{"id":27780,"date":"2018-10-10T15:12:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T19:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=27780"},"modified":"2018-10-10T15:12:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T19:12:59","slug":"the-story-so-far-205-live-10-10-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/10\/10\/the-story-so-far-205-live-10-10-18\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story So Far: 205 Live (10\/10\/18)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At <em><strong>Super Show-Down<\/strong><\/em>, <strong>Buddy Murphy<\/strong> defeated <strong>Cedric Alexander<\/strong> to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, ending Alexander\u2019s six month reign, and handing him his first singles loss all year. This was probably the match of the night. It was really well worked, most everything looked crisp, and Murphy\u2019s knees should now be considered a weapon. The Murphy\u2019s hometown of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was, needless to say, behind him from the beginning, and he got a good reaction when he won. We can retroactively apply the narrative of 2018 for Murphy as one that saw him put on good match after good match, win a lot of them, but lose the big ones, until he finally captured the gold at home. He also kicked out of Alexander\u2019s Lumbar Check, which had not been kicked out of in 2018. All this put Murphy over the top as a conquering hero. Hopefully, the match was entertaining enough to certain people to convince them to start watching <em><strong>205 Live<\/strong><\/em> on the Network, which has already seen an upswing in viewership in its new time slot. It might bring some more Aussie eyes on the product with an Aussie on top. But I don\u2019t think it was quite the match needed to give 205 Live the spark it needed to make the brand a big deal. The match itself was very good, and like I said earlier it was the match of the night, but to convince people who aren\u2019t watching to actually start watching, you need an absolutely blow away match, that makes people feel like they\u2019re missing out if they\u2019re not watching the show. We\u2019ll see if <em>205 Live<\/em> jumps up from number four on the most watched shows on the Network this week, to see if that match gave it a bump.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WHAT A MOMENT for @WWE_Murphy, your NEWWWWWWW <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WWE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cruiserweight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Cruiserweight<\/a> Champion! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WWESSD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WWESSD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EDJELAYWm0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/EDJELAYWm0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1048533805990985729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 6, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Story-wise, the match leaves a certain amount of mystery going forward. Going into <strong>Super Show-Down<\/strong>, I believed Cedric would retain, and they\u2019d keep a slow build to a <strong>WrestleMania<\/strong> match between Alexander and <strong>Mustafa Ali<\/strong>, which is a rematch of this year\u2019s WrestleMania where Alexander first won the title. While one would assume Alexander wouldn&#8217;t have had a year-long reign,dropping it to a heel for a brief spell, only to win it back in a month or two, seemed a possibility. Murphy just didn&#8217;t seem to be the person to do that &#8211; all signs seemed to point to\u00a0<strong>Lio Rush<\/strong>. Going forward, it\u2019s possible it&#8217;s still possible to be the long term plan, just wrong on the person. We could see Murphy carry the belt through the end of the year, and Alexander wins it back in January (maybe at the <strong>Royal Rumble<\/strong>) to start building towards the<em> WrestleMania<\/em> rematch. It\u2019s also possible, that they\u2019ve made a switch, and Murphy will be the one to take us to \u2018Mania. This week\u2019s episode will tell us a lot, especially if <em>Super Show-Down<\/em> was the start of a face turn for Murphy, which wouldn\u2019t be a stretch, considering how easy it\u2019d be to pivot off of the hometown hero sympathy. If that is the direction they\u2019re going, it&#8217;s entirely feasible that Murphy will have the title for the next six months. For the present, sticking to the original plan, look for Alexander to win the title back in December or January.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Akira Tozawa vs. Gentleman Jack Gallagher: WWE 205 Live, Oct. 3, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_wDzc1up9H4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The other major story going on in <em>205 Live<\/em> is <strong>Drew Gulak<\/strong> and <strong>Jack Gallagher<\/strong> turning on <strong>The Brian Kendrick<\/strong> this past week. It was an interesting choice, considering Gallagher had just seconds previously lost to <strong>Akira Tozawa<\/strong>, and Kendrick had won his match the week before. Gulak briefly brought back his PowerPoint Presentation, to call out Kendrick for being too merciful in his previous match. For a show that I have lauded for its logical booking, this is a misstep. Expect it to result in good things, but the narrative syllogism that led us there is irrational. However, Kendrick, Gulak, and Gallagher are all good workers, so the feud going forward should be entertaining, and if Tozawa is included to team up with Kendrick, then we\u2019ll have a brilliantly worked tag team feud on our hands.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kalisto vs. TJP: WWE 205 Live, Oct. 3, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2pQ01biTCjs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>TJP<\/strong> defeated <strong>Lince Dorado<\/strong> three weeks ago, by ripping off his mask (illegal in Lucha Libre), and rolling him up for the win. Last week, <strong>Kalisto<\/strong>, upset about the disrespect shown towards lucha culture, challenged TJP and got the win, but TJP stole his mask afterwards, continuing the feud with the<strong> Lucha House Party<\/strong>. With so much of the angle revolving around the mask, many have speculated that this will lead to an apuesto (betting) match, where TJP would put up his hair against the mask of the members of Lucha House Party. Since <strong>Gran Metalik<\/strong> is the only member not to face TJP during this feud, it would make sense for it to be him. Look for a hair versus mask match between those two in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Noam Dar vs. Lio Rush: WWE 205 Live, Sept. 26, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wO0JcSnYsfc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This upcoming episode will see Lio Rush issue an Open Challenge to the <em>205 Live<\/em> roster. Rush is still undefeated on the brand, and is coming off of a win against <strong>Noam Dar<\/strong>. I would be surprised if Dar wasn\u2019t the one to answer the challenge. These two still have a feud to settle, the only question remaining is will Rush drop a loss to Dar, due to WWE\u2019s insistence, even on <em>205 Live<\/em>, for 50\/50 booking. He won both his matches against Tozawa in their feud, and since <strong>Triple H<\/strong> is more or less autonomous in 205 Live, I think he realizes that an undefeated challenger for a title is a lot more important than giving Dar a win in a feud he\u2019s going to lose anyway. Look for Rush to beat Dar one more time, and then move on to greener pastures, most likely start clamoring for a number one contender\u2019s match.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami: WWE 205 Live, Sept. 26, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UI_Y9j9Vr34?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mustafa Ali<\/strong> and <strong>Hideo Itami<\/strong> have been going at each other for weeks now, with a kayfabe injury for Ali as the plot mover. Itami has a win due to that injury, and their most recent match resulted in a double countout after Ali hit Itami with a 450 splash on the apron. With WWE\u2019s booking logic in mind, it appears that Ali is due for a win in the next match, which will be the feud blow off. General Manager <strong>Drake Maverick<\/strong> has stated they will wrestle again, and that it\u2019ll be something that can\u2019t be missed, indicating some kind of stipulation match for the payoff. A date was not announced for that match, but look for it sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lio Rush motivates Bobby Lashley: Raw, Sept. 10, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rLhgD0YqS4M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like to end on a bit of a post script: we\u2019ve seen Drake Maverick and Lio Rush on <em><strong>Monday Night Raw<\/strong><\/em> in managerial roles, and this past week on NXT, <strong>Tony Nese<\/strong> wrestled <strong>Johnny Gargano<\/strong>. While Maverick\u2019s role still feels a bit odd, it\u2019s great for the brand to have some of its performers on different shows. That kind of exposure can only help the viewership. I think it would help to have even more cross over, like maybe Gran Metalik challenging <strong>Andrade Almas<\/strong> on <em><strong>Smackdown Live<\/strong><\/em> for instance, but for the time being, working with the exposure they have can only help this burgeoning brand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Super Show-Down, Buddy Murphy defeated Cedric Alexander to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, ending Alexander\u2019s six month reign, and handing him his first singles loss all year. This was probably the match of the night. It was really well worked, most everything looked crisp, and Murphy\u2019s knees should now be considered a weapon. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2483,"featured_media":27962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[316,2,3],"tags":[299,1703],"class_list":["post-27780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-205live","category-featured","category-wwe-universe","tag-205-live","tag-buddy-murphy"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2483"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}