After one week of being taped at Full Sail University, 205 Live is back to airing live after SmackDown tonight.
WWE has announced two matches for the episode. Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush will team with Raul Mendoza against Ariya Daivari & Tony Nese, and Angel Garza will take on Jack Gallagher. WWE is also hyping that 24/7 Champion Samir Singh will defend his title on the episode.
Rush has defeated Mendoza in non-title matches on 205 Live each of the past two weeks. Rush retained his title against Garza on NXT this Wednesday, with Garza having his foot on the rope while he was being pinned.
WWE.com is pushing that Garza, Daivari, and Nese have their sights set on getting a Cruiserweight title shot.
Samir & Sunil Singh bailed on their 24/7 title handicap match against R-Truth on Monday’s Raw. They were then attacked by Erick Rowan backstage.
Tonight’s SmackDown and 205 Live are taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Last week’s 205 Live was taped at Full Sail due to WWE taping SmackDown and Raw in Manchester, England last Friday.
Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush is set for non-title action on tonight’s 205 Live.
WWE has announced that Rush will face Oney Lorcan on 205 Live tonight. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Ariya Daivari will also take place on the episode, and Raul Mendoza will be in action.
This will be the first time Rush has appeared on 205 Live since winning the Cruiserweight title from Drew Gulak on the October 9 episode of NXT.
It was announced last week that “some of NXT’s best competitors under 205 pounds” will be appearing on NXT going forward. The Cruiserweight title is now called the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
In the WWE Draft, Gulak and The Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado) went to SmackDown, while Humberto Carrillo and Akira Tozawa went to Raw.
Rush was on commentary for Angel Garza vs. Jack Gallagher on this week’s NXT. Garza won, pointed to Rush, and gestured that he wants the Cruiserweight title.
Tonight’s SmackDown and 205 Live are taking place at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
A triple threat match will be taking place on tonight’s episode of 205 Live.
WWE has announced Oney Lorcan vs. Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari for tonight’s show. This will be the second Friday that 205 Live has aired live on the WWE Network at 10 p.m. Eastern time. It was supposed to make the move on October 4, but WWE decided that day that there wouldn’t be a new 205 Live episode that night.
WWE.com wrote about tonight’s triple threat match: “While the bout does not guarantee a title opportunity, each Superstar hopes to prove they have what it takes to challenge Lio Rush for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.” Rush won the Cruiserweight title from Drew Gulak on NXT last week.
Gulak, The Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado), and Drake Maverick have been drafted to SmackDown, while Humberto Carrillo and Akira Tozawa were drafted to Raw.
The Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana is hosting tonight’s SmackDown and 205 Live.
WWE has announced that Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak will team with Ariya Daivari & Mike Kanellis against Tony Nese, Oney Lorcan & Jack Gallagher on tonight’s episode. The match comes in advance of Gulak defending his title against Nese at Extreme Rules on July 14.
Mike and Maria Kanellis appeared on Raw last night, losing a mixed tag match against Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch. Maria announced that she’s pregnant, and there was a storyline where she berated Mike for being a disappointment.
Gallagher defeated Mike on 205 Live last week. Lorcan has also been feuding with Daivari.
A double main event is being promoted for tonight’s 205 Live. In addition to the six-man tag, The Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik) will face The Singh Brothers in a tornado tag match.
Tonight’s SmackDown and 205 Live are taking place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The Cruiserweight title will be on the line at Money in the Bank.
In a video that WWE uploaded tonight, Drake Maverick announced that Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese will defend his title against Ariya Daivari at Money in the Bank. Daivari was set up as Nese’s next challenger by defeating Oney Lorcan in a number one contender’s match on the April 23 episode of 205 Live.
Nese won the Cruiserweight title from Buddy Murphy on the WrestleMania 35 pre-show.
Money in the Bank is taking place at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut on May 19. Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against AJ Styles
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Kevin Owens
Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending the SmackDown title against Charlotte Flair
Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending the Raw title against Lacey Evans
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, Finn Balor, Ali, Andrade, Randy Orton)
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Natalya, Dana Brooke, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Ember Moon, Carmella)
Roman Reigns vs. Elias
The Miz vs. Shane McMahon in a steel cage match
United States Champion Samoa Joe defending against Rey Mysterio
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese defending against Ariya Daivari
In the aftermath of a Greatest Royal Rumble segment that played on tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Ariya Daivari has issued a statement apologizing to anyone who was offended and revealed that he received death threats for his character’s role on the show.
“During an appearance this past Friday, I portrayed a fictional character and played the role of the antagonist, no different than what other actors would do in a movie or TV show,” Daivari wrote. “That character does not reflect my personal views and I apologize to anyone that may have been offended by the skit. I have an incredible amount of respect for the great people of Iran and I am very proud of my Iranian heritage. Thank you.”
Daivari then responded to someone who said he shouldn’t have needed to apologize, “Unfortunately some people took offense to this despite it being pure entertainment. Some threats were made against my life. I wanted to put this statement out to clarify where I as a person stand compared to my t.v. character.”
While he’s received criticism from both sides, Daivari didn’t address where the threats came from.
The segment featured Daivari and his brother Shawn interrupting four people who attended WWE’s tryouts in Saudi Arabia. The Daivari brothers entered with the Iranian flag, insulting the trainees and praising Iran. The trainees stood tall after sending both Daivaris out of the ring.
With the final first round matches set, the full lineup for WWE’s Cruiserweight Championship tournament has been revealed.
It was announced on 205 Live last night that former NXT Tag Team Champion Buddy Murphy would be making his main roster debut against Ariya Daivari next week as part of the tournament. Mustafa Ali vs. Jack Gallagher will also take place on the episode as the first round comes to an end.
A video package spotlighted Murphy last night, with him talking about his past success in NXT and having to train to make the 205-pound weight limit. Murphy hasn’t appeared on television in over a year, but our NXT reporter JJ Williams named him as someone to watch in 2018 due to the quality of his house show matches.
As part of the storyline where general manager Drake Maverick is making changes to 205 Live, Maverick told Gallagher that he’ll no longer be allowed to wrestle in a suit.
Cedric Alexander, TJP, Kalisto, Roderick Strong, Mark Andrews, and Drew Gulak have advanced to the second round so far. The bracket for the tournament hasn’t been revealed, but the finals are scheduled for WrestleMania.
Hawkins’ never-ending losing streak continued here with another loss to Goldust, whose partnership with Mandy Rose has given him a new lease of life. After a lot of comedy early on, Hawkins took control when he waffled Goldust on the apron to send him outside. He followed him and nailed him with a stiff clothesline and they teased a count out finish. Goldust rolled back into the ring at 9.75.
Hawkins took over the match, slowing things down with a rear chinlock until Goldust got some separation with a spinebuster. He got the heat with clotheslines, a running bulldog, and a scoop slam. Hawkins wriggled out of the first attempt, but Goldust kicked him in the gut and hit the Final Cut for the win.
The loss took Hawkins to 0-171 but was a good win for Goldust in preparation for his Mixed Match Challenge bout with Mandy Rose against Jimmy Uso & Naomi on Tuesday night.
Kalisto defeated Ariya Daivari (7:31)
Speaking of losing streaks, Daivari currently finds himself on one of his own. Without a win since August in all competitions, the loss here to Kalisto took him to 0-28.
Daivari disrespected Kalisto early on but soon looked the fool. After mocking Kalisto’s “lucha” chant and even laying across the top turnbuckle, Kalisto hit him with a kick to the side of the head and then shot at him with a suicide dive outside.
After the break, the pace had slowed with Daivari using his heel moveset to keep Kalisto from using his speed and agility. This led to a near fall when Daivari absolutely nailed Kalisto with a spinebuster, but Kalisto just managed to get his shoulder up. Daivari tried to pull off Kalisto’s mask, but it didn’t lead anywhere.
Having put up a good fight and putting on a decent match, Kalisto finished Daivari off by planting him with a rana and the Salida del Sol for the win.
The Big Takeaway: Alicia Fox defeated Dana Brooke only a week after Brooke’s win over Mickie James. Akira Tozawa & Mustafa Ali then beat Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari in under four minutes to close out the show.
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Alicia Fox defeated Dana Brooke (w/ Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews) (5:39)
Only a week after defeating Mickie James, Dana Brooke lost on Main Event to Alicia Fox. Fox’s position is hardly high right now and the decision for Brooke to lose momentum after such a big win is puzzling to say the least.
The match was as you would expect, with Fox — by far the more experienced competitor — selling for Brooke. Brooke was playing a cocky heel throughout, taking the support of Apollo Crews and Titus O’Neil (who is now sporting a Chris Jericho-esque scarf to complement his suit). At one stage, Brooke no-sold a shoulder barge from Fox and dropped down to the mat to show off her one-handed push-ups.
Fox took much of the second half of the match before Brooke kicked out of a Northern Lights suplex. Brooke got the heat with clotheslines and running forearms, but Fox got the win when she blocked a charge and nailed Brooke with the Watch Yo Face in the middle of the ring.
Akira Tozawa & Mustafa Ali defeated Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (3:51)
Once again, the cruiserweights were given too little time to make much of an impression, but, that said, this was fun while it lasted. Gulak and Tozawa were the stars here, going back and forth and outdoing each other at every turn.
The Zo Train bullied their way into contention and built to a false finish when Daivari blind tagged himself in with Ali prone by the corner of the ring. Daivari hit the Persian Lion Splash, but Tozawa came in to make the save.
The last minute was really strong here: Tozawa did a suicide dive on Daivari outside while Gulak and Ali exchanged pin attempts in the ring. Ali came off the second rope to hit Gulak with a rolling DDT and left him position to hit his finisher. Ali then landed the 054, beautifully, for the win to leave The Zo Train winless in their last four outings.
Last night’s 205 Live was a special Halloween-themed episode that took place in Norfolk, Virginia.
The show opened with a recap of the Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa feud that started when Gulak began his transformation into a wrestling moralist, complete with a “No Chants” sign, while promising to save the division from “unnecessary top-rope dives.”
Gulak hammered on Tozawa two weeks ago, beating him with his sign, but last week Tozawa got him back, doing a run-in after his match with Gran Metalik.
This brought us to our first match of the night.
Akira Tozawa defeated Drew Gulak
Gulak grabbed the microphone and screamed “My name is Drew Gulak and where my guls at?” He then mocked Tozawa’s “Ah, Ah, Ah” chant, saying he would put an end to it once and for all. He then welcomed the crowd into his “Drewtopia,” and offered a plan for “a better Halloween,” via a PowerPoint presentation.
Slide number one: No Candy. “Instead, try a sweet potato, they are high in potassium,” Gulak said.
Slide number two: No Trick or Treating. “Your little ones get together and say ‘trick or treat.’ They might as well be chanting. And there is nothing worse than chanting!” Gulak said.
At slide number three, Tozawa ran out to start the match.
Tozawa, who has some great facials, quickly wrapped Gulak up in a leg scissors and took control of the match with kicks, punches, and stomps to the chest in the corner. Gulak played his heel role well, rolling out of the ring to buy time. Gulak crept back in and snuck in a boot to the stomach, followed by a reverse knife edge chop to take back control of the match briefly.
Tozawa countered with a stiff elbow, but Gulak regained the advantage after an Irish whip reversal. Gulak hammered him with elbows and a clothesline in the corner. Tozawa reversed the action with a standing hurricanrana and then a belly-to-back suplex.
Gulak rolled out of the ring and Tozawa hit an amazing headbutt after diving through the ropes.
Tozawa battered him inside the ring some more and then hit his back splash off the top rope to get the victory.
Next we got a promo package and an interview with Rich Swann and Cedric Alexander, where they seemed to be headed toward an Alexander turn. Next was footage from Raw, where Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore beat up on Kalisto, which led to Raw GM Kurt Angle booking a Survivor Series title match between Amore and Kalisto.
Rich Swann (w/ Cedric Alexander) defeated Brian Kendrick (w/ Jack Gallagher)
Alexander and Swann both came to the ring dressed as clowns, with Doink the Clown’s music playing.
Swann’s red clown nose fell off just as the match was about to start. The two tried to lock up in a Greco-Roman knuckle lock, but Swann was wearing giant clown gloves, turning the spot into comedy. Swann’s rainbow-colored wig fell off and he put it back on. The wig fell off again, as the match degenerated into one clown spot after another. When Kendrick tried to whip Swann into the ropes, Swann’s glove fell off and Kendrick was frustrated.
Kendrick became increasingly frustrated, which led to him making mistakes. Swann showed off his agility in the match, demonstrating a high leapfrog, then a big dropkick. Kendrick threw Swann outside of the ring. Gallagher looked like he was going to hit Swann with his umbrella, but Alexander walked over and backed him off.
Kendrick controlled the match when Swann entered the ring again, but Swann rallied, showcasing some impressive aerial moves, including a standing hurricanrana off the top rope.
He hit a flip over the top rope to the outside on Kendrick. Swann then hit a twisted splash off the middle rope for the win. Gallagher tried to interfere, but he was knocked off the apron by Alexander. A good match, despite the clown comedy at the beginning.
Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese, and Gran Metalik in a Fright Night fatal four-way match
Daivari looks to have taken over Austin Aries’ attire. He cut a promo about joining forces with Amore and then started speaking in Persian before he was interrupted by Ali, who was throwing out candy to the audience members.
Ali spent the first part of the match giving his opponents candy. Nese refused, saying “I don’t eat candy.” He slapped the candy out of Ali’s hand as the match started. Pumpkins were set up on the ring apron.
Ali and Metalik put on an acrobatic clinic that, for a moment, resembled Ricochet and Will Ospreay, but then it was broken up by Nese and Daivari.
Daivari eventually found a bowl of candy on a table at ringside. Fishing through it, he discovered a Gran Metalik mask. Daivari put the mask on and then mocked Metalik by doing his cartwheel and rolling moves. Ali broke it up.
In a bizarre spot, Ali removed Daivari’s mask and then put it on a ringside skeleton. He threw the masked skeleton on Daivari, setting up Metalik to hit a dropkick on the skeleton and Daivari.
At ringside were candy corn kendo sticks. Daivari and Ali grabbed them and started to unload on Ali. Nese then started throwing pumpkins at Ali from a sit-up position.
The match ended with Daivari falling into a bucket of apples, Ali shoving a Twix bar into the mouth of Nese, and pumpkins flying everywhere. Nese found a black bag under the ring that during the 1990s hardcore era would have been filled with thumbtacks. On Halloween in 2017, it was filled with candy corn. Nese dumped the candy corn on the table and attempted a powerbomb, only to have it reversed into a back body drop by Metalik through the table.
Ali eventually won the match after he found a broom, put it through his legs, and dove onto Nese for the three count. Ali celebrated with the skeleton after the match.
We started things off with a recap of Monday night’s confrontation with Enzo Amore and Kurt Angle, along with Amore’s match with Kalisto and eventual title loss. Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness then introduced the show and hyped up the TJP vs. Rich Swann two-out-of-three falls match.
Renee Young was mid-ring and introduced Kalisto. He said he’s the first luchador to hold the Cruiserweight title and he’ll do it in Eddie Guerrero’s honor. That brought Amore and Ariya Daivari out, and Amore told Kalisto he isn’t here to crash his party. Amore called himself the godfather of the division and said the loserweights are his sons — and disappointing ones at that.
Amore said that Kalisto is a bit like Eddie Guerrero — he had to lie, cheat, and steal to get the title. Amore said that he put the title around high-end brands like Versace because he’s got tons of money, but there won’t be any money in the division with Kalisto on top. Daivari jumped Kalisto and a brawl erupted before Mustafa Ali came down to make the save. I smell a tag match, playa.
Rich Swann came down to the ring to face TJP. Swann told TJP that he gave him this match — but it will end their friendship.
Rich Swann defeated TJP in a two-out-of-three falls match
Swann dove onto TJP to start things off quickly. TJP recovered and tossed him into a barricade. TJP threw Swann into the ring and went for the kneebar — but Swann turned it into a cradle to score the first fall. It was then announced that Kalisto & Ali would face Amore & Daivari in the main event.
TJP landed a slick dropkick as the second fall began before taunting a bit and locking on a chinlock. He transitioned it into a straightjacket choke and locked on a cloverleaf, but Swann escaped. Swann went for a Tiger Driver, but TJP turned it into a DDT and cradled him for two. Swann was able to hit the Tiger Driver for a two count of his own.
Swann went for a standing frog splash, but TJP turned it into a cradle for two. TJP sent him outside with an awkward landing before dropkicking the knee. A big spin kick hit for Swann, with it getting a close near fall. TJP locked on the kneebar, but Swann escaped. Swann hit a rolling thunder and landed a Phoenix Splash to end it with a clean sweep. Well, that was surprising.
Amore cut a promo on Ali before Drew Gulak came in and asked them to pay attention to his PowerPoint presentations. Gulak said he can’t stand to see Kalisto as champion — he dresses like a goof! Gulak may not agree with Amore’s bombastic personality, but he too is woke! Amore asked what on earth just occurred, and the correct answer is “greatness” courtesy of Drew Gulak. Gulak said he’ll show what he means against Tozawa.
Tozawa entered to face Gulak, but Gulak jumped him before the match. Gulak tossed him into the tron and used his “no chants” board as a weapon by ramming it into Tozawa’s throat.
McGuinness called the attack nasty, leading to Joseph transitioning into talking about the previous attack of Cedric Alexander by Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher. Alexander was interviewed about his divide and conquer tactics from last week, with him saying that he has an edge and knows who he is. He then rattled off about a thousand unrelated statements to end this.
Kalisto and Ali came out for the main event first, then Amore skipped down and told Kalisto to find a good surgeon because they’re going to destroy his nose. Amore did his “S-A-W-F-T” bit as McGuinness said that he hopes he’ll learn to spell “soft” properly.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto & Mustafa Ali defeated Enzo Amore & Ariya Daivari
Ali slugged away at Amore, but Daivari knocked him off the apron with a boot. Amore punted Ali’s ribs and tagged in Daivari to run his knee into the gut before a reverse bear hug. McGuinness then sang a song from Aladdin and Amore ate a big kick.
The faces sent Amore and Daivari outside for a double dive to gain a big edge, then Daivari ate the Salida Del Sol to end it. Amore dragged Daivari out before Kalisto did his “lucha” chant.
They’ve gone all-in with Amore as a heel here, with him insulting Daivari after and also yelling at the ref throughout the match. Amore still feels like the true top act, while Kalisto feels like a bigger star than he did before — but he doesn’t have the tools to even carry this version of the cruiserweight division. Comparing him to Eddie Guerrero regularly, and even mentioning Rey Mysterio while he’s out there, won’t help him in the slightest.
The Big Takeaway: A show that lacked punch had a decent cruiserweight bout between Mustafa Ali and Ariya Daivari and a tepid women’s division win for Dana Brooke over Alicia Fox.
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Dana Brooke defeated Alicia Fox (5:17)
Fox and Brooke had a couple of matches on Main Event back in January and in both cases Fox took the spoils, but Brooke got the win here over Fox who is now a nine-year veteran in the women’s division having started with the SmackDown brand back in 2008.
They exchange early cover attempts, trying roll-ups and inside cradles until Fox dodges a charge from Brooke and scissor kicks her back for a near fall. Fox works over the lower back with knees, following it up with a reverse chinlock and trying to stretch Brooke out.
When Fox goes for a til-a-whirl backbreaker, Brooke reverses it into a cover for a two count. A rather heelish Fox gets stroppy here, finishing some knee strikes with her patented bridging northern lights suplex for two. She slaps Brooke, then Brooke wakes up and gets the heat with a clothesline and scoop slam.
Brooke looks slow here as she goes to the finish with a handspring back elbow smash to the corner, followed by what looks like a new finisher, a running cartwheel splash. Brooke gets the win in what seemed like a long five-minute match.
Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari (4:50)
On the bell, Daivari takes down Ali into a front face lock and trash talks him, laughing in his face. He grabs the hair and whips Ali back to the mat in a wristlock. Ali immediately quickens the pace, showing his high-flying style is so different to Daivairi’s ground-based offense. A dropkick to the face sends Daivari outside as we head to a break.
Daivari catches Ali with a high knee as we return and covers him for a near fall. Daivari tries an inverted DDT, but again Ali stays alive. He goes for a suplex, but Ali uses an inside cradle as they trade pin attempts.
After Ali kicks out of a spinebuster, he dodges the charge and uses a pop-up stunner and spinning DDT to put Daivari in position for the 054 for the win. In contrast to the opener, this felt short and would have benefited from giving Ali longer to get his offense in before the pin.
The Big Takeaway: Solid cruiserweight action held up the show again, while The Revival made it two weeks running on Main Event, this time with Scott Dawson in singles action.
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Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari (5:40)
Although it’s sad to see Rich Swann in a lesser position than he was in previously, this was a good advert for 205 Live. Swann starts quickly and is all over Daivari like a rash, even teasing an early Phoenix Splash. Daivari coaxes him out on to the apron and is able to send him head-first into the post.
Swann sells the move and acts as a deadweight as Daivari struggles to roll him back into the ring and stomps all over him. He slaps on a rear chinlock to slow things down. Swann works his way out and is able to hit Daivari with an enzuigiri to the back of his head as both men go down.
The last two minutes are excellent. Swann hits a beautiful modified Michinoku Driver, but Daivari kicks out. He counters with an inverted DDT and the Persian Lion Splash, but Swann kicks out. They go back and forth until Swann connects with a superkick to put Daivari in position for the Phoenix Splash, which he lands for the win. This was a very good opener.
Kalisto defeated Scott Dawson (w/ Dash Wilder) (4:40)
Kalisto takes no disrespect from Dawson, and after some early shoving, slaps him in the face. Dawson charges around the ring, hitting Kalisto with European uppercuts until Kalisto spins him around with a hurricanrana and dropkicks him outside.
Dawson goes to his tag partner and calls for a timeout as Kalisto teases a suicide dive onto both Dawson and Wilder. The Revival then try to team up on Kalisto, with Wilder handing the ring apron to Dawson to help him stop the momentum of a sunset flip. Dawson then regains his balance, and as the referee sees to the apron, he drives his knee into Kalisto’s left arm and we head to a break.
When we come back, Dawson tries to superplex Kalisto but is thrown off and eats a diving crossbody, followed by a springboard seated senton. Kalisto hits the spike rana, but Dawson kicks out at two.
Kalisto sends Dawson outside, then after punting Wilder, takes a huge clothesline on the apron from Dawson and looks in trouble. But back in the ring, Dawson tries for a suplex and Kalisto catches him in an inside cradle that he can’t kick out of in time, so Kalisto steals a plucky win.
The Big Takeaway: Curtis Axel and Curt Hawkins continued to trade wins, while an explosive cruiserweight main event saw Ariya Daivari steal one against Gran Metalik.
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Curtis Axel defeated Curt Hawkins (5:11)
Hawkins has become somewhat of a mainstay on this show of late. The weird thing is, this show used to be Superstars and when Hawkins was at the end of his last run with WWE, he was somewhat of a mainstay on that show too. It’s a career stasis that is odd given his ability.
Hawkins and Axel usually work well together, and this match is no different. Axel smashes Hawkins into the turnbuckle on the apron and then pulls him into the ring, where he dominates the early going.
Vic Joseph and Corey Graves discuss the lack of success that Hawkins has had since his return as Axel gets a near fall.
Hawkins gets some heat with a shot to the back of Axel’s head as he blocks an Irish whip. They do a spot where Axel misses a clothesline but is able to smash Hawkins to the back of the head to repay the favor. The finish sees Axel get thwarted by blocks for the Perfect Plex until he ducks under Hawkins and hits it for the win.
Ariya Daivari defeated Gran Metalik (4:26)
Daivari is doing his best to amalgamate Razor Ramon and Alberto Del Rio. His current new-money gimmick is getting him some good heat and he’s backing it up with results in the ring as well.
Daivari and Metalik go at it with some pace. After a testing start, Metalik explodes into his repertoire of high-flying moves. He uses a springboard arm drag that sends Daivari outside, then when Daivari tries to outwit him, he nails him with a springboard crossbody for two.
Daivari looks stunned as Metalik superkicks him, following it up with a running bulldog and ropewalk missile dropkick. Daivari kicks out at two and a half, rolls onto the apron where Metalik charges at him, and hits a beautiful running hurricanrana to the matting outside.
They go down for a seven count. Metalik then comes off the top rope with an elbow drop. Daivari barely kicks out, so he tries for the Metalik Driver but Daivari works his way out. Daivari tries to tear Metalik’s mask off and then uses a hammerlock twisted into a short-arm lariat for the win. This was a perfect heel finish for Daivari.
The Big Takeaway: A good cruiserweight main event saved the show after a lackluster opener between Nia Jax and Dana Brooke.
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Nia Jax defeated Dana Brooke (5:05)
After such strong shows for the last two weeks, it was disappointing to see Main Event kick off with Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke. Neither seems to have gained much momentum of late and they found themselves struggling to find any rhythm together here tonight.
Brooke tries to attack Jax on the bell with forearms, but she is thrown off. It is only when Brooke dodges a charge from the dominant Jax that Jax is posted in the corner and sent outside. Brooke dives off the apron with a crossbody and then dropkicks Jax in the corner. When she then goes for a handspring forearm, she is just shoved to the mat.
Jax starts to work over Brooke’s back, standing on it and stretching it with her knee, pulling her arms behind Brooke. When Brooke powers out each time, she is just slammed back down to the mat. Jax misses an elbow drop and Brooke tries to fireman’s carry Jax to no avail. Jax then just puts her out of her misery with the Samoan drop.
Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari (6:36)
Daivari’s new gimmick is that he is part of a rich family. Corey Graves clearly enjoys playing up to it on commentary, saying that Daivari “wouldn’t normally set foot in New Jersey” and so he had stayed in Manhattan and chartered a stretch Hummer to the arena.
After lots of intricate moves on the mat, Swann hits a dropkick for two. Daivari comes back with a big boot and launches Swann into the corner. He now takes over the match, working the lower back. After a backbreaker, Daivari puts on a stretch hold to get a rest.
Daivari hits a beautiful layout reverse DDT but then runs into a boot from Swann, who now hits him with clotheslines and a spin kick for two. Daivari rolls outside and Swann springs off the top rope with a corkscrew tumbleweed.
They beat the referee’s count, but Daivari kicks Swann in the face and uses a neckbreaker to put him in position for the frog splash. Swann dramatically kicks out at two, and after Daivari slaps him around the face, Swann craftily rolls him up for a sit-out pin. It feels like a steal and Daivari is furious, so hopefully we will see a rematch next week.
