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

WWE 205 Live Review // 6th February 2018

The new era of 205 Live continued this week in Kansas City, Missouri as the tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion continued. The show was main-evented by a clash between Hideo Itami and the debuting Roderick Strong, but how did it all go down? Lets take a look. 

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament First Round Match // Roderick Strong def. Hideo Itami // Pinfall 

In somewhat of a surprise, Roderick Strong handed Hideo Itami his first 205 Live defeat to advance to the Quarter Finals, winning with End of Heartache, in a wonderfully physical match. Down the spine of the match was a series of delightful strike battles, as the pair threw forearms, elbows, chops and kicks at each other with the back and forth nature of the contest always seeming to lead back to the two wailing on each other with hard blows. Each time round the pair seemed were selling the effects of the match more and throwing the strikes with more desperation and purpose. Of course, this back and forth sequence would play a big part in the closing sequence as the two went back to what they knew after both coming close with big moves, but the strongest use of this motif came on the outside of the ring. As the action spilled to the apron, Strong's attempt to pull Itami off the apron into a backbreaker was escaped by the former NOAH star, before the pair threw forearms, chops and kicks at each other and Strong, unlike Bono, finally found what he was looking for as he ducked a roundhouse kick, caught Hideo's leg and lifted him into a brutal looking backbreaker onto the apron. A gorgeous sequence. 

It was clear from watching the bout that these two were pretty familiar with each other, they knew how much they could lay in their strikes and produced some slick reversal sequences, with Strong able to transition into a number of moves with ease, which makes him stand out on the current roster. Obviously, the two have history in NOAH and ROH, as well as an NXT bout last April, but they also had a run on NXT house shows in September/October that would have certainly helped to create the comfortableness with each other that was important to creating such an enjoyable match in this style. This was a PPV quality encounter, that managed to draw the audience in, getting a good reaction from the live crowd by it's conclusion. With a little more time, there's no doubt that Itami and Strong could've produced something next level and in fact, I think these two would be able to create something special in pretty much any time limit. It's a shame that we had to lose one of them in the tournament, but it was great to see the tournament already throwing up surprises in it's second week, even if that means we might not see Itami for a while.

Crusierweight Championship Tournament First Round Match // Kalisto def. Lince Dorado // Pinfall

205 Live was on fire this week, with another good match to kick off the show as Kalisto booked his placed in the Quarter Finals with a victory over Lucha House Party mate, Lince Dorado with a second Salida del Sol. With the show finally beginning to show the variety of Cruiserweight wrestling, we got a completely different match from the main event, as Dorado and Kalisto put on a mad lucha thing match, full of flips, tricks, dives and big highspots. Despite having not won in singles competition since December 2016 (Main Event - vs. Tony Nese), Dorado was made to look like a threat to the former Cruiserweight Champion, through a well done story that he was over-performing because he was desperate to get the Cruiserweight title and prove himself, bringing out a more aggressive side that drove the match past a flippy showcase to something else. The match was jam-packed with big moments, like Dorado's top rope frankensteiner, Kalisto hitting a wheelbarrow situation off the middle rope, Dorado seemingly having the match won with the Golden Rewind and Shooting Star Press only for Listo to roll under the bottom rope before the cover could be made and a sublime near fall for the favourite off Salida del Sol when Dorado got a hand on the bottom rope. It was a shame that the rewind reverse rana from Kalisto that was part of the finish ended up looking real nasty with Dorado somehow landing head first on Kalisto's back, but the slip-up didn't hurt the match all that match and it appeared like Dorado wasn't seriously hurt, so it wasn't the end of the world.

Also this week

- There was a recap of last week's show, including Daniel Bryan introducing Drake Maverick as the new 205 Live General Manager, Maverick announcing a tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion and TJP and Cedric Alexander winning First Round match-ups in that tournament against Tyler Bate and Gran Metalik respectively. 

- In his office, Drake Maverick ripped into Drew Gulak and Tony Nese for becoming comedy acts and wasting their potential, booking them in a First Round tournament match next week. 

- TJP cut a promo about the fans not believing him anymore and not giving a shit, it was good. 

- A package looking at Mark Andrews, ahead of his match with Akira Tozawa next week, using the same UK Tournament package from January last year.

- Akira Tozawa threatened to fire a man, when he suggested Mark Andrews could beat him next week.

- Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali had a friendly chat about the tournament backstage, they're good pals.

ATPW Scale Rating // 7.67/10

Written by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale) 

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) 

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

Review: WWE 205 Live #13 (21/02/2017)

On 21st February, WWE aired the thirteenth episode of 205 Live from Citzens Business Park Arena in Ontario, California on the WWE Network. The night was oddly promoted as a Cruiserweight showcase...despite the show being exclusively for the Cruiserweights. With #1 Contender to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship Jack Gallagher battling Tony Nese in the main event, as well as The Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa, Noam Dar and Mustafa Ali in action across the show, let's take a look at how it all went down. 

Match 1

The Brian Kendrick

def.

Akira Tozawa

via countout 

(5:43)

There was a lot to like about the opening match, as the Kendrick v Tozawa feud continues to snowball into one of the low-key highlights of WWE programming in February 2017. Kendrick's crafty and resourceful veteran gimmick was given time to shine opposite the exciting Tozawa. The idea of Kendrick's constant use of the ring almost as a tag team partner, in his attempt to get a win anyway he could was engaging and different from what everyone else is doing at the moment. Even if a similar idea was used by Drew McIntyre, it's good to see the gimmick getting a proper run out with Kendrick, who is arguably better suited to it. The Man with a Plan trapping the former Open the Brave Gate Champion in between the cables between the canvas and ring beam was a cool way of extending the feud and building an issue between the duo, whilst continuing to get Kendrick's character over. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out as these two could easily steal a show if given the time to do so, hopefully it won't end up getting lost in the mix around WrestleMania season. 

Match 2 

Noam Dar

def.

Mustafa Ali

via pinfall 

(7:42)

A cute match here as the Cruiserweight showcase continued. It was nothing to get overly excited about, but Dar and Ali worked well together and put on a nice, entertaining contest, playing their parts well. The Scottish Supernova has slotted into his heel role rather well and whilst that character continues to be built, with Alicia Fox rather awkwardly by his side, it was pleasing to see him getting plenty of time working over Ali and generally standing about looking like a bit of a twat. Ali on the other hand is another guy who seems to be taking his opportunity and running with it, after going out in the first round of July's Cruiserweight Classic. His dive to the outside was the spectacular highlight of the match and if the former DREAMWAVE Wrestling star can begin to work on his persona, alongside his flashy offence, he could end up being the surprise star of the division in the not too distant future. There's more to come from both of these fellas as they grow into their spotlights. 

Match 3 

Jack Gallagher

def.

Tony Nese 

(10:01)

For a ten minute long main event, Jack Gallagher and Tony Nese did a bloody good job here, pacing the contest well and both coming out looking better for having taken part, as the former FutureShock Wrestling man continues to be built towards his title shot with Neville at Fastlane. Nese is perhaps not as over as he should be right now, but he has the talent inside the ring to produce great moments and the series of reversals that ended with a Gallagher headbutt was just that. Nese' cartwheel off the apron into a superkick, that he used to take control of the bout, is super pretty, but arguably a little too jazzy for his current character. The contest had a couple of impressive moments, like The Premier Athlete hitting a spider-style German suplex to bring Gallagher off the top, before the Mancunian would reply with a back suplex of his own en route to getting the victory. Like a lot of the matches on the card, you know that these two could do much better if allowed, but Gallagher and Nese did the job they were asked to do and did it well. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.42/10

Show in a Sentence - Three good matches, that could have been better if the Cruiserdog were let off the Cruiserleash. 

Review - James Marston 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

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 Monday Night RAW #1219 - New Day v Jeri-KO

WWE rolled into Los Angeles for the third time of the year, RAW was headlined by a tag team encounter as Universal Champion Kevin Owens teamed up with Chris Jericho as Jeri-KO to face current Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods). With Sasha Banks, Seth Rollins, Rich Swann, Tony Nese and Brian Kendrick featuring in major spots on the card, how would this trip to the Staples Center live up to Los Angeles classics like WrestleMania 21 and SummerSlam 2013?

The lesser spotted duo of Big E & Xavier Woods managed to overcome Universal Champion Kevin Owens and "Y2J" Chris Jericho in the defacto main event, despite not having tagged on TV since May! This was a well-crafted tag clash, paced just right that it remained entertaining either side of the break, as both teams slotted together nicely. Jeri-KO worked well when in control, with Owens hamming it up on the number of occassions, like mocking Woods as he reached for the hot tag. It's a shame that Owens can't seem to get the heat that his performances deserve, as the vocal portion of the fan-base almost always cheers his actions, because they are so bloody entertaining. The build to Woods' hot tag to Kingston was great stuff, as Owens' #1 Contender Seth Rollins' music hit, distracting the Universal Champion and flowing wonderfully into a barage of belly to belly suplexes from E. Rollins would also get involved in the finish, jumping on the apron as Jericho had Woods locked in a Liontamer, meaning that after a bit of back and forth, New Day got the win with the Midnight Hour on Y2J. The result and events seem to leave a couple of options open over the two weeks building towards Rollins and Owens at Hell in a Cell, whilst also elevating E, Kingston and Woods even further.

The New Day v Jeri-KO bout was put together earlier in the show, as E, Kingston and Woods interrupted Jeri-KO after the villains had mentioned the possibilities of going for the tag team titles. This produced one of the best talking segments on WWE television in recent memory as all were on stellar form, creating issues out of thin air and being incredibly entertaining whilst doing so. The beginning with Jeri-KO explored a number of storyline possibilities, as Owens suggested Y2J be the referee for a title bout with Seth Rollins, before Jericho would shift the conversation towards the tag belt, with the cracks beginning to show when Y2J proposed that he could perhaps put his Universal title he could always go after Owens' title instead. Once New Day came out on the stage, the five guys seemed to bounce off each other, as both teams digging into the verbal bag of tricks. Jericho ran riot with his list gimmick, Owens' deadpan delivery was perfect for questioning the sancity of Booty-O's cereal, whilst New Day were their usual happy-go-lucky selves as well as bringing a new "Team Huddle" idea to their gimmick. The segment concluded robustly as Owens said that New Day had "jumped the shark" and had a wonderful back and forth with Woods, where both men showed a promising amount of chemistry, before the tag match would be confirmed.

The show closed with Sasha Banks winning the Women's Championship for the second time after submitting Charlotte with the Banks Statement, following a superb contest. Easily the best match on the show, this featured some great storytelling, some very good wrestling and a wonderful finish. Banks' selling of the back, following being tripped on the top rope, was consistently strong, adding genius touches like stretching her fingers to suggest nerve damage, whilst The Genetically Superior Athlete focused in on the injury with a number of interesting holds, including a modified Camel Clutch in the ring ropes. The narrative brought us the best moment of the match, as after Charlotte dug deep and connected with a corkscrew moonsault to the floor, Banks would roll into the ring and whilst the Boss grasped her back Charlotte hit Natural Selection with spot on timing. The pacing of the finish that saw Charlotte shouting at Banks to stay down before The Boss would recover quickly getting a headscissor into a Banks Statement before holding onto the move long enough to win the prize. With an extra five minutes (minimum, I think it could have actually been given another ten or fifteen minutes and not been hurt) and the removal of a couple of slip ups, I wouldn't have thought twice about given this bout the full beans! 

At the other end of the show, United States Champion Roman Reigns, "The Ravishing Russian" Lana and "The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev opened the evening in a storyline advancing segment that lead to a Hell in a Cell bout being booked between Reigns and Rusev on 30th October in Boston, Massachusetts. Having Lana interrupt Reigns alone, produced a different dynamic, whilst also meaning that Reigns wasn't left exposed on the mic on his own for too long. Lana played her part much better than I was expecting, appearing genuinely emotional at the lack of respect that she perceived that her husband had been shown, adding extra dimension to the feud, that very well could be the missing piece of the puzzle. The pair's brawl around ringside and through the crowd was fun stuff, but whilst the conclusion that saw Reigns blindside Rusev on the ramp with a Superman Punch got a decent pop, I found it hard to buy that Reigns was capable of taking a multiple kicks and being thrown into the steps and barricade, before legging it up to the stage within minutes, but Rusev was left lying for an age after a Superman Punch. A spear onto the hard floor I perhaps could have bought, but an otherwise strong opening segment was harmed by having The Big Dog look so much stronger than the Bulgarian Brute once again.

The opening match saw Brian Kendrick pick up a victory over Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins in an improved version of their bout from 25th September. The story told in this one was simple but effective as Kendrick developed his veteran, win at any cost gimmick and Perkins face shine was much pacier and exciting than the previous encounter. The moment where Kendrick took control of the match was a particular highlight, as he trapped Perkins fingers in the turnbuckle, before dropping neckbreaker across the metal part of the buckle. I'd have liked to have seen The Fil-Am Flash's neck play more of a role following this as it could have played into Kendrick's finish The Captain's Hook (Grounded Reverse Chinlock), however I think that perhaps keeping things simple and flashy in these early Cruiserweight bouts is definitely the route to go down as the characters and performers introduced (or reintroduce) themselves to the audience. The Wizard of Odd getting the win through various underhanded means (Eye rake, ref push etc.) advanced their issues between each other, giving Kendrick a claim to a future title rematch, whilst also beginning to cultivate some empathy between Perkins and the wider WWE audience.

Rounding out the top of the card was another Cruiserweight division clash with WWN's Tony Nese picking up his first win since the Cruiserweight Classic 1st Round, as he perhaps surprisingly he defeated WWE contracted Rich Swann. Even more surprising was just how much the presentation was all about The Premier Athlete. From in-vision promo during his entrance to the sheer volume of offence he got in on Swann, it was clear that WWE is taking their Cruiserweight division in a different direction, trying to keep things as unpredictable as possible. The conflict was decent enough, mixing some pacey Lucha style action with hard strikes, including great sequence from Nese after he'd dodged a moonsault. It was a shame about the last quarter of the bout, which included Swann doing a double stomp to the back of Nese's neck, which ended up looking like a double footed version of Seth Rollins' banned Curb Stomp. There also seemed to be a botch in the finish as Nese was unable to catch Swann correctly coming out of a handspring attempt and weirdly moved to an awkward Pumphandle Michinoku Driver II for the pin. 

Best of the Rest 

• Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson picked up a win over The Golden Truth (Goldust & R-Truth) in a short and simple tag clash, with Gallows & Anderson continuing the beatdown post match.
• Enzo & Cass presented replica Women's Championship belts to three women who have survived cancer in a heart warming moment that the crowd loved.
• Michael Cole interviewed Seth Rollins with the Architect dazzling as he challenged Kevin Ownes to a title rematch and adding plenty of depth to the storyline and his slowly turning babyface character.
• Sami Zayn and Titus O'Neil had a dud of a bout, but at least Zayn went over with a Helluva Kick, in a weird moment after O'Neil had debuted a new "Brand" gimmick. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.54/10

A lot of this week's Monday Night RAW was pretty good this week, but then a lot of the show was also filling for time. This meant that while the main segments were all interesting, engaging and humorous (with the exception of the throwaway Nese v Swann bout), there was a bit too much stuff like Golden Truth v Gallows & Anderson and Zayn v O'Neil and that's without mentioning the squash matches for Braun Strowman and the Cesaro & Sheamus tag team. With a good deal of time given to the Cruiserweight division, it appears that WWE still seems to be finding it's feet with how it wants to present the Cruiserweight division and that's coming across in how the wider audience is yet to take to the concept or any of it's performers in any great numbers. With a few tweaks in this area and perhaps a more balanced conclusion to the Reigns, Lana and Rusev segment, then this would have been a good wrestling show. However, with just two episodes until Hell in a Cell, there are certainly worse things that WWE could be putting on in their three hour slot on USA Network than this slightly above average event!

Match of the Night - Charlotte v Sasha Banks 

Non-Wrestling Segment of the Night - The New Day interrupts Jeri-Ko

Words - James Marston

Banner - Kai Stellar 

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