By Anish Vishwakoti, ProWrestling.net Staffer, (@AVX_9001)
WWE 205 Live on WWE Network
Streamed live on January 24, 2020 from Dallas, Texas at American Airlines Center
The show started with a recap of all the contenders journey to the NXT Cruiserweight Championship match at the upcoming Worlds Collide show featuring Angel Garza defending against Travis Banks, Jordan Devlin, and Isaiah Scott in a four-way…
1. Ariya Daivari vs. Tyler Breeze. This rematch from last week opened the show. The two started the match by slugging, Breeze managed to win out in the battle of fists and hit Daivari with a dropkick to force him into the corner where he followed up with mounted strikes. Breeze then pushed Daivari out of the ring and smacked his head off the announce table before rolling him back into the ring.
The two went back and forth in the corner, until eventually Daivari was able to trap Breeze on the apron between the middle and top rope and hit him with a knee to the outside. Daivari took his time showing off to the crowd before rolling Breeze back into the ring and hitting a rope rebound neckbreaker.
Daivari then chopped Breeze into the corner and while Breeze landed a counter chop, Daivari was able to rally and hit Breeze with a flooring back elbow. Daivari then attempted a chin lock, but rather ineffectively as Breeze was able to muscle out and toss Daivari over the top rope to the outside. Even this didn’t stop Daivari however as he was able to recover before Breeze and got right back into the ring to lock in a reverse Cravat hold.
Breeze muscled out of this as well and rebounded off the ropes, but the two met in the middle in a double cross body laying them both out. Breeze got up first and rocked Daivari with a couple of kicks and a running knee followed by a Lariat. Breeze then tried to set up for an Unprettier, but Daivari backed off into the turnbuckle to knock him off.
Breeze didn’t relent and when Daivari ran to the adjacent turnbuckle to try for a springboard maneuver, Breeze hit him with a Supermodel Kick to get a two count. Breeze followed up quickly with an Unprettier, but again couldn’t get the victory as Daivari got his foot to the bottom rope.
Breeze didn’t let up and attempted a standing suplex, but Daivari blocked it. Breeze tried for a surprise Beauty Shot, but Daivari dodged and got Breeze in position for the Devil Lock Lariat. A stunned Breeze managed to duck it and rolled through into a schoolboy to get a surprise pinfall victory.
Tyler Breeze defeated Ariya Daivari by pinfall.
After the match, we saw Daivari sulking in Gorilla Position, where The Brian Kendrick said that he looked like he could use a friend…
Anish’s Thoughts: Two victories in two weeks for Tyler Breeze over Ariya Daivari. I like the look of this feud so far, as neither of these guys have unleashed their full arsenal yet have managed to deliver a couple of entertaining matches. I also like the idea that Breeze has this momentum, coming in and beating people who have looked strong across the history of 205 like Daivari, as it makes Breeze seem like a legitimate threat on 205. A smart move considering how crowds react to Breeze
2. Brian Kendrick vs. Danny Burch. The match started with Burch running at Kendrick and executing a flying dropkick. Burch then threw Kendrick into the corner and hit him with strikes and a Suplex, before doing the same in the opposite corner. Kendrick desperately swung at Burch but got hit by a back elbow, grounding him for a little while.
Eventually Burch picked up Kendrick and tossed him to the ropes before hitting him with a one armed spinebuster. Kendrick looked completely out of it and Burch followed up with a running Flapjack as well. Burch then tossed Kendrick out of the ring and rattled his face off the steel steps. Burch attempted to do the same to Kendrick on the other set of steps, but Kendrick reversed and used a Russian Leg Sweep to ram Burch onto them.
Burch just managed to roll into the ring, but Kendrick quickly apply the Captain’s Hook submission maneuver. This seemingly didn’t take too much of a toll on Burch as after a while he muscled out of it and managed to catch Kendrick off surprise with a couple of quick strikes and a second rope dropkick to get a two count.
Burch rallied with the crowd behind him and hit Kendrick with a solid German Suplex. Burch was slow to follow up and attempted to continue his assault on Kendrick, but he got poked in the eyes. Kendrick tried to use the eye poke to transition to Sliced Bread No. 2 but Burch managed to push him off. As Burch tried to follow up on this reversal, he was distracted by Ariya Daivari who ran to the apron, Kendrick used this distraction to roll Burch up. He also used Daivari’s hand as leverage to secure the pinfall and defeat Danny Burch.
Brian Kendrick defeated Danny Burch.
Anish’s Thoughts: This was a really good match with the crowd really being pulled into it via the selling of Kendrick. Burch did a great job telling the story of a man who really wanted to get retribution on Kendrick and Kendrick sold it well, getting tossed around the ring to make Burch look strong. The eventual interference of Daivari reminded me of Rollins recruiting Buddy Murphy to help him out, but it was different enough that I didn’t mind it. I also liked the commentators giving Kendrick’s tactics credit and proving himself as “The Man with A Plan.”
3. Lio Rush vs. Tony Nese. The two started the match talking smack and squaring up with Nese showing off his biceps. Eventually they shoved each other and entered a challenge of speed. Rush and Nese went for consecutive clotheslines but each dodged the efforts of the other. After a stalemate for a little bit, Nese found Rush on the middle rope and whipped him to the ground. Nese tried to drag Rush across the ring and set him up for a splash, but Rush rolled out of the ring and goaded Nese to the outside.
Here, Rush hit Nese with a suicide dive, rattling his head off the announce table. The two then chased each other outside then into the ring, where Nese was able to catch Rush off guard and Hammer throw him into one turnbuckle and then across the ring into another. Nese taunted Rush, giving him a little time to try and strike Nese. This wasn’t enough to turn the tides however as Nese dropkicked Rush to the floor and locked in a body scissors.
Rush didn’t allow himself to lose too much breath however as he hit Nese with ground strikes while in the body scissors to knock Nese off. Rush then stunned Nese with a jawbreaker, allowing him to reverse Nese’s subsequent pumphandle slam attempt. Rush rolled out of that and found the middle rope, springboarding off it and hitting Nese with a Stunner. Rush went for the cover but only got a two count. Rush then went to the top rope to try for a top rope maneuver, but Nese rolled across the ring.
The time Nese bought for himself with that allowed him to catch Rush with a Hotshot followed by a springboard moonsault followed by a pumphandle Michinoku Driver, but this only got him a two count. Nese picked Rush up and hit him with a flurry of kicks and knees to sweep Rush. Nese tried to hit a 450 Splash, but Rush pulled him off the top rope.
They did battle here on the top rope until eventually they both hit each other with strikes and fell to the floor. Rush and Nese were about to both make it back into the ring, but Nese cleverly caught Rush and threw him over the announce table, giving Nese enough time to get into the ring and win by count-out…
Tony Nese defeated Lio Rush by count-out.
Anish’s Thoughts: I am very surprised that Lio Rush lost here. Granted, this wasn’t a clean loss so Rush doesn’t lose any steam, but I am still surprised that they chose to give Nese this victory, especially considering that he hasn’t had a lot of momentum since his title loss a few months ago. This is a pleasant surprise actually, as it’s a smart way to light a fire under Rush and give him a reason to want this win back against Nese. Meanwhile, Nese gets a sneaky win and some of his momentum back.
Overall this was a really fun 205 Live show. All three matches were great and each served to tell a different story. I am still a little disappointed that we didn’t see Garza on the show (he was at the NXT live event). Considering how great the show was and how into it the crowd was, I’m inclined to forgive the lack of the champion’s appearance. Rush has established himself as a fan favorite and people invested in him, and it seems that with not much more work, Breeze will be at the same place. I’m looking forward to seeing the continuation of Breeze vs. Daivari as well as Rush vs. Nese.
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