By John Moore
WWE 205 Live on WWE Network
Aired live October 11, 2017 in Grand Rapids, Michigan at Van Andel Arena
The intro teaser of 205 Live focused on Enzo Amore’s interactions on the prior night’s Raw. This included Enzo’s confrontation with Kurt Angle and subsequent Cruiserweight title loss in the main event of the show. The teaser spotlighted Mustafa Ali’s participation as a lumberjack against Enzo Amore…
John’s Thoughts: As for my initial thoughts on the Raw title change, I’m not a fan. I thought they had a good thing going with Enzo locking out the division from having title shots. This could have been a build for Kalisto or another non-205 wrestler to topple the current king of the brand. Instead, it’s hot potato.
After the 205 Live intro theme, Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary. Joseph hyped up the Rich Swann and TJP best-of-three falls match….
Renee Young was in the ring to introduce the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Kalisto made his way to the ring doing his Lucha thing. Renee asked Kalisto what the championship means to him. Kalisto said for the first time in 205 Live and the cruiserweight division there was a Luchador as Champion. Kalisto said it was a dream come true to win the title on his idol, Eddie Guerrero’s, birthday. Kalisto talked about bringing honor and respect to the title like Eddie. Kalisto was about to talk more about Enzo and Eddie before Enzo’s music cut him off.
John’s Thoughts: Is Kalisto secretly a masked babyface Chavo Jr. since he can’t help it but make Eddie the subject of all of his promos? Kalisto should look at old Rey Mysterio promos in respect and find out that you don’t have the mention the guy in every single segment.
Enzo Amore made his entrance and did his usual entrance routine which the crowd joined him in. He had Ariya Daivari at his side. Enzo said he didn’t come to crash Kalisto’s party and Enzo said he even has it tattooed on his stomach that he’s the life of the party. Enzo called Daivari a golden Sheik while calling Kalisto a tostido. Enzo said Kalisto is the champ but it doesn’t matter since this is the Zo show. Zo said he put the division on his back like a backpack and the division will only tip Kalisto over on his back. Enzo said Kalisto can’t carry the load. Enzo said there was homework in the backpack and it says that Enzo main evented Raw three weeks in a row.
Enzo said he is the godfather of the division and all of the cruiserweights are his sons. Enzo said as don he puts food on the table. Enzo said the “loserweights” are just enjoying the fruit of his labor. Enzo said those same losers held up Kalisto last night like it was the end of the Rudy movie. Enzo made excuses and said he wasn’t ready to defend his title. Enzo said he still took Kalisto to the woodshed and had Kalisto beat. Enzo said he was jacked by a lumberjack, Mustafa Ali. Enzo then talked about Kalisto doing it for Eddie Guerrero. Enzo then said Kalisto had to lie, cheat, and steal the title. Kalisto said Enzo said that weather it be an inch or a mile, a win is a win. Kalisto said he won and Enzo lost. Enzo said Kalisto was right in quoting him.
Enzo said Kalisto won by a millimeter and Kalisto looks like a centimeter. Kalisto said the title now looks disgusting next to Kalisto’s cheap mask. Enzo said Enzo makes the title look sexy by having it with Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Versace. Enzo said he makes Mucho Dinero while the only green that Kalisto is touching is guacamole. Enzo said Kalisto can try to spread his guac on bread but there is not going to be bread with Kalisto at the helm. Enzo then called Kalisto a corn chip and said he was taking the title back. Enzo and Daivari then outnumbered Kalisto in the ring. Mustafa Ali’s theme played as Ali ran out to clear out the heels. Kalisto did his Lucha thing to close the segment and taunt the heels… [C]
John’s Thoughts: Enzo was strong as usual on the mic. Kalisto was put in a tough spot here. Enzo is usually super-hot fire on the mic when on a roll and Kalisto by contrast is simply Arctic. With this showing, I wouldn’t mind a quick title change back to Enzo ASAP. Kalisto needs to not speak or at least stop talking about Rey and Eddie.
Rich Swann made his entrance for the upcoming match and had a microphone in hand. Swann said he wants Perkins to understand that the match they are about to have comes at a price and that price was their friendship. Swann said this is a warning that after he defeats Perkins there will be no handshakes and hugs. Swann said after it was all said and done there will be no forgiveness. Swann said he hopes this will be worth it for TJP after. Perkins then made his entrance wearing the spiked version of his Manik hoodie.
Before TJ could enter the ring, Swann caught Perkins with a flip dive to the outside. Perkins managed to turn the tide by tossing him around against the barricades. Perkins brought the action back to the ring so the referee can reset things. The referee made sure to ask Swann if he was physically able to continue.
1. Rich Swann vs. TJP in a best-of-three falls match. Perkins put the boots to Swann early on and took Swann to the outside to slam him on the announce table. Perkins threw Swann like a dart against the LED ringpost. Perkins locked in an early kneebar. Swann converted the submission to a bridge in his favor and managed to pick up the early pinfall over his rival.
Rich Swann earned the first fall via pinfall in 1:08.
Perkins was irate. Perkins laid on mounted punches and hit a high flapjack on Swann. Perkins then went for a few desperation pin attempts. Perkins then slowed things down a bit while also toying with Swann. Perkins body slammed Swann. Swann dodged a slingshot senton. After a counter sequence Perkins nailed Swann with a dropkick. Perkins gloated a bit and was caught by a Swann dropkick. Perkins dodged Swann and hit him with a springboard forearm. Perkins did a kip-up and dab. Perkins modified a chinlock into a straightjacket. Swann escaped and hit Perkins with a running high fly flow.
Perkins blocked a sunset flip and locked in a Texas Cloverleaf on Swann. Swann made it to the ropes for the break. Perkins dodged a Tiger Bomb and countered into a pin attempt. Swann made it to his feet and caught Perkins with his signature back hook kick. After a few lariats and kicks, Swann managed to hit the Tiger Bomb on Perkins. Perkins caught Swann with a kick. Swann came right back with a standing frankensteiner. Perkins blocked a rolling thunder splash.
Both men had a counter sequence and took each other out with stereo lariats. Perkins hit Swann with a CQC combo. Swann came back with a strong right hand. Perkins caught Swann on the apron with a pendulum dropkick. Swann caught a flying Perkins with a back-hook kick. Perkins pulled down Swann and converted a detonation kick into a knee bar. Swann made it to the bottom rope after some struggle. Perkins went for a pin. Swann countered with a suplex into a Michinoku Driver on TJP. Swann hit a unique somersault into a standing 450 for a nearfall. Rich Swann hit a successful Phoenix Splash on TJP to pick up the win.
Rich Swann defeated TJP 2-0 in 10:46.
Nigel talked about how it was not common seeing a sweep in these matches. The replays showed a slow-mo of the Phoenix Splash. Swann danced in celebration…
John’s Thoughts: Their last match was so dull and boring that I begged that they just cut the cord and move on from this. Thankfully, we got a pretty well worked and exciting match between Swann and Perkins to reinvigorate this program. I still hope both men move on from here but Perkins in particular has shown growth as a character in the past few weeks and both men put on a good match in the ring tonight. It was also refreshing to see one of these matches not go the distance as Nigel pointed out. Where Perkins grew was instead of being lackadaisical, he showed aggression and hopefully he continues to show aggression. Swann needs a repackage because they are presenting him as a world-beater yet as a character he doesn’t take anything seriously.
Backstage Enzo and Daivari were chatting. Enzo said first things first, Kalisto is a dirt bag. Enzo said second things first, “Mufasa” Ali is a dirtbag. Enzo said they have a win in the bag. Enzo said Mufasa and the kid who can’t wait to be king are about to learn about the circle of life. Drew Gulak walked in and said he empathizes with Enzo. Enzo asked who this guy was. Daivari said “captain underpants?”. Gulak told Daivari to watch his tone. Gulak said he likes Enzo’s values. Gulak then did a WWE Network plug in relation to his PowerPoint. Gulak then said that Kalisto breaks all of his rules. Gulak said he doesn’t support a chanting champion. Gulak said he doesn’t like the way Enzo dresses or his bombastic style, or even the way Daivari calls him Captain Underpants. Gulak said he “woke” like Enzo. Enzo said “what?”. Gulak said he’s about to get woke against Tozawa. As Gulak left, Enzo said “what just happened? something terrible…” [C]
Akira Tozawa made his entrance but was jumped from behind by Drew Gulak. Drew Gulak tossed Tozawa into the video wall. Gulak then rammed the chants lawn sign into the throat of Tozawa. Nigel noted that Gulak probably targeted Tozawa’s throat to prevent him from chanting. Tozawa sold throat pain… [C]
The announcers said that there will be a medical update on Tozawa at wwe.com. They then cut to a recap of the Cedric Alexander and Jack Gallagher encounter from last week. Backstage, Dasha Fuentes interviewed Cedric. Cedric said Kendrick refers to himself as the man with the plan. Alexander said he showed both Kendrick and Gallagher that he has a plan too. Alexander talked about how Gallagher and Kendrick talk down to him for not having an edge. Alexander said he knows exactly who he is. Alexander said even though he doesn’t break the rules or stab friends in the back, he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. Cedric said he’s not going to back down and when Kendrick and Gallagher have a plan they want to execute, he’ll be waiting…
Kalisto and Ali made their entrance first. Enzo came out next and cut a promo. He said Mufasa Ali is going to need surgery since his nose is not going to smell money once Enzo breaks his face. Enzo then just like sour cream there is one word to describe them. You know the rest…
2. Kalisto and Mustafa Ali vs. Enzo Amore and Ariya Daivari. Daivari started off against Ali, who told Daivari that he knows that Daivari is trying to isolate him in his corner. Enzo and Daivari tried to execute that but Ali kept the action in the middle of the ring. Enzo managed to get an upper hand over Ali after Daivari taunted Ali. Ali hit a popup dropkick on Enzo. Ali caught Enzo with a roundhouse. Daivari tripped Ali off the apron and set him up for Enzo. Enzo hit Ali with a reverse STO. Enzo and Daivari then isolated Ali in their corner. Enzo acted like he kicked a field goal in the gut of Ali.
Daivari locked in a rear bear hug on Ali. Ali countered and went for a rollup. Daivari blocked a tag attempt with a strong spinebuster. Enzo tagged in. Nigel sung the Prince Ali song for some reason. Ali caught Enzo’s kick and hit him with a spinning wheel kick. Kalisto tried to rally Ali with his Lucha thing. Kalisto tagged in and took down Daivari with a crossbody. Kalisto hit a handstand jumping kick on Daivari and then a frankendriver. Kalisto set up Enzo and Daivari outside for stereo dives to the outside.
Kalisto tried to do his Lucha thing. Enzo rammed Ali into the LED ringpost. This caught Kalisto’s attention which opened him up for a rollup attempt by Daivari. Kalisto hit the Selida Del Sol on Daivari for the win.
Kalisto and Mustafa Ali defeated Enzo Amore and Ariya Daivari via pinfall in 6:57.
Enzo and Daivari lightly argued up the ramp as the commentators went over the highlights…
John’s Thoughts: A solid TV main event with both men having designated fall guys so there was at least some mystery over the winner. Kalisto was the right guy to get the win here as Enzo didn’t have to take the loss and Kalisto needs to look dominant as the new champ. Daivari continues to keep himself a step above Tony Nese level due to putting in some solid and varied in ring work. Daivari teaming up with Enzo was the right move to cover up Enzo’s in-ring limitations.
Overall, this was a decent/harmless show to watch. Both matches delivered in some way. In particular, the Swann vs. TJP match was a solid match to go out of your way to see if you like either one of the wrestlers. I’m intrigued but not confident that they would do a good job with Kalisto as champ, especially how Kalisto can’t do anything other than talk about Eddie Guerrero or Rey Mysterio. At least he’s not U.S. Champ or else he’ll start talking about Ric Flair and John Cena every day too. I’ll have more thoughts on this show in my members’ exclusive audio review later today.
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