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WWE 205 Live - May 8, 2018

by Scrooge McSuck

- Last week on 205 Live, Hideo Itami disrespected Akira Tozawa following another loss, this time to the tandem of Jack Gallagher and THE Brian Kendrick… Buddy Murphy made weight and beat up on an enhancement talent to the point that the referee stopped the match without a pin-fall or submission. Post-match, Cedric Alexander started a brawl to let Murphy know he's here, and if he wants a piece of him, he's not hard to find… Drew Gulak continues to build momentum with a victory over Kalisto.

- Presented LIVE on the WWE Network from Baltimore, MD. Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson are calling the action, unless otherwise noted. Advertised for tonight's episode: Mustafa Ali faces the "Best Kept Secret", and the Lucha House Party meets Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick in tag team action.

Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado vs. Jack Gallagher & The Brian Kendrick:

The LHP noise-maker is so obnoxious, I'm rooting for The Extraordinary Gentlemen. Before the match begins, Drew Gulak comes out to join the commentary team. Dorado and Gallagher start… but not before Kalisto annoys me even more with his cheerleading. Lockup and Gallagher with a side headlock takeover. It sounds like they're falling back on once again pushing Gulak's anti-high-flying gimmick. They trade monkey flips and pin attempts in a spot straight out of a house show with them going round-and-round. Metalik with a springboard dropkick for two. Whip is reversed, Kendrick with the blind ta. He charges and gets dumped out of the ring. Metalik hits the ropes and hits a somersault senton on Gallagher (kind of). Kendrick comes in from behind with an enzuigiri for two. Kendrick with a straight boot to the face, followed by a series of forearms. Gallagher with a headbutt to the small of the back and joint manipulation. Metalik fights out of a seated arm-bar but Kendrick cuts off the tag attempt. Metalik boots Gallagher off the apron and dives into his corner, tagging in Dorado. He hits Kendrick with a roundhouse kick and springboard body press. He comes off the ropes with a flying head scissors and follows up with a pair of dropkicks. Whip to the ropes and Dorado with the hand-spring Stunner, but Gallagher breaks the cover. Gallagher in with a running dropkick and Kendrick adds Sliced Bread #2, but this time Metalik makes the save. LHS with synchronized super-kicks and tope suicidas. Dorado climbs the ropes and hits a Shooting Star Press on Gallagher for three at 7:50. Started off dull but picked up with a hot finishing sequence. **1/2

- Mustafa Ali with a cell-phone promo. He's recording from the train tracks. Murphy's built for show but he's built for go. It's not about avenging a loss, it's about clearing the way. Murphy has two options: move or "I make you."

- Buddy Murphy is backstage with Tony Nese. He offers him words of wisdom before Dasha Fuentes enters to ask Murphy about his match later tonight. He's got one blemish on his record since coming to 205 Live, and that's to Mustafa Ali. He's adjusting to the weight-cuts, but he's become unstoppable. He just hopes the Champ is watching. So, wouldn't failing making weight count as another blemish on his record?

Tony Nese vs. Keith Clayball:

After looking like a goof in the Cruiserweight Gauntlet AND the Greatest Royal Rumble within days of each other, Nese needs some rebuilding (or just cut your losses and find someone else. They clearly have nothing for him more than being a spot filler). Lockup and Nese launches him into the corner. Whip across the ring and Nese unloads with a flurry of leg strikes. Nese traps Clayball in the tree of woe and stomps at the midsection. He stops to taunt and adds insult to injury by stomping his chest while doing crunches. Clayball avoids a running boot and gets a few shots in before Nese runs him down with an elbow. Whip to the ropes and Nese with another elbow. Nese with a leg sweep on the apron followed by a rolling forearm. Back inside, Nese pulls down the knee pad and hits the running knee in the corner for three at 3:03. I would've had more respect for creative if they let him dismantle someone of name value like this. Or just don't book him to dominate for 5-minutes and lose via slipping on a banana peel.

- Video package dedicated to Hideo Itami. I love the soundbite of Michael Cole calling him a "young up-and-comer." It's almost as laughable as Gorilla Monsoon saying there's a lot of fire in this youngster referencing Carlos Colon. In 1993. The point of the video is that Itami had no desire to be saddled with a tag team partner and says Akira Tozawa doesn't deserve respect.

- Drake Maverick is joined backstage by Cedric Alexander. He's going to let things form last week slide and wants to make sure it's not going to affect tonight's Main Event. Alexander says when he gets his chance with Murphy in the ring, he's going to finish the fight. Next week 205 Live is from London, England. Maverick says the 205 Live roster will face-off against the stars of the UK competitors. Interesting…

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy:

TV Main Event. Once again, it's not a stipulation, but the winner is likely to receive the next shot at Cedric Alexander's Cruiserweight Championship. I know I've made the Glacier and Sub-Zero reference when it comes to Ali's "Be the Light" entrance, but really, he looks like a middle-eastern Seth Rollins, right down to the ring gear. Murphy carries Ali into the corner. He misses a strike and Ali responds with a big chop. Ali avoids him in the corner again. Crisscross, Murphy blocks a spinning head scissors. Ali escapes a Powerbomb and connects with more chops. Murphy blocks a whip to the ropes and rolls through a sunset flip. The Powerbomb fails a second time, this time with Ali sending him to the floor with a head-scissor. Ali knocks Murphy off the apron with a dropkick and follows with a baseball slide. He follows Murphy to the floor and pays for it, getting splatted on the floor with a running suplex.

Back inside, Murphy covers for two. Murphy with a hard whip into the corner, followed by a back drop. He teases coming off the ropes with a punt to the back but fakes everyone out by grabbing a chin-lock. Would've been more impressive of the audience cared. Ali escapes with a jaw breaker, flips out of a back suplex, and comes off the ropes with both men hitting cross bodies in the middle of the ring. Murphy with a knee to the midsection and Ali with a punt to the chest. Ali with the push-off dropkick, clothesline, and charging elbow. He avoids a charge in the corner, but the rolling X-Factor is countered with a rear-choke. Ali backs him into the corner bur Murphy grabs the hair to keep the hold applied. Ali turns things around, hopping on Murphy's back with a sleeper hold. Murphy fights to his feet and rolls into the corner, sending both their bodies crashing into the turnbuckles.

Murphy is to his feet first, paint brushing Ali with his boot. Ali pops up with a series of hard forearm strikes. Ali cuts off a flurry from Murphy and hits him with an innovative draping DDT. What the hell do you even call that? That spot right there deserves 50 replays, it looked that good. Ali positions Murphy across the top turnbuckle for a Super-Plex. Murphy blocks and drops Ali face-first on the canvas. He pulls Ali in with a knee strike and hits him with the Gory Special into a DDT for a near fall. Ali with a leg sweep and rolling cradle for two. Murphy with the trifecta Powerbombs. The referee forces them apart to check on Ali, but he doesn't call for the bell because Ali has a storyline death wish based on some of the bumps he's taken. He tells Murphy to bring it and counters the Powerbomb with an X-Factor for a near fall. Both men end up on the apron, and this won't end well for Ali. They climb the ropes, facing the arena floor. Murphy pushes Ali off, who does a flip landing on his feet, and catches Murphy diving off with a Super-Kick. Ali rolls Murphy back in but makes the mistake of hooking the near-leg with Murphy too close to the ropes. Ali tries to hit the springboard 450 splash to the arm (call-back to their Tournament match), but Murphy has the move scouted, rolling away. He drops a double knee across the draped arm, sends Ali into the corner, and yanks him down by the arm. Whip to the corner is reversed and Ali rolls Murphy up for two. He springs off the ropes for a Tornado DDT, but Murphy puts the breaks on, twists the arm into a hammer-lock, and sends Ali into the post. Murphy's Law finishes at 15:45. I'm convinced these two can't have anything less than great matches together. As expected, lacked the crowd heat, but my goodness, these two deserve every eyeball of a WWE fan. ****1/4

Final Thoughts: Strong Main Event this week makes for an episode worth checking out. I'm slightly intrigued by a potential series of matches with Tozawa and Itami, although the WWE career of Itami hasn't lived up to expectations. Tony Nese is being repaired, but I feel the damage is already done for him, and who knows where things are going with these tag teams they put together. There's definitely not enough for a Championship, but who knows, stranger things have happened.

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