By Zack Zimmerman
WWE 205 Live on WWE Network
Aired live from Boston, Massachusetts at TD Garden
A video package recapped last week’s main event No. 1 Contender’s match, which was won by Austin Aries… The opening video played…
Inside the arena, pyro went off and the commentary team of Tom Phillips and Corey Graves checked in from ringside. A graphic advertised tonight’s match between Jack Gallagher and TJ Perkins…
Brian Kendrick made his entrance. A recap showed Akira Tozawa getting the better of Kendrick last week, using Kendrick’s own underhanded tactics to get the win. Mustafa Ali was out next.
1. The Brian Kendrick vs. Mustafa Ali. The match went into Kendrick mode right out of the gate, despite some of Ali’s efforts to make movement around him. Ali used a running headscisssors and then took out Kendrick at ringside with a springboard crossbody. Drew Gulak was shown watching the match and talking on the phone backstage.
Kendrick slipped under the ring and re-appeared on the other side to sent Ali crashing into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Kendrick continued on at a methodical pace. He made Ali bite the bottom rope and then kicked the rope. Kendrick settled into a mounted cobra clutch hold.
Ali caught a kick attempt from Kendrick and returned with one of his own, and both guys were down. Back on their feet, Ali fired up with a series of kicks. He hit a front roll into a leaping neckbreaker for a two-count just shy of the seven-minute mark.
The two battled with Kendrick avoiding a tornado DDT attempt and hitting a running calf kick for a two-count of his own. Ali fought out of a Burning Hammer attempt and went to the top rope, but Kendrick crotched him and sank in the Captain’s Hook.
The bell rang, although Ali didn’t tap. It was revealed that Akira Tozawa was in disguise and rang the bell to fool Kendrick. Meanwhile, the match continued with Ali laying out Kendrick and landing the Imploding 450 for the win.
Mustafa Ali pinned The Brian Kendrick in about 9:00.
Replays aired and Ali celebrated his win. Then, Akira Tozawa took a microphone and said his lesson number two is that “appearances can be deceiving…”
A recap from Raw last night showed Neville talking TJ Perkins into turning heel and attacking Austin Aries after their match… Backstage, TJ Perkins was welcomed to the interview set. He said that tonight isn’t about what he did to Austin Aries, but what Aries did to him. He said that he was a hero in the Cruiserweight Classic and a gift to 205, but in a matter of days Aries came along and took the spotlight.
Jack Gallagher approached and asked that Perkins take a more gentlemanly approach to their match tonight than he took on Raw. Perkins scoffed him off and suggested that the bad luck that befell Aries last night might come around to Gallagher tonight… [C]
Zim Says: If you were to ask me to design a storyline to get the amazing Akira Tozawa as not over as I could, I would probably put him in a feud with Brian Kendrick resembling this one. The match was fine, in large part thanks to Ali, but the screwy ringbell stuff and weekly lessons are just so over-written and pointless. As for Perkins, he certainly makes a better heel than babyface, I’ll say that much.
Back in the arena, Rich Swann made his entrance. A replay from last week showed Swann announcing that he’s the one who’s been having gifts delivered to Alicia Fox. Swann’s opponent was already in the ring. He’s independent wrestler Shane Matthews, but they’re calling him Johnny Ocean.
2. Rich Swann vs. Johnny Ocean. Ocean got the better of Swann early, but Swann made a comeback, laid Ocean out with a spinning back kick, and put him away with the Phoenix Splash.
Rich Swann over Johnny Ocean in about 2:15.
After replays, Swann took a microphone. He reiterated that he’d been buying gifts for Alicia Fox and was about to explain why when he was interrupted by Noam Dar. Dar called him a disgusting liar. He claimed that he’d been sending Fox the gifts and questioned what kind of person interferes in someone else’s relationship. They were getting in each other’s face when Fox’s music hit and she walked to the ring.
Fox said that she believes Dar because they’re together and Swann is a liar. Another courier walked to the ring with a gift in-hand, and Dar jumped on the opportunity to take credit for the gift. He snatched the box and handed it to Fox before berating Swann. Swann left the ring and allowed Dar to give Fox the surprise. Fox opened it and it exploded with powder in her face and on her clothes. Swann fell out laughing, Dar sold it big, and Fox was heated.
Zim Says: Ok so can this story be done now? I’m so over it. These storylines on 205 are so dumb. Just let these talented small wrestlers go out and do what they do. Why bog them down with this nonsense?
Backstage, Austin Aries was asked to respond to TJ Perkins attacking him last night. Aries said that Perkins has shown a severe lack of judgement, evident by the fact that he continues to dab well into 2017. Aries said that Perkins is nothing but a buffer between himself and Neville, but nothing will stop him from winning the Cruiserweight Championship, nor from finishing his banana… [C]
Back in the arena, entrances for the main event took place. Jack Gallagher was out first, followed by TJ Perkins.
3. Jack Gallagher vs. TJ Perkins. Gallagher got the better of Perkins early with some nice ground-based offense. At the two-minute mark Perkins took Gallagher over with a headscissors and dabbed on him, but Gallagher came right back and grounded Perkins in a headscissors of his own.
Perkins escaped the hold with a fancy handspring maneuver before the fight went to ringside. Gallagher set up for the Mary Poppins plancha, but Perkins walked away and Gallagher never jumped. Back in the ring, Gallagher performed his corner headstand into a mule kick to the chest.
Gallagher looked to follow up, but Perkins put an immediate halt to that and used a foot DDT to begin to set Gallagher up for his finishing hold. Perkins targeted the leg with low kicks and then came over the top rope with a tope atomico. Perkins settled into an Indian Deathlock before releasing the hold to begin a nice back-and-forth sequence.
Perkins got the better of the exchange and Gallagher wound up in Perkins’s cloverleaf sharpshooter. Gallagher managed to reach the ropes and continued to show fight. Perkins used a suplex and then followed up with a back suplex for a two-count.
In the middle of the ring, Perkins had Gallagher tied up in a knot as he applied a double underhook lock. Shortly after the nine-minute mark, Gallagher fought free and began mounting his comeback. The two battled on the top turnbuckle, with Gallagher getting the better of it as he crunched Perkins in half with a back superplex.
The two continued to battle back and forth with Gallagher escaping the TJP Clutch and Perkins kicking out of a nice spinning backbreaker from Gallagher. With Gallagher at ringside, Perkins looked for the wrecking ball dropkick, but Gallagher trapped him under the ring apron and leveled him with a straight headbutt.
The crowd dueled with “this is boring – no it’s not” chants. Back in the ring, the two traded bows back and forth before Gallagher connected on another straight headbutt. Gallagher looked to charge for his dropkick, but his knee gave out. Perkins sent Gallagher crashing into the ringpost and then put him away with the Detonation Kick.
TJ Perkins defeated Jack Gallagher in about 15:30.
Replays aired. As Perkins was leaving, Neville came out and raised his arm on the stage while Gallagher was left in the ring to close the show…
Zim Says: Long match but pretty solid match.There just feels like such a step down in significance from Neville and Aries to everyone else on the show. There is a large pool of guys who are featured on the show frequently but feel so unworthy of being at the Cruiserweight Championship level. It’s a real issue in presentation and star-building, and the goofy stories certainly don’t help. Gallagher is a fine guy to help the Perkins heel turn, but big picture neither are the money makers of the brand and that’s what this show needs to be building. It’s late. I’ll have more to say tomorrow morning in audio form so be sure to check out DotNet membership and tune in! Thanks for reading along!
Throw comments, questions, criticisms, or corrections @DotNetZim or DotNetZim@gmail.com; always happy to discuss.
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