4/4 WWE 205 LIVE REPORT: Aries vs. Gallagher vs. Perkins vs. Ali, Tozawa vs. Kendrick, Swann vs. Lorcan

WWE 205 LIVE
AIRED APRIL 4, 2017
ORLANDO, FLA. AT AMWAY CENTER
Report by Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTorch Contributor

Announcers: Tom Philips, Corey Graves

JG here. Happy Post-Mania to you all.

Show opens with highlights from the epic matchup between Austin Aries and King Neville at Wrestlemania. In case you missed it (WHAT WERE YOU THINKING) Neville won with a Red-Arrow after he thumbed A.A. in his still healing orbital eye socket.

“Hail the Crown.” (ZzzzzzzZZZZzzzz)

Philips and Graves welcome us to the final show at Amway center after Raw and SD followed up a very eventful Wrestlemania. They hype the main event which is a #1 contenders Fatal-4 way match between Austin Aries, T.J. Perkins, Jack Gallagher and Mustafa Ali. (DOPPPE.)

Akira Tozawa comes out ready for a matchup. His opponent yet again, is Brian Kendrick.

Kendrick comes out with a mic saying he can’t believe Akira asked for a rematch. “Lesson #10: It’s not about athleticism, it’s about psychological supremacy.” (Fans started a 10 chant.) Graves is stunned that Kendrick would keep giving Tozawa these free lessons.

(1) AKIRA TOZAWA vs. BRIAN KENDRICK

Bell rings and Kendrick runs out of the ring immediately. Out of frustration Akira rushes after him.

Back in the ring Akira hits a jumping front kick followed by a screaming senton for a two count. The two trade knife-edge chops. Kendrick surprises Akira with a roll-up but he kicks out. Forearm smash. Eye rake by Kendrick! He hits a running crescent kick and takes control.

Akira breaks out of a rest-hold and lands a dropkick. Series of Irish-Whips followed by a nasty looking hurricanrrana. This sends Kendrick to the outside. AIR TOZAWA! (Suicide Dive.)

On the top rope and Brian’s going for a superplex.. Akira blocks it. He tries to leap over Brian but he comes down weird on his legs and Akira holds his leg in pain. As Kendrick turns his back Tozawa rolls him up for the sneaky victory. (HE PLAYED HIM.)

WINNER: Akira Tozawa at 5:12

Akira grabs a microphone and says that he just taught Brian Kendrick a lesson. Although, with his accent it was more like, “Eh juzz tawwwt chu hayyyy lessen.” Corey Graves says he’ll never trust Tozawa again, while Philips reminds us that what Akira did was one of the lessons Kendrick taught him. (Even if he’s right, who cares.) Break time.

Commercial for Mania 34 which will be in New Orleans and is rumored to be headlined by Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. GET AMPED.

Rich Swann is out next. Seems like he continues to have more and more fun on a weekly basis.

WOAAHHH. Oney Lorcan is out!!!! If you don’t know who that is he’s been on NXT a whole bunch. Graves says he’s the type of guy who will buy you a drink just so he can hit you with the glass. DUDE IS GREAT. BEST DEBUT OF THE PAST TWO DAYS. (I’m kidding…but am I?)

Handshake. Atta boy Corey.

(2) RICH SWANN vs. ONEY LORCAN

Oney explodes with a running uppercut sending Swann right into the turnbuckle. And another. AND ANOTHER. Swann goes for a dropkick that Oney dodges and DECAPITATES Swann with a clothesline. Two-count. (Crowd already loves this guy.)

Off the ropes Oney catches Swann in an octopus-stretch. Swann hammers his way out with some elbows but eats a knee right to the gut. Oney drops Swann over the ropes and then wraps him in a body scissor. Philips and Graves wonder if Swann is focused on something other than the match. (ALICIAAA FOXXXXX?)

Swann breaks out and nails Oney with a stiff front-kick. He goes for the phoenix splash but Oney blocks it and goes for a reverse superplex. Swann, blocks it. WAIT NO HE DOESN’T. Swann lands on his feet. Spin kick to the gut.

Double-arm powerbomb attempt by Swann but Oney picks him up and ALABAMA SLAMS HIM INTO THE TURNBUCKLE AND HOLY S^%T THAT LOOKED LIKE IT HURT.

Both guys trade blows in the center. (And they’re stiff AF.) Knife edge chop. Oney goes up to the top but Swann kills him with a superkick and then a top rope frankensteiner. That sets up Lorcan for the Pheonix Splash and the victory.

WINNER: Rich Swann at 9:09

Praise goes to both men, but great debut for Oney. Graves says that Swann is as tough as the day is long. Philips calls Oney the Boston Brawler.

Post-match Swann gets on the mic and says that for weeks and weeks Alicia Fox has been getting presents sent to her. He says that Noam Dar has been taking credit for all the gifts, but Swann finally admits that it TWAS HE who sent the gifts. Corey is disgusted.

Backstage Mustafa Ali bumps into Drew Gulak. Drew commends Ali for his great match with Neville. Drew still wonders why Ali would put his body at such risk, and tells him that a more conservative approach will help him remain just as popular. Mustafa isn’t buying into it. Graves says he shouldn’t buy into it because Gulak can barely iron his shirt.

We are introduced to stars from the UK tournament. Trent Sevin, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, Pete Dunne, and a very dapper looking Tyler Bate. (Your United Kingdom Champion.) Philips says that they will be touring with 205 live, and that they will be getting that weekly television show.

Commercial for Total Divas and Talking Smack.

Back from break and Neville comes out. He claims that there is no one on the Neville Level. “It feels good to be proven right.” Even after proving himself he still believes that the WWE Universe doesn’t care enough about him. He then admits that he gouged A.A.’s eye because A.A. deserved it. (Works for me.) He then thanks the live audience, as well as the entire 205 live roster, for their attempts at taking away his cruiserweight championship have bolstered his status. He calls the fatal-4 way, “four more lambs to the slaughter.” (Awesome.)

Break. They’re still thanking Pitbull for “Greenlight.” I’ll have that stuck in my head for another 50 years.

Jack Gallagher is the first competitor out for the main event. Next comes T.J. Perkins. (Graves says that most of T.J.’s friends are only on social media, and most aren’t real.) Mustafa Ali is out next. (REP CHICAGO BUDDY.) And out last, the greatest man who ever lived. The man at the A-Double level.

Philips wonders where Arie’s head is at. Graves thinks that his loss at Mania may have focused A.A. even more for his future.

All four shake hands.

(3) AUSTIN ARIES vs. T.J. PERKINS vs. JACK GALLAGHER vs. MUSTAFA ALI

Aries and Ali tie-up. Perkins and Gallagher on the other side. Perkins takes down two guys with a head scissor but then runs into a deep arm-drag by A.A. Springboard assault by Perkins onto Ali on the outside.

Gallagher goes for a Mary Poppins dive but A.A. blocks it and suplexes him. Running bulldog clothesline combination from Perkins onto Jack and Aries. Pendulum dropkick. Ali catches T.J. with a spin-kick. Two-count.
Perkins eventually locks Gallagher in his finishing knee-bar! But Aries sneaks in and locks on last chancery! Ali breaks it up with a running drop-kick.

I don’t know how they set this up but all four men get caught in a running neckbreaker/reverse ddt spot and the crowd loves it.

Tower of doom spot in the corner! Aries and Gallagher double superplex Ali off the top.

Now just A.A. and Jack in the ring. Aries hits his patented swinging elbow. Irish whip and A.A. takes out Perkins and Ali with his suicide dive under the bottom rope. Jack grabs William the 3rd and hits his Mary Poppins spot.

Back in the ring and Gallagher has T.J. set up for his running dropkick but he misses. Tornado DDT from Ali onto Perkins! Cover but only two. (Aries breaks it up.)

A.A. sets up Ali for a superplex but Gallagher hits the running dropkick. Aries goes for the forearm, but Jack surprises him with a discus headbutt. Jack has A.A. beat but Perkins pulls out Aries!

In the ring Perkins and Gallagher trade blows. Perkins hits the detonation kick. Jack bounces off the ropes and hits another headbutt. A.A. sneaks in and hits his finishing five-earm to earn another opportunity at Neville’s crown.

WINNER: Austin Aries at 17:55 pinning T.J. Perkins

Aries and Neville mouth off at each other as the show goes off the air.

JG FINAL ANALYSIS: A great return for 205. Three really good matchups that the audience responded and showed interest in. I’m sure it helps that they were a smarky post-mania crowd but whatever works. A nice debut for Oney Lorcan, who, like Drew Gulak brings a more intense physical ground-game to the roster. Kendrick and Tozawa had another exchange that Tozawa was able to finally come out on top of but it would be nice to see them wrestling other guys in the division. Neville took another step forward in character development, and delivered one of his better promo’s in recent memory. The main event had a unique pace for a mult-man match. Don’t get me wrong, it was still very fast to keep up excitement, but there were some brilliant cruiserweight esque psychology spots in there. Add in the already-expansive movesets and you have a main event that delivered in every way a 205 main event should deliver. The call for Aries to continue to chase Neville was a good one, and I look forward to their feud building from the little time they had at Mania. Great work by Graves as always, but a real tip of the hat to Tom Philips, who must be zonked after such a long weekend.

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 3/28 WWE 205 LIVE REPORT: Aries and Neville hype WM33 match, Kendrick vs. Tozawa, Daivari vs. Swann