The WWE Network‘s newest performer programming, 205 Live, debuted last week with a PPV worthy main event that saw Rich Swann in his finest WWE performance to date – adding WWE psychology with his indie arsenal – as he dethroned The Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. While many were worried that the Smackdown crowd would thin out and be too tired to make noise for the seeming underdog of the WWE line-up, it was surprisingly vocal. The audience that did leave helped create a natural reverb in their absence that made the vocal crowd that remain sound more like an indie crowd from PWG than a WWE audience. Tonight, Brian Kendrick invokes his rematch clause and immediately looks to regain the belt he lost to Swann just last week.
NOAM DAR vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER
Noam Dar, one of the UK’s hottest indie stars of the past few years, makes his way to the ring, followed by Cedric Alexander. Alexander has managed to cross into the main roster storylines with his association with Alicia Fox. His interaction with Bayley this past Monday will do wonders in making the casual fans pay attention.
Solid match-up between these two former indie darlings that saw both men trade some solid offense. The two got about fifteen minutes in a fun match that saw Noam Dar pick up the win. Post-match, Dar went into full heel cocky mode before dedicating his victory over Cedric Alexander to Alexander’s girlfriend, Alicia Fox.
205 Jive: I’m sure many will think this “buries” Alexander after getting a small push, but most likely this is just the start of a Dar and Alexander feud, as both are now clearly defined – Alexander the face, and Dar the heel. These two have all kinds of talent, so this could be a fresh new feud for even the indie fans
Backstage, TJ Perkins comes up to Rich Swann in the locker room to wish him luck with his Cruiserweight title rematch tonight.
ARIYA DAIVARI vs. JACK GALLAGHER
Third match-up between these two in two weeks, having had a match last Tuesday on the debut episode of 205 Live, then a rematch last night on Raw. While I’m all for a feud between the two, it would be nice if we’d seen at least one new face in this match-up. In two episodes, two of the three matches have been the exact same match-up.
Daivari gets a bit more offence in out the gate, with Gallagher selling the injured knee. Gallagher struggles for much of the match, as Daivari continues to target the knee and leg. Gallagher mounts a struggled comeback on the wounded leg, delivering a vicious head butt to Daivari to bring him down.
Daivari recovers quickly, laying Gallagher out and picking up a huge win off a Persian Lion Splash (coined by Austin Aries on commentary).
205 Jive: As uninterested as I was in a third match-up so quickly, Daivari scoring the win got my attention. Daivari isn’t flashy but he’s smooth and has some potential. One thing I’ll give WWE credit for with him – he may be Middle Eastern and a heel, but he’s not a Middle Eastern heel. He may wear some cultural references, but he’s more just an American of Middle Eastern heritage who’s a jerk than a stereotypical Islamic radicalist.
CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Rich Swann (c) vs. Brian Kendrick
TJ Perkins joins the announce team for the main event, as we go backstage where Nathaniel Phillips stops Brian Kendrick on his way to the ring. Kendrick makes some excuses about not being ready but now he’s focused. He makes his way to the ring, gloating all the way down the ramp. The music of Rich Swann hits the arena and the champ makes his way to face his challenger.
The two put on another solid match – with a solid twisting aerial attack from Swann on Kendrick to the outside – but it starts a little slower than the last meeting. One thing, this crowd has been brutal. Not just for 205 Live but for Smackdown too. At one point they were chanting “Austin Aries” during the match – I guess it’s more relevant than CM Punk, so they’re getting better.
Swann nails his Charm City modified Michinoku Driver but Kendrick kicks out. They trade some blows before Swann nails his sequence of head kicks but falls to the mat himself, exhausted. The crowd begins to liven up and “This is awesome” begins to filter the air.
Both men to their feet and trading punches, before Kendrick dumps him over his head and then tries to get the Captain’s Hook submission locked in. Swann fights it off by trying to block Kendrick’s hand, but Kendrick re-applies it in the center of the ring. Swann shows all kinds of guts pulling Kendrick around the ring with the Captain’s Hook around his head and neck, but finally makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Kendrick tries to use the ropes to choke Swann, but Swann flips Kendrick over to the ground.
Kendrick climbs back to the apron and kicks Swann, who then throws Kendrick back into the ring post. Kendrick grabs Swann and slams him off the ring post to the ground and then attempts a Dragon Sleeper in front of Perkins at the announce table.
Perkins stands up to Kendrick, while Swann gets back into the ring. The ref is still counting and Kendrick rushes to the ring to avoid the count out, running into a spinning kick from Swann for the three count.
After the match, as Swann is heading up the ramp with his belt, Kendrick attacks Perkins at the announce table. Swann runs down to help his friend but Perkins accidentally nails Swann with a Superkick when Kendrick moves out of the way, then levels Perkins. Kendrick leaves the ring arena blowing kisses to the audience.
205 Jive: Nowhere near the classic from last week, but it definitely picked up momentum in the final minutes. There was teased tension in a friendly rivalry sort of way between Perkins and Swann that looks to be setting up a showdown in the near future. Kendrick and Perkins can continue their feud while Swann can move on to a new challenger with his rematch with Kendrick out the way.
205 Live is still finding it’s legs but there were some decent moments. Still so many new faces to see on the show, like Gran Metalik, Akira Tozawa and more, so the show is only just scratching the surface of what it can offer. But for a division that was seemingly directionless, they’ve now got feuds in place for Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar, Jack Gallagher vs. Daivari and Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins, with a new challenger on the horizon for Rich Swann – fingers crossed it’s Tony Nese.
