30th Aug2018

‘WWE 205 Live’ Review (August 28th 2018)

by Nathan Favel

205-live-header

Welcome to this week’s 205 Live review, right her on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a couple of matches to get around to, so let’s do so.

Match #1: Akira Tozawa def. The Brian Kendrick

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

Following a brutal attack at the hands of The Brian Kendrick and Gentleman Jack Gallagher last week on WWE 205 Live, Akira Tozawa sought retribution in a battle against The Man with a Plan. Despite a recent second losing effort to Lio Rush, The Stamina Monster wasn’t afraid to lock up with his longtime adversary. Fired up, Tozawa was ready to battle, but The Brian Kendrick attempted to play mind games, slithering away to the outside and trying to hide behind Gallagher. However, Tozawa wasn’t in the mood for games and took both Superstars down, unleashing a flurry of offense inside the ring that put Kendrick on the defensive. As Tozawa continued to build momentum, Gallagher distracted the Japanese Superstar long enough for Kendrick to strike and take control of the contest.

The Man with a Plan methodically attacked, unleashing his trademark aggression through a mix of targeted attacks and technical ability. Knowing his opponent so well allowed Kendrick to apply the Captain’s Hook, but Tozawa recovered and fought back, preparing his patented Senton and immediately transitioning to a suicide dive after Kendrick escaped. Taking down Gallagher a second time, Tozawa showed off his own brand of aggression and targeted Kendrick’s right leg by using the ring post and high-impact strikes to maximize damage. Unleashing his rage on Kendrick, Tozawa again ascended the rope and planted Kendrick with the Senton for a dominant victory.

My Take: This was a decent match that saw Akira Tozawa have a hard time getting the crowd to give him any-thing to work with. Kendrick is talented, but it’s no secret why he has never become a great star, as his wrestling always looks awkward and his personality is just as such. Tozawa and Kendrick would be much better if it was in Japan, but in the WWE, there’s very little these two can do with one another that could be considered truly thrilling.

Match #2: Hideo Itami versus Michael Blaise (No Contest)

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

Two weeks ago, Hideo Itami won a match after it was stopped by the official. The Japanese Superstar has been on an absolute tear while demanding respect from the WWE Universe, even showing no regret for injuring Mustafa Ali a few weeks ago, only wishing he hurt him more. As the bell sounded for his battle with Blaise, Itami immediately clobbered his opponent with a massive boot to the face. Itami channeled his brand of hard-hitting offense at Blaise’s expense. Although Blaise managed to get in some offense, the precision kicks to the lower back proved to be too much.

Displaying a more sadistic side, Itami had the match won on multiple occasions but would stop the pinfall after the two-count. Showing no remorse and taking pleasure in decimating his opponent, Itami prepared a third running dropkick when he stopped in his tracks upon hearing Mustafa Ali’s music. Making a surprise return, The Heart of WWE 205 Live made a beeline for the ring to confront Itami. As Ali charged, Itami escaped through the WWE Universe. Ali demanded a fight, but Itami wasn’t going to answer the challenge on this particular night.

My Take: This was a squash booked to let Itami look dominant against an opponent. Itami looked as good as ever and would be a big star in every other company in the world, but for Vince, he’s just a warm body to keep alive until the contract runs out.

Match #3: Main Event – Buddy Murphy def. Kalisto

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

The animosity between The Lucha House Party and the duo of Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese continues to boil, especially following a wild Tornado Tag Team Match last week, and Kalisto and Murphy squared off in singles competition this week. The two have clashed before in one of the most competitive matches in WWE 205 Live history, and both were ready to put it all on the line. Early in the contest, The Juggernaut asserted his considerable size and strength advantage, but Kalisto used the ropes to drop Murphy with a jaw-dropping hurricanrana. As Murphy rolled outside the ring, Nese prevented Kalisto from attacking, but the Lucha Dragon responded by taking them both down. A brawl between Murphy, Nese and The Lucha House Party nearly erupted, but the official managed to break it up.

As the battle spilled to the outside and Murphy countered a high-risk move into a suplex, Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik and Tony Nese continued to jaw, resulting in a shoving match between Dorado and Murphy. To restore order, the official ejected Metalik and Dorado from ringside. With his opponent’s support system gone, The Juggernaut unleashed powerful kicks to Kalisto’s lower back. Showing his resilience, Kalisto battled back, but Murphy’s power proved to be too much. The former Cruiserweight Champion continued to build momentum and prepared to flatten Murphy after dumping him from the ring, but he was tripped up by Nese in full-view of the official.

As a result, The Premier Athlete was ejected from ringside, finally evening the odds between Murphy and Kalisto. As The Juggernaut pressed forward, Kalisto recovered and unleashed a series of high-impact and fast-paced maneuvers that were topped off with two unbelievable inverted hurricanranas. On the outside of the ring, Murphy’s anger and aggression took over, and he began throwing Kalisto into the barricade, resetting the official’s 10-count to continue unleashing punishment. Kalisto was left decimated on the outside as Murphy returned to the ring, seemingly satisfied with a count-out victory.

However, Murphy couldn’t help himself and answered his opponent’s taunts only to be flipped into the timekeeper’s area. Barely making it back into the ring before being counted out, Murphy found himself spiked into the canvas by a hurricanrana. After escaping two pinfalls, Murphy leveled Kalisto with a knee to the face and executed Murphy’s Law for a hard-fought victory.

My Take: This was the best match of the night and one of the best of the week. This was a big bout for Murphy and he delivered every step of the way. Kalisto continues to be as impeccable an athlete as you’re likely to find and was able to make Murphy look formidable. I’d love to see these two guys fight again in the near future.

News Of The Night:

  1. Cedric Alexander challenged Drew Gulak to confront him, next week.
  2. The Hideo Itami/Mustafa Ali feud is continuing thanks to Itami wishing he had hurt Ali more in their last match. Also, Ali stopped Itami from hurting Michael Blaise in the bout between the former and the latter.

Final Verdict: 3 out of 5 – This was a fine night of action with an excellent main event.

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