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.
WWE continued building to its next two brand-exclusive pay-per-views on Tuesday night by adding matches to both the Fastlane and Elimination Chamber cards.
Jack Gallagher capped off the night on 205 Live by becoming the number one contender for Neville’s WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Gallagher defeated TJ Perkins, Mustafa Ali, Cedric Alexander, and Noam Dar in a fatal five-way elimination match to get the title shot and will challenge Neville at Fastlane.
Earlier in the night on SmackDown, two more matches were added to the Elimination Chamber card as well. It was announced that Randy Orton would be facing Luke Harper at the PPV as part of the ongoing storyline with the Wyatt Family. Dolph Ziggler will also be involved in a handicap match at Elimination Chamber as he takes on both Apollo Crews & Kalisto.
Elimination Chamber and Fastlane are WWE’s final two PPVs before WrestleMania 33. Elimination Chamber will take place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona this coming Sunday, while the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin will host Fastlane on March 5th.
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.
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.
Neville, taking an anti-American stance, defeated Rich Swann to cement himself as the number one contender for the Cruiserweight title.
Jack Gallagher defeated Ariya Daivari in a duel, Mustafa Ali scored a big win his hometown of Chicago, and Noam Dar is intent on winning the heart of Alicia Fox against Cedric Alexander’s best wishes.
Show Recap —
The show began with recap of the events from last week, where Brian Kendrick and Neville stood tall over Rich Swann and TJ Perkins. Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, and Austin Aries welcome us to the show.
They recap last week’s events between Noam Dar and Cedric Alexander, as the latter comes out for the first match.
Tony Nese defeated Cedric Alexander
Nese got the upper hand by shoving Alexander off the top rope and onto the apron. Alexander derails Nese with a kick, then hits a top rope clothesline for a near fall. Alicia Fox and Drew Gulak quarreled outside the ring, leading Gulak to fall to the floor and pretend like he got hit with Fox’s heel. The ref sent Fox to the back, distracting Alexander. Nese walloped Alexander with the shotei palm strike and pinned him.
Fox looked upset backstage over Alexander’s loss. That led to the appearance of Noam Dar. He knows Christmas was Sunday, but he got her a present: mistletoe. He, of course, wanted a kiss. Alicia Fox responded by slapping him. He wanted another, and she obliged.
They throw it to a backstage interview with Renee Young sitting down with Neville. He said him not being on 205 Live initially was because of discrimination. Not from the WWE, but from the people of the United States of America. He feels that when Americans feel threatened, they lash out, so he will use that cruelty to rise to the top. Young asks if that’s why he calls himself the King of the Cruiserweights. Neville scoffs, saying doesn’t call himself that, he is that.
Neville goes on to talk about Rich Swann, about how he was his young boy in Japan and cooked and cleaned for him. He’s above everyone in this division as he’s used to wrestling 300 pound men. Young asks him to repeat something (because you know, the accent), and Neville becomes upset, saying the interview is over.
Mustafa Ali defeated John Yurnett
John Yurnett is more well known as Mr. 450, who normally wrestles in Puerto Rico and has done tours in Japan. Ali got a big reception for being from Chicago. Yurnett favored his knee, telling the referee he wants to continue. I think he injured himself here legit, which is a shame. Ali takes him down and hits an imploding 450 splash off the top rope for the win.
Dasha Fuentes interviews Mustafa Ali, who says Chicago made him. For so many years, he had to put up with assumptions based on his name and look. He thought he had to prove them all wrong, but truth is they proved him wrong. This isn’t a perfect world, but he’ll let the victories pile up and speak for themselves.
They aired a package on Ariya Daivari, talking about his older brother’s run in the WWE (he says he’s already surpassed him). He talks about his rivalry with Jack Gallagher, saying his loss was a fluke and was something that would never happen again.
Jack Gallagher defeated Ariya Daivari in a duel
There is a table out full of weapons as Daivari and Gallagher come out for their duel. Daivari chooses a lead pipe; Gallagher chooses an umbrella. Daivari likes these odds and wants to start, but Gallagher wants to explain the rules: they take five steps back to back, then they’ll turn around and duel.
Gallagher starts the duel, but Daivari wants to jump him immediately. Gallagher catches this and quickly takes him out with the umbrella. Daivari uses the table to attack Gallagher, but Gallagher makes a comeback and drives Daivari out of the ring with a running dropkick.
The announcer declares Gallagher the winner via forfeit, leaving Daivari mad.
Tajiri makes his 205 Live debut next week.
Neville defeated WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann in a non-title match
There were hot exchange early. It’s pretty clear that in terms of sheer athleticism, there’s few above these two. Neville throws Swann into the LED apron screen. Neville takes out Swann with the fosbury flop. Neville focuses on Swann’s back, hitting a standing shooting star press.
Swann comes back with a hurricanrana, taking Neville to the outside. Swann takes out Neville with a corkscrew senton to the floor. Neville throws Swann out of the ring and hits the ropes but Swann derails him with a superkick and a falcon arrow. Neville takes him out again and goes for the Red Arrow but Swann rolls out of the way and superkicks Neville again for a close near fall.
Swann goes to the top rope but Neville meets him there with a forearm. Swann sends him back down, but Swann takes too long and Neville makes a comeback, hitting a big time superplex and pins Swann.
Swann gets back up to his feet after the match, but Neville assaults him, hitting a release German suplex. Refs break it up as Neville shouts “Bring me my crown!” to end the show.
Final Thoughts —
It seems like this show is finally finding its own groove after several weeks of “just there” shows. Matches moved quicker and were better paced, with the main event being pretty darn good save for the anti-climactic finish.
We have several angles going on here that are starting to catch a bit of steam, so it should be interesting to see how they develop leading to the Royal Rumble, where it seems clear a Neville/Rich Swann title match is in the pipeline.
NXT was in Tampa, FL tonight in front of approximately 250 people.
– Jack Gallagher defeated Tozawa
This was the NXT Florida debuts for both CWC alums. It was an entertaining match that did all the comedy early, the hog tie spot, Gallagher standing on his head on the buckles, then they really got going. The finish was Gallagher winning with the corner dropkick.
– The Bollywood Boyz defeated Adrian Jaoude & Cezar Bononi
Another NXT Florida debut with The Bollywood Boyz, who won with a double superkick on Jaoude.
– Macey Estrella defeated Sara Bridges
The former Crazy Mary Dobson made her NXT FL debut as well tonight. Estrella won via submission.
– Big Damo defeated HoHo Lun
A classic big vs. small match where Damo toyed with Lun until hitting his huge side slam finish.
– Kishan Raftaar defeated Blake
Raftaar caught Blake with a roll-up for a surprise win.
– Tommy End defeated Murphy
Physical match, End jumped Murphy before the bell and the ref had to regroup to ask Murphy if he wanted to wrestle. End won with a jumping knee to the face.
Mada, formerly of Tough Enough, cut an in-ring promo where he badmouthed America and talked about being from Egypt and his desire to make all our favorites suffer.
Long back and forth match that picked up for the finish. Crawford hit a standing SSP for a near fall, but Sabbatelli and Moss hit a double team Gory Bomb for the finish.
– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Gran Metalik
Great match, there was back and forth action and both looked amazing. Metalik hit a dive to the outside, and Almas hit the running knees for a near fall. Metalik went for the driver to finish it off but Almas escaped and rolled Metalik up with his feet on the ropes to steal the win. Metalik ran off Almas after the match to send everyone home happy.
Still without a TakeOver match after returning a couple weeks ago, Hideo Itami made quick work of Cruiserweight Classic competitor Mustafa Ali in his second televised match back from injury.
With the full TakeOver card announced, it would seem likely that Itami will wrestle on the TV taping before the main card this Saturday.
The NXT roster is ready to TakeOver New York City
A video aired with much of the NXT roster hyping their matches in Brooklyn and talking about how special New York City is.
Carmella, Liv Morgan & Nikki Glencross vs. Alexa Bliss, Many Rose & Daria Berenato
With Carmella and Alexa Bliss being called up to the main roster last month, they had their final televised match on NXT TV last night. And the match also featured some of the NXT women’s divisions new blood in Nikki Glencross, Mandy Rose, and Daria Berenato.
Ember Moon debuts this Saturday
Prior to her debut at TakeOver, the final vignette hyping Ember Moon’s arrival aired.
Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura sit down for an interview
With their main event NXT Championship match just days away, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura sat down with Byron Saxton to talk about their rivalry.
Nakamura noted that this is his first big show main event in WWE, while Joe ranted about his frustrations with William Regal. The segment ended with security pulling Joe away.
Cruiserweight Classic Video Highlights —
Akira Tozawa vs. Jack Gallagher
The second round continued on last night’s episode of the CWC with one of the round’s most anticipated matches kicking off the show.
Akira Tozawa withstood Jack Gallagher targeting his leg and picked up the win with a deadlift German suplex. Tozawa advances to the next round to take on Gran Metalik.
Noam Dar vs. HoHo Lun
Both Noam Dar and HoHo Lun entered this round with something to prove, and it was Dar who came out on top after submitting Lun with the kneebar. Dar will face either Zack Sabre Jr. or Drew Gulak in the next round.
Tony Nese vs. Brian Kendrick
In last night’s main event, Brian Kendrick continued his journey of redemption with a win over Tony Nese. Kendrick will hope to have similar success when he faces Kota Ibushi in the next round.
Akira Tozawa feels the effect of Jack Gallagher’s offense
Still selling the leg damage from earlier, Tozawa did an interview after the match. Tozawa said his experience in Dragon Gate has him prepared for Gran Metalik. And Tozawa was flattered at Daniel Bryan complimenting his German suplex.
Jack Gallagher quotes Ernest Hemingway
In typical Gallagher fashion, he summarized last night’s loss with an Ernest Hemingway quote.
Noam Dar wants Zack Sabre Jr.
Dar was asked who he wants to face in his next match. He noted his history with Zack Sabre Jr. and said he wants to face his friend in the next round.
HoHo Lun vows to shine again
Despite losing earlier, Lun said the experience was unbelievable and he vowed to come back again.
Brian Kendrick is ready for Kota Ibushi
After picking up a big win earlier, Kendrick said he was ready to move on to Ibushi and will enter that match with the mindset of victory.
Over the last few years, the UK has become one of the hottest places in the world for wrestlers to work. No longer solely reliant on American or Japanese imports to draw strong crowds, promotions have been developing wrestlers, matches, and storylines that have intrigued fans and drawn them to their products.
This continues to be evidenced by the strong British influence and involvement in New Japan Pro Wrestling, EVOLVE, PWG, TNA, and WWE.
We have seen this take another step by the presence of three UK based wrestlers in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic: Zack Sabre Jr., Noam Dar, and Jack Gallagher. All three are UK stars, and have spent the last couple of years spreading their wings into new pastures while developing their skillsets.
I was fortunate to catch up with Gallagher as we get ready to see his first round match in the CWC tonight.
We spent around 25 minutes discussing his start in the business, traveling to the US for a seminar with legendary grappler Billy Robinson, how he found out about his CWC involvement, life pre- and post-CWC (including an appearance at this year’s BOLA), his memories of the late Kris Travis, his amateur MMA career, and much more.
