WWE 205 Live – January 24, 2017
by Scrooge McSuck
- Last week on 205 Live, Jack Gallagher defeated Ariya Daivari in an I Forfeit Match, hopefully putting an end to their rivalry. Throughout the match, Gallagher's Umbrella was broken, but fear not, as he debuted both William the 2nd AND William the 3rd... and you thought Vince Russo jumped the shark all the time? ... Cedric Alexander, Noam Dar, and Alicia Fox continue to make everything worse with one of the worst storylines WWE has presented for longer than two weeks... Rich Swann and Neville are headed for a collision course at the Royal Rumble, with the Cruiserweight Championship as the ultimate prize.
- Presented on the WWE Network from Toledo, OH. Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, and Austin Aries are calling the action from ringside, unless otherwise noted. We're only days away from the Royal Rumble, and in tonight's Main Event, #1 Contender Neville takes on Cedric Alexander.
- Tom Phillips is backstage with Neville for comments on his upcoming matches with Swann and Alexander. Basic comments for the most part.
TJ Perkins vs. Tony Nese
With the momentum Nese has built over the last few weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes over in this one. Nese is still not counting his abs before he gets to the ring. Nese offers a half-hearted handshake before the bell. Lockup and Nese throws Perkins to the canvas. They jockey for position, with Nese taking Perkins down with a pair of waist-locks. Perkins with a Franken-Steiner into a cover for two. Perkins with a head scissors into the Octopus. He transitions into a rolling crucifix for a two-count. Nese hangs onto the ropes to avoid a neck breaker and rocks Perkins with a running elbow for two. Nese with a hard whip to the corner, followed by some posing. Perkins catches him coming with a boot but Nese counters a tornado DDT with a suplex for two. Nese with a jumping leg drop for two. Perkins with a jaw breaker to escape a chin-lock. Nese quickly regains control, sweeping the legs and hitting a springboard moonsault for two. Perkins with another short-lived rally. Nese with the punt into a fireman's carry gut buster for two. Nese grabs a body scissors and pounds away at the chest. Perkins escapes and surprises Nese with a jumping roundhouse kick. He counters a suplex with a knee to the head and comes off the ropes with a basement dropkick. Perkins with a running elbow into the corner, followed by a spinning head scissors. Nese gets sent to the floor with the Detonation Kick. Perkins sets up for a dive, but Nese rushes back in with a lariat. Perkins with a la magistral cradle, and that gets three out of nowhere at 8:32. Post-match, Nese throws Perkins into the turnbuckle with a release German Suplex and hits the running knee. Not a fan of out of nowhere finishes, but a good match. ***- Akira Tozawa makes his debut on 205 Live NEXT WEEK (ignoring he was present for the opening of the premiere episode of the show, but we're not supposed to remember that). Sami Zayn is this week's talking head, complete with a gnarly blackeye. Had he said Tozawa gave it to him, that would've been the greatest adlib of all time.
The Brian Kendrick vs. Tripp Bradshaw
OK, that jobber must be a rib on JBL. Kendrick cuts a promo from the ramp, letting Bradshaw know he's not taking his spot on 205 Live. With Tajiri out of action, it seems like Kendrick is without direction. They shake hands, without any trouble from Kendrick. Lockup and Kendrick with an arm drag. Graves wonders if Tripp is a descendent of Justin Hawk. Kendrick practically puts himself in a waist-lock and escapes with an elbow to the side of the head. Bradshaw fires back with rights but runs into a jumping leg lariat. Graves with more JBL references just to add fuel to my suspicions. Kendrick with a takeover into the Captain's Hook, and it's all over at 2:05. Kendrick keeps the hold applied a little longer than necessary. I'm still waiting for that to play into a storyline. I'm digging pissed off veteran Kendrick beating on enhancement talent.- Rich Swann wishes Cedric Alexander luck backstage. He tells Cedric to believe in himself, because Neville is going to try and get inside his head. He may think he's a King, but he's not unbeatable, and you've got to take a chance when he makes a mistake. Swann wants Alexander to save some for him, because he has unfinished business with Neville at the Royal Rumble.
Cedric Alexander vs. Neville
I give Alexander a 0% chance of going over, either by pin-fall, submission, or Disqualification. Lets just hope we get a good match without anything to do with Alicia FUUUUUUUX and Noam Dar's bull-crap. Alexander offers the handshake, but Neville doesn't accept the gesture. They start with a series of counters. Neville takes Alexander over with a hip toss and talks trash. He takes Alexander off his feet, working on the left arm. Alexander flips through into a counter, but Neville is one-step ahead of him and takes him over with another hip toss. Neville continues to out work Alexander, easily countering everything he attempts. Alexander lands on his feet on another hip toss, takes Neville over with a handspring head scissors, and sends him to the floor with a dropkick. Alexander knocks Neville off the apron with a dropkick and punts him in the face for good measure. Neville creates some distance, luring Alexander into a trap and sends him crashing into the security barricade.Back inside, Neville comes off the top rope with a missile dropkick for a two-count. Neville with a straight boot to the head, followed by some choking. He takes Alexander over with a snap suplex and hits a running forearm in the corner for two. Neville with elbows across the top of the head and a kick to the back for two. Alexander fights out of a chin-lock and clocks Neville with a rolling elbow strike. He comes off the ropes with a handspring roundhouse kick, sending Neville out of the floor. Alexander hits the ropes and follows with a tope con hilo. Alexander throws Neville back in the ring and hits the springboard clothesline for a near fall. Neville blocks the Lumbar Check (how long has it been since that move was executed?). He drives a shoulder into the midsection of Alexander but runs into a standing Spanish Fly for another near fall. They trade forearms. Neville turns to his signature leg strikes to take control. He flips out of another Lumbar Check attempt and takes Alexander over with a release German Suplex. Neville dead-lifts Alexander off the canvas and hits a bridging German Suplex for two. Alexander fights Neville down from the top rope, but Neville lands on his feet to avoid the sunset-flip Powerbomb. Alexander rocks him with a roundhouse kick from the apron, but the springboard clothesline is interrupted by Noam Dar. Alexander slips off the top rope going for it again, and Neville locks him in a scissored arm-bar for the submission at 14:25. Alexander continues jobbing to all the heels (minus Daivari), but here Neville absolutely had to go over. Pretty good match that was given plenty of time to get going. ***1/2
- Post-match, Neville dumps Noam Dar out of the ring because he doesn't need friends and continues to put the boots to Alexander, bringing Rich Swann (with his entrance music playing, of course) out to make the save. They brawl despite the best (?) efforts of two referees trying to break them apart.
Final Thoughts: Wrestling heavy show this week. There was so much emphasis on it, that we didn't get a single second of Alicia Fox, making this the best episode yet… OK, maybe not, since it was mostly filler with the Royal Rumble taking place the following Sunday. There wasn't anything wrong with this week's episode, but very little happened, if that makes any sense. We had a couple of good matches, but without more angles pushed, it just seemed like stuff happening for 47-minutes.
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