Vic Joseph introduced the show, promising an inside look at the upcoming NXT Cruiserweight championship match between Santos Escobar and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
The first meeting of the pair, from the interim NXT Cruiserweight championship tournament’s B group, played in full (April 29, 2020). El Hijo del Fantasma, now Escobar, suffered his only defeat in the tournament at the hands of Scott in this match before going on to win the tournament and the NXT Cruiserweight championship.
Vic Joseph provided a further rundown of previous events: the unmasking of Escobar, the formation of Legado Del Fantasma, and other related changes.
The Escobar vs Scott NXT Cruiserweight championship match from the August 8th episode of NXT played in full. Escobar would of course go on to recoup his loss from earlier in the year with the aid of a loaded mask.
Vic Joseph returned to give further context to the upcoming match, mentioning Scott’s alliance with Tyler Breeze and Fandango.
Legado del Fantasma vs Scott, Breeze, and Fandango played in full from the August 31st installment of NXT. The trio of Scott, Breeze, and Fandango came out of the street fight as victors after Scott pinned Escobar.
Vic Joseph made his final spiel, going over the entire card for the upcoming TakeOver.
The Scott and Escobar interview from this week’s NXT played in full.
This show was a hard watch. Showing fine to decent matches in full, that already aired on NXT on 205 Live doesn’t make much sense. Nevermind the fact that this “inside look” was nothing more than a look through NXT’s backlog; nothing from 205 Live even made the cut. One well-produced video package would do exponentially more in building to TakeOver than this show.
Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde (with Santos Escobar) defeated Chase Parker and Matt Martel (Ever-Rise)
After Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde were in the ring, Ever-Rise made their entrance to a surprisingly warm welcome. While they seem to be heels still, the Chase Parker and Matt Martel pairing were welcomed with cheers; their hated opponents surely were the reason for this change in reaction (at least in the context of the match before its beginning).
Chants of “Ever-Rise” accompanied the opening moments of the matchup. Martel and Mendoza started the match with an unfamiliar energy. The two briefly traded holds. Martel grew more and more confident as he maintained a semblance of control. An elbow to Mendoza’s midsection allowed for the tag to Parker.
Parker would go on to lose the advantage gained by his partner after venturing too far into Legado Del Fantasma territory. Wilde sneakily tagged into the match and planted an unexpecting Parker with a DDT. Wilde mocked the now dazed Parker. Wilde attacked Parker with a haughty ease. Only after a complete sequence of domination and a knee to act as punctuation did Wilde tag his partner back. The Legado Del Fantasma subjugation continued under Mendoza’s control.
Parker was eventually able to float over an attack after a prolonged period of being grounded. A hot tag followed. Martel connected with many a move on both Wilde and Mendoza, shifting the match into the favor of Ever-Rise. This lead seamlessly into Ever-Rise’s set up for the double-team double-knee facebuster on Wilde only for Mendoza to pull Parker to the outside. Wilde was then able to hold Martel still long enough for Mendoza to land an enziguri, which was sufficient for the pin.
After watching from bell to bell, it is safe to say that this match served as a babyface turn for Ever-Rise. Martel played babyface during the entirety of the contest. He had a babyface comeback, wore babyface facials, and, along with his partner, was cheered as a babyface.
This match was fine, at best. It should be a building block for the future of Ever-Rise and a footnote in the case of Legado Del Fantasma superiority..
Ariya Daivari defeated Jake Atlas
As the match began, Jake Atlas initiated an early tie-up. Ariya Daivari soon found himself pressed against the ropes from where he called for a referee break. Daivari pushed Atlas while the referee was trying to separate the two. A second tie-up saw Atlas take Daivari to the mat with a side headlock. Daivari resorted to pulling the hair of Atlas to break the side headlock. The break lasted mere seconds as Atlas secured the headlock again almost as soon as he had lost it. A sequence similar to this then played out again.
Daivari was finally able to break the side headlock chain with a forearm to the back. Atlas tried to maintain his advantage, but a knee strike from Daivari furthered his lead. A dropkick from Daivari sent Atlas crashing to the outside from where Daivari drove Atlas into the barricade and the announcer’s table. A rope-assisted neck breaker allowed Daivari to cement his heat. Daivari worked Atlas on the mat. Daivari held the wrist of Atlas while kicking him in insolent fashion.
Daivari’s cocksure offense would be his undoing. Atlas fought back from the kicks in a show of courage. Strikes a plenty found their way to Daivari from a desperate Atlas. A German suplex from Atlas led perfectly to an enziguri. Daivari kicked out from the pin attempt that followed.
Atlas and Daivari were now on equal footing. Daivari landed a big boot, Atlas a punt in response. Atlas secured the head of Daivari and planted him with a DDT, Daivari kicked out. Atlas landed a springboard guillotine, and Daivari rolled out of the ring. Atlas connected with a suicide dive, Daivari whipped Atlas as soon as the two re-entered the ropes. Again they were on equal footing.
Daivari tried to remove the turnbuckle pad, but it drew the attention of the referee. Atlas went for a rollup, but Daivari kicked out. Daivari then thumbed the eyes of Atlas. Daivari grabbed his now blinded opponent and connected with the hammerlock lariat. Daivari pinned Atlas for the win.
This match was just not very interesting. Headlocks in the opening act and eye-gouging in the last is not a recipe for success, baring an extraordinary performance. Nothing ever felt the least bit at stake.
205 Live kicked off this week with an Ariya Daivari promo. Daivari, in a boat and on a body of water, called out all of the notable cruiserweights: Santos Escobar, Tony Nese, Drake Maverick, etcetera. Ultimately, Daivari made it clear that he intended to return to 205 Live.
Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza (with Santos Escobar) defeated Tony Nese and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
On the and only first match of the show, two of the only 205 Live storylines came to ahead. Tony Nese took the lead as the first legal man, perhaps in a show of responsibility to his newfound ally. Likewise, Raul Mendoza began the match for El Legado del Fantasma. Mendoza and Nese traded holds in an opening grappling exchange that set a good opening pace. The two continued to up the pace in the mere seconds that followed. Nese avoided an attack from Mendoza with a flip which led to a quick set of strikes. A bested Mendoza was then forced to tag in the pristine Joaquin Wilde. Isaiah Scott tagged in to challenge Wilde.
Scott and Wilde grappled back and forth after becoming legal. The two both gained an advantage on the mat. After an extended portion of mat control by Wilde, Scott used head scissors to create separation. Wilde, not allowing Scott to follow up, grabbed the hair of Scott to initiate a referee forced break. Scott grew enraged by this dishonorable act. This led to Scott thoroughly unloading on Wilde in the corner; Scott was showing a real sense of urgency combined with unfamiliar brutality.
Scott sent the still dazed Wilde to the outside. Instead of maintaining a sense of focus for the match at hand, Scott turned his attention to NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar who had accompanied his underlings to the ring. After a staredown with the champion Scott returned to the ring, Escobar seemed to be unphased by the passion of Scott. Escobar then coached Wilde with an intriguing calmness. Said coaching caused Wilde to storm the ring with an intensity of his own. Scott tagged out as he was soon forced into his own corner.
Nese stifled the attempted momentum of Wilde with a takedown. Nese tagged in Scott once more, this time the two launched a short two-man attack on Wilde. The double team offense continued as Nese and Scott traded tags. The budding partnership of Nese and Scott had seemingly left Wilde far behind in the match.
Wilde’s break came after Mendoza slammed Scott to the mat while the referee was not looking. Wilde dropped Scott chin first onto his knee and tried in vain for a pin. Wilde tagged in Mendoza. Wilde and Mendoza then delivered a double Alabama slam followed by a double dropkick to Scott. Scott kicked from the pin attempt that followed. Mendoza was able to land some offense on Scott before tagging in Wilde again. Scott was immediately able to gain separation after Wilde became legal.
Scott successfully went for the hot tag which allowed Nese to reenter the fray with ferocity. Nese initiated a brilliant sequence that he punctuated with a pump handle driver and a believable near fall. Nese locked in a deep Boston crab in the center of the ring. Before Mendoza was able to break up the submission, Scott landed a takedown on the would-be interferer and tried for an armbar. Wilde was able to push Nese into Scott from the bottom of the crab, breaking up both submissions.
Wilde now had Nese grounded for the first time. Wilde climbed to the top rope but was uppercut immediately by Nese. Nese tried to crawl for Scott’s tag after the uppercut but Wilde, who was still seated on the top rope, grabbed the hair of Nese. Nese then without hesitation jumped for a rana on his highly elevated opponent to break his grip. With Wilde flat on his back, Nese was able to tag in Scott.
Scott hit the ring with a burst of energy. A clothesline hit the mark as Wilde tried to return to his feet. Mendoza tried to intervene but was met with a back-body drop as soon as he entered the ropes. This allowed Scott to show off with a quick ground sequence and a German suplex. Scott tried to end the match with a strong kick to the head but Wilde kicked out of the pin that followed.
Scott tried to maintain his control, but Mendoza grabbed at his ankle from the outside. Wilde was able to break free from Scott and connect with a DDT. Mendoza tagged in before landing a springboard moonsault. Nese broke up the pin attempt that followed. At this point, a four-way brawl ensued. Nese and Scott gained the upper hand as they sent their opponents crashing to the outside. Nese and Scott then dove onto their opponents. Scott sent Mendoza back into the ring and connected with a double foot stomp but Wilde was able to break up the pin just before the referee’s count of three.
Nese tagged in and hoisted Mendoza onto his shoulders. Scott climbed to the top rope. The two were setting up for something big. Before said setup could be actualized Escobar climbed the ring steps and stood on the apron gaining the attention of the referee, Nese, and Scott. Wilde pushed the now distracted Scott into the floor from the top rope. Nese tried for a rollup in the moments that followed, but Mendoza had sneakily tagged in Wilde. Wilde was then able to connect with a double knee face breaker on the confused Nese. This allowed Wilde to hold Nese in place for a Mendoza enziguri. Nese was then pinned by Wilde.
This match was good. Just as it began feeling long-winded, it came to a close. Storywise it succeeded in further establishing the current cruiserweight hierarchy; El Legado del Fantasma is at the top, everyone else is playing catch up.
Also worth noting is crowd response. Early in the match, the crowd seemed quite loud, at least speaking in terms relative to the empty arena WWE shows. Whether this was a rather fervent set of attendees or a change in mixing, it’s hard to say.
