Previously on 205 Live, the final first round matches of the cruiserweight championship tournament had Buddy Murphy make his debut against Ariya Daivari, and Mustafa Ali took a heck of a beating in defeating “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher.
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And now, the Best and Worst of WWE 205 Live for February 20, 2018.
A Methodical Pace
I think it is a testament to the quality of post-Enzo 205 Live that this match now no longer qualifies as an instant best for me. When the tournament was first announced, I thought that a Cedric Alexander vs TJP match was one of the more likely final matches at WrestleMania. Instead we get it in the quaterfinals, and it was… okay? I feel like they just really didn’t mesh well at all.
I think Cedric advancing to WrestleMania was such a sure thing when this tournament was announced that there wasn’t a lot of drama in his last two matches. He has been the most protected wrestler on the roster. I’m trying to think of the last time he took a clean loss, and I can’t think of one.
Too much of this match was Cedric and TJP standing awkwardly after exchanging punches. They are two of the most talented wrestlers in the entire company, and they asked them to do the one thing they don’t excel at compared to everyone else. I don’t know if either of them were particularly to blame, or if it’s just one of those things where two guys just don’t click. Or maybe it was just an off night and 99 times out of 100 these two guys put on a barnburner classic. Or maybe I’m just overthinking a wrestling match again. Oh well. I liked the story of the match I thought they were telling, with TJP working Cedric’s knees so he wouldn’t be able to hit the lumbar check, but it didn’t really play into the finish.
Alexander’s inescapable march to the WrestleMania pre-show moves on.
Best: A Better 205 Live
All hail Drake Maverick. I’m glad they are acknowledging that Drake used to be Rockstar Spud, and that Drake Maverick is actually a self given terrible name. Since the start of the cruiserweight tournament, 205 Live has definitely been consistently the best show on WWE television. (And even before the tournament, if you could look past the fifteen minute Enzo promos.)
I don’t like this retcon that Drew Gulak’s Better 205 Live gimmick was anything other than amazing, and I don’t appreciate the shade being thrown at that awesome Halloween themed street fight, but I’m fully on board with everything the Drake Maverick era of 205 Live is doing.
Best: Hot Rod
We’re really making Roddy Strong one of the driving forces of the new 205 Live, aren’t we? Cool beans. Good on the crowd for being into the show so much. Hearing some “Roddy” chants and “205” chants warms my heart. This seemed like a fairly forgone conclusion as well, but it was still a pretty solid match. I imagine post tournament they are going to push the Lucha House Party thing, and maybe phase two of the 205 Live universe is the birth of the trios. Or a boy can dream.
I can’t see not-Cederic fighting for the title at Mania, so I think this is the end of the line for Roddy, but you never know. Crowds have been pretty into Roderick since his 205 Live debut (all two matches of him), and I’m sure Strong can have a great match with Mustafa Ali or Drew Gulak (or Andrews or Murphy, but I don’t think those guys have much of a shot either.)
Next week: The next quarterfinal matches begin, with Mustafa Ali facing the impressive Buddy Murphy and a newly intense Drew Gulak taking on the U.K. division’s Mark Andrews.
