205 Live was again taped before SmackDown as this week’s show took place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
– Lio Rush defeated Noam Dar
Rush slapped Dar in the face before this started. The match went about 10 minutes and ended with Rush pinning Dar with a frog splash.
– Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami
This went about 20 minutes. There was an unreal apron spot by Ali where he hit the 054 from the top rope. The referee called the match after a five count and both wrestlers were helped to the back after being attended to at ringside.
Ali’s storyline on 205 Live recently has been Drake Maverick trying to prevent him from pushing himself too hard.
– Brian Kendrick defeated an enhancement wrestler
Kendrick tapped him out in under 10 seconds. Gulak then assaulted Kendrick’s opponent after the match as Kendrick and Jack Gallagher looked on.
With 205 Live moving to a taped format due to Mixed Match Challenge season two, this episode will air on the WWE Network at 7 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow as part of a block with NXT and the Mae Young Classic.
The Cruiserweight Championship will be defended on next Tuesday’s episode of 205 Live.
Last night’s show closed with the announcement that Drew Gulak will be challenging for Cedric Alexander’s title next week. The match was set up after Gulak & Jack Gallagher defeated Alexander & Akira Tozawa, with Gulak submitting Tozawa with the Gu-Lock.
Alexander vs. Gulak is a rematch from the SummerSlam pre-show. Alexander retained his title at that pay-per-view by reversing a cradle after a series of pinning attempts. Their storyline has continued since, with Gulak wanting another shot at the title.
Buddy Murphy has also been in the title picture and will challenge for the Cruiserweight Championship in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia at WWE Super Show-Down on October 6.
Lio Rush vs. Noam Dar has also been confirmed for 205 Live next week. The show (along with SmackDown and the season two premiere of Mixed Match Challenge) is taking place at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Here are results from the first set of NXT UK tapings which took place in Cambridge, England:
– Dark match: Ligero defeated James Drake
Ligero won after a springboard DDT.
– Joe Coffey defeated Mark Andrews
Coffey pinned Andrews after a spinning lariat. Mark Coffey, who seconded his brother, got involved after the match. Flash Morgan Webster came in and made the save.
– Toni Storm defeated Nina Samuels
Storm won the match with a backbreaker.
Moustache Mountain came out for a promo. They want the NXT UK tag team titles, but need other teams to come in first.
– Dave Mastiff defeated Sid Scala
Mastiff won after a rolling turnbuckle backflip.
WWE UK GM Johnny Saint came out to introduce the next match…
– Pete Dunne defeated Noam Dar to retain the WWE UK title
Dunne pinned Dar with the Bitter End to retain.
– Kenny Williams and Joseph Conners went to a no contest
The match was stopped when Conners was knocked out by a William head kick over the top rope. He did get up and walk out with the help of officials.
– Dakota Kai defeated Killer Kelly
Kai won after a sunset flip pin following some turnbuckle kicks. After the match, she made clear that she wanted a shot at the NXT UK women’s title.
– Ashton Smith defeated Tucker
Smith defeated Tucker after a DDT.
– Trent Seven defeated Saxon Huxley
Seven pinned Huxley after the Seven Stars lariat.
– Flash Morgan Webster defeated Mark Coffey
Webster won with an armbar pin. Mark Andrews and Travis Banks came in for the save after Joe Coffey got involved.
– Tyler Bate defeated Wolfgang
Bate picked up the win after the Tyler Driver.
– Danny Burch defeated Sam Gradwell
Burch defeated Gradwell after the Tower of London. He then challenged Dunne to a title match.
– Zack Gibson defeated Noam Dar
Gibson defeated Dar by submission with the helter skelter.
It appears that Noam Dar will be out of action for the next several months.
After WWE announced on 205 Live this week that Dar had a knee injury that would require surgery, an article on WWE.com noted that Dar underwent successful surgery on his left knee in Orlando yesterday. WWE claims that Dar suffered the injury, which was a “bucket handle” tear of his meniscus, in the cruiserweight fatal four-way match on the November 27th episode of Raw. He then got an MRI done this Monday after weeks of lingering issues.
While the exact time it will take him to recover from the injury hasn’t been confirmed, Dar said in the WWE.com article that he’s more than likely going to be out for around five months. Dar also said he hopes training at the Performance Center will reduce the timetable.
Dar has most recently been part of Enzo Amore’s Zo Train stable on Raw and 205 Live. His last match before getting surgery was against Cedric Alexander on December 5th.
Neville and Austin Aries had one final confrontation before Extreme Rules, with Neville getting the upper hand thanks to TJP. Drew Gulak once again scored a win over Mustafa Ali, continuing to prove that being on the ground works best.
Noam Dar and Alicia Fox gained momentum heading into their mixed tag match on Sunday, with Dar picking up a win over Rich Swann thanks to Fox’s help.
Show Recap —
Noam Dar and Alicia Fox came out to start the show. Fox said that Dar completes her and nothing could break them up. Rich Swann and Sasha Banks are nothing but yokes and jokes, she says (at least, I think that was the quote). They plugged their Extreme Rules mixed tag match, which will be on the pre-show.
As Fox was continuing to rant on about Banks, Swann came out, with Banks following. Banks said she and Swann share a lot of things in common, unlike Dar and Fox — they like to dance, and know about fashion. She and Fox exchanged barbs over their weaves before the match started.
Noam Dar defeated Rich Swann
Dar worked on Swann’s arm. Swann was mounting a comeback when Fox grabbed him by the leg. Banks and Fox had a brawl, with Banks snatching part of Fox’s weave. During this ruckus, Swann missed a charge in the corner which allowed Dar to lay him out with a knee strike for the win.
Dasha Fuentes interviewed Cedric Alexander about what just happened. He said Fox and Dar will get what’s coming to them at Extreme Rules. Rehabbing for three months doesn’t seem like a long time, but now he has to go out there and make up for lost time.
Cedric Alexander defeated Corey Hollis
Hollis honed in on Alexander’s injured knee, but Alexander made a quick comeback and pinned him with the Lumbar Check.
They showed a recap of what went down last week between Akira Tozawa and Brian Kendrick, where Tozawa defeated him in a street fight.
Drew Gulak defeated Mustafa Ali
Gulak came out to do his spiel about 205 Live becoming a No Fly Zone when Ali shut him up with a dive to the floor. Gulak came back with rest holds for heat. Ali made a comeback but when executing a crossbody attempt Gulak reversed the cover and got the win.
Gulak said that the victory wasn’t for him. It was for those who believe in his message for what 205 Live should be. Ali lost, and he needs to learn high flying doesn’t pay, staying on the ground is the way.
Austin Aries made his way to the ring. Ever since last night, people have been messaging him on social media. Not because of his new book, but because of the tap heard around the world. They showed footage of what went down on Raw, then they showed it again just in case anyone in the audience didn’t see. He said this may be the first time that Neville tapped, but only because the other two times Neville found a way to escape.
Neville came out and said last night he got lucky. This is how you carry yourself? You have no decorum. This Sunday, the King of the Cruiserweights will eradicate you once and for all. He claimed that 205 Live is his kingdom.
TJP jumped Aries from behind as Neville joined in on the fray. With TJP holding Aries, Neville kicked his knee in a bowing position, then took him out and locked in the Rings of Saturn. He stood over Aries as the show closed.
Final Thoughts —
This was an okay show that built well to Extreme Rules. The positive about 205 Live is that there are a number of storylines that are well highlighted and work well on paper. Problem is, the execution is super dry. Add in the uninterested crowd and standard WWE-style of work, and you have a solid but uninspiring program.
Another match was added to the card for Extreme Rules prior to tonight’s go-home episode of Raw.
Sasha Banks will be teaming with Rich Swann to take on Alicia Fox & Noam Dar in a mixed tag match at the pay-per-view. The match was announced in a video that WWE posted this afternoon, with Banks and Swann cutting a promo on their opponents.
Banks has feuded with Fox and Dar on Raw over the last few weeks. Swann has also had a long-running program with the couple.
Extreme Rules will take place this Sunday at the Royal Farms Arena in Swann’s hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. The updated lineup for the show is:
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt in a fatal five-way extreme rules match (the winner will get a future shot at Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship)
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Bayley in a kendo stick on a pole match
Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose defending against The Miz (Ambrose can lose his title by disqualification)
Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardys defending against Cesaro & Sheamus in a steel cage match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville defending against Austin Aries in a submission match
Sasha Banks & Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox & Noam Dar in a mixed tag match
The Big Takeaway: Aleister Black made his show debut by squashing Curt Hawkins, then Noam Dar and Gran Metalik put on a good match to make it a thoroughly enjoyable Main Event.
**********
Aleister Black defeated Curt Hawkins (2:00)
Hawkins cuts a pre-match promo, asking who’s ready for a “heaping helping of Hawkins?” He does some awful comedy aimed at the British, but much to everyone’s delight, Aleister Black from NXT comes out to “face the facts.”
Black wrestled under the name of Tommy End in Europe and the UK, but was born in Amsterdam, Holland. At TakeOver: Orlando, Black made his televised in-ring debut in NXT, defeating Andrade “Cien” Almas and this marks his main roster debut (even if it’s only temporary).
Black’s speed and talent is too much for Hawkins, who is an excellent foil for him here. He cuts an imposing figure — he has the height and bulk, but a fairly unique look. After sending Hawkins outside, he threatens a suicide dive, but instead does a flip off the second rope, lands on his feet, and sits cross-legged in the middle of the ring, staring back at Hawkins.
After giving a little of the match to Hawkins, Black takes over. His moveset is full of kicks, leg lariats, and forearm strikes. He’s agile, athletic, and impressive. After two charges into the corner, he boots Hawkins to the mat and then drags his chin up with his foot and hits a roundhouse kick (the Black Mass) for the win.
This was exactly what the crowd at the O2 would have wanted from Main Event.
Noam Dar defeated Gran Metalik (7:47)
It was good to see Noam Dar in action in front of the London crowd. These two are really talented and Dar and Metalik put in some intricate work early on, but the crowd are a little subdued after the debut of Black. They come to life when Metalik open hand chops Dar and springs off the top rope with an armdrag that sends Dar outside.
Metalik stands on the apron and boots Dar in the face and then sets up a top rope springboard moonsault. After a little shaky footwork on the top rope, he lands the move perfectly and is safely caught by Dar as we head to a break.
Dar gets some support from the London crowd when he boots Metalik in the shin and he tumbles down to the matting outside. Dar rolls him back inside and slows things down, tying Metalik up with what looked like a standing STF. After more rest holds, Metalik gets a suplex in and both men go down.
After Dar kicks out of a running bulldog and a small package, Metalik hits Dar with a tope to the outside. They both crawl back in and Dar hits his impressive running enzuigiri to a nice pop and ends the match.
This was the second good Main Event show in as many weeks — and long may it continue.
NoamDar defeated Rich Swann, then leaped into Alicia Fox’s arms, officially reuniting with one another. Akira Tozawa once again had the upper hand in the never-ending Lesson Battle of the Ages. Drew Gulak proved that his way of wrestling was the best by defeating Mustafa Ali after a high-flying maneuver failed.
Show Recap —
We opened immediately to the aftermath from the show closing angle on SmackDown where Chris Jericho was being helped to the back after crashing into a post with a chair wrapped around his throat thanks to Kevin Owens.
Footage from Payback was then shown where Neville retained the Cruiserweight title after grabbing a referee just as Austin Aries seemed within reach of victory. TJ Perkins came out and helped Neville in a beatdown after that match.
Perkins opened the show. He was again referred to as just TJP.
TJP defeated Lince Dorado
This was pretty good. Dorado hasn’t been on 205 Live in forever so at least this felt like a fresh bout. They had a nice back and forth match. Dorado at one point struck TJP with a reverse double foot stomp that looked pretty cool. TJP grabbed Dorado’s mask, threw him down, then submitted him with the kneebar.
Cory Graves threw it to an interview he conducted earlier in the day with Brian Kendrick. He asked why things are so heated between Kendrick and Akira Tozawa. Kendrick said he felt insulted. He wanted Tozawa to be his protege but got rejected by him. He wanted to teach him anyway but he’s playing around instead, doing his chant. At that moment Tozawa jumped Kendrick and sat down. He said this is lesson number five — always leave an interview with an impact.
Drew Gulak came out for the next match with a microphone, saying that he was declaring Fresno a “No Fly Zone.”
Drew Gulak defeated Mustafa Ali
Gulak avoided Ali whenever he tried to go to the top rope for a move. They had a solid match overall, though nothing worth noting. Ali went for a frog splash, but Gulak got the knees up and rolled him over for the win.
Gulak was interviewed after the match, saying high flying doesn’t work. He said that fans lead these superstars to their demise by cheering for them. Ali crashed and burned tonight and it was because of them. He claimed to be the future of 205 Live because what he does works.
Noam Dar defeated Rich Swann
After a few minutes of back and forth action, Dar got the heat after laying out Swann with a clothesline while he was crotched on the middle rope. Dar focused on one of Swann’s arms as Swann fired back with a great tope con hilo to the floor. Swann looked great when on offense, laying out Dar with a leg drop off the barricade.
Swann then hit the Phoenix Splash. He held his arm before covering, leading to a kick out.
Dar caught Swann in mid-air and clenched in with an armbar until Swann made it to the ropes. He grabbed Swann’s fingers and went to do a stomp before Swann rolled out of the way. Swann went for another Phoenix Splash, but Dar clipped him before he could get to the top rope. Swann got up until being floored by a running enzuigiri, allowing Dar to score the win.
Alicia Fox came out after the match. She was all smiles as she seemed to be interested in rekindling her and Dar’s relationship. Dar was hesitant, but he eventually accepted and they reunited, Dar leaping into Fox’s arms as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts —
This was a weird show in that there was exactly zero follow up to the fallout from Payback. But this was fine in advancing the other programs that have been going on for what seems like forever on the show. Nothing was bad, but nothing felt fresh, either.
NXT was in Crystal River tonight with an estimated attendance of 200 people.
– TJ Perkins defeated Drew Gulak after submitting him with the kneebar.
– Cezar Bononi defeated Kishan Raftaar with a pumphandle slam.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Riddick Moss by submission with an armbar.
– Dan Matha did an interview explaining what it’s like to be an NXT superstar and a dominant big guy. The crowd was booing him heavily.
– NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defeated HoHo Lun & Mr. Bronson
Demitrius Bronson was making his NXT debut. He’s a former Seattle Seahawks RB and a product of the Performance Center. AOP won fast with a double powerbomb. Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic came out to make the save after the match.
– Ember Moon, Ruby Riot & Victoria Gonzalez defeated Mandy Rose, Kimber Lee & Mary Kate (the former Andrea, who was making her NXT debut) in a six-woman elimination tag match
Moon stood tall at the end by winning with a Michinoku Driver.
– Buddy Murphy defeated Steve Cutler after hitting a brainbuster.
– Daria Berenato defeated Aliyah by submission with an armbar.
– Rich Swann defeated Noam Dar by utilizing a backwards 450.
Results and image courtesy of @katieloud, who estimates that there were 250 people in attendance.
– Kassius Ohno defeated Kona Reeves
Death By Elbow for the win by Ohno.
– Babatunde Aiyegbusi was interviewed in the ring. He’s billed as 7 feet tall and towered over the ropes and the ring announcer.
– Heidi Lovelace defeated Macey Estrella
An impressive head kick put Estrella down.
– SAnitY (Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) w/ Nikki Cross defeated The Ealy Twins
Cross was ejected from ringside towards the finish, but SAnitY was still able to put the twins away.
– No Way Jose defeated Patrick Clark
Jose hit the wind-up punch to win.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka & Liv Morgan defeated Kimber Lee & Mandy Rose
A running knee by Asuka on Kimber scored the pin.
– Elias Samson defeated Buddy Murphy
The finish came after The Drifter hit a swinging neckbreaker.
– Tye Dillinger, Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins defeated NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain & Noam Dar
Dar kept claiming to be a bear in this match, as he was teaming with the much larger AOP. Dar was finally put away by a Tye Breaker to send everyone home happy.
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.
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.
