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WWE 205 Live – January 10, 2017

by Scrooge McSuck

- week on 205 Live, Neville continued his path of destruction, defeating TJ Perkins in a highly contest Main Event. Coupled with his victory over the Cruiserweight Champion two weeks ago, this is surely enough to earn himself a Championship Opportunity™... Noam Dar was defeated (cleanly) by Mustafa Ali, but he still has his heart set on Alicia FUUUUUUUUX... Jack Gallagher and Shawn Daivari (still) have unfinished business, which makes their Gentleman's Duel a waste of time... Tajiri debuted and humiliated THE Brian Kendrick.

- Surprisingly long recap video featuring the Cedric Alexander-Noam Dar-Alicia Fox love triangle, which makes me scared to see what we're in store for when we go to the ring tonight.

- Presented on the WWE Network from Baton Rouge, LA. Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, and Austin Aries are calling the action at ringside, unless otherwise noted. Rich Swann returns from his absence, taking on Tony Nese later tonight.

Cedric Alexander (w/ Alicia Fox) vs. Noam Dar

At least we're getting the crap out of the way first. Alicia Fox is still one of my least favorite WWE performers of all-time, and I'm being dead serious about it. I'd rather watch Dino Bravo's push from hell in 1990 than watch anything with her. Alexander doesn't accept the pre-match handshake. Lockup to the corner and a clean break. Lockup to the ropes, Dar tries a cheap shot, but Alexander blocks and lays into him with rights. Dar avoids a charge to the corner but gets caught with the handspring head scissors. He tries to take a walk, but Alexander follows and continues to dish out some serious strikes. Back inside, Alexander with a dropkick for two. He tries another handspring but Dar counters with a kick to the chest for two. Dar's got a busted lip, likely from that uppercut on the floor. Dar targets the arms and rocks Alexander with a palm-strike uppercut for two. Dar keeps things in cruise control, hooking a straight jacket chin-lock. Alexander flips through and counters. Dar escapes, once again targeting the arm. Dar with a snap mare and sliding uppercut to the back for two. Alexander rallies, fighting out of a chin-lock. He rocks Dar with a rolling back elbow and charges into the corner with a shoulder tackle. Dar counters the springboard clothesline with the Fujiwara arm-bar, but Alexander makes it to the ropes. Dar tries to crush Alexander's head against the post, but Alicia Fox steps between them, buying Alexander time to recover and hit a wrecking-ball dropkick. Back inside, Alexander with the springboard clothesline. Dar blocks an attempt at the Lumbar Check but gets nailed with a roundhouse kick for two. Dar with a surprise roll-up for two. Alexander fights him down from the top rope and sets up for a moonsault, but Alicia Fox pulls Dar to safety for reasons unknown, and he KO's Alexander with a running step-up enzuigiri for three at 12:15. Decent work, but the same finish could've been accomplished with half the time. **½

- Post-match, Alicia Fox plants a big slap across the face of Noam Dar. What is the point of all of this?

- Akira Tozawa is COMING SOON to 205 Live, courtesy of a hype video featuring Kalisto.

The Brian Kendrick vs. Sean Maluta

Recap from last week where he was a victim of Tajiri's mysterious green mist. I'd hate to see how loudly Cedric Alexander would've sold that. Before the match, Kendrick cuts a promo, calling Tajiri a sneaky snake. Maluta's introduction again is simply his name flashing on the screen while he hangs around on the floor. Even after all the trash talking, Maluta accepts the handshake. He surprises Kendrick with a rolling cradle for two. He slips out of a full nelson and cradles Kendrick for two. Crucifix cradle for two. Boot to the midsection and a neck breaker for two. Maluta rolls through a sunset flip and connects with a basement dropkick. Kendrick bails and Maluta follows with a rolling senton. Back inside, Maluta comes off the ropes with a diving headbutt for two. Kendrick sends Maluta into the corner and hits a big boot for two. Maluta comes back with an inverted DDT but misses a rolling splash by a week and a half. Maluta remains in control, taking Kendrick over with a pair of suplexes, followed by a sit-out gourd buster. Shining Wizard connects for two. Kendrick gets the knees up on a Frog Splash and grabs the Captain's Hook for the submission at 4:46. Surprisingly good, only because I was expecting a 2:00 squash.

- Backstage, Cedric Alexander doesn't accept Alicia Fox's apology for costing him his match earlier tonight and breaks up with her. PLEASE. KILL. ME.

- Jack Gallagher comes out for a "parlay" with Ariya Daivari. It turns out to be a contract signing for an "I Forfeit" Match scheduled for next week. I'm waiting for the "Something on a Pole" match with European slang used to make it fresh. Daivari promises to stomp on Gallagher until he's a pasty-white-smear on the bottom of his shoe. Gallagher explains what an I Forfeit Match is, and it's the same as an I Quit Match. Daivari shows he means business by tossing the umbrella (William). Gallagher flips the table over and lays into Daivari with rights. Hopefully the Queen isn't watching.

Rich Swann (Cruiserweight Champion) vs. Tony Nese

Non-Title Match, of course. Last night on Raw, Rich Swann got a bit of redemption on Neville. Handshake before the bell. Lockup and Nese goes for a waist-lock. They jockey for position, trading wrist-locks. Whip to the ropes and Nese with a shoulder tackle. Crisscross and Swann connects with a dropkick. Nese puts on the breaks on the floor and drops Swann across the security wall. Back inside, Nese controls with a body scissors. Swann fights to his feet but misses a dive into the corner. Nese positions him across the turnbuckle, punts him into a fireman's carry position, and connects with a stomach buster for two. Whip to the corner, with Swann taking the chest-first bump into the turnbuckle. Swann blocks the second attempt and catches Nese on the jaw with an elbow. He unloads with more strikes but gets tripped up running the ropes. Nese misses a springboard moonsault and runs into a pair of boots. Swann with a pair of clotheslines, and now he runs into a boot. He takes Nese off the top with a Franken-Steiner for a near fall. Nese fights out of a Tiger Bomb but ends up getting taken over with a sunset flip for two. Nese with a series of leg strikes, a leg sweep, and double stomp for two. Swann slips out of a pump-handle slam and connects with the Tiger Bomb for two. Swann with the spinning Super-Kick, and that finishes at 7:25. Good match that packed a lot of action into a smaller than usual window for the Main Event slot. ***1/4

- Post-match, Rich Swann addresses Neville trying to take over the Cruiserweight. Much like TJ Perkins, he doesn't do himself any babyface favors by acknowledging Neville's looks. Neville quickly interrupts, and it's almost hard to boo the heel when what he's saying is the truth. Neville says 205 Live has been his show since he first stepped foot in the ring. Swann continues to be a jerk, calling Neville dumbo for his ears. Seriously, WWE's creative staff scripts such terrible promos for their babyfaces. It's amazing this company has survived for as long as it has since this is hardly a problem that's developed recently.

Final Thoughts: Quite the loaded show. Take away the stuff with Alicia Fox and Rich Swann's terrible dialogue, this was a pretty good episode, with a couple of decent matches and building some storylines for the future. Yes, the Gallagher/Daivari program has ran its course, but next week is promised to be the end of the line, and one can only assume it ends with Gallagher being victorious. As far as the Cruiserweight Title is concerned, it seems Neville is destined to be crowned the new Champion sooner rather than later.

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