SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE 205 LIVE
JANUARY 17, 2017
MEMPHIS, TENN. AT FED EX FORUM
AIRED LIVE ON WWE NETWORK
Report by Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTorch Contributor
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, Austin Aries
Joey G here. LET’S DO IT CRUISERS.
Show opens recapping the feud between Daivari and Gallagher. Ariya has his family name to uphold, and Jack refuses to let this scoundrel besmirch his honor. Tonight this ends…in an “I forfeit” match.
“Hail the crown” plays. Gametime.
Dream announce team is still with us. They immediately remind us of the title match happening at Royal Rumble between Neville and Rich Swann before hyping the main event. AA gives Ariya the advantage, because he’s Austin Aries that’s why.
Human torture device Drew Gulak is out for the evening’s first contest. His opponent is an Alicia Foxless Cedric Alexander. (Cedric get’s a nice pop)
Oh wait, Alicia comes out anyway but without Cedric’s knowledge. She comes up to him and he shoo’s her away. Fox starts screaming. (I swear that even if the tv were on mute you could hear her)
Noam comes out to try to calm her down. Alicia calls Alexander a rookie before Dar charges the ring on Fox’s behalf. He and Gulak start beating Cedric down before Alexander clears the ring of them both.
Cedric then takes them out with a tope suicido. (AIR ALEXANDER according to Mauro) On the outside Gulak blindsides Cedric with a chop-block and his knee is hurt.
Noam and Alicia finally leave. Bell never rang, but it does look like this match will still happen.
(1) Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak
Match starts as Drew charges Cedric only to eat a big boot. Gulak picks the leg but Alexander takes him down with a dropkick which hurts Cedric’s knee.
Alexander tires to suplex Drew out of the ring but instead eats a dragon-screw leg whip over the rope.
Gulak works the leg with ankle-locks and leg stomps. Corey calls him a shark, circling his prey. Two shin-breakers on Cedric and Gulak goes for the pin but only gets a two.
In the corner Cedric hits a frankensteiner and then back body drops Drew over the top rope. As Gulak comes back in the ring Alexander lays him out with a series of lariets but his injured leg is still bothering him. He lands a split-leg moonsault for a two count.
Cedric goes for the lumbar check but Drew blocks it. When he does get him up his leg collapses underneath him. Gulak chop-blocks his other knee, and then wins with a belly-to back suplex.
WINNER: Drew Gulak wins by pinfall at 5:50.
Backstage Noam is with Alicia and he says he did that for her. She slaps him. (DAMN SHE CRAZY)
Back to the announce team and Austin Aries has no idea what’s going on. (They all laugh)
Cut to a promo-package recapping Neville and Swann’s exchange last week. The video details their former relationship. Neville says Swann is impressive, and that they knew each other in Japan, but he’s not on his level. Swann mentions that he looked up to Neville, and feels betrayed after the king’s attacks. Neville’s response: “Swann feels betrayed….BOO HOO.” Neville then says that in life, there are no heroes. In life monsters win. (I’M PHYSICALLY TREMBLING.) Package ends sending us to commercial.
Graves welcomes us back and Mustafa Ali is out. (Again they mention that he is from Pakistan, which is fine, but when he was in Chicago they called that his hometown. Whatever)
Cut backstage to an interview with the “premier athlete” Tony Nese. He says that he is faster, stronger, and better than the rest of the competition. He understands that most can’t relate to that concept, but that’s why there are thousands of people, and only one Tony Nese.
Mauro and Corey say these guys could bring the division up to the next level. Aries agrees, just not to AA levels.
Handshake. Tony holds on for intimidation reasons.
(2) Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali
Early takedown and cover by Mustafa who then locks Tony in an arm-lock. The two have a test of strength. Mustafa counters and hits a frankensteiner, flexes his muscles, then hits a Caribbean kick for a two count.
AA wonders by Ali doesn’t keep the heat on Nese. It comes back to bite him as Tony knocks down Ali off the ropes and lands his gut-buster for another close two. Nese locks in a body-scissor to continue damage to the ribs.
After working Mustafa over Nese misses his spring-board moonsault giving Ali an opportunity to get back in it. Ali nails a clothesline and a vicious roundhouse to put Tony on his back. Rolling neckbreaker (through the ropes damn) for another two-count. Corey calls it “wicked.” (It really was)
Mustafa shows off his athleticism with a tornado DDT. His ribs are still bother him, and Tony takes advantage and drives his shoulder and Mustafa into the corner, followed by a German Suplex into the turnbuckle. A running knee gets the premier athlete the win.
WINNER: Tony Nese wins by pinfall at 5:54.
Graves reminds us that the massive gut-buster is what turned the match around for Nese. He believes Tony is on the fast trak for success.
Corey than tells us to tune into Talking Smack. Lawler will be on it. (He was actually rather good on SD so perhaps tune in?)
Bad news team. Tajiri got injured and won’t be able to compete. (Real, not Kayfabe.) Kendrick sent out a great tweet saying that Tajiri got hurt because he spit in Brian’s face. (THAT’S WHAT HE GETS.)
Promo package for Akirz Tozawa narrated by Apollo Crews. He says that the man is full of enthusiasm, and is excited for him to debut. (Aren’t we all DO IT ALREADY.)
Commercial break for NXT. (Roode and Shinsuke contract signing)
We’re back and it’s MAIN EVENT TIME, BAY BAY. Ring announcer reminds the crowd that there is no DQ in an I forfeit match.
“Gentleman” Jack Gallagher is out first. He has his lucky umbrella.
Mauro reminds us of the Mankind and Rock “I quit” match from the Royal Rumble. Ya know… the one with the 13 chair shots to Mick Foley’s head.
Ref tries to bring them in for a handshake. NO DICE.
(3) Jack Gallagher vs. Ariya Daivari – I Forfeit match
Tie-up. Jack gets the first licks in with an uppercut and a hammerlock. Ariya snatches a head-lock but Jack picks the leg and goes for a surf-board. Instead he does a double-knee stomp. Ref asks him, but Ariya says no. AA says he would just jam his thumb in someone’s eye until they quit. (Never change Austin)
Daivair throws Jack into the corner. Headstand spot. He grabs his umbrella but Daivari kicks him and then breaks it off his knee! (POOR WILLIAM) Graves and AA are happy about that.
On the apron and Daivari hits a sidewalk-slam. He locks Gallagher in a camel-clutch on the ropes. Ref asks. Jack says no.
Daivari hits a neckbreaker on the outside. Ariya says that Jack needs to quit just like all the losers in the building. Corey tells Austin that he and him are excluded from that list of losers.
Back in the ring Ariya fish-hooks Jack and is in full control. He drives his knee across Gallaghers face. Jack gets to his feet and responds with some fists, but a knee by Ariya and Jack is down again.
Daivari is getting frustrated. He pulls Jack into the ringpost and wraps his body for a submission. Aries tells Ariya to rip off Jack’s mustache. Instead, Daivari smashes Gallagher’s head off the announce table and ties his turbin around Jack’s wrist like handcuffs.
Ariya asks Jack to quit, but Jack calls him a SCOUNDREL. (This dudes my hero) Gallagher has no arms but he fights back with headbutts. He uses his flexibility to untie his hands. He reaches under the ring and grabs…ANOTHER UMBRELLA.
They fight up the ramp and Ariya throws Jack into the set. He goes for a powerbomb but Jack handsprings him into the titantron. Jack grabs his umbrella again and lays into Daivari. This takes them back toward the ring. Jack goes up to Corey, gets on the head-set, and asks him to move. Corey refuses, until Jack throws Daivari right at them.
Gallagher starts taking apart the table but Ariya sweeps his leg out and Jack bounces off. He again goes for a power-bomb but Jack drops him on his back and hits his running dropkick. Behind the bell keeper he grabs…ANOTHER UMBRELLA.
In the ring Jack says that as an extraordinary gentlemen he will give Ariya the opportunity to quit, otherwise he will thrash him within an inch of his life. Daivari pretends that he’s going to, but instead uses the mic as a weapon and hits Jack in the throat. He locks in the cobra-clutch but Gallagher doesn’t quit!
Jack uses the new William (umbrella) or as Corey calls it William the 3rd to submit Ariya with a cross-face chicken-wing.
WINNER: Jack Gallagher wins by submission at 14:15.
The announce team reminds us that this feud has officially come to a close, and that’s the show!
JG FINAL ANALYSIS: A fun show that the crowd was really into! (And by “really into,” I mean more into than most 205 shows.) Some great advancement on Cedric’s character post Alicia Fox, although it doesn’t seem like she is leaving him alone anytime soon. Nice showing by Ali and Tony Nese, but the real winners of the night were Gallagher and Daivari, who put a satisfying end to what has been the second best feud on this show. Ariya specifically deserves some kudos, as he really worked the tired crowd to keep them into the fight before Jack’s eventual comeback and triumph. Also, I don’t know whose idea it was to have three umbrellas, but it was a fantastic series of spots that the crowd really ate up. Little sad to see this feud end since these guys really did mesh very well together, but never say never, right? Announce team was spot on, as usual. No sighting of the champ or the soon to be king Neville, but the video package they put together did get me excited for their bout at Rumble. All in all, a show that really moved things forward, even if they’re experimenting with the 50-50 booking formula.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 1/10 WWE “205 Live” Review: Cedric vs. Dar, Kendrick vs. Maluta, Swan vs. Nesse, and a dose of Gallagher-Daivari
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