‘WWE 205 Live’ Review (Jan 22nd 2019)
Welcome to this week’s 205 Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have lots of interesting pre-Royal Rumble/NXT Takeover stuff to get to, so let’s do so.
Match #1: Humberto Carrillo def. Gran Metalik
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Last week on WWE 205 Live, Humberto Carrillo answered the non-title open challenge from WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy. Although the Mexican Superstar was not victorious, his effort proved impressive enough to earn him a WWE 205 Live contract. Despite the hard-fought battle against the champion, Carrillo wasted no time getting back into action against Gran Metalik. With SmackDown Superstar Aiden English joining the commentary team, the most exciting hour of television was underway as The King of the Ropes and Humberto Carrillo shook hands to show respect. The early moments of the contest saw the two Cruiserweights battle to a stalemate with their similar style, speed and agility. However, Carrillo gained a strong advantage against The King of the Ropes following a jaw-dropping display of his aerial abilities.
A seasoned veteran, Metalik turned the tide in his favor, and the two continued to showcase their abilities, much to the delight of the WWE Universe. Using his first official WWE 205 Live match to showcase his innovative offense, Carrillo leapt off the top rope and drove his opponent face-first into the mat. However, Metalik answered with his own unbelievable skillset, launching Carrillo off the apron with a hurricanrana. Carrillo avoided a superplex and took down Metalik with a missile dropkick. The newest member of WWE 205 Live wasted no time showing off an incredible maneuver, bouncing off the ropes and landing on Metalik for the pinfall victory. After the match, Metalik and Carrillo once again shook hands.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was an excellent display, but it felt a bit disjointed in parts. Carrillo isn’t over enough yet to get a victory over a more interesting wrestler in Metalik, but he can compete as well as any-body else. Both guys need to work on their personalities, because Vince is not going to authorize a push for either man beyond a few weeks if he doesn’t think they are vibrant characters. Over-all, this was some fabulous lucha libre wrestling, but it didn’t let them show enough to get Vince to look their way for more than a few seconds.
Match #2: (Main Event) Hideo Itami def. Akira Tozawa & Kalisto
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
With less than a week before they challenge Buddy Murphy for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a Fatal 4-Way Match at Royal Rumble Kickoff, Akira Tozawa, Kalisto and Hideo Itami faced off in a Triple Threat Match, each hoping to earn a monumental victory and a psychological advantage. However, the WWE Cruiserweight Champion was not going to sit idly by, and he made his way to ringside to watch the action. Tozawa and Kalisto are former WWE Cruiserweight Champions, thus making Hideo Itami perhaps the hungriest and most dangerous competitor not only in the Triple Threat Match, but also the forthcoming Fatal 4-Way Match. With Tozawa and Kalisto distracted by Murphy’s presence as the match began, Itami immediately attacked.
The hard-hitting Japanese Superstar decimated Kalisto and Tozawa, making sure Buddy Murphy saw exactly the type of punishment being dished out. Eventually, Tozawa halted Itami’s domination, leading to a triangular exchange of strikes in the center of the ring. With Itami in the corner, Kalisto and Tozawa worked together to attempt a double superplex. However, Buddy Murphy soon entered the fray and took down all three of his challengers. With no disqualification rules in effect, the match turned into a free-for-all. Kalisto and Tozawa drove Murphy out of the ring, and the Triple Threat Match resumed back inside the squared circle with all three Superstars giving each other everything they had. No one could maintain an advantage until Itami saw an opening to secure victory, annihilating Kalisto with a basement dropkick after he avoided Tozawa’s Senton. That allowed Itami to grab Tozawa and execute a wicked knee strike for the victory.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was a fine match that got tainted by Buddy Murphy trying to attack the competitors during the match. The action was the standard of the triple threat and while it was very much the stop and start routine, it was a successful version of that.
News Of The Night:
- Tony Nese wants another match with Noam Dar.
Final Verdict: 3/5
This was a decent show, but it falls behind some of the other episodes of recent weeks. The focus on selling the Royal Rumble Cruiserweight Title match forced 205 Live to focus less on good wrestling and more on story-lines, which just got in the way.
