SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE 205 LIVE
SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
NEW YORK, NY
REPORT BY MICHAEL TAYLOR, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Vic Joseph, Aiden English, Nigel McGuiness, Dio Madden
-The show opened with a video package highlighting the number one contender situation over the last two weeks, specifically the victory of Humberto Carrillo over Oney Lorcan, and Lince Dorado over Carrillo. With victories for both Dorado and Carrillo, a triple threat match was made official for Clash of Champions between Drew Gulak, Carrillo, and Dorado. The package also highlighted the attack of Tony Nese and Gulak on Carrillo and Dorado. Following the recap was the 205 Live intro. video.
-After panning the crowd, the cameras stayed with announcers Vic Joseph and Aiden English. The two celebrated 205 Live’s debut in Madison Square Garden. Joseph and English noted that Nigel McGuinness had left the 205 Live announce team to concentrate on NXT full time. They then named his replacement, former NFL offensive tackle and NXT wrestler Dio Madden. The music of Akiria Tozawa began.
(Taylor’s Analysis: it’s a positive that Nigel is sticking with NXT full time, as his experience and personality will surely be an anchor for the live broadcast on USA. I always prefer a two-person announce team, but it will be interesting to hear how Dio Madden adapts to his new role.)
(1) Akira Tozawa & The Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher & A Mystery Partner
Tozawa and Kendrick made their ring entrance followed by Gallagher. Gallagher stopped at the top of the stage with a microphone and addressed Kendrick. First, Gallagher claimed he had been absent from 205 Live due to injury. He then announced his mystery partner to be Kushida.
(Taylor’s Analysis: I don’t think it’s likely that Kushida is moving to 205 Live full time, as he barely got any time to shine in NXT. Hopefully, this means that the 205 Live roster will start integrating with the NXT roster and will have a better platform to compete on – that being live on NXT’s weekly show.)
-After the bell rang, a brief “Kushida!” chant broke out. Kushida and Kendrick started the match with Kendrick getting the advantage with a standing armbar. The two exchanged grapple holds until Kushida got the best of Kendrick and mocked him before both men made it to their feet. From there, Kushida locked in his own standing armbar which Kendrick broke out of by pushing Kushida into the ropes. The pace quickened until Kushida hit an arm drag into an armbar on the mat. Frantically, Kendrick made his way to the bottom rope and was able to reach it with his foot. The referee broke the hold, and with Kendrick now on his feet, Kushida continued to target Kendrick’s arm. Kushida tagged Gallagher who leveraged a modified armbar into a one count. From the pin attempt, Kendrick tagged Tozawa. Tozawa entered the ring and he traded headlocks with Gallagher. The pace quickened with an Irish whip from Gallagher which was reversed by Tozawa. Tozawa then attempted a sunset flip but landed on his feet. With Gallagher on his back, Tozawa attempted a running kick but Gallagher caught Tozawa’s leg and rolled him into a pin attempt. From there, Tozawa backed Gallagher towards Kendrick and Kendrick made a blind tag. With his focus on Tozawa, Gallagher was blindsided as Kendrick threw Gallagher shoulder first into the LED ring post. After rolling to the floor, Gallagher was forced back into the ring by Kendrick who got a two count. From there, Tozawa was tagged by Kendrick and the two completed a tandem hip toss on Gallagher. After landing an elbow drop, Tozawa attempted another pin fall. Both men returned their feet with Tozawa faking a right hand which Gallagher tried to block. Once Gallagher dropped his hands, Tozawa landed the strike which caused Gallagher to fall to his back. A tag was made from Tozawa to Kendrick and once in the ring, Kendrick landed a suplex for a two count. Out of the pin, Kendrick tagged Tozawa. Kendrick and Tozawa hit a modified back body drop and a tandem kick to Gallagher’s chest before Tozawa attempted another pin fall. Another tag was made to Kendrick. A double team maneuver was attempted, but Gallagher was able to counter the move and made a diving tag to Kushida.
(Taylor’s Analysis: Kendrick and Tozawa did a good job working Gallagher down, and Gallagher sold the offense well. This did not lead to much of a reaction upon the hot tag to Kushida, though. The crowd was supposed to view Kendrick and Tozawa as heels in this match, but the heel/face presentation in WWE is inconsistent and it really hurts matches like this one.)
-Kushida entered the ring with a springboard forearm to Kendrick. With both Tozawa and Kenrick in the ring, Kushida landed a flurry of offense on both men. Kushida then hit a summersault DDT on Kendrick and transitioned into an armbar. Before Kendrick could tap, Tozawa broke the hold. Gallagher returned to the ring and held Tozawa in place for Kushida to hit a running kick to Tozawa’s mid-section. Kendrick then booted Gallagher out of the ring and attempted a backslide on Kushida for a two count. From there, Kendrick attempted to lock in the captain’s hook but Kushida was able to return to his feet. With his back against the ropes, Kushida ducked a charging Kendrick who fell to the floor. From the apron, Gallagher signaled for the tag but was pulled to the floor by Kendrick before Kushida could reach him. Gallagher was thrown in the barricade by Kendrick, which was then followed by summersault dive from the ring steps by Tozawa.
(Taylor’s Analysis: Ouch. That fall by Tozawa nasty.)
Quickly, Tozawa and Kendrick returned to the ring and both men splashed Kushida in the corner. From there, Kendrick held Kushida in place for Tozawa’s running kick, but Kushida reversed the hold. Tozawa kicked Kendrick inadvertently, which allowed Kushida to lock in a submission on Kendrick for the tap out victory.
WINNERS: Jack Gallagher & Kushida via submission
(Taylor’s Analysis: Nothing special here, and not much of a showcase for Kushida. Most of the match was an attempt to get heat on Kendrick and Tozawa by beating down Gallagher. I would have preferred a dominant singles win for Kushida where he got to show off more of his offense.)
-A segment with the Singh Brother’s aired at the “Bollywood Actor’s Studio”. The two spoke about how they deserved more world-wide recognition and vowed to be featured the next time 205 Live emanated from Madison Square Garden.
(Taylor’s Analysis: I continue to dislike these segments. The Singh brothers would have made good foes for Kushida to destroy upon his 205 Live debut.)
-Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviewed Mike Kanellis. Schreiber asked about the recent actions of Tony Nese, who Kanellis defeated the week prior. Angrily, Kanellis stated he had beaten Nese, Kendrick, and others but was still not in the Cruiserweight title picture. Kanellis went on to say that he needed to do something in order to impress his wife, Maria. Maria then walked up to the Mike and said Mike’s victory over Nese was only done for himself and not their family, and then threatened to leave him. The camera briefly held on Mike Kanellis as he looked distraught.
(Taylor’s Analysis: Maria’s treatment of Mike is very uncomfortable to watch. Seeing anyone stand back and accept obvious emotional and verbal abuse isn’t fun or entertaining. What is the payoff here? Mike Kanellis heroically walks out on his pregnant wife?)
(2) Humberto Carrillo & Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak & Tony Nese
As Carrillo and Dorado made their way to ringside, they were attacked by Gulak and Nese. A brawl between the four men continued until Ariya Daivari attacked Dorado. Nese and Daivari double teamed Dorado as all five men ended up inside the ring. The music of Lucha House Party played, and Gran Metalik ran to the ring. From the apron, Metalik hit a springboard drop kick on Nese and Daivari. With his attention now on Gulak, Metalik hit a springboard back elbow.
-Carrillo took the microphone and challenged Gulak, Nese, and Daivari to a six-man tag team match. Gulak accepted the match on behalf of Nese and Daivari.
WINNER: No Contest
(Taylor’s Analysis: Where was the general manager to approve this decision? Wrestlers shouldn’t be able to change matches like this. Why have an authority figure?)
(3) Humberto Carrillo & Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik vs. Drew Gulak & Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari
The referee rang the bell and the match began with Dorado and Daivari. Dorado got the best of Daivari quickly, which caused Tony Nese to pull Daivari to the outside of the ring. While on the outside, Gulak and Nese attempted to console Daivari but Dorado dove over the top rope and took out all three men. With Daivari and Dorado back in the ring, Dorado hit a head-scissor take down followed by several strikes and kicks. After being shoved into the corner, Dorado jumped to the ring apron and made his way to the top rope and hit a diving cross body for a two count. From the pin fall attempt, Dorado tagged Metalik. With Daivari held in place, Metalik jumped over the rope and landed a strike to Daivari’s arm. Metalik then tagged in Carrillo who did the same. After a quick armbar was applied, Carrillo tagged in Dorado also attacked Daivari’s arm. Desperately, Daivari kneed Dorado in the stomach and made a quick tag to Gulak. A charging Gulak was met with a quick arm drag from Dorado. Dorado was then positioned by Gulak on the top rope, but Dorado dove over Gulak and hit a modified head-scissor take down. To keep the advantage, Dorado ran to the ropes to gain momentum before his next maneuver but was stopped by a kick from Daivari on the ring apron. After the illegal kick, Gulak attempted a pin fall for a two count.
-After a tag, Nese entered the ring and synched in a headlock on Dorado. Nese then tagged Daivari who whipped Dorado into the corner chest first. From there, Daivari mounted Dorado and hit a series of strikes. After dragging Dorado to his corner, Daivari tagged in Gulak who stomped on a prone Dorado and followed up with a headbutt, and a tag to Nese. Once in the ring, Nese distracted the referee while Daivari chocked Dorado from the ring apron. From there, Nese tagged Gulak who continued to punish Dorado. Dorado countered an Irish whip into the corner by jumping to the top rope and hitting a hurricanrana on Gulak. Although he took the brunt of the maneuver, Gulak was able to use the momentum and make his way back to his corner to tag in Nese. Once back in the ring, Nese tried to stop the tag from Dorado to Metalik but was unsuccessful. After the tag, the pace quickened dramatically as both Dorado and Nese evaded each other with a series counters and reversals. Metalik then hit a missile drop kick from the second rope which caused Nese to retreat to the outside of the ring. A charging Metalik attempted to dive over the top rope onto Nese but was blocked by Daivari. In retaliation to the block, Metalik struck Daivari who fell from the apron to the floor. From there, Metalik tried to dive onto Nese, but Nese evaded and hit Metalik with a running back elbow.
(Taylor’s Analysis: The crowd was distracted by something and kept breaking into an indiscernible chant at this point in the match. Many of them were turning to the back of the arena with their phones out. Was this a symptom of a late night, lack of interest in the match, or just the crowd finding an opportunity to entertain itself? I suspect it was a combination of all three of those.)
-Back in ring, Gulak was tagged by Nese who stomped on Metalik from second rope and attempted a pin fall. From the two count, Gulak tried to rip off Metalik’s mask. Daivari tagged in and continued to punish Metalik. Another tag between Daivari took place and Gulak hit a powerslam on Metalik. From there, Gulak tagged in Nese who locked in a body scissor submission hold. Nese pulled Metalik over to his corner and Daivari made a tag. After an Irish whip into the corner, Daivari attacked Dorado and then tried to bait Carrillo to enter the ring. With Daivari distracted, Metalik hit sling blade and tagged in Carrillo. At the same time, Daivari tagged in Gulak. Carrillo’s flurry of offense got the better of Gulak quickly and Carrillo attempted a pin fall. As Daivari entered the ring to break up the pin fall, Carrillo jumped to his feet and knocked Daivari out of the ring. From there, Carrillo hit a springboard splash on Gulak and then a springboard kick on Nese. Carrillo then hit a moonsault from the top rope to the floor on all three of his opponents. Carrillo then threw Gulak back in the ring and attempted a pin fall. With Gulak stunned, Carrillo hit a missile drop kick. A returning Nese broke up Carrillo’s pin fall attempt on Gulak. Dorado then jumped from the top rope into the ring and hit a tornado DDT on Nese. Daivari then hit a Persian splash on Dorado but was then met with a diving elbow drop from Metalik. From there, Gulak hit a modified slam on Carrillo and executed a chin lock. Nese was then tagged in and hit a 450 splash on Carrillo for a very close two count. All six wrestlers entered the ring and climbed to three of the corners in pairs. Gulak, Nese, and Daivari fell from the top rope to the mat. Dorado, Carrillo, and Metalik all attempted moonsaults, but each were met with boots. The faces slowly stood to their feet, and then all hit a superkicks on the attacking heels. All six men laid prone in the ring. Gulak and Dorado were deemed the legal men by the referee. After countering a head-scissor take down, Gulak hit a sit-down powerbomb on Dorado. Frantically, Carrillo rushed into the ring to stop the pin fall attempt by Gulak. Chaos followed as each man ran into the ring. With Daivari now on the ring apron, Metalik charged him, jumped over the tope rope, and hit a hurricanrana from the apron to the floor.
(Taylor’s Analysis: This was the move of the night, but the match had gone on for far too long and was far too chaotic for the crowd to be invested.)
Back in the ring, Gulak attempted a slam but was countered by an elbow strike from Dorado. With Gulak on the mat, Dorado hit a 450 splash from the top rope for the win.
WINNERS: Humberto Carrillo & Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: There was no need for this match to go 20 plus minutes. It was way too long, and way too chaotic. Everyone worked very hard, but the crowd simply did not care past the 14:00 mark. The booking of this show felt very lazy, especially considering the fact it was the last before a pay-per-view. A show full of tag matches and uncomfortable character work is not the way to get people invested in this program. I’m sure the triple threat match at Clash of Champions will be worth watching, but what is the point if no one cares about the Cruiserweight title?)
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