Last week on 205 Live: A decent Lio Rush and Kalisto match was ruined by a wonky finish. Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa had my favorite wrestling match of the week. Both Akira and Kalisto advance to the fatal four way Cruiserweight championship match.
Cold Open
Drake Maverick opens the show narrating last weeks events. Drake says Hideo Itami will go up against Cedric Alexander tonight and Noam Dar will go toe to toe with Tony Nese.
Tony Nese vs. Noam Dar
- Noam Dar’s character is that he is a Soccer/Futball player and Tony Nese’s character is that he has eight abs.
- Tony cut a promo about how he will beat Noam Dar because Nese is the better athlete and the better man.
- Tony Nese wearing some trunks that leave little to the imagination.
- It’s crazy how when the cruiserweights were showcased on Raw, they would tape the ropes purple during commercials. Now when 205 Live has it’s own show they don’t even take the time to tape the ropes.
- After some back and forth wrestling and a bit of brawling the match starts telling a story when Tony takes control. Not sure what the story is quite yet though.
- First time I’ve noticed Nese wrestling like his character. Noam tried punching Nese in the stomach but the eight abs absorbed the blow and Tony just brushed the blows off.
- Tony Nese has wristbands that have laces on them. How do you tie laces with one hand? I can’t grasp that concept, to not only tie it with one hand but tie it tight enough. I wonder if Nese has someone in the back tie his wristbands for him.
- This match is really back and forth with neither man getting full control. There hasn’t been one body part that has been worked on or worked over. Just a series of moves, counter, series of moves. Doesn’t seem to tie anything together either. Like, there isn’t a reason that they are doing the moves other than “do the move”.
- Tony almost had the match won but Noam Dar got a surprise victory with a roll up.
And I’m Like… I’m gonna be honest, I feel asleep for like a minute of the match but it felt like I slept a lot longer. There was nothing really special about this match and every gear the match hit was less exciting than the last. Pretty bland stuff.
The Brian Kendrick is reading a letter from Akira Tozawa. Akira is wrestling in Japan and will be back for the biggest match of his career at the Royal Rumble. Kendrick feels like he owes it to Tozawa to help Akira win the Cruiserweight championship because of the way The Brian treated Tozawa in the past.
Drew Gulak and Jack Gallagher present Drake Maverick with two booklets on who they think Drake should bring in to 205 Live. As Drew and Jack leave, Maria and Mike Kanellis show up. They said Mike hasn’t wrestled for five weeks. They are upset because for five weeks they show up but aren’t used and they aren’t even able to be with their daughter. They warn Drake that the new people he is bringing to the brand will have to fight them.
Lio Rush cuts a selfie promo that Lucha House Party cheated to beat Lio. Lucha House Party is now feuding with Lio.
Cedric Alexander vs. Hideo Itami w/ Ariya Daivari
- The winner here is the last entrant in the fatal four way match.
- Ariya looks like a character from Def Jam Fight For New York.
- Vic Joseph says both of these superstars are “elite”. This is the 205 in Jacksonville the day of the AEW Rally. Very interesting.
- Cedric stepped on Hideo’s hand and acted like he was going to stomp Itami’s arm. Then Alexander just went back to a wristlock. Real weird bit there.
- Cedric had a small burst of offense that got the crowd going but had to stop because of his chest. Itami’s kicks keep hitting Cedric in the chest and now Alexander can’t keep his energy up. It’s fantastic because the last match didn’t even work on a body apart, let alone an extremity. This match is telling a story of a dang chest. That and Daivari interfering to help Itami.
- Commentary team is saying that Itami wrestles to make everyone respect him, which is why his moves are so fierce and his strikes relentless.
- The strikes to Alexander have been so effective that it’s gone from a chest injury to a rib injury.
- Itami is bringing everything he has to this fight and Cedric continues to kick out. Hideo’s facial expressions have gone from bewilderment to frustration and anger.
- We get a strike war in the middle of the ring but Cedric ends up taking a LICKIN’. Cedric was able to dodge a strike and hit the Neuralizer .
- Hideo is shook from it and grabs the ropes. Cedric tries to pull Itami away but Hideo is leeched on. Daivari is able to pull Hideo out of the ring for recuperation but Alexander flips over the top rope onto Hideo and Daivari.
- Ariya’s distraction finally paid off which led to the sickest spot of the year. Hideo Itami hit a falcon arrow from the apron to the floor on Alexander. It popped the commentary team, but the crowd didn’t appreciate it as much as they should have.
- Alexander got in at 9 and the crowd finally popped a bit. That falcon arrow spot may not have got a reaction but it got the arena invested in the outcome of the match.
- Itami is able to hit his finish for the win. The fatal four way Cruiserweight championship match is Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Hideo Itami vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa.
And I’m like… That match was hard hitting, interesting, told a story physically and emotionally and consisted of the sickest spot I’ve witnessed in a while. Really good stuff. This is the best show to be on if you are a great wrestler. NXT call ups should hope to get on this show, unless the pay is lower.
Buddy Murphy gets promo time and opens a challenge next week for a non-title match to anyone under 205 pounds. I wonder if it will be a new recruit?
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