13th Sep2018

‘WWE 205 Live’ Review (Sept 11th 2018)

by Phil Wheat

205-live-header

Welcome to this review of 205 Live, right here on Nerdly. I’m Phil Wheat, standing in for Nathan, and I haven’t watched this cruiserweight-exclusive show since Enzo Amore was on it spending all the programmes runtime on his promos, so let’s see how his goes!

Match #1: Buddy Murphy def. Gran Metalik

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

Last week on WWE 205 Live, The Lucha House Party continued to slug it out with Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese when Gran Metalik picked up a victory against The Premier Athlete. However, with a WWE Cruiserweight Championship opportunity on the horizon at WWE Super Show-Down in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia, Buddy Murphy is aiming to silence Gran Metalik and send a Cedric Alexander a message. Murphy used his size and speed to gain an early advantage in his first-time-ever meeting with Gran Metalik, but Metalik countered and drove the match to an early stalemate.

Taking control of the contest, Murphy executed precision power strikes and holds to keep Metalik on defense. Failing to break free of Murphy’s grip, The King of the Ropes found himself on the receiving end of a flurry of strikes that was meant to culminate in a superplex. However, Metalik battled back and took Murphy down with a sunset powerbomb off the top rope. As The Juggernaut recovered, Metalik showed patience, waiting for the right moment to strike. Unloading a series of fast-paced and high-impact maneuvers, Metalik nearly secured victory. Remaining in control, The King of the Ropes executed a sunset flip and prepared to go for another. However, Murphy recovered and knocked his opponent off the top rope. With momentum swinging in his favor, Murphy countered a high-risk move and executed two powerbombs for a nail-biting near fall.

Trading blows in the center of the ring, the two Superstars battled back and forth before Metalik nearly secured victory with his patented Metalik Driver. As they both returned to their feet, The King of the Ropes flipped to avoid a strike from Murphy but landed awkwardly on his knee. As the official checked on Metalik, Murphy continued to attack. Taking down his opponent with a running knee, The Juggernaut wasted no time executed Murphy’s Law for the win. Following the contest, Murphy addressed the WWE Universe – and specifically WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander. Reminding everyone he is the fastest and strongest Cruiserweight, he stated his clear intentions to claim the title in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia.

My take: Buddy Murphy is on 205 Live? No wonder I haven’t seen him on NXT! Murphy looked strong, as he used to do in his tag-team days, though he was over-shadowed somewhat by the Lucha stylings of Grand Metalik. However Murphy’s sheer strength gave him the eventual upper hand after almost having his head taken off by a lariat from Metalik. Both men came out of this match looking strong – as a returning viewer I can totaly buy Murphy vying for, and becoming, the Cruiserweight Championship.

Match #2: Mustafa Ali def. Michael Thompson

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

Last month, Mustafa Ali pushed himself to his physical limit in a hard-hitting battle with Hideo Itami. While certainly living up to his “Heart of WWE 205 Live” moniker, Ali was left sidelined until WWE 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick felt it was time for him to return. After resting for a few weeks and making a triumphant return to confront Itami, Ali finally got back to action against Michael Thompson. Before the match got underway, Hideo Itami made his way into the arena. The Japanese Superstar taunted Ali, explaining that he had come to watch his match. When the opening bell sounded, Ali wasted no time mounting a fast-paced and effective offense, keeping his eyes on Itami and showing the WWE Universe that he hadn’t lost a step. Taking down his opponent with a tornado DDT, Ali made his way to the top and executed the 450 for the win. After the battle, Ali stared down Itami, who was still at the top of the ramp, and the two exchanged heated words from a distance.

My take: The cruiserweight equivalent of a squash match, this was over in less than two minutes and did exactly what it needed to do – make the returning Mustapha Ali look very strong.

Match #3: Drew Gulak & Gentleman Jack Gallagher def. Cedric Alexander and Akira Tozawa

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

Ever since being defeated by WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander at SummerSlam, Drew Gulak has been adamant about receiving another title opportunity. As a result, he has been antagonizing The Soul of WWE 205 Live and anyone in his path, including Akira Tozawa. After The Stamina Monster sidelined The Brian Kendrick, he’s teaming up with the champion hoping to silence Gulak and Gallagher. Keeping Tozawa away from his partner, Gulak and Gallagher brilliantly took turns unloading on The Stamina Monster early in the match. As they continued to focus on Tozawa, The Stamina Monster eventually found the energy to take down Gulak with a DDT and tag in Alexander.

Ready for a fight, The Soul of WWE 205 Live didn’t give Gallagher any room to breathe, maintaining a brisk offense and nearly securing victory with a Spanish Fly in the center of the ring. However, Gulak broke up the pinfall and stared down the champion, pulling Alexander’s focus away from Gallagher. Although the champion briefly recovered, Gulak was clearly in his head. However, the fighting champion avoided a double suplex, allowing Tozawa to tag himself back in and turn up the intensity at Gallagher’s expense. As Tozawa mounted incredible momentum, he prepared to take Gallagher down with his patented Senton, but Gulak pulled him away. Outside the ring, Gulak and Gallagher dismantled Alexander, tossing him into the ring post. Back inside the ring, Gallagher leveled Tozawa with a headbutt and dragged him to Gulak, who tagged in and applied the Gulock for the tapout win.

My take: A solid match with some great back and forth, with Tozawa looking like the stronger man on his team. Meanwhile Gallagher and Gulak worked well together – Gulak using some great mind games on Cedric Alexander and Gallagher still looking like one of the best wrestler on the 205 Live roster, as he has done since day one IMHO.

News of the Night:

  1. Buddy Murphy challenged Cedric Alexander to a Champpionship match at the WWE Super Show-Down PPV in Australia
  2. Drew Gulak earned a WWE Cruiserweight Championship opportunity
  3. Drake Maverick used AOP as a threat during a promo with Gulak & Gallagher
  4. Lio Rush to take on Noam Dar next week

Final Verdict: As someone who hasn’t seen 205 Live in an eternity this was like watching a totally different show – one that seems modelled on NXT, but a new show nonetheless. Some fast-paced action that actually focused on the wrestling rather than storylines, yet still pushing forward the feuds etc. This is definitely an improvement over 205 Live of old but still not a show I’ll keep tuning into each week.

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