By Anish Vishwakoti, ProWrestling.net Staffer, (@AVX_9001)
WWE 205 Live on WWE Network
Streamed live on January 17, 2020 from Greensboro, North Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum
The show started with a video package recapping the cruiserweight action on NXT, which included Isaiah Scott earning a spot in the Fatal 4-Way match at Worlds Collide for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship… The announce team for tonight was Jon Quasto and Mansoor Al-Shehail of NXT siting in for Aiden English…
1. Tyler Breeze vs. Ariya Daivari. The match started with the two men locking up and Breeze getting smacked by a shoulder block before Daivari taunted Breeze in the corner. They locked up again and when Breeze got shot to the ropes he rebounded and hit Daivari with an Atomic Drop before trading taunts in the corner.
Breeze and Daivari then exchanged strikes, ending up on the outside and ramming Daivari into the barricade. When they rolled back into the ring, Daivari grabbed the hair of Breeze to gain an advantage and dragged him to the mat. Daivari then propped Breeze on the top rope and stomped on him in Tree-of-Woe position.
Daivari then placed him up right and tried for a Super-Back-Plex, but Breeze reversed it and forced Daivari to settle for pushing him off the top rope. Daivari tried for a cover but only got a two count. Daivari then hit a clothesline to go for another pin, but only earned another two count. Daivari locked in an arm triangle for a second, but this actually allowed Breeze to push Daivari off and Backdrop him over the top rope.
Daivari beat the count to get back in the ring and was met by a couple of strikes from Breeze, including a dropkick. Breeze couldn’t keep Daivari down and so he attacked him in the corner, tossing him into it, before Daivari got his breath and tried to whip Breeze into the referee. Breeze avoided making contact, allowing Daivari to hit the Uranage for a two count.
Daivari then slugged at Breeze’s face and tried for a running Lariat, but Breeze caught him coming in with a sudden Supermodel Kick. The crowd really bought this false finish, but Daivari kicked out. Breeze tried for the Unprettier to follow, up but Daivari forced a long exchange of moves in which each tried to hit their respective finishers. In a pretty cool sequence, Breeze reversed the Devil Lock Lariat to try for an Unprettier and when Daivari reversed that, Breeze hit the Beauty Shot to get the pinfall victory…
Tyler Breeze defeated Ariya Daivari by pinfall.
Anish’s Thoughts: This was a great opening match. The crowd was into it from the get-go and Daivari really did well to build sympathy for Breeze who himself did a great job making the crowd care about his actions in the match. Tyler Breeze’s matches so far have gotten great reactions, so I hope that whoever’s running 205 Live takes note of that.
2. Lio Rush vs. Sunil Singh. The Bollywood Boys took their sweet time dancing about the ring and so Rush hit them with a Tope and tossed Sunil into the ring to start the match himself. Rush hit Sunil with a number of quick strikes and knocked him to the mat. However, eventually Samir distracted Rush, allowing Sunil to whip him into the post on the outside.
Sunil wailed on Rush in the corner and then on the mat, and took his time taunting and dancing. Singh then locked Rush in a chin lock, dragging him to the mat and wearing him out. Rush eventually elbowed his way out and managed to rack Sunil with a boot to the face before knocking him to the outside.
Samir blocked a dive attempt by Rush and in the time, Samir tried to pull ‘Twin Magic’ and convince the ref that he was his brother. No matter how incompetent a Wrestling referee is in this day and age, you cannot confuse these two for each other, especially when they are wearing different ring gear. Therefore, the referee ejected Samir and allowed Rush to drag Sunil in and hit the Final Hour Frog Splash to get the pinfall victory…
Lio Rush defeated Sunil Singh by pinfall.
Anish’s Thoughts: This was a pretty good way to use the Bollywood Boys in terms of using the Bollywood Boys in any significant way goes. The fact that Samir attempted ‘Singh Magic’ was actually pretty funny in all honesty, and the fact that Rush beat them like that just makes him look good. No complaints here.
It was announced that the other two competitors in the Worlds Collide Cruiserweight title match would be decided on NXT UK in two qualifying matches. Ligero will take on Jordan Devlin and The Brian Kendrick will take on Travis Banks…
3. Raul Mendoza vs. Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott. Mendoza and Scott started off the match by getting the crowd hyped for this face versus face matchup. The two locked up and looked for wrist control, Mendoza being the smaller man had to use his wiles to keep Scott moving, eventually leading to an arm drag stalemate between the two.
The two engaged again, with Scott hitting a head scissors and then dropkicking Mendoza to the outside. Scott couldn’t capitalize however as Mendoza got right back into the ring and tossed Scott to the outside. Mendoza then worked on Scott in the corner, chopping him and grabbing the arm to whip him and hit a Clothesline, running knee combination.
Mendoza then used a Cravate lock to drain Scott’s breath and keep him grounded. Scott eventually fought out of it and hit Mendoza with a few strikes before tossing him to the outside, hitting a diving Axe Handle, then rolling him back into the ring and hitting a diving Uppercut. Scott then kept Mendoza under pressure and hit a running Flatliner which earned him a two count.
Scott took a little two long lamenting the two count, allowing Mendoza to get his bearings and catch him off guard with a package Front Suplex and get a two count of his own. Scott and Mendoza drifted to the corner and went strike for strike until eventually, Mendoza was able to hit a Springboard Hurricanrana and a Lionsault to earn another two count.
Mendoza didn’t let up and dropkicked Scott to the outside and followed up with a dive. Mendoza tried to hit a Phoenix Splash back in the ring, but Scott dodged and hit the running kick to the face, the ‘House Call’ to get the pinfall victory.
Isaiah Scott defeated Raul Mendoza by pinfall.
Anish’s Thoughts: Three good matches on NXT, with this last one especially being a really great match. While Scott and Mendoza didn’t have a story to work off, they did a good job putting their face vs. face dynamic out there and allowing the crowd to invest in this test of skills. Mendoza doesn’t look weak at all and Scott looks strong going into Worlds Collide.
Great show overall, and while we didn’t see Angel Garza, the show did move forward the idea that he is getting ready to defend in a Fatal 4-Way with contenders from across WWE, which makes the Championship seem coveted. Hopefully we get a little more of him in the future, but otherwise this was a really good show with a cool crowd that made better.
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