SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE 205 LIVE TV REPORT
OCTOBER 18, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.
REPORT BY MICHAEL TAYLOR, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Aiden English, Tom Philips
-The show opened with Drake Maverick congratulating the members of the 205 Live Roster who were drafted to either Raw or Smackdown. Maverick said he was drafted to Smackdown. He announced he made a deal with NXT general manager William Regal that would allow NXT wrestlers, that weigh less than 205 lbs., to compete on 205 Live. Maverick said he expected nothing but the best from everyone who competes on 205 Live.
(Taylor’s Analysis: While the 205 Live roster needs to be freshened up, this could do damage to any wrestler from NXT who competes on this show. I think the idea is that the quality of the matches will improve and thus, interest in the show will increase. This doesn’t address the primary issues of 205 Live at all, however. The crowd, or what’s left of it, is usually tired after two hours of Smackdown. The empty arenas make the show look so minor league. Good matches don’t matter if the people in the building or the people watching at home don’t care about them.)
-After the 205 Live intro video, the camera panned the audience before landing on the announcers. Jack Gallagher made his ring entrance and Phillips noted that Gallagher had competed on the very first episode of 205 Live.
(1) JACK GALLAGER vs. THE BRIAN KENDRICK
-Gallagher made his ring entrance. Replays of Kendrick’s attack on Gallagher with a kendo stick were shown. Kendrick abandoned his normal entrance and rang to the ring but was met by Gallagher. The two brawled and the referee held off on ringing the bell. Gallagher threw Kendrick into the barrier and then hit a Gentleman’s dropkick. Kendrick was able to pull a kendo stick from under the ring and struck Gallagher in the stomach. With both men finally in the ring, the bell rang. Kendrick punished Gallagher with strikes before launching him into the turnbuckle three times. After that, Kendrick applied a modified armbar until Gallagher broke free from the hold. Kendrick attempted to charge Gallagher but was thrown over the top rope. Gallagher hit a suplex on the outside and both men returned to the ring. From there, Gallagher hit a top rope dropkick for a two count. After countering offense from Gallagher, Kendrick cinched in the captain’s hook submission. Gallagher broke the hold, rallied, and hit a gentleman’s dropkick. Kendrick was able to break the pinfall attempt by putting his foot on the bottom rope. Gallagher retrieved the kendo stick from outside the ring. With both men back on their feet, Kendrick hit his sliced bread finisher for the victory.
WINNER: The Brian Kendrick via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: Kendrick’s heel persona is one of the highlights of the roster. He reminds me of Kevin Sullivan in his prime. I never notice his size because he carries himself so viciously. It looks like with Mike Kanellis asking for his release, they chose not to follow-up on the closing moments of last week’s show where Kendrick and Kanellis formed an alliance.)
-A commercial for WWE 2K20 aired, followed by a commercial for WWE’s partnership with Susan G. Komen.
-A video package highlighting Angel Garza aired.
-The show returned to the arena with ring announcer Greg Hamilton introducing the Singh Brothers. Hamilton called the Singh Brothers the first overall draft picks in the WWE Bollywood draft.
(2) THE SINGH BROTHERS vs. JUSTIN ALEXANDER & JUSTIN MORRIS
-The match started with Samir Singh and Alexander. Alexander mocked Samir’s Bollywood dancing and then cinched in a headlock. Samir countered a charging Alexander and then tagged Sunil. Sunil jumped from the second rope and hit Alexander with a double ax handle. Alexander countered a suplex and tagged Morris. Sunil hit spinning heel kick before tagging Samir. The Singh Brothers hit the Bollywood blast on Morris for the victory. After the three count, the Singh Brothers danced around ringside and celebrated the win.
(Taylor’s Analysis: A squash match win for the Singh Brothers? That’s the best use of time on this show? I can’t remember a more useless squash match. There was no point to this at all. The Singh Brothers have been on the losing end of squash matches for years now. They should have at least won a few matches before this.)
-A commercial for WWE shop aired, followed by a commercial for the WWE championship match at Crown Jewel between Brock Lesnar and Cain Valasquez.
-A video package aired highlighting the NXT Cruiserweight championship match between Lio Rush and Drew Gulak. The package ended, and the announcers noted the return of the newly crowned champion, Lio Rush, to 205 Live next week.
(3) ARIYA DAIVARI vs. TONY NESE vs. ONEY LORCAN
-Nese and Daivari attacked Lorcan as soon as the bell rang. Both men took turns beating Lorcan down before Lorcan hit a double clothesline on both men. Lorcan threw both men over the top rope and challenged both men to get back in the ring. Nese and Daivari returned to the ring, and Daivari attempted two surprise roll-ups on Lorcan. From there, Nese took control of Lorcan until Daivari tried a surprise roll-up on Nese. With all three men back in the ring, Lorcan and Nese began double-teaming Daivari. Lorcan rallied, but an uppercut on Daivari, but was countered by a knee from Nese. Daivari fell to the outside of the ring as Nese cinched in a headlock on Lorcan. Aiden English called Lorcan a “vicious camel” which made Tom Phillips laugh. English tried to explain the comment by saying Lorcan could “survive for a long time without the sustenance of life”.
(Taylor’s Analysis: Hearing the analogy “like a vicious camel” has been the best part of this show thus far and is in my commentary hall of fame. “Vicious Camel” should have been trending worldwide.)
-Lorcan broke the headlock with a jawbreaker before being attacked by Daivari. After a reverse DDT, Daivari beat Lorcan down in the corner. An audible “Boring!’ chant broke out in the crowd. Nese returned to the ring and hit a kick on Lorcan for a two count. From there, Daivari and Nese began double-teaming Lorcan for a second time before hitting a double suplex. Daivari attacked Nese again from behind. Nese fell to the floor as Lorcan took control of Daivari. Daivari fell to the outside and Lorcan hit a dive on both men. All three men returned to the ring. Lorcan hit a double blockbuster for a two count. The pace quickened until Nese hit a springboard moonsault on Lorcan. Daivari broke up the pinfall attempt and hit a uranage on Nese for a two count. Daivari then slammed Nese into Lorcan for a two count. After, Lorcan hit a half and half suplex on Daivari rolled to the outside after the move. With Daivari on the outside, Nese attempted a 450 splash on Lorcan but missed. Lorcan then hit a half suplex and attempted a pinfall but it was broken up by Daivari.
(Taylor’s Analysis: The crowd started to boo at this point but I’m pretty sure they were doing so because this was not the end of the match. Ouch.)
Lorcan hit a superplex on Daivari. From there, Nese hit a modified piledriver on Lorcan for the victory. After the win, Nese grabbed a headset from the announcer’s table and said he was going to win back the Cruiserweight title.
WINNER: Tony Nese via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: Tonight, WWE found a way to damage the triple threat match even further: Book one at complete random. This wasn’t to determine the number one contender. It wasn’t three wrestlers settling a heated personal issue. What was the point of this? As per usual, all three wrestlers worked hard but it was completely in vain. The crowd rejected the match.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a completely forgettable episode of 205 Live. It suffered from an unenthused and, at times, angry crowd, random stipulations, and matches that had no purpose. The writers should use this show as an example of what not to do going forward.
CATCH UP… 10/11 WWE 205 LIVE TV REPORT: Akira Tozawa vs. Brian Kendrick, Lorcan & Burch vs. Gulak & Nese
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