Previously on 205 Live, General Manager Drake Maverick teamed Akira Tozawa with Hideo Itami to kick start the 205 Live tag team division, and in tournament matches Drew Gulak defeated Mark Andrews and Mustafa Ali defeated Buddy Murphy in a TV match of the year candidate.
Remember that With Spandex is on Twitter, so follow it. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter, too.
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 March 13th, 2018.
Best: The Tag Division So Far
I’m fully on board if we start a tag tournament after WrestleMania, because A) I love tag team wrestling and B) the shows kind of write themselves.
Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa have really started to click as a team. Hideo works so much better as a heel, and it’s impossible for three guys in cool masks flipping around everyone to be anything but faces.
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/973751562089762816
Who’s going to boo that? Besides Drew Gulak.
Hideo picks up the W, and I think he either needs a new finish, or at least to not start from the dragon sleeper position. That extra step to get from that position to the final position is so awkward. It’s like .5 on the Saxton Scale. If he can’t use the GTS, he should go with something completely different. I would say stick with the Rings of Saturn, but that probably won’t work when Neville totally comes back after WrestleMania to reclaim his position as King of the Cruiserweights …
Best: A Gentleman’s Squash
I still hate “Gentleman” Jack’s new ring attire. THIS is the kind of wrestling that Jack should have been doing ever since he turned heel. I hate the WWE’s thing where they turn someone heel and immediately make them incapable of winning a match without cheating or chicken shit heeling it up. A bruising tough man headbutting people unconscious all the while putting on a facade of being a proper gentleman — trying to deny his very ruthless nature — that’s a compelling character.
There’s no point in getting upset about the things in the past that we can’t change, though, so, in the spirit of staying in the present, I will toast 205 Live for taking a step towards making Gallagher a credible threat again.
I’m also loving all these 205 enhancement talents showing up. Are we going to find our 205 James Ellsworth? Can 205 Live just sign James Ellsworth?!
Best: Losing Strong
I feel like every week I’m typing “this might have been the match of the tournament” Part of that is recency bias, I’m sure, but mostly it’s letting immensely talented wrestlers wrestle closer to the kind of matches that got them hired in the first place. I love 205 Live so much right now. If this match would have been for the title at WrestleMania, I would have been completely satisfied.
It’s a testament to how Roderick has performed since joining the 205 Live roster that, even though I’ve known Cedric was advancing to the finals the moment they announced the tournament, there were several times I was convinced Roddy was about to win. It also shows what a huge difference a crowd makes in a wrestling match. This match last week would have still had some a-hole trying to start up a “Let’s Go Pack” chant ten minutes in. The crowd was so into this match that a leg on the rope break got a huge pop.
I know it’s a recurring joke with Roddy using the knee or Roddy attacking the back, but
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/973757517183545344
this was incredible. Also it’s good to see Cedric graduated from the D-Von Dudley school of selling after that.
The only thing in the match that was not a 100% screaming from the rooftops best was the finish. I guess from the opening bell that Cedric would get a quick roll up to squeak out a victory and, ahem, Make Roddy Look Strong. (I’m sorry about that.) Whoever wins at WrestleMania, Roderick has made a statement and would make for a fantastic first challenger for the title.
Next week: The final semifinal match to determine Cedric Alexander’s opponent at WrestleMania. Drew Gulak faces Mustafa Ali in what will hopefully continue our escalating “best tournament matches” thing.
See you all next week.
