By Anish Vishwakoti, ProWrestling.net Staffer, (@AVX_9001)
WWE 205 Live
Taped last week in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed May 22, 2020 on WWE Network
Two first-run shows in a row for 205 Live and it kicked off cold with the opening match, so let’s do the same! Byron Saxton and Corey Graves were on commentary again…
1. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. Ever Rise. This was actually a rematch from this Wednesday’s NXT which saw Lorcan and Burch get the victory. The match started tonight with Matt Martel of Ever Rise in the ring with Burch. The two locked up, but before they could engage, Martel’s partner, Chase Parker distracted Burch and tagged himself in. Parker attempted to shoot Burch off the ropes but was met with a leg trip that allowed Burch to take control and tag in Lorcan.
Lorcan chopped Parker’s chest in the corner before Parker was able to Irish whip Lorcan away from him and try to tag in Martel. The two heels were able to take control once again by double teaming Lorcan and forcing Burch to the outside to leave Lorcan helpless. Parker hit Lorcan with a neckbreaker in the ring for a two count, before hitting him with some elbows to the traps.
Martel tagged and snapped Lorcan to the ground for a chin lock to wear him out. Martel tried an Irish Whip attack, however Lorcan reversed with a neckbreaker, leaving both men down and forced to tag their partners. Burch rushed Parker and was able to slot him with clotheslines and a German suplex before attempting a top rope move. Martel interrupted and got Burch in a Fireman’s carry hold before Parker hit a top rope version of the G-9. I don’t know if this was a coincidence or a tribute as the G-9 was Cryme Tyme’s old finisher, but either way, it’s a nice surprise as I was just thinking about how it is an underutilized tag team maneuver.
Martel went for the pin, but Lorcan broke it up and forced Parker out of the ring. This allowed Burch to strike Martel in the ring and lock in a crossface. At the same time, Lorcan and Parker rushed the ring again, with Lorcan using a half crab on Parker forcing Ever Rise to tap out at the same time, giving Burch and Lorcan the victory.
Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan defeated Ever Rise.
Anish’s Thoughts: This was a very fun match. Having seen their match on NXT, I actually preferred the rematch between these teams tonight. Burch and Lorcan were definitely helped by these wins I think, and despite losing, I think that because it wasn’t such a squash and because they had me biting on the near fall after their use of the G-9, I think Ever Rise look good coming out of these matches too. Fun opening match.
Before the main event, we got a recap of the NXT Interim Cruiserweight tournament and a reminder about the Triple Threat match that will secure one of Kushida, Drake Maverick, or Jake Atlas a spot in the second round of the tournament…
2. Tyler Breeze vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott. The face of Scott was very clearly perturbed by the fact that he is no longer in contention for the NXT Cruiserweight title and the commentators made sure to mention as much. Scott and Breeze locked up, with Breeze hitting a snapmare and taunting him in the corner to start off the match, with Scott seeming a step behind and selling to that effect.
Swerve and Breeze reengaged a couple times as every time Swerve tried to hit some offense, he seemed to slip up, seeming off his step and the commentators kept hammering this point. Breeze meanwhile hit a suplex in the ring and whipped Scott from corner to corner. Breeze then smacked Scott a couple of times, leading Scott to wake up and rock Breeze with a strike and then tossing him to the outside. Scott hit an apron kick and then threw Breeze back into the ring and hit a rolling flatliner.
Scott then went to the top rope and attempted a stomp, but Breeze ducked out of the way and hit Scott with a jumping enziguiri to get a two count. Breeze and Scott then traded suplex and roll-up attempts until Scott was eventually able to hit Breeze with a German Suplex to get a two count.
Scott then set Breeze up for the House Call kick, but Breeze dodged and worked his way to hit a Supermodel kick that earned him a two count. Breeze then propped Scott up on the top rope, which Scott was able to use to goad Breeze in to hit the ‘Confidence Boost’, (corner mounted modified Michinoku Driver) to get the pinfall victory.
Isaiah Scott defeated Tyler Breeze.
Anish’s Thoughts: I really enjoyed this match, I think the commentators did a good job of setting up the idea that Scott started the match off his game, and I think Scott worked really well to convince me that he got back into his game as the match progressed. Breeze looked good in the match as well and overall these two I think put together a fine match without pulling out all of the stops.
Overall, this was another fun 20 minutes or so of wrestling, but I’m left wanting more. I really feel that WWE is only giving half of what they could to 205 Live and that if they gave their all this could be a fun wrestling show. They have an hour every week with great wrestlers and a lot of time to put together something fun. Scott being on here had me thinking that WWE really could use this 205 slot to put together a fun hour in the vein of Lucha Underground, even if it is as a testing ground for the more cinematic elements of wrestling that they are clearly going to have to use in the coming weeks and months. But instead we get half of a good wrestling show. Oh well, it was fun for what it was, so I can’t really expect more.
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