So yes, it finally happened. Enzo Amore is now a part of the cruiserweight division.
Everyone's suggestion for the Certified G cum Bonafide Stud (how you doin') finally came true as he showed up at the end of the post-SummerSlam episode of your favorite purple-roped Network show. The funny part is that it came too late, causing fans to want to take their suggestions back at a time when it seems Enzo has overstayed his welcome.
Or has he?
Let's break down all the pieces first. It's pretty much clear that Enzo, being arguably the biggest star the division has right now, will be challenging for Neville's Cruiserweight Championship. They especially got Akira Tozawa—a wrestler far more talented than Enzo, for sure—out of the way by having his rematch already. All they'll need to do is have Enzo earn the shot in a contendership match, as 205 Live is wont to do nowadays.
I probably will need to gauge the reactions of future 205 Live crowds to fully justify this, but despite the fact that Enzo's taking spots away from more deserving wrestlers, he still raises the arena noise level consistently, given the right crowd. Like it or not, Enzo's going to shine a whole new spotlight on the purple division (the same spotlight Austin Aries could've shone) just because of who he is and what he can do.
For his part, though, he has to keep earning his spot—even if it's the spot of a big fish in a small pond—by working on what he can't do. He's easily the worst worker in a whole scene of accomplished wrestlers, so if he really loves the business he'll learn by osmosis from working with someone like Neville. If not, you can consider this 205 Live run Enzo's last stand.
As for Tozawa, it was a shame that he was used as filler for Neville's reign. This rematch on 205 Live should have been the match that happened at SummerSlam, but the PPV's loss is the Network show's gain. His start-and-stop booking makes even more sense with Enzo's arrival, and he'll look to be in dire straits storywise because there's no clear #2 heel in the division after Neville. At this point, WWE might as well team him and Apollo Crews and have Titus Worldwide make a new start in the tag team division.
A reordering of the status quo is at hand, and I'm not sure I'm looking forward to it.
205 Live 8/22/17 Grade: Despite the storyline implications, this week's episode was actually pretty solid. The Jack Gallagher/Sprinkles the Clown/Brian Kendrick wasn't even that bad, either. Let's give this episode a B+.
Short stops
- I'm sad that we won't be able to explore more of Mad King Neville.
- As much as I enjoyed the tag rematch from last week, absolutely nothing new happened. Not even in any tiny details. Gran Metalik winning is nice, but what's the point of repeating the exact same result? How did this story move forward? Where is it going, now? Why did we do this to stall Nese's momentum?
- I hope next week's No-DQ match is the end of the Gallagher/Kendrick feud. Angry Jack is fun to watch but I want something else for these two to do already. Besides, the deck needs to be shuffled again with a new contendership match.
- Confirmed: the TJ "injury" is a work. Hey, I know you think I look silly for not figuring it out last week, but I'm just making sure.
- The other cruiserweights have been reduced to doing filler six-man tags on RAW, which goes to show you how hard it is to book an entire third-tier division. You need a fucking ladder system already. Listen to me.
The Cruiserweight Division Power Rankings (as of 8/25/17)
THINGS DONE CHANGED. We obviously have a new #1, according to the Smarkometrics Experience Xtreme (tm) after last weekend:
- 1. Neville, #2 last week — Well... were you expecting anyone else?
- 2. Akira Tozawa, #1 last week — Sigh. There better be a good rebound in this for the Powah of Tozawa.
- 3. Enzo Amore, new — Finally, our power rankings get back to 15 guys. It does bump down Cedric Alexander one spot, but their win over Nese and Gulak doesn't do anything.
- 4. Cedric Alexander, #3 last week — See Enzo Amore.
- 5. Tony Nese, #4 last week — Nese had to drop down a spot anyway due to taking another L. Are we moving toward a feud between him and Gulak, or what? Because that's not gonna put butts in seats.
- 6. Gran Metalik, #8 last week — This makes me so happy, yo. I just wish I knew where this was taking him now.
- 7. Rich Swann, no movement — At least picks a win up at RAW to get his heat back from Ariya Daivari.
- 8. The Brian Kendrick, #10 last week — TBK claws his way back up due to a win on Main Event.
- 9. Jack Gallagher, #6 last week — Gets punked out, but at least beats up a clown?
- 10. TJP, #5 last week — Hey, the "injury" allows him to play mind games, but it's not really doing him any favors by sitting out competition.
- 11. Mustafa Ali, no movement — Mustafa Ali takes a W in the big RAW eight-man tag, but we all know he's just in a holding pattern right now.
- 12. Ariya Daivari, #9 last week — Doesn't lose badly, but the rankings have shaken up so bad that he's got no choice but to drop down three spots. He'll have his chance to get his win back when he faces Rich Swann again next week.
- 13. Drew Gulak, #14 last week — Moves up one spot because he's in a story, despite being the guy to take the fall for the second week in a row.
- 14. Noam Dar, #13 last week — Going nowhere again. Sad that they have nothing for him after Alicia Fox..
- 15. Lince Dorado, #12 last week — We finally have a #15 again, and Dorado is back being the babyface whipping boy of the division. Poor cat.
Photo from WWE
*****
Romeo Moran (@roiswar) is the Editor in Chief of Smark Henry and one of the three hosts of the Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast. He gets by in this hard knock life through working in publishing. Smark Henry was his and Stan Sy's original vision of a watering hole for local wrestling fans. He roots for the undersized guys who hit hard, but really hates Davey Richards with his entire soul. He likes taking your wrestling questions over on his Curiouscat account.
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