MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ALERT! MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ALERT!
Ladies and gentleman, a major announcement awaits. Nope, not the NXT announcement that has the wrestling world waiting! Instead, I’m of course talking about the 205 Live announcement that has absolutely no one waiting. Guess what though pal, I’m waiting and apparently, so are you. Speaking of such, I can’t bear the suspense much longer and with that in mind, lets rock and roll.
DISCLAIMER: this show is in many ways, designed for my distaste. Take all critiques with a grain of salt as frankly, they are almost all misplaced and many even come with a disgusting bias. On the bright side, if I enjoy this programme, it bodes very well for your own enjoyment. In that sense, it’s ideal.
Drake Maverick welcomed us and run through this week’s show. His teeth looked white.
TJP vs. Humberto Carrillo
Opening match time folks as TJP takes on Humberto Carrillo. TJP is high fiving the crowd here which means one of two things:
- I missed his face turn
- He just wants to be loved
Either way, we had a feeling out process here early until…hang on a second, Vic Joseph just said something about a tournament…wait there.
Oh no, Drake actually said something this week, better rewind this gimmick. Oh, so there’s an 8-man tournament to decide Buddy’s WrestleMania opponent. Cool, Drake’s teeth looked white too.
Back to our opener now as Carrillo sends TJP to the floor while Gulak and Gallagher arrive. In response, Carrillo adjusted, engaging in some less successful mat wrestling. Much to The Commission’s chagrin, flashier offense then returned, putting Carrillo briefly on top until TJP cut him off. Now in control, TJP went to work, using some of his signature offense to wear Humberto down. Carrillo soon fought back to his feet but TJP evaded him again, regaining the upper hand and landing a corner dropkick for 2.
Like much of his prior offense, this was focused on Carrillo’s shoulder and TJP then applied a submission as well but Humberto fired back, landing a sharp kick and following up with a dive to the floor. Another salvo of kicks followed and then a flashy moonsault for 2. A counter quickly came in response though, with TJP applying the STF while Gallagher and Gulak successfully encouraged him to the bottom rope. Within moments, Carrillo had responded in a big way, landing a missile dropkick as well his headstand moonsault thingy for the win.
This match was fun and I enjoyed it but I have to concede that thus far, I haven’t really connected with Carrillo. It’s only early of course though and moreover, I’m still enjoying his work nonetheless. TJP remains a consistent performer too and this match was a solid start to this week’s show.
Grade: B-
Post-match, Gulak and Gallagher encouraged the crowd to cheer Humberto and then lifted the prospect upon their shoulders. What a beautiful gesture.
We then moved to a promo from Tony Nese as he spoke about 205 Live being his for the taking. His prior mental block is now gone and considering that, he’s promising to win this tournament.. Rooting for you pal, thanks for reading by the way.
Backstage, Mike and Maria Kaneliis are asked about requesting a match with Cedric Alexander. Maria runs through Mike’s resume and asks Kayla if she thinks he achieved this by taking the easy way out. Ms Braxton agrees that this isn’t the case and Maria claimed that tonight, Mike will take out the pride and soul of 205 Live.
Ariya Daivari vs. Johnny Lyons
Good lord, the showcase match is back bubba…all hail. Ariya has a microphone in hand first though, calling tonight the “Beginning of the Daivari Dinero Destruction of the Cruiserweight Division.” Not particularly catchy mate but I like the alliteration nonetheless. He then made some form of sports reference and I must say, this promo actually ruled. In-ring, Daivari landed some quick jabs early, dropping Lyons until Johnny fired back with a dropkick. He then ate a sharp kick for his troubles though and Ariya’s Hammerlock Lariat soon followed.
Daivari then closed the show, leaving Lyons unconscious with a Cobra Clutch.
Grade: ASR (All Squashes Rule)
After that, we went to a promo from Buddy Murphy. He sympathized with Drake Maverick, admitting that the GM is doing his best to find competition. Buddy claims to be the Cruiserweight GOAT and frankly, I’m not rushing to disagree with him.
Mike Kanellis vs. Cedric Alexander
A feeling out process got this one started, with both men trading holds until Mike used strikes to briefly take control. Alexander fired back right away though, landing his spectacular dropkick and continuing to flurry until Kanellis floored him with a crisp right hand. Now in control, Kanellis followed up with an onslaught of vicious strikes, constantly rocking Cedric and leaving him floored too. A flurry of strikes from Alexander soon arrived in response though, turning the tide and landing his Neuralizer too.
However, his follow-up springboard clothesline backfired, slipping off the top rope and giving Kanellis the perfect target as a result. He seized right away, stomping on Cedric’s injured knee but then running into a superkick as well. Alexander wasn’t able to land Lumbar Check after that though, instead having a 2nd Neuralizer countered as Kanellis almost closed the show. Another strike exchange came next but Mike came out on top, following up with a…*checks notes*…BACKPACK STUNNER for 2. Alexander fired back, attempting multiple quick pin attempts and hitting the Michinoku Driver for 2.
In response, Kanellis bailed to the apron and Alexander followed him there, with both men soon being dropped via simultaneous big boots. Cedric then chased Mike up the ramp but paid the price, walking into Kanellis’ spinebuster and writhing in agony as a result. Alexander barely avoided a count-out loss but Kanellis stayed aggressive regardless, applying the Boston Crab in center ring. After an immense struggle, Cedric made it to the bottom rope and then rallied, sending Mike to the floor and landing his big dive too.
Maria then stopped Alexander from re-entering though, delaying him just enough for Mike to recover and hit a superkick as well as the rolling cutter. The referee counted three but then had to overturn his own decision as at 2.9, Alexander’s shoulder somehow came off the canvas. Mike and Maria had already began celebrating but the match restarted and after avoiding a quick roll-up, Cedric landed Lumbar Check for the sudden win.
I sense that opinions will be across the board for this one but I must say, this match was very much in my lane. It featured a traditional lay-out and more than anything else, was built on logic and selling. They executed everything extremely well, and had me engaged throughout including a really neat false finish at the end. Super enjoyable main event in my view, and I thought both guys did a great job.
Grade: B+
Post-match, Maverick announced next week’s first round tournament clashes. Kalisto will take on Tony Nese and Drew Gulak will face The Brian Kendrick. Neat.
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t a standout episode or anything but in truth, we basically knew that coming in. With that being said, this week’s show still featured two exciting singles matches and that perfectly sets up our upcoming tournament. The main event was an especially enjoyable one though, very sound pro wrestling that provided a change of pace along the way. I love me some good old fashioned rasslin and that my friends, is the power of love!
Grade: B
