SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE 205 LIVE TV REPORT
NOVEMBER 15, 2019
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
REPORT BY MICHAEL TAYLOR, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Aiden English, John Quasto
-The show opened with a video package highlighting the match between Cruiserweight champion Lio Rush and Hector Garza on NXT. Rush was shown celebrating a tainted win, as one of Garza’s feet was under the bottom rope during the pinfall. The package ended with Garza arguing with Rush’s wife who was seated at ringside. The 205 Live intro video played and then the camera panned the audience. Angel Garza then made his ring entrance and the camera turned to Aiden English on commentary. English introduced John Quasto who was making his debut on the 205 live announce team.
(1) ANGEL GARZA vs. JACK GALLAGHER
The bell rang as the announcers recapped Garza’s controversial loss to Rush. They traded holds on the mat. Both men returned to their feet and the pace quickened. Garza reversed a head scissors and drove Gallagher into the mat for a two count. From there, Garza hit a springboard suplex followed by a basement dropkick for a two count. He then dropkicked Gallagher in the corner and performed his signature tear-away tights routine. Gallagher surprised Garza with a roll-up for a two count. Garza quickly responded with a modified headlock. After breaking the hold, Gallagher responded with several strikes and a power slam. After a double under-hook suplex, Gallagher scored a two count. Garza knocked Gallagher outside the ring and slammed him on the apron. With both men back in the ring, Gallagher hit a gentleman’s headbutt. With Garza in the corner, Gallagher attempted a gentleman’s dropkick, but Garza countered with a roll-up and held the tights for the win. After the match, Gallagher overheard English talking about the loss on commentary and physically intimidated him before walking to the back
WINNER: Angel Garza via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: The show is back to following Smackdown and the atmosphere fully reflects that. Garza, who recently had the Full Sail arena in a frenzy, got no crowd reaction. I agree with giving Garza the win but, it’s a shame that Gallagher’s dominant win on a previous episode meant nothing. He should not have been booked in a match he had to lose so quickly. This is one of the many reasons no one stands out on this roster.)
-A commercial for WrestleMania 36 aired.
-The show returned with announcer Greg Hamilton announcing the next match would be for the 24/7 title.
(2) SAMIR SINGH (CHAMPION) vs. TIM GANGE – 24/7 title match
-Before the match, Samir took the microphone and announced that after this evening, he would be the longest reigning 24/7 champion in history. Both Singh Brothers sang in celebration before turning their attention to Gange and pointed out he was from Philadelphia. They then announced the 24/7 rules would be suspended during the match and that Gange would have to face both Singh Brothers in a handicap match. The bell rang and the Singhs attacked Gange. Gange dodged a charging Singh brother and then hit several drop-kicks. Gange played to the crowd to almost no reaction. A “This is awful!” chant started. The Singh brothers hit the Bollywood blast for the win. The announcer’s noted that after the win, the 24/7 rules were back in force.
WINNERS: The Singh Brothers via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: The crowd did all the work for me here. This was awful. I can’t fathom that a team of writers could not come up with a better way to fill the time than with this segment. If this is WWE’s way of trying to phase out the 24/7 title from main roster TV, it’s a mistake. This is only further damaging 205 Live. Get rid of the 24/7 title. Almost no one will notice or care.)
-A commercial for WWE Shop aired, followed by a commercial for the women’s match between Becky Lynch, Shana Baszler, and Bayley at Survivor Series.
-The show returned, and the announcers threw to a pre-taped interview with Lio Rush. Rush was with his wife and said Garza disrespected him in front of his family. He turned directly to the camera and said if Garza ever messed with his wife again, he would rearrange Garza’s face. Back in the arena, Lio Rush made his ring entrance.
(Taylor’s Analysis: This was one of the only bright spots on the show. Rush sounded believable and made me want to see a rematch.)
(3) LIO RUSH & RAUL MENDOZA vs. TONY NESE & ARIYA DAIVARI
-The match began with Nese and Daivari double-teaming Mendoza after knocking Rush off the ring apron. All four men briefly brawled in the ring. Nese and Daivari were knocked to the outside and Rush and Mendoza each hit respective dives. Mendoza and Daivari entered the ring and were dubbed the legal men. Rush and Mendoza kept control of the match after several quick tags. Eventually, Rush tagged in and they hit tandem offense on Daivari. Rush scored a two count. After a blind tag, Nese entered the ring and threw Rush to the outside. Back in the ring, Nese and Daivari controlled Rush in the corner with frequent tags. Nese threw Rush to the outside a second time. With the referee’s back turned, Daivari tried to attack Rush but was countered. Rush quickly ran into the ring and tagged Mendoza. Mendoza rallied and hit a spinning neck breaker followed by a springboard moonsault for a two count. Nese took back control and hit a running elbow for a two count. Daivari tagged back in cinched in a sleeper hold. Mendoza quickly broke the hold and tagged in Rush. The pace quickened and Rush hit a flurry of offense. With Daivari on the mat, Rush scaled the top rope. Daivari quickly met Rush at the top and hit an overhead suplex. Daivari tagged in Nese who hit a pump-handle slam. Mendoza rushed the ring and broke up the two count. Chaos ensued until Rush hit a springboard stunner. Mendoza tagged back in and hit a modified slam for a two count. From there, Nese countered a diving Mendoza and attempted a 450 splash but missed. With Nese on the mat, Rush tagged back in and hit the final hour for the win. Rush and Mendoza showed each other respect and celebrated their win as the show ended.
WINNERS: Lio Rush & Raul Mendoza via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: Per usual, everyone worked hard, but did so in front of a crowd that didn’t care. If Mendoza can string together a series of wins, a rematch with Rush could mean something in the future.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: To paint the picture of why 205 Live is failing, all someone would have to do is watch last week’s show and this week’s show in succession. The Full Sail crowd cared about the matches and had fun expressing their passion. The post-Smackdown audience didn’t care about what they were watching, and it was obvious. Rush continuously getting the victory in his matches is a positive, as he feels like more of an exemplary champion than previous titleholders. Lastly, John Quasto’s debut on commentary was fine, albeit, very unremarkable. Overall, this episode was very disappointing with almost nothing worth watching.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.