was a relatively simple affair with some stalling from Dar, Enzo Amore interference allowing the Scot to take control, before Swann fought back to get a clean win with a Phoenix Splash. There was a nice little bit of narrative involving Dar having suffering an injured knee on Raw, resulting in Swann targeting the leg at points, with the injury playing into the finish as Dar struggled to lock in a submission and a kick to the leg gave Swann some space to eventually pick up the win. Dar sold well throughout and it made him much more sympathetic when Amore was berating him for being a loser after the match. Swann and Dar could have a much better contest under different circumstances, but this bout did what it had to do.

Hideo Itami is Coming Soon! 

Finally...

A good outing for 205 Live, with a crowd that was more into the action than recent week's. Despite a lack a genuine consequences, there was some nice build for the tournament semi-final on RAW, an interesting new feud beginning between Kalisto and The Brian Kendrick, whilst Rich Swann was also given some extra momentum ahead of his #1 contender's match in two weeks. The matches were all easy watches, with a handful of creative and exciting moments, but none are worth going out of your way to see or particularly memorable. 

 Review 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 #43 Review - Enzo Amore Kicks Neville in the Crown Jewels

On 19th September 2017, WWE aired the 43rd episode of 205 Live, live on the WWE Network from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The show featured a face to face confrontation between Cruiserweight Champion Neville and his opponent at No Mercy, Enzo Amore as well appearances from The Brian Kendrick, TJP, Akira Tozawa, Rich Swann & Drew Gulak. But was it any good? Let's take a look!

The show began with a recap, reminding us that...Neville is Cruiserweight Champion, Enzo Amore came to 205 Live a month ago, became #1 Contender two weeks in a Fatal Fiveway then got destroyed by Braun Strowman on RAW last night, allowing Neville to take advantage and hit a Red Arrow on his downed future challenger.

Cedric Alexander def. The Brian Kendrick (5:23)

A neat opener here with two of the brands top performers working a short contest with a couple of lovely sequences and a fun finishing sequence. I've got a lot of time for the work that Kendrick has been doing in the ring lately, as his crafty veteran character continues to develop and collect new mannerisms by the week. Stuff like using the ring apron to take control on the outside and being a sneaky cheat whilst hooking on a chin lock can make all the difference during a match that doesn't particularly mean anything, keeping things interesting during what can sometimes end up being a lull in the match. It was a shame that the crowd wasn't really up for the action, as has been the case since 205's inception, because Kendrick and Alexander worked hard, with lots of moments for the younger man to shine. The closing stretch coming off a series of forearm exchanges featured some rather lovely back and forth, with the two showing a slickness that has came from working together three times already this year. Alexander being able to block a Sliced Bread #2 attempt, before countering an O'Connor roll into a pinning combination of his own, provided plenty of opportunity for future encounters where hopefully the two will get a little bit more time to play with.

After the match, Jack Gallagher jumped Cedric Alexander from behind, with Kendrick joining in the beatdown that concludes with a big headbutt. Gallagher & Kendrick were later interviewed backstage by Dasha Fuentes, with Gallagher saying that "in life you can be nice or you can be a winner" and he didn't want to be a joke to the Cruiserweight division anymore.

Drew Gulak got a top the announce table addressing some of the issues he had in Fashion Jail after his altercation with the Fashion Police last week, before moving on to talk about his dislike of Akira Tozawa and his chanting, as he compared himself to Galileo. It was then time to continue his powerpoint presentation, with Rule #6 being no cell phones, which, of course, lead to the crowd getting there's out and lighting up the torches...good stuff, I wonder when we'll finish this presentation, as Tozawa interrupted to signal the match was ready to go. 

Akira Tozawa def. Noam Dar (4:00)

A rematch from RAW in February with the same result, this was a cute little bout, that kept things simple, but again failed to capture the crowd. The audience even seem reluctant to join in with Tozawa's "Ah!" chant, which is usually pretty over, but the performers worked well together in the ring, with Dar working the leg a little before a Tozawa comeback concluded with the victory winning diving senton.

Backstage, TJP spoke to Rich Swann about their match last week, asking for another bout due their "chemistry" with Swann appearing to refuse, wanting to leave the series in the past after winning the rubber match. 

TJP Finally Attacked Rich Swann (and also Lince Dorado)

With Swann's scheduled opponent Lince Dorado appearing injured backstage, Swann went to head to the back and walked right into a superkick from TJP and then was on the receiving end of a military press onto the barricade, as their story continues to develop. This story has been boiling for a while, with the "friendly competition" vibe, I'm hoping this more heated part of the tale is a little punchier and we get a good, gimmick match before the two move in different directions.

Enzo Amore Kicked Neville in the Crown Jewels

Bloody hell, I love Neville. Whether or not WWE is getting it right with his feud with Enzo Amore at the moment is neither here or there, because the Geordie jumper is doing some utterly marvellous work on the microphone, having transformed himself into one of the best talkers in WWE right now. This was another brilliantly quotable effort from the Cruiserweight Champion as he ripped into Amore for being "a stain on the fabric that is modern society" and later, after Enzo had spouted some stuff about hanging out with the Weeknd, Nevile reminded him that "Come Sunday, none of that matters, because you lads...you can't fight". His pronunciation of each word is pitch perfect, making the viewer pay attention, to the point where it's becoming difficult not to side with him. The problem here is that Enzo isn't a likeable guy anymore, he coasted for too long and hasn't by his personal life becoming public knowledge. This resulted in the crowd booing Amore after almost every line, leaning to an intentionally comedic moment when Enzo said "I'm showered in this love", choosing not to adapt his speech to the fact the crowd clearly wasn't behind him. Amore kicking Neville in the balls at the end of the segment (after Neville had claimed he couldn't win the title that way on Sunday) felt like a heel turn and got a little heat, but I'm not sure if we'll know where WWE is taking this until No Mercy. If it's it not, it's a shame, because as Neville put it, he's better than Enzo in any conceivable way and it's difficult not to side with the Kings of the Cruiserweights right now.

As usual with 205 Live, the in-ring action was okay to good, whilst the storyline and character development continued to be strong, with Jack Gallagher, Drew Gulak and Neville all performing to high standards when called upon. There could have been more action in the ring with only about ten minutes of wrestling on the show, which doesn't give talent like Cedric Alexander and Akira Tozawa much chance of getting over with a tired crowd that to be won over by the product. Not having the time on RAW and rarely getting to go full pelt and show what they can do differently to everyone else is still harming audience reactions and that in turn harms whatever is being put out on 205. There's things that can be done, but that's perhaps for another article.

Review by James Marston 

WWE Extreme Rules 2017 Review (4th June 2017)

On 4th June, WWE aired Extreme Rules 2017, as a RAW exclusive PPV on the WWE Network from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The show featured Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe in an Extreme Rules Fatal Five-Way match for a shot at Brock Lesnar's WWE Universal Championship, Dean Ambrose defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against The Miz in a match where if Ambrose was Disqualified he'd lose the title and Austin Aries challenging for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Neville in a Submissions match, as well as appearances from RAW Tag Team Champion The Hardy Boyz, Sheamus & Cesaro, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Alicia Fox. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

• VT - The opening focused on the "Extreme" nature of a number of the stipulations for tonight's matches as well as looking at the competitors in the Fatal Five-Way #1 Contender's match. 

• VT - A look at Dean Ambrose and The Miz's feud over the Intercontinental Championship, as well as the specific rule regarding Ambrose losing the title if he gets disqualified.

Miz def. Ambrose to win the Intercontinental Championship

 

Whilst the gimmick of Dean Ambrose being able to lose the Intercontinental Championship by disqualification was probably the least extreme stipulation there has ever been, Ambrose and The Miz managed to work with the stip to make their seventh match in twelve months engaging throughout. The majority of the contest was focused on Miz trying to get Ambrose DQ'd through a number of different methods, including repeatedly slapping the champion as well as introducing a steel chair and getting Maryse to slap him, whilst referee John Cone reminded the Lunatic Fringe what would happen if he was DQ'd. Mixed into that story, you had Ambrose injuring his leg whilst jumping off the top rope and The A-Lister taking full advantage, targeting the knee in the corner, before locking in a figure four leglock after sliding through a sunset flip from Ambrose. The champion is a great seller and kept going to the injury at any relevant moment, whilst the sequence building to Ambrose locking in a Figure Four of his own got a strong reaction, after a number of slick reversals. 

The finish of the match had a good narrative that flowed well from moment to moment as after being unable to put a Busaiku knee and Ambrose escaping a number of Skull Crushing Finale attempts, Miz went all out trying to provoke the Lunatic Fringe into getting disqualified, getting more and more desperate after each attempt. The conclusion saw Maryse being kicked out of the arena and with the referee distracted Miz shoved Ambrose into the ref, knocking him out of the ring. With the champion pleading with the referee on the outside not to DQ him, Miz snuck up behind and finally landed the Skull Crushing Finale to gain the pinfall and the Intercontinental Championship. It was cool to see the DQ stip used to progress the story of the match, without having it used to swap the championship, as it created some interesting scenarios throughout the contest, but wouldn't have done much for anyone if the title had changed hands that way. Miz can now boast about pinning Ambrose, whilst there's the idea that he wouldn't have been able to do so with the unique stipulation, which should be perfect for his arrogant heel character. 

• Backstage - Charly Caruso interview Bayley, with the Hugger explaining that she's been watching Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Steve Blackman to prepare for the Kendo Stick on a Pole match and she's willing to do anything to retain the RAW Women's Championship.

Banks & Swann def. Fox & Dar

Well, this certainly was a match that happened on the show. The hometown crowd for Rich Swann gave the bout a little something extra, but the match itself wasn't anything to write home about. Noam Dar and Alicia Fox hugged a lot, Swann had a wicked hot tag and Sasha Banks hit a meteora onto Dar on the outside. Beyond that it was a mostly fun of the mill, mixed tag match with the girls doing a lot of hair-pull brawling and the guys portion was mostly Dar taking a flurry of moves from Swann (still love that front-flip fameasser). I like the act that Dar is doing at the moment, but I'm sure if WWE quite gets what to do with it and whilst there was nothing wrong with this match, it didn't warrant a place on the PPV, especially when Akira Tozawa and The Brian Kendrick had a superb Street Fight on 205 Live recently that would've been more suited to the event. 

• Advert - KFC promised to launch their Zinger sandwich into space, which was nice of them.

• In the Arena - Elias Samson did a little song on his guitar and got some decent heat for it, whilst the crowd went nuts with the lights on their phones. The song was mostly cheap heat about Baltimore being a shithole, but also some intriguing content about the main event and Brock Lesnar.

• VT - Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss, focusing in on the idea of whether Bayley was capable of "going extreme". This went quite long and actually followed the story week to week, concluding with the dire This is Your Life segment.

Bliss def. Bayley in a Kendo Stick on a Pole Match to retain RAW Women's Championship

Man, I feel for Bayley, she's been booked horribly for months, going back to the handling of her winning the title, through the This Is Your Life and segment and now being made to look like a complete dweeb in this match with Alexa Bliss. The whole story heading into the bout was about whether Bayley had it in her to "go extreme" and using a kendo stick, which is lame enough in itself, but surely we'd get the pay off here and finally see Bayley get the upperhand on Alexa. Nope, because that would make too much sense. What we actually got was both girls reaching awkwardly for the stick for two minutes, before Bayley spent a minute or so looking at the kendo stick as if it were a loaded gun and then a few more minutes of Bliss going nuts with the stick before pinning Bayley with a DDT in just over six minutes. The gimmick sucked, the story telling was piss poor and the only proper spot of the match looked clumsy. This feud should have been hot, but whilst it's had the odd moment of brilliance, those have almost always been overshadowed by terrible writing.

Sheamus & Cesaro def. Hardy Boyz in a Steel Cage Match to win RAW Tag Team Championship

Let's start of by saying that the escape the cage stipulation is a pile of shit. Always has been and always will be. A steel cage match is supposed to happen at the peak of a feud, when nothing else can contain the anger two (or more) men have for each other, to suggest that one would even want to win without pinning their opponent or making them tap out is weak and dissatisfying to watch. Having escaping the cage as the only way a match can end is even worse. Even more so when both members of tag team have to escape and their feet be on the floor at the same time. Not only is that pretty confusing and overly complicated, but it's not conducive to producing an entertaining wrestling product. Yes, you have to get creative in a tag steel cage to work out pinfalls and such, but the two teams had to get even more creative just to breath a little bit of life into this. Having Jeff escape on his own and then get back in when he realised his brother couldn't fight two men that are bigger than him, made the Charismatic Enigma look like a fool, before the finish of Matt pulling his brother out moments after Sheamus and Cesaro jumped down on the other side made the contest feel like bargain basement obstacle course. 

Bless these four lads for working so hard and managing to produce some creative spots against the tide of the gimmick. We had a pair of Poetry in Motions with the heels sandwiched in between the ropes and the cage, Cesaro holding onto Jeff as he dangled outside of the cage leading to Jeff's initial escape, a double-team Pale Justice to Matt and a top rope assisted White Noise to the no longer Broken one (the fixed one?). All good spots, but of course it wouldn't be a Hardy Boyz cage match if Jeff didn't do something stupid off the top of the cage and boy, did that lad jump off a high thing again. With Jeff realising that his brother was getting battered, he decided to climb back in the cage and do a Whisper in the Wind off of it and knacker himself as well in the process, because jumping off high thing is painful. Similar to the Bliss v Bayley feud, we've seen flashes of greatness between these two teams and there was plenty on display in this match, but the way they are being booked is making me lose interest.

• Ad - The WWE Network is thing, if you weren't sure what you were watching the show on.

• VT - Austin Aries v Neville is up next and there's a lot of Geordie words in this.

Neville def. Aries in a Submission Match to retain WWE Cruiserweight Championship

I feel like I write this a lot when discussing WWE's Cruiserweight division, but this was a really good match, let down by the crowd who seemed to have decided they weren't interested in purple ropes. Neville managed to get a decent reaction at points, but mostly the crowd were silent, which I think is more to do with WWE's presentation of the Cruiserweights rather than the in-ring action. I think the biggest compliment I can give the match is that it felt a lot shorter than it actually was, mostly because the two kept shifting narratives and worked in a couple of different stories to follow. Neville went after Aries' knee after a dive to the outside and then his arm (great commentary from Corey Graves here), with some lovely selling from the challenger, we'd then see those injuries play into the submission attempts as Aries' unable to keep hold of Neville in a Figure Four, whilst Neville later went for his Rings of Saturn on the injured arm. Some storytelling motifs didn't work for me, specifically Austin pleading with the ref not to DQ Neville after the Geordie grabbed the ref whilst in the Rings, as whilst I enjoyed the nod to the finish of their Payback match, I'm pretty sure there are no DQs in a submission match. Inside the story the two had a number of super crisp sequences (as well as big strikes for Aries), with the highlight being Aries hit a sunset flip powerbomb then transition straight into the Last Chancery, keeping hold of the move when Neville rolled to the outside and actually getting a submission from the champ (which obviously didn't count because it was outside the ring). 

Neville winning after dodging a lope suicida, hitting a Red Arrow to the back before concluding with Rings of Saturn, left the storyline without a satisfying conclusion and with the feud already feeling tired three matches in, I can't see that we're going to get one. After we'd seen Aries get thumbed in the eye at WrestleMania Kick-Off and then Neville get himself disqualified at Payback, it would have made total sense to have Aries manage to overcome Neville here in a match where the rules (should have) been in his favour. I'm not quite sure where this leaves Austin on a show like 205 Live and how WWE will go about placing him on that show, whilst also keeping him away from the title picture. Perhaps a trip to NXT for matches with the likes of Kassius Ohno, Hideo Itami, Johnny Gargano and others would benefit him, before moving over to SmackDown. As for Neville I'm intrigued to see who he's placed with next after months with Aries, a feud with Akira Tozawa, Gran Metalik or Cedric Alexander would be fresh, but revisiting issues with Jack Gallagher or Rich Swann could be effective also.

• VT - The Fatal Five-Way Number One contenders match is up next, the package highlights each competitor, pretty basic stuff.

Joe def. Wyatt, Rollins, Balor and Reigns in an Extreme Rules Fatal Five-Way Match to become #1 Contender to the Universal Championship 

There really should have been no doubt in anyone's mind that this was going to be fantastic main event. Five of WWE's top tier talent going at it for almost half an hour should have been incredible and the match didn't disappoint. All five lads put a shift in, as everyone got a time to shine and all looked like stars as the Baltimore crowd lapped it up. Finn Balor in particular came out of the match in a much better position than how he entered it.. In his first PPV match since getting injured at last year's SummerSlam, Finn was superb in this match. He sold a beating from Bray Wyatt and Samoa Joe like a trooper, gasping for air after taking a pair of running sentons with a steel chair on his chest, before he later made a roaring comeback getting revenge on Joe and Wyatt with the chair and flying round the ringside area like a madman. He may have ended up taking the fall after being choke out in the Coquina Clutch by Joe, but he'd just downed Roman Reigns with a Coup de Grace, after dodging a spear moments earlier, so even that won't hurt the Irishman. 

I mentioned Wyatt and Joe working together above and that partnership really was the driving force behind the bout, providing a robust backbone for which the rest of the match could build on. After Wyatt had saved the Samoan Submission Machine from a Reigns' drive-by kick, the two dominated the competition, grabbing hold of the steel steps and cleaning house. Seriously the two big blokes wandering around ringside with the steps and just clattering into whoever they came up again was much more fun than it perhaps should have been. Their dominance continued for some time, but there was always something being introduced to keep things interesting, if two big lads battering people wasn't enough. Wyatt added some nice little touches like randomly standing on Rollins, whilst potential comebacks from Rollins and Reigns were quickly thwarted as Seth took a DDT onto the steps and Reigns took a uranage onto the announce table (both from Wyatt). The build towards the inevitable falling out between the two was well handle, with Wyatt initially turning a turn earlier in the match, before Joe would end up getting pushed in front of suicide dive from Rollins. The straw that broke the camel's back however was Joe breaking up a pinfall moments after Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on Rollins, with the two taking big ass shots at each other, which was much more exciting than it would've been without the build. 

Around the Joe and Wyatt spine you had plenty more high octane action that just seemed to keep on coming and coming. The highspots were placed well through the contest, with each weapon shot feeling like it meant something as part of the wider whole. The biggest and best spots were saved for towards the end, as Reigns speared Joe and Balor into the timekeepers area, whilst moments later Rollins came flying off the top rope and through the announce table with a Frog Splash to Wyatt. The set-up for both spots was wonderfully handled, with Balor's comeback on the outside being cut short by Coquina clutch from Joe, heading into the spear. The moment directly after the big spots was also a really well put together piece of work as Reigns and Rollins dragged themselves from the wreckage, with both selling terrifically, before engaging in some of the best one on one action of the entire match. The two had a cracker on the go-home episode of RAW and went back at it with a series of back and forth sequences.

The closing sequence saw Wyatt and Rollins falling by the wayside, Balor countering a Reigns spear into a slingblade, nailing a Coup de Grace, only for Joe to catch him in the Coquina Clutch and get the victory. These last few minutes were a thrilling watch with the momentum switching back and forth between all five of the participants as the match headed towards it's conclusion. Using a similar finish to what we saw on RAW in the three way with Balor, Joe and Wyatt was a neat touch, with the match having a lot of similarities to that triple threat, but this time around we had Joe looking much stronger as he took the initiative and forced Balor to pass out. The fact that we'll be getting Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar on WWE show this year is marvellous. Imagine someone suggesting this match in the early 2000s, when Lesnar was killing it in WWE with The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero and Joe was rocking it in ROH with CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries and Low Ki, or later when Lesnar shifted MMA and dominated the likes of Randy Couture, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin, whilst Joe was climbing the ranks in TNA with Angle, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Christian Cage. It's gonna happen and it's gonna be good.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.28/10

Before the main event, this was probably an average wrestling show, with the fights ranging from good to poor. The Cruiserweight Championship and Intercontinental Championship coming at the right end of the scale for me, whilst the Women's title and mixed tag towards the other end. The main event however pushed the event much higher, as it was just that damn good. It was thirty minutes of pure wrestling entertainment that carried the rest of the show across the finish line. 

It wasn't particularly extreme and a number of the gimmicks held back the competitors, however as an entire package this was a mostly fun and creative event.