Tag: asher hale

WWE 205 Live results: Asher Hale vs. Drake Maverick

Posted on by Chick Fritts

Ikemen Jiro defeated Grayson Waller

As pointless as 205 Live often seems, Ikemen Jiro never fails to put a smile on my face. The match itself was ok.

Waller ended a playful back and forth in the opening moments by dumping Jiro onto the ringside floor. A quick lariat cemented control for Waller. Waller then connected with a backbreaker, opening up Jiro’s back for his attention. 

Jiro slipped free and connected with light strikes. A moonsault from Jiro resulted in a near fall. Jiro tried for a second, but Waller snuck in a choke. Jiro fought free, but Waller was now back in charge of the match.

Waller hit a cutter for a near fall, then a leg lariat and a spinebuster. After the last near fall, Jiro connected with an Ikemen Slash, basically from left field, leaving Waller out for the count. 

Drake Maverick defeated Asher Hale

This match wasn’t what I was expecting at all; it had an authentic air of emotion behind it. Intensity is something desperately missing from 205 Live, and both men had it tonight. Kudos.

Maverick’s return to 205 Live began with an uneventful chain wrestling sequence. Maverick grew frustrated from the exchange, entering an offensive rally; it was passionate but short-lived. Hale threw Maverick shoulder first into the turnbuckles creating an injury Maverick sold for the duration of the match.

After opening Maverick up to injury, Hale began brutalizing Maverick in a very atypical way, at least by 205 Live standards. Hale slammed, stretched, and contorted Maverick in a myriad of ways, drawing the crowd in and encouraging a Maverick comeback. 

Hale set Maverick up in the corner, but Maverick sidestepped. The offense that followed from Maverick was passion-filled. He punctuated his sequence with sliced bread, pinning Hale in the following moments.

Ikemen Jiro’s singles debut announced for WWE 205 Live

Posted on by Joseph Currier

This week’s 205 Live will feature Ikemen Jiro’s first singles match in WWE.

WWE has announced that Jiro vs. Tony Nese will take place on 205 Live this Friday night. Asher Hale vs. Grayson Waller is also set for the episode.

Jiro has wrestled on 205 Live twice previously, teaming with August Grey in tag matches. Jiro & Grey have defeated Nese & Ariya Daivari and The Bollywood Boyz. Jiro & Grey also teamed together on NXT last week, losing to The Grizzled Young Veterans.

Jiro (formerly known as Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio) was part of the group of wrestlers that joined the WWE Performance Center last December. AJPW, DDT, and Wrestle-1 are among the promotions that he’s wrestled for during his career.

Hale (Anthony Henry) and Waller (formerly known as Matty Wahlberg) both joined the WWE Performance Center earlier this year. Hale made his WWE debut on NXT last month and has wrestled on 205 Live four times. Waller made his 205 Live debut by defeating Sunil Singh last week. Singh suffered a dislocated shoulder while facing Waller but still finished the match.

WWE 205 Live results: Matty Wahlberg debuts

Posted on by Chick Fritts

Grayson Waller defeated Sunil Singh

The debuting Waller was fine in this match. It was a semi-layered squash but not complex enough to accurately read the former Survivor competitor. What was delivered was ok, but the match was limited.

Before the match’s start, commentary made clear Samir Singh, the other half of the Bollywood Boyz, was filming a movie in Bollywood. 

Waller gained an early advantage over Sunil. A triangle against the ropes left Sunil gasping for air. After controlling Sunil on the mat, Waller tried for a splash in the corner that Sunil avoided. Sunil capitalised, slamming Waller’s neck into the top rope before hitting two top rope axe handles. On the third, Waller caught Sunil with a superkick. A Seth Rollins style blackout/curb stomp from Waller left him with a pinfall victory. 

Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese defeated Asher Hale and Ari Sterling 

This was quite good. The odd couple dynamic provided some extra substance to an already exciting match. 

Nese and Hale struggled for grappling control in the opening moments, proving to be on near equal footing. Hale refused to tag in a willing Sterling. Hale then gained control over Nese’s arm. Moments later, Hale tagged Sterling in by slapping his chest instead of his extended hand. 

Sterling, now legal, gained an advantage over Daivari, which was interrupted when Sterling turned his attention to his estranged partner. Daivari and Nese then unloaded on Sterling in the corner in an attempt to steal momentum by any means. Sterling fought free before sending both of his opponents to the outside. In the team’s first tandem act, Hale lept from the apron to hit Daivari with a knee in the team’s first tandem act as Sterling delivered moonsauce to Nese; Hale refused to fist bump Sterling after the cooperative display. 

Hale tagged into the match and took Nese to the mat. Nese fought his way into the ropes, prompting a pull apart, which Daivari took full advantage of, delivering a swift kick to the head of Hale. Nese then hit the prone Hale with a springboard moonsault. Daivari and Nese traded tags, tearing down Hale with significant offence for the first time. 

A quick snap suplex allowed Hale to get the hot tag. Sterling connected with a flurry of strikes; a near fall followed after a kick. Hale then tagged himself in, kicking Nese into the ground. Hale forced Daivari to interfere to break up an armbar; this allowed Daivari and Nese to hit a double team uranage that Sterling was forced to break up. 

Hale managed to emerge from the chaos that followed the double-teaming with advantage. Hale tried for a superplex that Daivari stuffed as Sterling sneakily tagged in. Sterling used his stealth to land a surprise super rana by gliding over the back of Daivari. Hale tagged back into the match just as the illegal Nese hit Sterling with a superkick. Nese and Daivari lifted Hale and hit a double team facebuster cutter for the win. 

WWE 205 Live results: Jiro & Grey vs The Bollywood Boyz

Posted on by Chick Fritts

Ari Sterling defeated Asher Hale

This was a fine match. Sterling applied his selling inconsistently, which his standard moveset demands. Hale’s performance was quite good.

The match started with Sterling trying to match Hale’s grappling prowess, and unsurprisingly Hale gained the advantage. A kick to the back of the knee of Sterling worked to ground him for about two seconds. Sterling hit a rana, ignoring the leg he was limping on, before sending Hale to the outside. Sterling tried for moonsauce, but Hale avoided the attack. Hale slammed Sterling into the barricade to reassert his control. 

Back inside the ring, Hale hit Sterling’s knee with a dropkick. Hale, now laser-focused, lifted Sterling onto the ropes before hitting a figure four dragon screw, furthering the damage done to the limb. A bridging Indian deathlock forced Sterling into the ropes.

Sterling tried for a quick rollup, followed by another, then another. A pump knee strike from Sterling opened Hale up for a flipping facebuster, then covered Hale for the win.

Ikemen Jiro & August Grey defeated Sunil Singh and Samir Singh (The Bollywood Boyz)

This wasn’t anything special, but it wasn’t bad.

Grey and Samir engaged in some basic grappling to open the match. Sunil and Jiro tagged in soon after, allowing Jiro to connect with some compelling offence. After a Jiro springboard moonsault, Grey tagged back into the match but lost control almost immediately. 

Samir and Sunil took turns picking apart Grey, causing a call for rally from Jiro. Grey finally tagged out of the match after being dominated for minutes. Jiro unloaded with palm strikes, taking out both Singhs. A second moonsault left Jiro with a near fall.

Jiro missed a senton, causing both of his opponents to hit the ring. After Grey ran off Samir, Jiro connected with an incredible rana from the top rope. A knee strike to Sunil awarded Jiro a pinfall victory.

Asher Hale to make WWE 205 Live debut against Ariya Daivari

Posted on by Joseph Currier

This week’s 205 Live episode will feature the show debut of Asher Hale.

WWE has announced that Hale vs. Ariya Daivari will take place on 205 Live this Friday night. Asher Hale is Anthony Henry’s WWE in-ring name.

Henry was part of the group of signees who joined the WWE Performance Center this February. He formerly wrestled for EVOLVE and is a former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion.

Henry debuted as Asher Hale on NXT last week. He lost to Cameron Grimes on the show.

“Old guard vs. new guard” matchups will be the theme of this week’s 205 Live episode. The show will also feature Ari Sterling (formerly known as Alex Zayne) facing Daivari’s tag team partner Tony Nese. Zayne made his WWE debut as Ari Sterling on last week’s 205 Live episode. He defeated Samir Singh.

Ikemen Jiro (Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio) also debuted on 205 Live last week, teaming with August Grey to defeat Daivari & Nese. Zayne and Kuroshio both joined the WWE Performance Center in December 2020.

AJ Francis and Anthony Henry debut on WWE NXT

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A couple of debuts took place on this week’s episode of NXT.

– Former NFL player AJ Francis made his debut by aligning with Isaiah “Swerve” Scott on NXT tonight. Francis helped Scott defeat Leon Ruff in a falls count anywhere match.

Ruff and Scott were looking to settle their rivalry in the falls count anywhere match. Near the end of the match, Ruff was about to hit a dive onto Scott from a ladder that was set up near a production area. But Francis appeared, caught Ruff when he jumped off the ladder, and slammed Ruff onto the barricade.

Scott then threw Ruff back into the ring and hit the JML Driver to get the win.

Francis was identified by name on commentary and was called a member of Scott’s entourage. Scott, Francis, Ashante “Thee” Adonis, and Briana Brandy went backstage together after Scott’s win. Later in the show, Francis, Adonis, and Brandy were with Scott when he was interviewed backstage as they were leaving the building.

Brandy was also making her NXT TV debut tonight but wasn’t identified by name. She signed with WWE in August 2019 and is also a hip-hop musician.

It was announced in January 2020 that Francis had signed with WWE. He spent time with several NFL teams as a defensive tackle from 2013-2018.

Francis currently stars on WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, which airs on A&E as part of WWE’s Sunday programming block on the channel. 

 – Anthony Henry also made his debut on NXT tonight. Henry, who is now using the name Asher Hale, lost to Cameron Grimes on tonight’s show.

Henry is a former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion. He was part of the group of WWE Performance Center signees that was announced this February.