By Anish Vishwakoti, ProWrestling.net Staffer, (@AVX_9001)
WWE 205 Live
Taped last week in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed July 17, 2020 on WWE Network
Vic Joseph was back on play by play with Drew Gulak on color commentary…
1. Mansoor vs. Tehuti Miles. The opening match tonight was the same as last week with Mansoor once again taking on Tehuti Miles. Mansoor got jumped to start off the match with Miles throwing his jacket at the Saudi native and stomping on him followed by an Irish Whip to the corner. As seems to be in character for Miles, he took too long taunting Mansoor, allowing himself to get caught in a headlock and then hit with a backdrop and a suplex, getting Mansoor a two count.
Mansoor then used an arm and chin lock on Miles on Miles, but not for long as Miles was able to muscle out and force Mansoor to the apron where he dropkicked him to the floor. Miles and Mansoor brawled on the outside, with Mansoor getting tossed into the Plexiglas and just making it back before the ten count. Miles tossed Mansoor right out again and taunted him from inside the ring.
Miles then hit Mansoor with a couple of strikes and a delayed neckbreaker, getting a two count. Miles used a body scissors to keep the pressure on, Mansoor escaped but Miles quickly hit a Flapjack to get another two count. Mansoor kicked out and quickly recovered, enough to hit a slingshot neckbreaker followed by a flurry of strikes and an Atomic Drop into spinebuster combo. With Miles stunned, Mansoor picked him up and hit the modified one One Winged Angel to get the pinfall victory.
Mansoor defeated Tehuti Miles.
Anish’s Thoughts: I know it’s not called the Two-Winged Angel but I’m calling it that. Great finisher and I think this week it was the highlight of the match. Mansoor continues to look invincible and Miles continues to look like an idiot. It’s one thing for a heel to act cocky, but this gimmick makes no sense with an audience comprised of his coworkers. It also makes less sense considering Miles loses in the same way every time. Heels losing due to their own avarice is a fine tool to use when the heel is credible. Good for Mansoor I guess, but Miles is going nowhere right now.
Legado Del Fantasma were shown toasting to themselves on their victory and jokingly toasting Drake Maverick, calling him a chihuahua…
Anish’s Thoughts: I love this presentation of them, it makes them seem legitimate and classy and Santos Escobar hyping up Joaquin Wilde & Raoul Mendoza made them all look good. I just wish the entire show would lean into this and go full Lucha Underground. I can dream.
A recap of the story between Isaiah Scott and Tony Nese aired, with them starting out as rivals and then working together two weeks ago turning into unlikely allies…
2. Tony Nese vs. Chase Parker (w/Matt Martel). Nese and Parker locked up with Nese quickly tossing Parker to the mat and posing. Parker re-engaged and used a leg trip, but Nese escaped and locked in a modified STF before using a head lock to shoot off the ropes and hit Parker with a shoulder block followed by a modified abdominal stretch.
Nese then transitioned to hit an arm drag and followed up with a moonsault attempt and a flurry of strikes to knock Parker down. Nese used a wrist lock to keep Parker down and followed up with a Hotshot to the outside. Martel distracted Nese, allowing Parker to hit him with a dropkick and toss him back into the ring. Parker used an arm lock of his own followed by a Bulldog to keep Nese down.
Parker then stomped on Nese and continued to target the arm of Nese. He tried for another Bulldog, but Nese countered and tossed him to the floor, following up with a spinning heel kick and a leg trip followed by the Springboard Moonsault. Nese got a two count and tried to follow up with an Alabama Slam, but Martel distracted him. It didn’t matter however, as Nese simply rolled through and hit Parker with a kick to the face to get the pinfall victory.
Tony Nese defeated Chase Parker.
After the match, Ever Rise jumped Nese and stomped on him but Isaiah Scott came out and drove them away, returning the favor to Nese from two weeks ago…
Anish’s Thoughts: A good win for Nese, I think he gave enough of the match to Parker to make Parker look good. Martel did a great job on the outside as a distraction to allow Parker to take parts of the match as well, exactly how a heel tag team should operate. Nese getting the victory clean makes Nese look good too.
Overall, this was a fair to midland episode of 205 Live. The first match just sort of existed for me, and apart from Mansoor’s Two-Winged Angel, it did not really do anything. It also pains me that Tehuti Miles has such a great wrestling name while ‘Mansoor’ sounds like your average joe. The main event was fine I guess, honestly this felt like half a wrestling show to me, which I guess it was, coming in at a whopping 23 minutes of action. There’s nothing else to say other than please god WWE just treat this wrestling show like a wrestling show and not a Youtube series or something. Actually, even that wouldn’t be accurate given that Being The Elite registered at 30 minutes this week. Here’s to hoping “the most exciting hour of television” strikes an hour at some point this year.
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