By Jason Powell
WWE 205 Live on WWE Network
Aired live from Jacksonville, Florida at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
A recap of Neville’s win over Rich Swann in a non-title match from last week opened the show… The 205 Live opening video aired… The broadcast team was Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, and Austin Aries. Graves announced that Swann is not medically cleared and attributed it to the attacks by Neville. He said TJ Perkins stepped up and will face Neville in the main event…
1. Tajiri vs. Sean Maluta. Maluta did not receive a televised entrance, and Tajiri received a flat reaction. The wrestlers shook hands before the match. Tajiri applied the Tarantual, which Aries referred to as four seconds of torture. Tajiri threw a series of kicks and his springboard elbow before throwing a high kick to the head and getting the win…
Tajiri defeated Sean Maluta in 2:55.
After the match, Brian Kendrick walked onto the stage and welcomed Tajiri to 205 Live. Kendrick entered the ring as he told Tajiri it was so good to see an old friend and a fellow pioneer of the cruiserweight division. Kendrick pushed Maluta to ringside, saying he had to get rid of the trash. Kendrick offered Tajiri a handshake. Tajiri shook his hand, then spat green mist into his face…
Powell’s POV: It’s always nice to see Tajiri, but it was disappointing that the live crowd didn’t seem to care about him. Kendrick’s delivery in the post-match promo was so over the top that you had to know Tajiri wasn’t going to be on the same page as him, but for a moment there the idea of an older group of cruiserweights putting over some of the younger cruiserweights sounded like fun.
Backstage, Neville was interviewed by Dasha Fuentes, who said TJ Perkins never would have been champion had he been in the division to start with. Neville said he has been discriminated against since he arrived in “this second-rate country.” Neville said no one cares about his hardships, and he’s never been taken seriously in the country because of how he talks and looks. He said the system is broken and he’s creating his own. Neville said he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him and that’s what makes him dangerous. Neville said TJP’s 15 minutes of fame are over…
A Tony Nese video package aired…
2. Jack Gallagher vs. Tony Nese (w/Drew Gulak). One guy stood out in the crowd because he was clapping during Gallagher’s entrance. Ugh. A recap of the duel between Gallagher and Ariya Daivari was shown. The guy who cheered for Gallagher joined everyone else in not applauding Nese and Gulak.
Gallagher did a handstand on the top rope. Nese teased chasing, but Gallagher put one foot down. Nese stopped and he put the other down. Gallagher flipped off the ropes to avoid Nese once he charged. Gallagher dumped Nese to ringside. Daivari ran out and slipped his bad leg from behind for the DQ. Daiviari attacked Gallagher and got heat while yelling that Gallagher embarrassed him…
Jack Gallagher defeated Tony Nese by DQ in 2:20.
Powell’s POV: The Gallagher vs. Daivari feud rages on! Does Jacksonville have the internet? It looks like a good number of fans stuck around for 205 Live, but they just don’t seem to be reacting to any of the cruiserweights. Gallagher may have won them over given the heat they gave Daivari.
Backstage, Cedric Alexander told Alicia Fox that what happened on Raw is not her fault. They kissed…
3. Noam Dar vs. Mustafa Ali. The wrestlers shook hands before the bell. Graves said Ali told him he looked up to Aries. Ranallo asked Aries what he liked about Ali. Aries said he didn’t know yet. Ouch, yet true to the Aries persona. Dar targeted the left arm of Ali. Aries praised him for being crafty. Ali came back with a nice tornado DDT. Ali caught Dar with a kick from the apron, then performed a summersault through the ropes and into a neckbreaker. Ali dove into a Fujiwara armbar, but eventually escaped. Ali caught Dar with a kick in the corner and followed up with an inverted 450 Splash for the win…
Mustafa Ali beat Noam Dar in 6:30.
After the match, Dasha entered the ring and asked Dar how he planned to bounce back. He said he needs lady luck by his side. Dar said Alicia Fox is always welcome in his corner…
Powell’s POV: The best match of the show thus far. This was Ali’s best outing on 205 Live and he won the crowd over with his flashy offense. I really liked the way Dar worked the arm, and the Ali continued to sell it even after he picked up the win. I’d definitely like to see more from these two.
An Akira Tozawa video package aired. He’s still listed as “coming soon”… A UK Title tournament special commercial aired… Neville made his entrance for the main event. He stopped to glare at a young fan who gave him the thumbs down. Backstage, Tom Phillips interviewed TJ Perkins, who praised Neville for being dominant in the ring, but being a complainer outside the ring. Perkins said Neville has become a bully and sometimes you just have to stand up and kick a bully in the face…
4. Neville vs. TJ Perkins. The referee called them to the middle of the ring for a handshake. They looked at one another and Perkins declined. The color commentators both appreciated the lack of sportsmanship. Perkins got off to the quick start and Neville was censored when he went to ringside and slammed his hand on the mat. Neville got Perkins to chase him to the floor and then stomped him when he tried to follow him back inside the ring. Neville performed a missile dropkick.
At 5:15, Neville missed a corkscrew 450 splash from the middle rope when Perkins rolled out of the way. Perkins threw some quick kicks and a neckbreaker. At 6:30, Perkins performed a cross body block off the top rope for a two count. Perkins followed up a short time later with a springboard Frankensteiner for another two count.
At 9:05, Perkins went for a kneebar, but Neville caught him and powered into a bridging German suplex for a two count. Perkins kicked Neville and then went up top slowly. Neville crotched Perkins, then caught him with a superplex for the win…
Neville defeated TJ Perkins in 11:35.
Powell’s POV: A good main event with Perkins getting more offense than expected. Perkins still needs to work on his persona. He is a likable guy with some great offensive moves, but there’s just a cockiness to his character that is a turnoff. Neville continues to be a blast two watch as a heel, and I like that he’s performing a superplex rather than the Red Arrow as his finisher. Heels shouldn’t outshine the babyfaces with a high flying finisher, and there’s arguably no finishing move that is more impressive than the Red Arrow. Overall, this was a good edition that could be better if they would give viewers some incentive to be excited about the next show by advertising something in advance.
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