Previously on 205 Live, Kalisto and Gran Metalik took on the team of The Brian Kendrick, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, and a water bottle. Hideo Itami debuted to CM Punk chants. And Cedric Alexander defeated Drew Gulak in a fantastic match.
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And now, the best and worst of WWE 205 Live for December 26, 2017.
Best: Oxford Educated Knees
Jack Gallagher on the mic is always a highlight for me. The man has quite a way with words. Although I had to rewind a second because I thought that he called the Chicago crowd “Polacks” instead of “Pillocks” That’s a hell of a way to get heel heat in Chicago. Speaking of Chicago, a Worst to this crowd. I know this wasn’t the greatest match of all time, but if this is what you consider “awful” then you are probably the luckiest wrestling fan alive.
Hideo is in a weird spot right now. After showing up hot helping out Finn Balor on Raw, he made his long awaited debut on 205 Live to a fairly tepid response. Then, in his second Raw appearance, he legit busted up The Brian Kendrick’s face with the GTS (Merry Christmas Brian!).
Now, after this perceived lackluster performance in his second 205 Live appearance, I wonder how much confidence the front office has in Hideo to be a real player. The decision to not use the GTS tonight will also be telling. If it’s just because they didn’t want the massive CM Punk chants in Chicago that is one thing, but if they’ve decided that Hideo can’t be trusted to hit it and have added it to the list of banned moves, well, that certainly doesn’t bode well for Hideo Itami.
The decision to have Hideo win with the Rings of Saturn instead of the running knee puts my smarky fantasy booking brain in overdrive. What if this is the start of King Neville’s return, where he and Hideo beat the hell out of each other until they finally settle it all for the Cruiserweight title at WrestleMania? I know it won’t happen, but a boy can dream. Feel better, The Brian.
Worst: Eight Reasons Why This Doesn’t Make Sense
Tony Nese getting kicked out of the Zo Train and Drew Gulak deciding to turn his back on his friend was a compelling piece of WWE storytelling. For Nese to come back, completely unrelated to the story he was involved in, just seems like a misstep.
I know that “the booking isn’t going the way I want it to go” doesn’t mean that the booking is wrong, but I feel that Tony Nese’s character didn’t really change at all after what should have been a defining moment. Tony Nese as a thorn in the Zo Train’s side that keeps them from fully focusing on Cedric/whoever is feuding with Enzo would be such a fun character thing.
I really wanted Nese to come back as a red-hot babyface, if for no other reason than to open up the moveset. As a member of the Zo Train, Tony Nese was the cocky heel who had a a couple of fun spots. Now, as a “still a heel maybe,” he somehow got more nondescript. If The Premier Athlete isn’t doing his tree of woe bicycle crunch kicks, then something has gone wrong.
Best: #PushMustafa
As always, all the Bests for Drew Gulak being Drew Gulak. The show-opening promo with Cedric; “Why would Sasha Banks call me?”; his exasperated “EVERY TIME” when Cedric rudely interrupted his end of the year Power Point presentation; his “No. Noooooooo” when taking a perfect Lumbar Check. If there is a “Best of 2017” for the WWE, I think Drew Gulak takes the number one spot. (Braun is a close number two.)
And hey, Mustafa Ali everyone! I know it’s the hometown pop, but if a couple of bad performances is able to get the brass to sour on a wrestler, maybe this showing will be enough to give Ali a bit of a real push. Mustafa Ali has that Sami Zayn perfect babyface quality, and hopefully the coming year will be his time to shine.
The real star of this match, though, was Cedric. Cedric has everything to be not only a great cruiserweight champ, but a world champ, too. The moves are all there, he has a great look, and the mic work is more than passable. The Lumbar Check is the best finish in the company right now.
I know that this story ends with Drew Gulak standing up to and overcoming Enzo Amore, but I also think they are both so dynamic that they don’t need the title to tell their story. If anything, Cedric taking the title on Monday can be the thing that pushes Enzo vs. Drew in earnest.
That’s it for this year of 205 Live. Thanks for reading, and here’s to a fantastic 2018 of cruiserweight action.
