1/20 WWE Live Event in Lowell, Mass.: 205 Live brand including Enzo vs. Cedric, Bray vs. Woken Matt, Itami vs. Gallagher

WWE LIVE EVENT REPORT – 205 LIVE
JANUARY 20, 2018
LOWELL, MASS. AT THE MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM
REPORT BY SEAN D., PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

If you attend a live event, please send a report like the one below to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!

The Lowell Memorial Auditorium holds 2,000-ish people for wrestling, and I’d guess it was 75-80 percent full. Maybe 1,500 people. I thought that was pretty good for 205 Live. It was an enthusiastic crowd with lots of kids. The show felt old-school in some fun ways. The wrestlers interacted with the crowd at ringside a lot, and there were a bunch of amusing familiar spots that I would not associate with 2018 WWE. For instance, two consecutive matches featured the sport where the heel offers an insincere handshake and the babyface agonizes over whether to accept. The faces won every match except the main event.

(1) Hideo Itami defeated Jack Gallagher in a solid opener. Itami used a finisher I didn’t recognize instead of the GTS. Is he banned from using it?

(2) Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated Drew Gulack & TJP. Some crisp matwork early and also lots of exciting high-flying. Gulak was hilarious. Kids really enjoy doing that Lucha chant.

These were by far the best matches of the night. As far as work goes, it was downhill from there.

(3) Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt. Matt seems to be extremely limited at this point. This was a nothing of a match.

(4) Akira Tozawa defeated Ariya Dairvari. Fine.

(5) Mustafa Ali defeated Tony Neese. Also fine. I don’t know anything about Ali but he looked really green to me. Cool athletic stuff, but I kept thinking he might hurt himself.

(6) Enzo Amore defeated Cedric Alexandra. Nia Jax was special guest referee and the match was built around that. First Enzo accidentally collided with her; then Alexander accidentally kicked her. While she was recovering from the kick, Alexander pinned Amore. Jax refused to count, hit Alexander with a Samoan drop, and then dragged Amore’s lifeless body onto Alexander and counted the pin.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I’d say Enzo was probably the most over person at the show, although he managed to turn some of the crowd with an anti-Lowell promo: Enzo: “How ya doin’?” Crowd: Yaaaay. Enzo: “The answer should be terrible, because we’re in Lowell.” I am from Lowell, and I can confirm this.

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS RESULTS: 1/21 WWE in Greenville, N.C.: Very first live event, New Day vs. Rusev Day, Styles vs. Sami in a cage main event, Nakamura vs. Corbin

If you attend a live event, please send a report like the one below to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!