By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Contributor
WWE 205 Live (Episode 202)
Orlando, Florida at Capitol Wrestling Center (WWE PC)
Streamed October 23, 2020 on WWE Network
Vic Joseph welcomed everyone in as The Brian Kendrick made his entrance. Joseph was joined by Nigel McGuinness on commentary…
1. The Brian Kendrick vs. Mansoor. McGuinness noted how Mansoor defeated Kendrick a year ago before the two locked up in the middle of the ring. Kendrick worked a headlock, taking Mansoor to the ground. Eventually, Mansoor got Kendrick into a chin-lock. The two then got into a shoving match that landed Kendrick on the mat.
Kendrick hit Mansoor with a kick and some strikes. Mansoor countered out of a belly-to-back suplex and landed a whirly arm-drag. Mansoor went to the ropes to hit a bulldog from the top for a two-count. After heading to the apron, Mansoor leaped in to take a kick to the back. Kendrick hit a butterfly suplex for a near fall.
The two traded elbows and forearms but Kendrick took Mansoor to the ground for an arm-bar. After working to his feet, Kendrick hit his opponent with an elbow to get him to the ground. Kendrick talked trash while kicking Mansoor in the face, but Mansoor fired up and hit a boot to the face of Kendrick to go on the offensive.
Mansoor landed a nice inverted atomic drop into a spine-buster combination. Mansoor rolled into three suplexes that concluded with a falcon arrow. He got a close near-fall and then climbed to the top for a moonsault that missed. He landed on his feet, though, and hit a power-bomb.
After a few seconds, Kendrick went into the Captain’s Hook. Mansoor worked his way out to attempt a power-bomb, but Kendrick countered and sent Mansoor into the turnbuckle. Kendrick placed Mansoor on the top rope and hit a butterfly suplex from the top. He got a two-count, but Mansoor countered into a roll-up for the pin.
Mansoor defeated The Brian Kendrick via pinfall in 8:48.
After the match, Kendrick refused to leave the ring and stood behind Mansoor. As Mansoor celebrated, Kendrick came up behind him and offered a handshake. Mansoor accepted…
A commercial for Hell In A Cell aired that featured Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton…
McGuire’s Musings: I hate to say this (and honestly, I do), but Brian Kendrick looks old. He just does. The way he holds himself. The pace at which he works. The gray hairs creeping into his ponytail. But hear me out. Now, that the bad news is out of the way, here’s the good news: I really kind of like this role he’s taken on as being The Veteran who puts over young talent, does so respectfully, gets a handshake, and moves on. Sure, there might not be much drama in his matches because of that, but if there’s anyone who deserves to be a gatekeeper for the purple brand at this point, it’s probably him. On the flip side, Mansoor looked better than he’s looked in the past. You can tell he’s coming along nicely and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him regularly in NXT within the next six months or so.
A Jordan Devlin promo aired, reminding everyone that he never actually lost the cruiserweight title. He focused on the announcement on “The Bump” saying a tournament would take place for “his championship.” Devlin asked if anyone would notice that the graphics eventually stopped calling Santos Escobar the interim cruiserweight champ and how the word “interim” faded away from Escobar’s name plate. He eventually got mad, threw the mic down and left.
McGuire’s Musings: For years, I’ve loved Jordan Devlin’s work and when they put the title on him, I had high hopes. And then, well, the #speakingout allegations came, and boy, it’s tough to view him through the same complimentary lens. Still, it was a good promo, and I’m all for a Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin unification match. It’s just going to be hard to appreciate the latter’s work as much as I once did, and it’s tough to think I’m alone in that.
A recap from the NXT six-man match where Legado Del Fantasma won aired. The Singh Brothers made their entrance. It was long. McGuinness played up how pumped he was that they were back. “Now, we know you missed us, and we know we missed us, too,” one of them said and they eventually danced back to McGuinness before leaving.
McGuire’s Musings: Somewhere, Jinder Mahal … ah, never mind.
A recap of the Curt Stallion and Tony Nese angle from last week aired. We then went to a promo from Stallion before the broadcast duo set up the main event. Tony Nese made his entrance first, which was at least a little surprising…
2. Tony Nese vs. Curt Stallion. As the bell rang Ariya Daivari made his entrance to provide Nese with support and join the commentary table. Nese and Stallion went at it in the ring before Stallion hit a tough forearm and a makeshift shoulder-breaker for a two-count.
Nese got back on the offensive and hit a series of punches and strikes. Nese got Stallion in a headlock but Stallion worked his way out before Nese hit a springboard moonsault for a two-count. Stallion worked his way out with some chops, but Nese landed a very nice-looking dropkick for a one-count. Nese then sunk in a body-scissors.
Nese eventually got Stallion into a torture rack, but Stallion fought out. Before long, Stallion hit a German suplex to equalize things. Stallion hit a few knees and a dropkick in the corner. Stallion hit a DDT for a two-count. Stallion climbed to the top rope, but Nese rolled outside the ring. As a result, Stallion hit a moonsault to the outside on Nese and rolled Nese into the ring.
But as Stallion considered going back into the ring, Daivari started mouthing off. As a result Stallion hit him with a headbutt. But as he got back into the ring, Nese hit the Running Nese for the victory.
Tony Nese defeated Curt Stallion via Pinfall in 7:34.
After the match, Daivari tried to attack Stallion, but Nese held him back. Nese and Daivari were shown walking up the ramp to end the show…
McGuire’s Musings: A well-worked match that allowed Stallion to shine in the way that 205 Live allows wrestlers to shine. The brand needs new faces, so I’m all for giving him a standout moment here, despite not getting the victory. It will obviously lead to another chapter between him, Nese and Daivari, but that’s OK, considering how everyone from Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to Ever-Rise to Ashante Thee Adonis appear to be getting more NXT time.
In all, this was a good show, and the focus they gave to the cruiserweight title was very much welcomed. It’s tough to see Jordan Devlin again, considering how hard it is to believe that he’s completely innocent in the allegations made against him, but if 205 Live should be doing anything consistently, it’s playing up the relevance of the cruiserweight title. Either way, the matches were good, we got the official return of the Bollywood Boyz, and, well, Nigel McGuinness danced. So have at it, gif-creators.
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