With Friday’s tour stop having been canceled earlier this month, the first 205 Live-exclusive house show took place at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts last night.
The crowd was not full, but bigger than I expected. It was a mix of kids, people in Bullet Club shirts, and people there to see Matt Hardy. There were far less chairs on the floor than the last time I was at this venue for Ring of Honor last June, but the crowd was very invested in the matches and lively.
This was a much better show than expected, though there were very few dives despite it being promoted as a high-flyers show.
– Hideo Itami defeated Jack Gallagher
A fine opener that went about 10 minutes. Itami won with a new finisher.
– Kalisto & Gran Metalik defeated Drew Gulak & TJP
Kalisto got the pin after hitting the Salida Del Sol. This built very well and was my favorite match on the show.
– Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt
Hardy hit the Twist of Fate for the finish. Before the match. he led the crowd in singing “Obsolete.” Both guys did a lot of stalling. The match was slow, as you would expect, but it was fun nonetheless.
Wyatt seemed to be having fun interacting with the crowd, including doing a crotch chop.
– Akira Tozawa defeated Ariya Daivari
Tozawa won with a senton.
– Mustafa Ali defeated Tony Nese
They had a good match, with Ali hitting the inverted 450 to win. This was a bit longer and had a much better crowd than it would have had on an episode of 205 Live.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore defeated Cedric Alexander to retain his title
Nia Jax was the special guest referee. Amore came out and trashed Massachusetts to get some heat, then Alexander entered to a mixed reaction.
Near the finish, Alexander ducked a clothesline and it accidentally hit Jax. As Amore and Jax argued, Alexander went for a kick and took out Jax again. Alexander hit the Lumbar Check for a visual pin while Jax was down. She gave Alexander a Samoan drop (to the pop of the night), pulled Amore on top of him, and counted the pin.
As we head into the last two weeks of build on television, there are now eight matches announced for the Royal Rumble.
Enzo Amore defending his Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander is the latest match to officially be added to the pay-per-view’s card. To set things up for the Rumble, Alexander challenged for the title and defeated Amore by countout on this past Monday’s episode of Raw.
Amore was counted out on Raw due to a storyline leg injury, but he was legitimately busted open hardway by a kick from Alexander during the match and needed to get four stitches after.
The updated card for the Royal Rumble is listed below. The PPV will take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on January 28th:
Men’s Royal Rumble match
Women’s Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Braun Strowman and Kane in a triple threat match
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a handicap match
The finals of the United States Championship tournament
Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan defending against Cesaro & Sheamus
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defending against Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin in a two-out-of-three falls match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore defending against Cedric Alexander
Amore being hospitalized with the flu kept him from appearing on Raw last Monday. He also wasn’t on Tuesday’s 205 Live and was pulled from the upcoming Mixed Match Challenge tournament, but Dave Meltzer reported in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Amore had been cleared to return.
Amore was back in the ring at this weekend’s house shows and faced Alexander in Cruiserweight title matches.
Monday’s Raw will take place in Memphis, Tennessee. The Miz, who has been away since November to film the next movie in WWE Studios’ “The Marine” franchise, will return on the show. Brock Lesnar is also scheduled and will continue to build up his Universal Championship defense against Braun Strowman and Kane at the Royal Rumble.
A Cruiserweight Championship match and an appearance by Brock Lesnar have been announced for the first Raw of 2018.
After Cedric Alexander defeated Drew Gulak in a number one contender’s match on the December 18th episode of Raw, Alexander will get his shot at Enzo Amore’s Cruiserweight title next week. WWE built to that match tonight, with Alexander teaming with Mustafa Ali & Akira Tozawa against Amore, Gulak & Ariya Daivari in a Christmas-themed Miracle on 34th Street Fight. Alexander hit the Lumbar Check on Daivari to get the pin.
It was also officially announced that Lesnar would be returning next Monday after not appearing on the Christmas Day edition of Raw. He’ll continue building to his triple threat Universal Championship defense against Braun Strowman and Kane at the Royal Rumble.
Next week’s Raw will take place in Miami on New Year’s Day. Including that show, there are four episodes remaining before Philadelphia hosts the Royal Rumble on January 28th.
A “second chance” cruiserweight fatal four-way match took place on Raw tonight to decide who would face Drew Gulak next week.
Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Tony Nese, and Ariya Daivari were involved in the match, with Alexander pinning Daivari after hitting the Lumbar Check. Alexander will take on Gulak in a number one contender’s match on Raw next Monday.
Rich Swann was supposed to wrestle Gulak tonight to determine Enzo Amore’s next challenger, but that was canceled after Swann was indefinitely suspended by WWE due to being arrested on domestic battery and false imprisonment charges on Saturday night.
Though they didn’t go into details, WWE handled Swann’s status by having Gulak inform Amore that Swann’s opportunity had been revoked. Gulak told Amore about the second chance match, with Amore accidentally including Nia Jax in a list of possible wrestlers who would be in it. The storyline was that Jax has been on Amore’s mind after their interaction last Monday. There was also a segment where Amore and Jax flirted on this week’s show.
WWE rounded out the card for TLC on tonight’s go-home edition of Raw.
As expected, Finn Balor will be facing Bray Wyatt at Sunday’s pay-per-view — or rather The Demon will be taking on Sister Abigail. Balor delivered one final message to Wyatt on Raw tonight, which ended with his face transforming into an orange version of his Demon persona.
The match will be the third time Balor vs. Wyatt has happened on PPV in recent months. While wearing his Demon paint, Balor defeated Wyatt at SummerSlam in August. Balor then got another win over Wyatt without the paint in a match that was billed as “man vs. man” at No Mercy last month.
With much of the Raw roster involved in the main event, there will be multiple matches in the women’s and cruiserweight divisions at TLC. Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox is set for the pre-show, and WWE lists that there will be a cruiserweight tag match with Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann teaming against Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher.
The Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota will host TLC on Sunday night. Here’s what the updated lineup for the show looks like:
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins) vs. The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Kane in a tables, ladders, and chairs match
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Mickie James
The Demon (Finn Balor) vs. Sister Abigail (Bray Wyatt)
Asuka vs. Emma
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto defending against Enzo Amore
Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher
Brian Kendrick looked great with a show-starting promo, while Rich Swann and Ariya Daivari had an outstanding short match. Cedric Alexander looked sharp in a fast squash match, and the issues between Austin Aries and Neville were recapped in a satellite interview by both men.
Akira Tozawa had his best main roster match to date with Kendrick, who showed that he can still go as a crafty veteran.
Show Recap —
Brian Kendrick started the show with an excellent video package running through Akira Tozawa’s career and telling the story of their paths crossing through his eyes.
He talked about being disrespected and still trying to teach Tozawa lessons. He had him beaten in their match, but Tozawa rolled him up — but he is the man with the plan, and he had one last lesson and it just happened to involve stomping his head into the steps.
Cedric Alexander’s return tonight was hyped up alongside the main event of Kendrick vs. Tozawa.
Rich Swann came out dancing and we got shots of fans grooving to his theme. Ariya Daivari came down looking slick in a shirt right out of The Rock’s early 2000s. We saw Swann prank Daivari with a gift covering him in powder last week, leading to this match.
Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari
Daivari yelled that he’s owed a shirt, and got a dropkick to the jaw instead. Great, now he needs a new shirt and a crown on his tooth. Swann hit another dropkick off a tumbling exchange. Daivari attacked the arm with an armlock, a divorce court Codebreaker, and a grounded cobra clutch.
Swann dropkicked him into a 619 position and punched away mid-ring before hitting the somersault famouser. Swann kicked Daivari’s face off for a near fall before a phoenix splash ended it. This was short, but it was good.
Noam Dar attacked Swann after the match and paraded around with Alicia Fox.
Austin Aries vs. Neville was hyped up for Extreme Rules by showing their WrestleMania match and then Neville cheating to retain at Payback before concluding with last week’s 205 Live attack with the kneebar and last night’s win by Aries and subsequent Rings of Saturn by Neville to Tony Nese.
Corey Graves interviewed Neville and Aries via satellite. Neville talked about defeating everyone, including Aries twice. Aries said he’s delusional and he won their last match by DQ and said the WWE Universe sees now as the time for Aries to win the title.
Aries recapped the cheating by Neville at WM and then Neville pulling the ref. Neville called it a fairytale and said he won’t be held responsible for what happens at Extreme Rules.
Alexander then came down to no reaction at all to face Johnny Boone.
Cedric Alexander defeated Johnny Boone
Alexander caught Boone’s foot and landed a nasty back elbow. He followed up with a springboard Hart attack and ended it with a Lumbar Check — short and sweet.
Drew Gulak was shown beating up Mustafa Ali last week. He was then shown with a green screen saying that cruiserweights are some of the best technical wrestlers and mocked those who flip. All righty.
Akira Tozawa defeated Brian Kendrick in a street fight
Kendrick strolled outside, but he ate a baseball slide and was tossed over the desk. Tozawa rushed at Kendrick on the apron but got low bridged. He recovered and went for a suicide dive before Kendrick threw his jacket at him and suplexed him to the floor.
Kendrick grabbed some of the purple rope tape to tie Tozawa’s hands up and taped his mouth shut while locking in the Captain’s Hook. Tozawa got to the ropes, but they only gave him leverage, which worked well enough for him to dump Kendrick outside.
Tozawa pump kicked Kendrick on the ramp, but Kendrick taped up Tozawa’s wrists to the post and whipped him with his belt. Kendrick set up a table, but Tozawa freed himself and whipped Kendrick, which Graves tied into the lessons now paying off.
Kendrick avoided a dive and got the headlock takeover and the Captain’s Hook, though Tozawa fought out. They battled on the steps and Tozawa hit a gourdbuster to the floor before a Saito suplex on the floor. Kendrick was put on the table before Tozawa climbed up looking like a total badass, giving out his battle cry before posing and climbing atop the ring post to hit a sick senton bomb through the table.
Tozawa threw him into the ring before covering and getting the win. This was an excellent match. Tozawa managed to regain the crowd’s interest after a long night and won his first big program in WWE definitively.
Final Thoughts —
This was an outstanding episode of wrestling television and a must-watch for the week. Tozawa looked strong, while Swann certainly showed that he’s worth putting back in the title mix at some point.
Decent opening contest. The crowd loved Morgan and were not familiar with Kimber.
– Tian Bing defeated Wesley Blake
Tian Bing worked face almost by default as no one cares for Blake. Bing won with a brainbuster.
– Brennan Williams cut an in-ring promo. He was announced as a former New England Patriot, which the crowd boo’d, but he then said “Hey they cut me I hate them too” which got a pop. He then cut a heel promo about not being a “basic boy.”
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Chris Atkins
Atkins wrestled in jeans and Timberland boots. Extremely basic match, with lots of headlocks back and forth and clubbing blows. Atkins in particular looked very, very green. Jaoude eventually tapped Atkins out with a guillotine choke.
– Roderick Strong defeated Elias Samson
Good match. Samson got mic work before the match and did a song about how terrible Venice is. He got the heat and then Strong made a comeback and won.
Fun match. Heavy Machinery is a really fun babyface act. They got the win with a double team front slam where the opponent is squashed between their two guts before getting slammed.
– Macey Estrella defeated Heidi Lovelace
Estrella tapped Lovelace out with an armbar after working the arm all match. Lovelace did a great job selling the arm. The crowd was pretty dead as they were not familiar with either competitor.
– Jack Gallagher, Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak & Noam Dar
This was like a good CHIKARA trios match — a mix of high flying action and comedy. Gallagher was the most over person in the match, probably of the whole show for that matter (the only person even close was probably Strong). The finish saw Gallagher hit Daivari with his dropkick after Alexander and Ali took the other two guys out with dives.
Jack Gallagher bested four other men to get a title shot against Neville at Fastlane. Brian Kendrick has taken a liking to Akira Tozawa, a swift reversal from last week, but still faces problems with Tajiri.
Show Recap —
It was announced by Austin Aries tonight that Tony Nese tweaked his knee on Raw, and therefore was out of tonight’s main event. Corey Graves said that they promised a fatal five-way, and they’ll deliver as the winner of the upcoming Mustafa Ali vs. Ariya Daivari match will advance to the fatal five-way later tonight.
Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari
Solid back and forth match. Daivari did a cool hammerlock clothesline at one point for a near fall. Ali hit a tornado DDT, then followed with the imploding 450 splash for the pinfall.
Gran Metalik arrives next week. That was quick!
Brian Kendrick came out for his match against Lince Dorado. Kendrick said he is here to snuff out people’s dreams, but made an exception for the young upstart of Akira Tozawa. He said he better be watching in the back, because someday he could be the protege for The Brian Kendrick.
Brian Kendrick defeated Lince Dorado
Good, competitive match. Dorado went for a springboard stunner but when he went for the shooting star press Kendrick got his knees up. He followed with a crucifix, then when Dorado kicked out followed with the Captain’s Hook for the win.
Austin Aries wanted to know why Kendrick changed his mind on Tozawa. Kendrick said there’s just something different about him, and wanted to bring him out. Instead, Tajiri’s music hit. As Kendrick was distracted, Tajiri snuck in from behind and misted him when he turned around.
Neville cut a promo. He ran down everyone in the fatal five-way. He said he’s taken care of TJ Perkins, Jack Gallagher is an embarrassment to England, Mustafa Ali still has a long way to go, and so on. He said no matter who wins, they will bend a knee and respect the King of the Cruiserweights.
Jack Gallagher defeated Cedric Alexander, TJ Perkins, Mustafa Ali, and Noam Dar in a fatal five-way elimination match
Great main event, it was full of action and high spots which you don’t see too often on 205 Live. As a result, the crowd was into this more than any other cruiserweight match in some time.
Gallagher wiped out everyone early by grabbing his umbrella and flew off with a senton off the top rope. Alexander looked good early, eliminating Dar with the Lumbar Check. Ali kicked out of a standing Spanish Fly. Perkins caught Alexander on the top rope and hit a detonation kick to eliminate him. Ali missed the imploding 450 splash on Gallagher and Perkins capitalized by submitting Ali with an armlock.
Perkins put Gallagher in the kneelock but he made it to the ropes. Perkins hit the detonation kick but Gallagher followed with a headbutt for a near fall. Gallagher landed another headbutt, then hit the running dropkick in the corner for the pinfall.
That makes it Jack Gallagher vs. Neville for the Cruiserweight title at Fastlane.
Gallagher was celebrating when Neville made his way to the stage, staring down at Gallagher. He held the title high as the show closed.
Final Thoughts —
This was a really good show, with the crowd getting into the fatal five-way match and making it one of the better matches on 205 Live thus far. We also saw some nice progression with the Kendrick/Tajiri/Tozawa storyline. It will be interesting to see how Gran Metalik’s debut goes next week as well.
After Neville abandoned him, Noam Dar fell to Cedric Alexander and Jack Gallagher in the main event. Akira Tozawa made his debut, with an intrigued Brian Kendrick looking on. Tony Nese continued to rack up momentum with another win, though TJ Perkins made the save when he went overboard after the match.
Show Recap —
Tony Nese defeated Lince Dorado
This wasn’t much. Just another match to get Nese over. Austin Aries brought up his interview from Raw last night, saying Nese is good but not great. Nese was in control early. Dorado mounted a comeback, including a springboard stunner. Dorado tried for something on the top rope, but Nese shoved him down face first, then eventually picked up the win with the running knee to the corner.
Nese wasn’t about to let things lie, going for another knee strike when TJ Perkins’ music hit and he made the save, sending Nese reeling with a kick.
They replayed Neville’s coronation from last night, specifically the parts where Rich Swann and Neville exchanged words, leading to Swann sending Neville off with a suicide dive.
Backstage, Tom Phillips brought up that Swann suffered an ankle injury last night. Swann explained that as soon as the adrenaline wore off, he took off his boot and found out he was injured. Swann said as soon as he is healed, he’ll come back for his title.
Neville showed up and asked when Swann is going to learn his place. He suggested that Swann stays down next time. Swann said bum ankle or not, Neville is never going to keep him down. Neville said “I’ll beg to differ” in response and shoved him down.
Gran Metalik is coming soon, taking the place of Akira Tozawa as the next guy to debut I guess.
The Brian Kendrick was on commentary for the next match.
Akira Tozawa defeated Aaron Solow
Nice highlight reel for Tozawa. He did a suicide dive to the outside, and soon after got the win with a snap German suplex.
Austin Aries, in ring, asked Tozawa if he can speak English and asked him to say something to the WWE Universe. Tozawa responded in Japanese. Kendrick, on commentary, congratulated him.
Neville was backstage when Noam Dar and Alicia Fox walked in. I watch this show every week and didn’t even realize they were a legit couple until now. Dar was going on about the match when Neville cut him off. He said he never asked Dar for his help and he doesn’t need it tonight, so don’t screw this up.
Dar said whatever he says goes. Neville added that he doesn’t care about his love life so leave the baggage at home. Fox didn’t like that.
Jack Gallagher & Cedric Alexander defeated Noam Dar & Neville
Pretty good TV main event. Nice story where everyone had their role. Gallagher escaped a headlock early by standing on his hands and walking away in a cool spot. Neville worked him over; good action as they have some good chemistry.
Dar came in and continued the assault. Gallagher finally laid out Dar with a headbutt. Dar made a comeback and tried to tag in Neville, but he bailed, saying he had his chance. Alexander was tagged in and cleaned house. Dar tried to escape, but Gallagher threw him back in and Alexander finished it off with the Lumbar Check for the win.
Final Thoughts —
This was a pretty solid show, though in the large scale of things it was a holding pattern episode. Tozawa looked fine in his debut, they started the hype for Gran Metalik, and the main event had some solid action.
It seems like Neville and Swann is still the program for now, so it makes sense to keep things on hold for a bit until he’s healed.
Neville defeated Cedric Alexander in the main event, continuing to build momentum towards his Cruiserweight title match against Rich Swann on Sunday. Brian Kendrick continued to pick up wins over local competitors. TJP has found a new rival in Tony Nese, who made it perfectly clear that it wasn’t over between them. Akira Tozawa will be making his 205 Live debut next week.
Show Recap —
We started off with a look at last night’s Raw, where Rich Swann attacked Neville after Neville backed down from a challenge. Backstage, Tom Phillips asked Neville if he was afraid Swann was gaining too much momentum.
Neville said him being attacked was his mistake, he let it happen and he wouldn’t make that same mistake twice. When Phillips mentioned Neville’s match against Cedric Alexander tonight, Neville said he’s looking forward to it, as we will kneel tonight to the King of the Cruiserweights.
TJ Perkins defeated Tony Nese
Solid match. TJP looked good early. Nese grinded him down and did WWE heel work 101 (rest holds). TJP came back with a spinning heel kick. Nese was looking at a turnbuckle when TJP rolled him up out of nowhere for the win.
Nese, not happy about getting pinned out of nowhere, laid Perkins out with a German suplex to the ring post and a running knee strike. Looks like a program is starting between these two.
Akira Tozawa will be making his debut next week. Sami Zayn, sporting a black eye for some reason, put him over.
TJP was being helped away by officials as they showed another replay of Nese attacking him.
The Brian Kendrick came out, ready to face a hometown hero named Tripp Bradshaw. Kendrick said this is a cold, harsh world and he’s ready to snuff out other people’s dreams. He did it to Sean Maluta, he’ll do it to Tajiri if he ever returns from injury, and it’ll happen to Tripp tonight in his hometown.
The Brian Kendrick defeated Tripp Bradshaw
This didn’t last long. Kendrick took him down a few times. Tripp tried a comeback, but Kendrick laid him out with a kick and submitted him with the Captain’s Hook.
Swann said that Neville thinks he’s unstoppable, that he’s a king. Cedric Alexander said don’t worry about it, he’s got it. Swann told him to save a piece of Neville for him for Sunday.
Neville defeated Cedric Alexander
This was actually a really good match, but the crowd brought it down a notch. Regardless, the last few minutes of this were really great. Neville just “gets it” as a heel and Alexander is really good.
Alexander got some shine early. He landed a brutal kick to Neville’s chest that laid him out, but he took too long and Neville recovered, grabbing and throwing Alexander into the barricade. Alexander came back with a handspring kick and launched off with a tope con hilo to the floor.
Neville responded by taking down Alexander and hitting the deadlift German suplex. They went to the top rope where Alexander went for a sunset flip powerbomb but Neville landed on his feet. Alexander caught him and went for a kick but Noam Dar came in to interfere.
Alexander tripped off the middle rope, which led to Neville latching out a double arm scissors hold and quickly tapping him out.
Dar wanted to lay out Alexander with Neville, but Neville threw him out and continued the assault until Rich Swann hit the ring. Alexander and Dar brawled to the back while referees broke up the situation going on in the ring.
Final Thoughts —
This was a pretty solid episode. You have something to look forward to next week in Tozawa’s debut, the start of a new program between TJP and Nese, and you also had a pretty good main event in Neville and Cedric Alexander.
I wish the crowd was a bit livelier, but that’s the folly of 205 Live — the enthusiasm for the show might be a lot better if this were taped instead of broadcast live.
Jack Gallagher defeated the scoundrel Ariya Daivari in an “I forfeit” match, Tony Nese proved victorious in a match against Mustafa Ali, and the Noam Dar/Alicia Fox/Cedric Alexander triangle continued to get weirder.
Show Recap —
They opened with a video highlighting the Ariya Daivari/Jack Gallagher feud.
We then got an angle. It was supposed to be Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak. As Alexander was coming to the ring, Alicia Fox followed. Alexander blew her off, which Fox didn’t like. Noam Dar came out to try and calm her down, but also went to the top rope and distracted Alexander.
It briefly became a two-on-one with Gulak and Dar taking on Alexander, but Alexander took them both out and sent them to the outside, leveling the two with a suicide dive. Alexander continued to lay into Dar, but Gulak shot back, clipping Alexander’s leg. This sent Dar and Fox packing, but Alexander made it back to the ring and wanted to do the match anyway.
Drew Gulak defeated Cedric Alexander
Fine match, but nothing special. As usual, the crowd is just there for this. Gulak, of course, worked on the leg a lot. Alexander did manage some good offense, including a springboard split-legged moonsault. Alexander went for the lumbar check, but couldn’t do it as his leg was bothering him. He was pinned with a back suplex hold.
Dar said, “Hey, look what I’ve done for you” in response to Alexander’s defeat. Fox responded by slapping him.
They showed a pretty good video package highlighting the feud between Neville and Rich Swann, which will lead to a match for the Cruiserweight title at the Royal Rumble.
Dasha Fuentes interviewed Tony Nese before his match. He said that the Premier Athlete doesn’t need to prepare for a match like this, as he’s already stronger and better. That’s why there’s thousands in this arena and only one Premier Athlete.
Tony Nese defeated Mustafa Ali
Ali looked great, hitting some great agile maneuvers in his comeback. Nese caught Ali in the turnbuckle, lifted him up, and nailed him with a gutbuster. Ali came back with a tornado DDT. Nese caught him with a knee strike, however, and pinned him.
Akira Tozawa is still coming soon. This week, Apollo Crews put him over, including his striking and his ability to become champion.
Jack Gallagher defeated Ariya Daivari in an “I forfeit” match
This was your usual I quit match. Daivari got the heat with a side slam on the apron and worked Gallagher over on the outside, throwing him into the barricade. Gallagher’s hands were tied up but he managed to subdue Daivari with a headbutt and managed to escape. He grabbed an umbrella but Daivari struck back.
They brawled around the stage, then made it back to the announcer’s table. After calmly telling the announce team to move, Gallagher threw Daivari on top of the table. Gallagher managed to corner Daivari with an umbrella and told him to forfeit. Daivari started to say he forfeits, but instead smacked Gallagher in throat with the mic and applied the Cobra Clutch.
Gallagher grabbed his umbrella (William III) nearby and started smacking Daivari with William, causing him to let go. Gallagher came back with an umbrella-assisted crossface chicken wing, which led to Daivari finally forfeiting.
Gallagher celebrated as the show goes off the air.
Final Thoughts —
Without Neville, this show is lacking something fierce. Nothing was bad on this show, and the main event was a decent blow off match, but there’s no real reason to watch it unless you’re invested in the Cedric/Fox/Dar triangle or the (possible) blow-off between Gallagher and Daivari. It was a show, in other words.
NXT was in Winter Haven, FL tonight in front of approximately 250 people.
– Angelo Dawkins & Kenneth Crawford defeated The Bollywood Boyz
Dawkins punched one of the Sihra brothers as a cheap shot to allow Crawford to steal a pin.
– Daria Berenato defeated Mandy Rose
A spinebuster got the win for Berenato.
– Steve Cutler defeated Adrian Jaoude
Cutler won with a new front slam finish.
– TJ Perkins defeated Gran Metalik
Perkins won with the kneebar in a good match.
– Lana defeated Sarah Bridges
This was a shorter match than last night. Lana won with her fisherwoman sit-out spinebuster.
– Cedric Alexander defeated Dan Matha
This was a big vs. small match as Matha is a large man. Alexander kept fighting off all of Matha’s power moves and was finally able to hit his lumbar check for the impressive victory. He was interviewed after the match and proclaimed he’s coming for Rich Swann’s cruiserweight title.
– SAnitY (Eric Young & Big Damo) w/ Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross defeated Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight)
Cross and Wolfe ran distractions when possible. Dozovic was going for a Vader bomb when Cross distracted him allowing Young to get his feet on the ropes to steal the win in a physical match. Heavy Machinery cleared house after to send everyone home happy.
NWJ came out for a match with one of the Sanity. They all beat up Jose, and TM61 came out for the save. William Regal came out and declared it will be a 3-on-3. NWJ gets the pin with a full nelson slam on Sawyer Fulton. We get a post-match celebration with Jose, TM61, and ref Drake Younger.
– Oney Lorcan def. Elias “The Drifter” Samson
The Drifter comes out and plays “Freebird” with modified “Boston Sucks: lyrics. Lorcan comes out to a big hometown pop and “Biff” chant. Lorcan wins after some cool moves including a plancha to the outside and a flying uppercut.
– Nikki Cross of Sanity beat Liv Morgan with a twisting neckbreaker.
– Cedric Alexander beat Roderick Strong with the Lumbar Check.
Great match which the crowd was hot for the whole time. Cool spots including Cedric hitting a somersault plancha to the outside and a powerslam into a falcon arrow.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Peyton Royce (w/Billie Kay) and Ember Moon in a 3-way
Moon hit the flying stunner on Royce and Asuka submitted Royce with the Asuka Lock.
– Tye Dillinger beat Bobby Roode with the Tye Breaker. Both wrestlers’ entrances were over big as well as their chants during the match.
– NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano beat Samoa Joe and NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival
