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.
With less than a month until the show, WWE has revealed the name and announced the first three matches for their return to Saudi Arabia.
The third show in WWE’s controversy-filled 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority will take place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Friday, June 7. It will air live on the WWE Network and is titled “WWE Super ShowDown,” which is the same name the company used for their event in Melbourne, Australia last October.
A look at the new AEW television deal with TNT and other aspects of starting up is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the detail of the two nights being considered and the arguments for each night, international television, streaming, why the price is what it is, and how long talks have been going on for the TNT deal.
Read a lengthy bio on Silver King, a breakdown of what happened in the ring when he passed away and what lessons can be learned by it. Look at the start of his career, and his going to All Japan as a teenager.
Read the updates on the next two WWE PPV shows.
Read a detailed article on Lars Sullivan, from his background, to his fine, to the questions asked, to what got him in trouble, why he was fined now, why he wasn’t before and a lot of the questions regarding all this.
Also look at changes to WWE Network, Vince McMahon talks the move to FOX, WWE gets award nominations, tons of new news on the XFL, what happens to Vince McMahon when the XFL starts, why Percy Watson left the company, and an update on the Mauro Ranallo’s situation.
Have a look at the legend of Tom Magee, the match with Bret Hart and the WWE documentary.
Read complete coverage of UFC 237 with match-by-match coverage and poll results.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
People are raving about today’s Will Ospreay vs. Rocky Romero match in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament.
There is some interest on the Bellator side in WWE’s Jack Gallagher. No deal has been reached but there is talk.
The Kazuchika Okada vs. Seiya Sanada IWGP title match from Dontaku in Fukuoka will air tomorrow night on AXS TV.
Arisa Hoshiki beat Momo Watanabe today to win the Wonder of Stardom title at today’s show at Korakuen Hall. Results were: Natsuko Tora & Andras Miyagi won three-way over Leo Onozaki & Hina and Starlight Kid & Hanan, Death Yama San won three-way over Natsu Sumire and Saya Iida, Toni Storm d Kagetsu 15:00, Hana Kimura & Jungle Kyona & Konami b Mayu Iwatani & Tam Nakano & Saki Kashima to win the Artist of Stardom trios titles, Bea Prietley b Hazuki to keep the World of Stardom title, Hoshiki b Watanabe. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
WWE
Dolph Ziggler will be appearing at the Oz Comic Con in Melbourne, Australia on 6/8 and 6/9.
Nikki & Brie Bella will be at the Wine and Food Experience at Cincinnati’s Riverfront on 10/5. (thanks to Brian Henke)
UFC
After Markus Perez pulled out of his fight with Deron Winn on 7/22 in Greenville, SC, UFC inked Bruno Silva as Winn’s next opponent.
MISCELLANEOUS
CMLL will have a somewhat major show on 5/31 with hair vs. hair matches with both Kaho Kobayashi vs. Amapola and Ultimo Guerrero vs. Mascara Ano 2000.
DAWG on 5/25 in Glassboro, NJ at the Max Fit Sports Center.
Joey Ryan vs. Indi Hartwell has been added to the 6/21 World Series Wrestling show in Melbourne, Australia. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. Flip Gordon & Brian Cage was announced for the 6/22 show.
Combate Americas announced a 6/21 show on Univision from Hidalgo, TX and the State Farm Arena headlined by Enrique Gonzalez (7-3) vs. Alejandro Martinez (4-3) in a 150 pound fight.
Former UFC fighter Joe Riggs makes his pro boxing debut on 5/23 on a Roy Jones Jr. show on 5/23 from Tucson, AZ at the Casino del Sol AVA Amphitheater. Riggs, out of Phoenix, face David Damore (1-6-3) of Glendale in a four-round fight. The show will air on UFC Fight Pass.
AAW on 5/31 in Austin, TX at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar has Jessicka Havok vs. Priscilla Kelly for the AAW title, Eddie Kingston vs. Mance Warner, Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett and Ace Romero vs. Ryan Davidson, plus Sami Callihan, Jake Something, Juventud Guerrera, Thunder Rosa, Josh Alexander, Myron Reed, Jimmy Jacob and more.
AWS announced that they will be shutting down with their final show on 11/30 at the American Legion Hall in South Gate, CA.
CWE on Saturday night in Keeseekoose First Nation, Saskatchewan at the Keeseekoose School.
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
[Advertisement] You can watch the Roast of Ric Flair, a discussion with Cody & the Bucks about All Elite Wrestling, and twenty other shows for just $59 at STARRCASTonFITE.com. The package includes the live feed plus on demand with unlimited replays on any smart device, PC, etc. For the best service pre-ordering is encouraged at STARRCASTonFITE.com.
Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and Jim Ross are going to do a panel at Starrcast discussing their 1989 trilogy.
Cody & the Young Bucks will be doing a Q&A as part of their panel about All Elite Wrestling just 48 hours prior to Double or Nothing in Las Vegas. Starrcast will be streaming it on FITE and allowing viewers the chance to ask questions.
Arn Anderson and Sting both have panels at Starrcast on May 24th. Tony Schiavone will taking questions from fans watching at home on FITE for the Q&A portion of the show.
The Young Bucks and Joey Janela will be guests for Colt Cabana’s live Art of Wrestling show on May 24th.
Bret Hart and Tom Magee will discuss their now infamous match from 1986 with Sean Mooney on Saturday, May 25th in Las Vegas.
All of the above can be watched live or demand by pre-ordering today at STARRCASTonFITE.com.
WWE has announced the first few matches for next week’s SmackDown and 205 Live television tapings in London, England.
On SmackDown, Asuka & Kairi Sane will team against Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville. Rose & Deville defeated Ember Moon & Carmella on last night’s episode. Paige then appeared with Asuka & Sane and announced the tag team match for next Tuesday.
Members of the NXT UK roster will be appearing on next week’s 205 Live. Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese will face Ligero in a non-title match, which comes in advance of Nese defending his title against Ariya Daivari at Money in the Bank on May 19.
A fatal four-way match between Jack Gallagher, Humberto Carrillo, Mark Andrews, and James Drake is also set for next week’s 205 Live. Andrews and Drake are both on the NXT UK roster. Drake & Zack Gibson are the current NXT UK Tag Team Champions.
Next week’s Raw and SmackDown are both being taped at the O2 Arena in London.
Taped January 25-27 at Royal Rumble Axxess at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona
Quick rundown —
Jack Gallagher beat Tyler Bate, Grizzled Young Veterans defended their NXT UK tag team titles, beating Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and WALTER beat Kassius Ohno.
Full results —
The show opened right with out first match, Tyler Bate vs. Jack Gallagher, making his NXT UK debut.
Tyler Bate pinned “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher in 9:46 after a roll-up
They had a great scientific babyface match with lots submissions and mat wrestling.
Bate applied a wrist lock right away but Gallagher managed to escape and took Bate down for a one-count. They went into mat-wrestling with submissions and counters withing the first minute and Gallagher gave Bate some trouble with a leg vice which Bate eventually escaped from. Gallagher showed his submission prowess and training under Billy Robinson with some unique submission attempts that had Bate cringing on the mat.
Gallagher kept working on Bate’s knees and ankles and Bate didn’t really have an answer to being tied into a pretzel at will at that point and even was slightly limping after continued submissions. Bate eventually came back with an arm lever extension and went for an airplane spin, but Gallagher quickly escaped and locked in another submission until Bate managed to reach the ropes. They ended up in round-and-round roll-ups that had both men and the referee dizzy until Bate finally managed to pick up the win with a surprise roll-up.
We saw a training session at the NXT UK Performance Center where Robbie Brookside ran some drills involving a few wrestlers, including Travis Banks. Jordan Devlin suddenly appeared, pulling Banks off the apron and attacked him on the outside until Brookside and the other wrestlers broke it up.
We took a short look at WALTER’s dominance in NXT UK.
A video hyping the “Nina Samuels” show aired.
Eddie Dennis cut a promo at the NXT UK Performance Center and said that people wondered what happened to him after losing to Dave Mastiff at TakeOver. He said when he retuirns, he would take down the roster one by one.
WALTER pinned Kassius Ohno in 8:37 after a power bomb
These two faced off in wXw (at a 16 Carat Gold tournament final no less), PROGRESS and even WWE at WrestleMania weekend last year.
They went for a test of strenght right away and WALTER showed his dominance early. Ohno took a swing but looked concerned right away, He applied a head lock but WALTER easily escaped and started working over Ohno’s arm.Ohno foolishly chopped WALTER who just looked at him, then smashed his big frame into the American, sending him crashing to the mat. He hit a big boot, sending Ohno to ringside. They traded forearms on the outside until WALTER picked him up and smashed him onto the apron.
Ohno went back in the ring and as WALTER tried to pull him back outside, he stomped on the Austrian’s head and hit a senton on his arm. Ohno applied a cravat and forced the big man to his knees, but WALTER eventually body slammed his way out of the hold. They traded forearms, chops and slaps. Ohno managed to weigh WALTER down on a German suplex attempt but caught a chop to the back for his troubles and then got German suplexed like he deserved to be.
Ohno managed to roll through on a sleeper hold for a two-count. Ohno went up for a moonsault but WALTER rolled out of the way. WALTER then hit a Shotgun dropkick and the power bomb for the victory.
Ligero was shown at the NXT UK Performance Center and replied to Joseph Conners comments from last week. A match between the two was announced for next week.
After their brawl that was shown earlier, a Falls Count Anywhere match between Jordan Devlin and Travis Banks also was announced for next week.
Grizzled Young Veterans beat Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch in 13:09 when Dann Burch was pinned after Ticket to Mayhem
Lorcan and Drake started out and Drake worked Lorcan’s arm right away. Oney escaped and made the tag, with Burch taking over until Gibson blind-tagged in and the champs took over, with Gibson first slamming Burch and then slamming his own partner on top of him. Lorcan came back in on a hot tag and ran wild for a bit, until Drake put a thumb into his eye and the heels proceeded to beat Lorcan down on the outside.
Back inside, Gibson applied his kneeling cobra clutch and tagged Drake, who knocked Oney down with a stiff forearm, then applied a nerve hold. The champs quickly tagged in and out and isolated Lorcan for a few minutes, until Oney finally manged to thwart his opponents and make the hot tag to Danny Burch. He ran wild, then hit consecutive German suplexes on both Grizzled Young Veterans, followed by a flying dropkick on Gibson and a power bomb on Drake for a near fall.
Drake managed to escape a cutter attempt off the ropes, allowing the champs to take over. Gibson hit Ticket to Ride on Burch, but the British veteran managed to kick out. Gibson had Burch on his shoulders but he escaped, hit head butts on both opponents and tagged Lorcan. The faces hit a Doomsday Device for another near fall that was broken up, when Gibson back body dropped Lorcan onto Burch. Lorcan and Gibson faced off, with each having an opponent in a submission and started trading strikes. Lorcan ran wild, hitting a crazy somersault plancha on both opponents. Lorcan and Burch hit a double high angle DDT on Drake for a very close near fall.
Drake rolled up Burch with his feet on the ropes and Gibson holding him down from the outside but Burch still managaged to kick out. The Grizzled Young Veterans then finally hit Ticket to Mayhem on Burch for the win and a successful title defense.
Next week:
Jordan Devlin meets Travis Banks in a falls count anywhere match and Ligero faces Joseph Conners in a rematch from a few weeks ago.
A stipulation match and an appearance by Lio Rush are set for next week’s episode of 205 Live.
During last night’s 205 Live, it was announced that Brian Kendrick & Akira Tozawa will face Drew Gulak & Jack Gallagher in a tag team street fight next week. Kendrick and Tozawa have been paired together as a team since shortly after the storyline where Gulak and Gallagher turned against Kendrick in October.
It was also announced that Lio Rush will return to 205 Live next week. It will be the first time he’s been on the show since he lost to Cedric Alexander on the November 14 episode.
Alexander will challenge for Buddy Murphy’s Cruiserweight Championship at TLC this Sunday.
Though the finals of Mixed Match Challenge season two are taking place at TLC, WWE plans to keep 205 Live as a taped show airing on Wednesdays for the last two episodes of the year. Dave Meltzer notes that a decision for 2019 will be made after that.
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.
The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins added yet another loss to his streak, this time against Goldust, and Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated TJP & Jack Gallagher in under three minutes.
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Goldust defeated Curt Hawkins (4:29)
And so it continues. Curt Hawkins went 0-164 here, is now 0-165, and following Main Event went on to have a backstage segment after Raw where the Brooklyn Brawler told him not to give up and to believe in himself. We may be going somewhere with this streak, but exactly where is not yet clear.
Goldust took the win out of nothing, really. The match was back and forth, with Hawkins looking the more likely of the two to come out on top. They did a lot of comedy early on, with Hawkins even laying down in the middle of the ring asking to be pinned. Of course, it was a ruse.
The finish started when Hawkins used a side Russian leg sweep and slapped on a rest hold. When Goldust worked his way out, he dropped to his knees, struck Hawkins, and rolled him up for the win. Hawkins was in disbelief.
Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated TJP & Jack Gallagher (2:43)
They didn’t give this one long at all in front of this expectant pre-Raw 25th anniversary show crowd. Metalik has had TJP’s number over the last few weeks on 205 Live, and the same was true here as the pair started things off together.
After taking two arm whips, TJP hobbled as quickly as he could to make the tag to Gallagher. Gallagher slowed things down, crotching Metalik on the top turnbuckle as we went to a break.
We returned to both men down, and they went straight to the hot tag and the finish. Kalisto took care of Gallagher, tossing him over the top rope and hitting him with a springboard seated senton. And Metalik finished off TJP with a rope-walk elbow drop and the Metalik Driver in the middle of the ring.
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
With the status of WWE’s plans in the United Kingdom still undefined, Pete Dunne hasn’t had a ton of opportunities to defend his UK Championship since winning it at TakeOver: Chicago.
His first defenses came at NXT’s house shows at Download Festival in June, then he defeated Trent Seven, Wolfgang, and BT Gunn to retain the title in ICW last Saturday. Next, he’ll be putting it on the line when PROGRESS Wrestling comes to New York later this month.
PROGRESS announced yesterday that Jack Gallagher would return to the promotion to challenge Dunne for the WWE UK title at their show in New York on August 12th. It will be the second time that the championship has been defended in PROGRESS, with Tyler Bate having previously retained against Mark Andrews over WrestleMania 33 weekend in Orlando.
WWE also posted a story about the Dunne vs. Gallagher UK title match on their website.
Like with the UK plans, WWE has yet to officially reveal any updates about PROGRESS and ICW events being shown on the Network, but Dunne’s title defenses are proof that the relationship between the companies remains strong.
PROGRESS NYC will take place at Elmcor Youth and Adult Activities in Corona, New York, which will also host an EVOLVE show earlier in the day. PROGRESS will then be in the Boston area for a doubleheader with Beyond Wrestling on August 13th.
The Big News: Tyler Bate defeated Jack Gallagher to retain the WWE UK title.
The Medium News: Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot brawled all over creation on multiple occasions.
The Little Beaver-sized News: The new backstage interviewer, Christy St. Cloud, introduced herself, which stunned me to the point that I didn’t realize she never actually asked Ruby Riot a question.
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The show started with Nikki Cross running into the ring during the opening theme song, looking out of control. She left the ring and went to the ring announcer and called out Ruby Riot to “come out and play.”
This brought out Riot, who cautiously got in the ring. The fans chanted “fight” as the two women gave them what they wanted. They went clobbering on each other, with referees finally interfering when Cross threw Riot into the ring steps outside the ring. Riot didn’t stay down and they continued to slug away on each other. Every time they seemed to part, Cross would dive off the ring steps onto Riot.
The fans wanted them to keep fighting as the referees finally succeeded in dragging Cross to the back.
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We were reminded of last week’s angle where Hideo Itami returned and laid out the glorious NXT Champion, Bobby Roode, with a Go to Sleep.
Fast forward to today and Kayla Braxton tried to interview Roode, but she was cut off by the champion. Roode said things have changed and this is his NXT. Itami can challenge him all day long, but if he wants a championship opportunity he is going to have to earn it.
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Drew McIntyre defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas
This match was set up last week when Almas was bullying McIntyre at the WWE Performance Center. Thankfully, Heavy Machinery was filming it because we may not have believed such shenanigans and not had this match because of it.
Almas was all about the shenanigans again, but McIntyre was having none of it. The early highlight was Almas laying in the ropes, as he’s prone to do, but McIntyre gave him a running boot.
McIntyre exploded from there, punching Almas down in the corner and coming off the top rope with an elbow to his standing foe. Almas got in some chops, but McIntyre caught him and dropped him with a powerslam before picking up the win with the running boot.
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Mr. William Regal announced Ruby Riot vs. Nikki Cross for later on tonight.
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We had part one of a series of video packages, asking the question “Who is Roderick Strong?” He’s been on NXT for over six months and we’re finally getting introductory videos for the guy.
As always when they do these videos, this was very good and worth going out of your way to see:
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Aleister Black defeated Kona Reeves
The former Noah Kekoa and Noah Pontjes was back to square off with the undefeated Aleister Black. Reeves attacked at the bell, and it was pretty much downhill for him from there. Black blocked his attempt at a turnbuckle smash and kicked him in every part of his body before winning with Black Mass.
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A new announcer, Christy St. Cloud, literally introduced herself before interviewing Ruby Riot. That was so shocking I didn’t even notice that she didn’t actually ask Riot a question. Anyway, Riot said that she rebels against the norm, like SAnitY, but the difference is SAnitY wants everyone else to conform.
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Braxton was running out of the arena to try to ask Almas about losing to McIntyre earlier, but Almas (who showered and dressed in 15 minutes) was leaving the arena with a plethora of women.
Being the person he is, he did offer Braxton a chance to be part of his groupies, but Braxton ignored him the same way Almas ignored her question.
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The match between Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot never actually started
Riot was walking to the ring when she was attacked by Cross. They resumed their crazy brawl from earlier, but this time got to do it by the stage. Finally, a bunch of referees ran back out in an effort to throw them in the ring. Well, this is why you don’t use referees as lumberjacks.
Riot dove off the stage onto Cross, which was as much as the officials would allow, as Riot was dragged away and then Cross was literally carried away by four people.
This might be the first time in wrestling history that you need a cage match just to keep the two of them in the ring.
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Mr. Regal talked to Asuka backstage and told her that we will have a battle royal next week to determine her next challenger. Asuka completely blew it off and walked off.
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WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate defeated Jack Gallagher to retain his title
This is Bate’s second official title defense. I know he defended it at Axxess and I know he defended it on non-WWE shows. I am literally just repeating what was said to me on TV.
As expected, these two put on an excellent wrestling exhibition. These two, almost mirror images of each other, reversed each other’s moves and holds and then reversed their reversals. Back from commercial, Gallagher had taken over with an armbar. Bate tried to fight out of it, but Gallagher held onto that armbar for an extended period of time.
Bate was somehow able to turn it into a test of strength that neither could get the advantage of, and they both had to bridge out of a double pin. Bate got a near fall with the hesitation German suplex, but ended up in another armbar when he went for a suplex.
Bate took over and sent Gallagher to the outside, but when he went for a suicide dive, Gallagher met him with a headbutt and then another one inside the ring for a two count. Can people stop using headbutts? Seriously. Anyway, Bate hit his rolling kick and the Tyler Driver ’97 for the win.
We saw several of the UK wrestlers in the front row after the match. The only one not clapping was Pete Dunne. Instead he just stared a hole through Bate’s head.
Before we go, I just want to say that WWE Network needs to work on their buffering issues. This show went off the air at 8:52 and it took me until 9:14 to watch the whole thing with the constant buffering. I never have issues with other streaming services or with anything in WWE’s on-demand section.
Let’s hope they clear things up, but that will do it from here. I want to thank everyone for reading, and until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Neville upped the momentum for Payback by beating Jack Gallagher in the main event, but Austin Aries made sure he was heard as well. Drew Gulak is increasingly becoming a pain in the side of Mustafa Ali, this time interfering in his matches directly. Brian Kendrick learned his 23,523rd lesson from Akira Tozawa.
Show Recap —
Akira Tozawa & Rich Swann defeated Brian Kendrick & Noam Dar
This was a solid, very well worked match but there wasn’t much of note. The crowd at least sort of seemed awake for it. The heels got the heat on Swann for a bit until Tozawa got the hot tag, laid out Kendrick, then pinned Dar with the shining wizard.
Tozawa said Kendrick chose a tag team partner tonight — but he choose poorly. Lesson four: always chose wisely.
Dasha Fuentes interviewed Neville, asking how he prepared for tonight’s match. He said he’s proven time and again Jack Gallagher doesn’t belong in the ring and tonight will be no different. He said aside from maybe TJ Perkins, no one is on the Neville Level. He wondered when people will realize the inevitable and place a knee on the floor for the King of the Cruiserweights.
Mustafa Ali and Tony Nese came out for their match when Drew Gulak arrived with the same picket sign from last week, “No Fly Zone.” He joined Tom Phillips and Corey Graves on commentary.
Tony Nese defeated Mustafa Ali by DQ
Another solid back and forth match here. Ali looked really good, even busting out a tope con hilo over the turnbuckle to the outside, sending Nese reeling. Gulak complained whenever Ali did a high spot and generally just talked about his dislike for Ali’s high-flying style.
Ali landed a tornado DDT and went for his finish when Gulak dragged him out of the ring for the DQ in Nese’s favor. Ali did not like that, and replied with another tope con hilo — this time wiping out Gulak.
Neville defeated Jack Gallagher
This was another match that was in the solid territory, though it was clearly better than the other two matches on tonight’s card. Gallagher had the advantage early. Neville, on the outside, angrily responded by throwing Gallagher’s umbrella all the way to the stage entrance.
Neville gained control for the early part of the match until Gallagher blasted him with a headbutt. You’d think after what went down with Katsuyori Shibata that people would cut it out, but nope. Neville caught Gallagher with a palm strike, did a running stomp on the corner, then submitted him with the Rings of Saturn.
Neville jumped Gallagher after the match and dragged him to the rampway. He was looking for the Rings of Saturn until Aries came in and hit him with the discus fivearm. He locked in the Last Chancery, then left him laying as he stood tall in the ring to close out the show.
Final Thoughts —
A just there show with a just there build to Payback. Hopefully next week there will be a new program or two to sink my teeth into because none of them right now are really doing it for me in terms of interest or intrigue.
TJ Perkins picked up a victory over Jack Gallagher, all while reaffirming his new friendship with Neville.
The jig seems to be up between Noam Dar, Alicia Fox, Rich Swann, and the mysterious gifts — or is it? Akira Tozawa has turned the tables on Brian Kendrick, now using his own mind games against him.
Show Recap —
Mustafa Ali defeated Brian Kendrick
This was just a typical back and forth match without a lot of heat. It eventually built into a pretty good bout but the crowd just wasn’t having it. The commentators brought up Tozawa’s win from last week over Kendrick, as well as Ali’s recent interactions with Drew Gulak, who was also shown looking at the monitor as the match progressed.
Kendrick crotched Ali and transitioned to the bully choke but the bell rang. It turned out that Tozawa was the one who rang the bell before the submission, so the match continued. Ali immediately took out Kendrick with a kick on the apron and followed with his imploding 450 splash for the win.
Tozawa said after the match this is lesson number two: appearances can be deceiving.
They showed footage from last night where TJ Perkins was confronted by Neville, telling him that he’s the only one who respects Perkins. TJP bought into this, and after rolling up a distracted Aries in their match, laid him out, officially siding with Neville.
Perkins was then interviewed. He said this isn’t about what he did to Austin Aries, it’s about what Aries did to him — he said that he is the victim. Gallagher came in and said he hopes he’ll have a more gentlemanly approach tonight. TJP didn’t want to hear it, he’s not the only one that’s benefited from his bad luck.
Rich Swann defeated Johnny Ocean
This was mostly just a highlight reel for Swann, who looked good. He got the win with the phoenix splash in a short match.
Swann said after the match that people might have some questions about why he gave presents to Alicia Fox. We, of course, didn’t get those answers because Noam Dar came out and called him a liar. He’s been the one sending the gifts. They started arguing when Alicia Fox came out, and called Swann a liar, though she knows he’s been looking at her.
Another delivery guy came in and delivered the latest gift to Fox. Dar took credit for the present and told Swann to leave. He obliged as Dar gave Fox the gift. She asked what it was, and Dar said that it’s a surprise. When she opened it, a bunch of white powder flew into her face. Flour? Baking soda? Powdered sugar? Something else? No one ever said as Swann was shown, pleased.
An Austin Aries interview was next. It seems like TJP wants to blame him for his lack of success. Aries said Neville doesn’t want a friend, he wants a puppet. He claimed Neville wants TJP to be a buffer in their match at Payback. He’s done this dance before, and he’ll do it again until he’s Cruiserweight Champion. He then dabbed with his banana and left.
TJ Perkins defeated Jack Gallagher
TJP hit a DDT on one of Gallagher’s legs and worked on it for a lot of the early part of the match. Gallagher came back with a giant superplex off the top rope. TJP went for a comeback but Gallagher caught him with the ring apron and delivered a big time headbutt.
Gallagher tried to mount a comeback, but his leg was shot. TJP nailed the detonation kick, pinning Gallagher. This was a good match, but again the crowd was just there.
Neville came out and raised Perkins’ hand as the show ended.
Final Thoughts —
This was an okay show, but the same problems that have plagued 205 Live for months are still here. There was good action, but the crowd didn’t care as they had already seen SmackDown. None of the midcard stuff stands out when people work the same as the heavyweights, which defeats the purpose of a cruiserweight division.
And to top it off, while both brands over the last two weeks have featured a ton of changes and new programs, 205 Live is going ahead with the same old feuds that we’ve seen for a while now. So while these shows aren’t bad by any means, compared to other shows going on in the last few weeks, 205 Live feels stagnant.
Austin Aries defeated three other men to get another shot at Neville’s Cruiserweight title. Rich Swann, after defeating Oney Lorcan, said that he is the one sending gifts to Alicia Fox. Akira Tozawa turned the tables on Brian Kendrick, doing what he needed to pick up a win against him.
Show Recap —
They showed still footage of what went down at WrestleMania. Aries had Neville beat with the Last Chancery, but Neville took advantage of Aries’ injured orbital socket and picked up the win, retaining his championship.
Kendrick came out to start the show. He said he can’t believe Tozawa asked for this rematch. He claimed that rule number 10 is that it’s not about athleticism, but superior psychology.
Akira Tozawa defeated Brian Kendrick
They had an alright match. Tozawa did a nice suicide dive on the outside at one point. He raked Kendrick’s eye while they were both on the top rope. Tozawa came back down but looked to injure his knee. Kendrick went to complain to the referee, then picked up Tozawa but he played possum and rolled up Kendrick for the win.
Tozawa told Kendrick he taught him lesson number one…which he didn’t explain. I guess that cheaters always prosper, or something.
Rich Swann defeated Oney Lorcan
Lorcan jumped Swann right at the bell, unleashing a big European uppercut to the corner. Lorcan went for a half nelson suplex off the top rope but Swann landed on his feet. Lorcan grabbed him and hit a running Alabama slam into the corner. Swann came back, hitting a hurricanrana off the top rope and then pinning Lorcan with a phoenix splash.
This was really good, with Lorcan showing some great, crisp offense.
Swann took a mic after the match and talked about how Alicia Fox has been getting presents for the last few weeks. Noam Dar has been taking credit for them, but it wasn’t Dar who was delivering those gifts — it was Swann. He left it at that.
Mustafa Ali was heading to the ring when Drew Gulak stopped him. Ali said he doesn’t buy what Gulak is selling. Gulak said all he wants to do is to give him one last chance to be on the right side of history. Ali walked past him, letting Gulak know how he feels.
Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, Pete Dunne, and Tyler Bate all appeared on stage. They will be touring with the 205 Live crew in England on May 6th and 7th.
Neville came out and said there is no one on his level, and it feels good being right. He told everyone not to buy into the rumors about him gouging Aries’ eye out of desperation — he did it because he deserved it. He wanted to thank each and every person in the audience for never believing in him, they lit a fire in his belly and he became royalty.
He thanked Aries, then the entire 205 Live roster because their futile efforts to take the title off him have only bolstered his reputation. He’ll take a ringside seat tonight to watch the number one contender’s bout.
Austin Aries defeated Mustafa Ali, Jack Gallagher, and TJ Perkins to earn a Cruiserweight title shot
Ali took everyone out with a triple neckbreaker, which was pretty cool. They followed that with a tower of doom spot. Aries went to suplex Ali but got out of the way so Gallagher could fly right into Ali’s temple, sending him careening to the outside.
TJP hit the detonation kick but Gallagher came back with a headbutt. Aries dispatched Gallagher to the outside then pinned TJP with the five-arm. There have been better multi-man bouts, but this was still pretty good and had its moments.
Final Thoughts —
This was a solid show following WrestleMania. No new programs seem to be on the horizon, save for whatever Gulak/Ali is developing into, which is kind of a shame. Lorcan is a nice addition to the roster, but it remains unclear if this was just a one time thing or a call up.
It was nothing revolutionary, but a serviceable show with a hotter crowd than usual.
Jack Gallagher and Neville furthered their feud going into Fastlane, ending 205 Live with a big brawl that saw Gallagher get the better of it. Akira Tozawa challenged Brian Kendrick, but Kendrick decided to fight on his own terms. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari emerged victorious over Mustafa Ali, TJ Perkins & Cedric Alexander.
Show Recap —
The show started with Tom Phillips interviewing Jack Gallagher, asking what he expects from Neville’s address later tonight. Gallagher said he’s expecting the usual, Neville berating the WWE Universe, things like that, but at Fastlane he’ll walk out the WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
Noam Dar defeated Lince Dorado
This didn’t last long, but was good while it lasted. It was all action. Alicia Fox had flowers at ringside. Dorado looked good on offense, but ate a kick and was pinned.
After the match, Dar said these flowers can’t compare to the sweetness of Alicia Fox.
Austin Aries introduced Akira Tozawa as they showed highlights of Tozawa turning down Brian Kendrick. Aries questioned Tozawa, who said that he wants to do it on his own. They then showed footage of Tozawa being jumped by Kendrick. Aries asked Tozawa what he’s going to do about it, and Tozawa said he wants to fight him right now.
This brought out Kendrick. He said, “What makes you think I’ll fight you on your terms?” Kendrick claimed that he’s the man with the plan, and will fight under his own terms. He called Tozawa a brat for rejecting his offer.
Tozawa tried to respond, but Kendrick cut him off, saying he wants Tozawa to speak in English because he’s just like the rest of these Minnesotans who can’t speak it. He then bailed, ultimately rejecting Tozawa’s challenge.
Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari defeated Mustafa Ali, TJ Perkins & Cedric Alexander
Really good match, it had nothing but action throughout. Everyone looked good and the action never slowed. More matches like these need to be on this show as it separates them from everyone else.
Daivari and Gulak got dumped to the floor. Ali wiped them out with a crossbody off the top rope. TJP looked to follow with a big dive of his own, but Nese grabbed him, dragged him out, and slammed him against the announcer’s table. Gulak wore down TJP with a modified Gory special that looked pretty cool.
Ali took out Gulak with a neckbreaker and went for the inverted 450 splash, but a distraction by Daivari allowed Gulak to take advantage. Alexander took everyone out with a big dive to the floor.
Ali hit a tornado DDT then followed with the inverted 450 splash, but Daivari put Gulak’s feet on the ropes. Ali was distracted enough that it allowed Gulak to lay out Ali with a German suplex to the ring post. Nese and TJP were tagged in. TJP got taken out from the top rope by Gulak, which allowed Nese to hit a running knee strike in the corner for the win.
An Austin Aries video package was shown once again.
Neville came out to talk about Fastlane. He said we need a history lesson. Mediocrity reigned until he came in. He changed the landscape of 205 Live but has received nothing but resentment. They applauded people like Gallagher. He claimed that we will witness a public execution at Fastlane.
Gallagher then came out. He said this isn’t a history lesson, but more like a public meltdown. He asked if Neville would like some tea and biscuits. The crowd chanted for tea and biscuits, but Neville didn’t like that, saying he could take him out tonight instead of Fastlane.
Neville said that this is his ring. Gallagher disagreed, saying that this ring belongs to all of them, the WWE Universe. They eventually got into a brawl, ending with Gallagher landing a running dropkick to the barricade, sending Neville reeling as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts —
Good show. There needs to be more six-man matches on this show as it was one of the better matches on 205 Live in a while, plus the crowd was into it (and the show in general) which is always nice. The confrontation at the end of the show was fine, and it all builds well to Fastlane.
Jack Gallagher continued his momentum by defeating Tony Nese in the main event. Brian Kendrick took the easy way out in securing a countout win over Akira Tozawa. Noam Dar defeated Mustafa Ali with Rich Swann on his mind, and Austin Aries introduced his own highlight package, apparently indicating he’ll make his in-ring debut soon.
Show Recap —
We started off with a recap of the Raw contract signing from last night. Neville called Jack Gallagher a caricature of what Americans view Englishmen as, but Gallagher said he was raised this way, this is who he is. Neville pie-faced him and it led to a brawl, with Neville being sent reeling.
The Brian Kendrick defeated Akira Tozawa by countout
This was fine while it lasted, but you knew this was going to lead to this kind of finish. Tozawa had the advantage early. Kendrick smacked Tozawa’s head against the ring post for heat. Tozawa came back with a great suicide dive to the floor.
Kendrick escaped under the ring. Tozawa tried to drag him out, but Kendrick smacked Tozawa’s head on the mat and tied up his feet for the countout. Tom Phillips asked if the win tonight was enough for him. Kendrick said no, Tozawa has been disrespecting him and tonight he learned a lesson.
Dasha Fuentes was with Noam Dar. She asked if he felt uncomfortable about what happened last week when Rich Swann dissed Alicia Fox. He said no, but Swann should be ashamed.
Noam Dar defeated Mustafa Ali
Solid match. It’s pretty disappointing they can’t do something more with Ali as I think he’s far more talented than his push would indicate, but that is the lay of the land.
Ali launched off with a big tope con hilo. Dar kicked Ali in the shin, falling flat on his face on the apron for heat. Dar honed in on the arm and worked it over. Ali tried for the imploding 450 splash but Dar escaped under the ropes. Ali lifted up Dar, but Dar instead kicked him from below, sending Ali face first into the turnbuckle. Dar followed with a knee strike for the win.
Austin Aries cut off Corey Graves and said there have been many impressive superstars on 205 Live, but nothing like this guy. And hey, in fact, it’s an Austin Aries highlight reel. If and when he decides to climb back in the ring, he says, he will be on top.
Jack Gallagher was exercising backstage with his umbrella when Dasha came up and asked how he’ll prepare for tonight’s match. He said consider tonight a preview of what will go down at Fastlane.
Jack Gallagher defeated Tony Nese
Pretty good match. The crowd was dead for a lot of it, but once Gallagher did the headbutt people got into it. Nese worked over Gallagher at the start of the match. Gallagher reversed Nese into a roll-up then headbutted him to a huge reaction.
They fought on the top rope as Nese fell in a tree of woe position, but he came back and landed a Spider German suplex. Gallagher came back and planted Nese with a big time superplex. Gallagher followed that with the running dropkick and scored the win.
Final Thoughts —
This was a by the numbers show. Nothing bad, but nothing memorable, either. The build to the Cruiserweight title match was pretty good on Raw, but no Neville the next night was pretty weird. Also, where was Gran Metalik, who made his debut last week? For a product that’s been labeled the most exciting show of the week, this episode really wasn’t.
