By Jason Powell
WWE 205 Live on WWE Network
Taped on Monday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Wells Fargo Center
A video recapped last week’s Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick main event and Kendrick taking out Swann and TJ Perkins afterward… The 205 Live opening video aired and then pyro shot off on the stage… Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, and Austin Aries were on commentary…
1. Jack Gallagher vs. Drew Gulak. Graves noted that Gulak was working in his home city. He also said that he stayed at the same hotel as Gallagher last night and Gallagher’s mere presence gave the hotel and extra star. Gallagher tied up Gulak in a human pretzel as he did in his debut against Ariya Daivari. Once Gulak was free, he caught Gallagher with a kick to the face. Gulak also shoved Gallagher into the bottom rope. Later, Gallagher connected with his headbutt
Jack Gallagher defeated Drew Gulak in 5:35.
Powell’s POV: I assumed this was a showcase match for Gallagher and little more, but this may have been Gulak’s best singles outing in WWE. He was able to show aggressiveness that we haven’t seen from him in the past. Gallagher continues to be the standout of the division. I thought he would continue his feud with Ariya Daivari on this show. Here’s hoping that match makes it’s way to WWE Roadblock even if it is a Kickoff Show match.
Backstage, TJ Perkins told Rich Swann that he isn’t going to be his friend, he will be the same guy who eliminated him from the Cruiserweight Classic. He said when he kicks him this time, it will be on purpose. He said that the thing about luck is that it always runs out…
A Tajiri video package aired. He was listed as “coming soon”…
Powell’s POV: What kind of a friend keeps telling his buddy that his wins have been lucky. I can’t tell whether they are turning Perkins heel or if they are just oblivious as to how much of a dick they are making him out to be. Meanwhile, Tajiri tweeted that he would be returning to WWE full-time in the spring. Will they drag out his video packages longer than the Emmalina teasers or is he going to show up sooner than he teased?
Backstage, Todd Phillips congratulated Gallagher on his win. Ariya Daivari showed up. Gallaher said he could understand if Daivari is a bit miffed after the thrashing he gave him on Raw. Gallagher brought up what Daivari did to his knee. He said he was willing to shake hands and call it even. Daivari said they are not even, but they will be….
2. Mustafa Ali vs. Lince Dorado. Both men had brief pre-taped promos that aired during their entrances. Ali played up the way the crowds react to his name even though they don’t know anything about him. Dorado hit a nice dropkick to the back of the head early on. Later (following a network hiccup on my system), Dorado hit an Asai moonsault. Both men stayed down. Ali returned just after the referee counted to ten and protested.
After the match, Dorado offered a handshake. Ali blew it off and then sucker punched him. Dorado came back with a spinning heel kick that cleared Ali from the ring…
Mustafa Ali fought Lince Dorado to a double count-out in roughly 4:40.
Powell’s POV: A good match with Dorado performing some flashy moves. The Ali character seems to be that of a guy who complains about people’s perceptions of him based on his name, yet he’s actually an a-hole. It’s clever if that’s the case.
Backstage, Noam Dar told Alicia Fox that he’s surprised she hasn’t asked him about last week. She recalled him dedicating his match to her. She said she has a boyfriend. “Of course you do,” Dar replied. “I’ll see you around, Alicia”…
An ad for NXT asked who would move a step closer to becoming No. 1 contender to the NXT Title…
The broadcast team set up a TJ Perkins video package. Just in case you missed it the first 10,000 times, he was homeless at one point… Ring entrances for the main event took place…
3. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann vs. TJ Perkins in a non-title match. Just as the match was about to start, Brian Kendrick’s music played. He walked out and waved to Swann and Perkins before joining the broadcast team. Kendrick said that while Swann has had his number, the success will go to his head and that’s when he’ll capitalize.
The in-ring action was back and forth and entertaining. Swann performed a nice double stomp and then rolling thunder for a two count at 4:45. Swann performed a moonsault off the apron that Perkins avoided. Swann landed on his feet. Ranallo played up Swann tweaking his knee. “That would be a shame, wouldn’t it?” Kendrick quipped.
Perkins went on the offensive while Swann sold the knee injury. Aries praised Perkins for not shying away from targeting the knee of Swann. At 7:55, Swann caught Perkins with a nice kick, but he continued to sell his left knee and was slow to get up. The wrestlers traded chops and the fans wooed. Perkins went for a double chicken wing, but Swann rolled him up for two.
Perkins hoisted up Swann, who escaped and hit a Tiger Bomb for a two count. Aries said they were digging deep to impress Kendrick. He asked if Kendrick was impressed. Kendrick said he was. Perkins applied his kneebar finisher. Swann reached for the ropes, but he had to tap out…
TJ Perkins defeated Rich Swann in a non-title match in 9:50.
After the match, Kendrick said he was going to congratulate Perkins and Swann. Kendrick clapped as he walked to ringside and entered the ring. Kendrick offered to help Swann to his feet, but Swann shoved his hand away. Kendrick turned and then Perkins blasted him with a kick. Swann stood up and Perkins teased kicking him too, but stopped and told him he could have had him. Graves said you had to respect the mind games heading into their Triple Threat at Roadblock. Ranallo hyped the pay-per-view to close the show…
Powell’s POV: A very good main event and post-match angle. Sure, Perkins still comes off like a dick, but Graves was there to put it into context by saying he was playing mind games. This show was taped on Monday night before Raw. I don’t know if they sweetened the crowd noise, but it seemed like people were more engaged and there certainly weren’t people leaving. One can only wonder if they will consider taping the show prior to Smackdown despite the 205 Live name. Overall, a good edition, and one that clocked in at 44 minutes rather than going close to the top of the hour as the first two shows did. I’ll be by with a member exclusive audio review of 205 Live late tonight or on Wednesday morning.
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