Just days before WWE Super Show-Down, which will see Buddy Murphy challenge WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander for the title, in Murphy’s hometown of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, we only get the second episode of full build for this match. Most of Murphy’s segments on the show have been building towards this in the last month or so, but he was finishing up with the Lucha House Party, and up until last week, Alexander was feuding with Drew Gulak. Needless to say, this feud feels rushed. However, on a show that usually has solid booking and even better wrestling, a minor booking flaw like this is something that’s easily forgiven. Not to mention that this match comes with a built in story, as Murphy challenged Alexander earlier in the year in a terrific match for the belt, but fell short, so now he has the chance at redemption in his hometown. It’s a simple story that you can get across in two weeks of programming if you have to. Rushed yes, bad no. There’s no reason to think that these two—who are both great workers—can’t have a borderline show-stealing match, especially when Murphy is performing in his hometown. While I do think there is a real chance for a title change there, I think it’s more likely that Alexander will retain. I think the brand is moving towards Alexander dropping the title to Mustafa Ali at WrestleMania next year, whom he beat this year at WrestleMania to win the vacant title. I do not believe he’ll hold the title for a full year, I think he’ll drop it to a heel for a brief run before winning it back, but it looks like they are building Lio Rush for that spot. Rush is undefeated on 205 Live, and beat Noam Dar last week. But Dar got much more offense in, so although Rush pulled it out, it looks like they’ll get a rematch in a few weeks. While Rush may drop a match to Dar, he’ll win the feud in the end, continuing his push to the top heel spot on the show.
Ali is in somewhat of a quirky feud with Hideo Itami. Both men are very good workers, but the angle is revolving around Ali fighting through a kayfabe injury. Itami won their first encounter because Ali was dazed due to his injury, and their second bout last week ended in a double countout after Ali hit a 450 on the apron. Both performers were selling huge as the show went off the air, and it looked like 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick may keep Ali out of the ring until he’s healed, like he did a few weeks ago. I do not think this is the right way to get Ali over as a babyface. He’s good enough in the ring, with just enough charisma, that he should be wrestling on most episodes, dispatching heels after two to four match feuds.
On this week’s episode, we will see TJP versus Kalisto and Akira Tozawa versus Jack Gallagher. TJP defeated Lince Dorado two weeks ago by ripping of his mask (illegal in Lucha Libre) and rolling him up for the pin as Dorado tried to cover his face. Dorado’s fellow Lucha House Party member Kalisto did not take kindly to the disrespect, and challenged TJP. Last week, TJP cut a promo that revolved around the mask, and afterwards I’ve seen suggestions on social media about this possibly building towards a mask versus hair match, which I hadn’t thought of, but it would be fascinating to see how they handled something like that. Tozawa and Gallagher have both eaten a lot of losses lately, as they’ve been positioned to put other people over. Both are good in the ring, so this will be a sound match, but don’t expect much heat, even from consistent 205 Live fans. My best guess would be for Gallagher to get the win, as the show is in more need of strong heels than it is strong faces, but with a match like this that came out of left field, it’s hard to be certain. Either way, the match quality of the night should be anywhere from good to great, and there will be more promos building Dar and Rush, and most importantly, Murphy and Alexander, which will no doubt be the go home segment.
