Coming live from Detroit, Michigan, it’s 205 Live! Tonight’s main event is WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann and TJ Perkins versus Brian Kendrick and “The King of the Cruiserweights” Neville, who returned last night on Raw to turn heel on the entire division.
ARIYA DAVARI vs. LINCE DORADO
Davari and Dorado are having a rematch from last week, that was interrupted by “The Perfect Gentleman” Jack Gallagher, in one of the year’s funniest moments. They face off again tonight to try and get a proper result.
Davari has been impressive so far, both in his wins and losses. Reminds me a bit of Chavo Guerrero Jr., in the sense that he’s so good and not looking like he’s doing much, but he’s actually doing lots. He starts off well, grounding Dorado from getting any Lucha momentum on the more grappler style of Davari.
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Dorado turns it around and lands a springboard stunner that sends Davari out the ring. Dorado then does a flying head dive onto Davari that quite nearly ended terribly. But Lince gets back up quick to the top ropes when Davari gets back in the ring and lands another cross body splash. A few more big moves, and Davari counters quickly and goes for the Frog Splash and picks up the win.
205 Jive: Ok. When I mentioned Chavo earlier, I didn’t realize that his finisher was also the Frog Splash. Creepy. Good win for Davari. I’m fully on board with a Davari vs Gallagher feud, it’s got some great potential. Gallagher works best with technical workers and Davari will compliment him well, both as an opponent and a straight man.
Backstage, Kendrick is trying to talk strategy now that their tag partners and friends. Neville hisses at Kendrick that though they are tag partners tonight, they are not friends. There can be only one King of the Cruiserweights.
205 Jive: If Neville was on Game of Thrones, he’d totally be a Bolton.
We see a return vignette hyping the return of Tajiri to the WWE and coming to 205 Live.
CEDRIC ALEXANDER w/ ALICIA FOX vs. DREW GULAK
Cedric comes down to the ring first, accompanied by the object of Noam Dar‘s obsession, Alicia Fox. Nice reaction for the couple, who’s then followed by his opponent, Drew Gulak. There’s some history between these two, as early Raw Cruiserweight match ups saw Gulak facing Alexander, when he paired with Rich Swann and Lince Dorado against Gulak and his Evolve mate Tony Nese.
Solid back and forth between the two, textbook wrestling, that got a huge reaction when Alexander went to suplex Gulak and they both went out of the ring hard to the floor. Gulak throws Alexander into Alicia Fox, and then throws Alexander back into the ring.
With Alexander getting beat down by Gulak in the corner, Noam Dar comes down the ramp and carries Alicia Fox off. Alexander catches notice and Gulak almost catches him with a roll up, but Alexander rebounds with a quick Lumbar Jack and the win, and chases off after Dar and Fox.
Charly Caruso comes out to interview Drew Gulak, asking him what went wrong tonight. Gulak blames Alicia Fox being around and says “women have no business being on 205 Live”.
205 Jive: Bold prediction: Princess Kimber Lee from Chikara (recently signed to WWE) debuts on 205 Live and faces Gulak. The two have a long and storied legacy of intergender matches on the indies. Solid match between the two that furthers Cedric and Dar’s story (which has some exciting potential) and Gulak gets some character development. WWE has had women hater characters before, but not since Jeff Jarrett faced Chyna have they had their last real proper intergender match-up. Breaking ground (WWE-wise anyway) on 205 Live could go a long way in drawing some indie fans back to WWE programming. And hey, I can verify that Kimber Lee likes the idea.
Backstage, Alexander finds Fox getting ice at the medic table with Dar beside her. Fox says she’s thankful that Dar was there for her. Alexander tells Dar thanks, but he can take over. Dar tells Fox she knows where to find him.
205 Jive: People are getting a little heated over Foxy’s use in this angle, but I think her vulnerability is just a ruse. Keep in mind, Alicia Fox is a face who’s been very close to the edge of going heel the past year with her tantrum moments. She’s most likely working Alexander and will turn on him to join Dar. She won’t be the victim in this tale, she’ll ultimately be it’s mastermind.
WWE CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION RICH SWANN & TJ PERKINS vs. NEVILLE & BRIAN KENDRICK
All four men make their entrance and finally we see Neville’s debut in the division that everyone hoped he’d be allowed to spearhead (if they weren’t going to utilise him elsewhere).
Neville starts off early against Swann. Neville’s been impressive so far in the 24 hours that this character has existed. Neville has been the same character for years now in the WWE Universe, since his pre-NXT Champion days, so a switch in direction feels refreshing. Neville will shine far more against men his own size on a consistent basis. Neville soon tags in Kendrick as Swann tags in Perkins.
Perkins takes it early, but Kendrick fights back and as he gains momentum, Swann tags himself back into the match-up. Swann starts off slow, but mounts a brief comeback, that sends Kendrick over to tag back in Neville.
Neville grabs Swann and German Suplexes him like a rag doll. You really get to see a proper display of Neville now. He and Tony Nese would be a good pairing. Neville takes a kick from Swann after somersaulting over an attack, but avoids the pin and takes down Swann with a solid clothesline, with both men crawling to each others corners for the tag.
Perkins comes in with more gusto this time and immediately goes for a quick pin attempt on Kendrick, but to no avail. Perkins counters everything Kendrick throws at him, before locking in a leg lock submission. Neville runs in to break up the hold, while Swann kicks Neville. Kendrick takes out Swann, but then receives a double superkick from Perkins and Swann.
Kendrick takes out Perkins, and he’s hits the Sliced Bread No. 2 into the Captain’s Hook, while Neville holds TJ Perkins from getting in to save his partner.
Perkins kicks out of Neville’s grip and breaks up the hold, but Swann is thrown to the ground. Neville tags in and begins to stalk Swann, crawling around the ring, exhausted and beaten down. He grabs Swann by the head and berates him. Swann attempts to fight him off, then goes to tag back in Perkins.
Neville crushes Perkins, as Kendrick knocks Swann to the ground.
Neville positions Perkins in the ring and lands the Red Arrow, taking the win. The ref goes to raise his hand, but Neville shakes it off.
The King is here. Long Live The King.
205 Jive: People can say what they will, but 205 Live is getting good. Rough start? Absolutely, but it’s got some fun storylines – Cedric vs Noam is edgy with great athletic potential, Gulak showed some personality that could lead to something long overdue (intergender match-ups), Gallagher vs Davari is going to be great fun, Tajiri is coming back and we’re getting Neville vs. Rich Swann in the main event feud. Add in the impending 205 Live debuts of Gran Metalik, Akira Tozawa, and Tony Nese (who have all just finished up their indie commitments and are now WWE exclusive), and 205 Live could become the PWG to NXT’s Ring of Honor.
