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.
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.
This was, without a doubt, the best episode of 205 Live I’ve watched. Both matches were tons of fun and had high-speed cruiserweight action. The debuts excite me to no end, as both of these men have all the potential in the world. If this is the future of the brand, it might have a reason to exist.
Ari Sterling defeated Samir Singh (w/ Sunil Singh)
Ari Sterling, formerly Alex Zayne, made his debut tonight. While Titan will tone down the fantastically insane moveset of Sterling ultimately, tonight he delivered an exciting match filled with athletics. Whether he is in Kingsport TN’s Civic auditorium or the WWE’s Capitol Wrestling Center, it’s hard to understate how exciting this man is.
Samir started the match with a headlock takedown, but Sterling proved capable moments later after escaping the hold. Sterling hit a few moves in quick succession before delivering a flipping springboard dive to the outside dubbed the “Moonsauce.”
Samir sidestepped a dropkick before launching Sterling with a reasonably typical catapult; Sterling flew outside the ring. Once back inside the ring, Samir locked in a Boston crab. After Sterling freed himself from the crab, he connected with an up kick to reset the match.
Sterling rallied with some basic strikes followed by a front flip into a kick. Sterling then hit an awkward slam with a flip, a different move from his former finisher, for the win.
August Grey and Ikemen Jiro defeated Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese
In another debut, Ikemen Jiro, formerly Jiro Kuroshio of Wrestle-1, showcased his atypical persona in a superb match. The pacing was excellent, and the action was exciting, but Jiro’s presence shined through.
The match began only after Jiro refused to remove his signature jacket; he would wrestle the match with the sports coat. Jiro got the best of Nese in the opening exchange and tagged in Grey, who immediately lost all the control Jiro gained in the opening moments.
Daivari and Nese dominated Grey, leaving him desperate for a tag. After the tag came, Jiro took out both Nese and Daivari before showing off his jacket to the CWC; A solid strike to the back of the head stopped his fashion show.
Daivari and Nese were back in control, this time with Jiro tag desperate. Jiro transformed a sleeper into a belly-to-back suplex, creating enough time for a hot tag. Grey connected with everything but the kitchen sink, taking out both of his opponents. After a failed pin following a crossbody, Grey tried to tag in Jiro, but he was nowhere to be found.
Nese grabbed Grey’s leg, allowing Daivari to club Nese into the ground. Jiro hit the ring in time to save Grey from sure doom, causing a four-way brawl. Daivari and Nese, in the end, won out, lifting Grey into a double team move that Jiro was forced to break up.
Jiro tagged into the match, connecting with everything in his arsenal. To punctuate his rally, Jiro hit Nese and Daivari with a moonsault. Jiro followed up with a beautiful senton and a pin that Daivari broke up. Grey hit Daivari with a dive to stop his interference, which Jiro followed with a dive of his own. Jiro then hit a “leg slash” to pick up a win.
