Previously on 205 Live, Daniel Bryan introduced the new 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick, we started a 16 man tournament to crown a new champion at Wrestlemania, and Cedric Alexander and TJP advanced into the first round.
Remember that With Spandex is on Twitter, so follow it. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter, too. It’ll be fun.
Hit those share buttons! Spread the word about the column on Facebook, Twitter and whatever else you use. Be sure to leave us a comment in our comment section below as well. Your help and participation means a lot.
And now, the Best and Worst of WWE 205 Live for February 6, 2018.
Best: Luchamigos
Congratulations to 205 Live for continuing to be the best product on WWE TV. We start week two of the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament with another fantastic match. I was hoping they’d give it to Lince Dorado, because Kalisto already had his run with the title, and I think Lince is the best of the luchadors of 205 Live. (It goes Lince, then Metalik, then Kalisto.) I guess having something to get the crowd chanting gives you the edge.
These guys gave it their all in this one. We’re not really going full blast and letting everyone have PWG matches, but I feel like we’ve moved into a faster-paced, looser version of wrestling, as opposed to “Raw matches, just smaller” that had been holding 205 Live back from the start.
There were so many great spots in this match. That top rope hurricanrana was great, as was that top rope somersault powerbomb thing. The best thing, though (besides Lince not getting killed on that reverse hurricanrana right before the finish), was the rope break nearfall. That could have easily been the end of the match, and it would have been good, but that little moment really pushed how important this match was to both competitors. I love the new and improved 205 Live.
Best/Worst: A Rift In Team Powerpoint
Drake Maverick is killing it in the GM role. For being a tiny man in a bright-colored suit, he has a surprising amount of gravitas. It’s good to see Team PowerPoint back together, since we seem to have Cloverfield Paradoxed ourselves into a dimension where the Zo Train never existed and thus this best friend beat down never happened. (If only we can be in a dimension where The Cloverfield Paradox script was better).
The only misstep from Drake so far is his assessment of the “One Drew God” Drew Gulak. I hope this isn’t a pivot from Drew’s A Better 205 Live gimmick back into a more intense mat technician, because, what’s the point? As much as I hate when authority figures feud with wrestlers thing the WWE has done non stop since 1998, I actually think a Drake Maverick/Drew Gulak feud can work almost like an anti-Austin/McMahon. Drake Maverick as the man in charge of 205 Live who isn’t enforcing enough rules for Drew Gulak’s liking?
Let’s hope next week Tony Nese starts flipping around and using his whole moveset, even if that will truly test the bonds of his and Drew’s friendship.
Best: Strong Style Has Arrived To 205 Live
RODERICK uses KNEE. It’s super effective!
What an absolutely delightful surprise. Going into today, I thought there was no way that Itami was going to lose. Having Hideo wreck his way through the tournament seemed like a natural way to build him back up, and a fully-solidified heel Hideo Itami versus Cedric Alexander seems like an amazing match to waste on the pre-show of the grandest stage of them all. Instead, Hideo takes the L (c’mon Kenta!) and now I feel I don’t know what to expect in this tournament at all.
We’re now four-for-four in great matches in the new 205 Live. Hideo came out to no reaction, sadly, but he and Roddy were able to get the crowd into the match through sheer force of will. Two “this is awesome” chants in the space of two matches is a good sign from a crowd that’s burnt out from a long night of wrestling.
There were so many great sequences and near falls in this match. I thought for sure that top rope Falcon Arrow was going to seal the deal for Hideo. It really did come down to Roderick being able to outlast all the punishment he was taking, which was foreshadowed when Nigel mentioned that Strong had the best cardio conditioning of any wrestler he’s known. The highlight of the match had to be that modified powerbomb to the apron. I mean, DUDE!
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/961088804403798016
Yikes.
I don’t know what this means for Hideo Itami. He’ll be off 205 Live TV for at least two more weeks (I don’t know if they’ll start having non-tournament matches on TV once we get into the next round) This could give him some time away to tweak his character and come up with something more compelling to audiences, or this could be the beginning of the end of the Hideo Itami experiment.
Next Week
Vince McMahon enthusiast Akira Tozawa takes on the U.K. Division’s Mark Andrews in what should be another great match, and Team PowerPoint crashes and encounters a fatal error when Drew Gulak faces “The Premier Athlete” Tony Nese.
There are four more spots left in the tournament, and we still have “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher, Ariya Daivari, and Mustafa Ali unaccounted for. That leaves another spot for a mystery entrant. Could we see the Bruiserweight Pete Dunne make an appearance? Or maybe the King of the Cruiserweights Neville makes his return to get his chance at his title at WrestleMania?
