Since WWE has changed the way 205 Live approaches and portrays the cruiserweight division, I figured it's time I changed the way I approach how I cover the show.
Moving forward, for anyone who still cares about this side of the division, I'll be breaking down each segment like the other Smark Henry reviewers do. With that out of the way, let's begin!
Where Do Nice Gentlemen Go?
This episode, being the first one after the abrupt Full Sail field trip while everyone else was in the UK, felt like a soft reboot of sorts. Brian Kendrick declared he was taking an indefinite leave (which we still don't know if it's a work or not), and while I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, it seemed to mean that Jack Gallagher got a bit of a blank slate after being put in random matchups.
This week, he faced the ridiculously hot Angel Garza, who used the Gentleman to rebound after a debatable title loss to Lio Rush on NXT earlier that week. (While NXT goings-on are recapped on 205 Live, I don't think we can say the same for vice versa.) After the match, Gallagher had some words with color commentator Aiden English, telling him off for... presumably talking shit about him...?
This means Gallagher is teasing a heel turn as English leans heavily towards being a face. It's a terrible evil as Jack had only been a heel earlier this year, but a necessary one nonetheless, as the division is depleted of heels. You've only got Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari—Garza is straddling that hot tweener Eddie Guerrero line—so it only makes sense to try and beef up cruiserweight villains.
Let's see if this gets anywhere, as I'm amazed Jack isn't one of those guys who hasn't tried to ask for his release yet.
24/7, 205
Now that Samir Singh is the 24/7 Champion and it seems like both brothers are Freebirding it, the green and gold is apparently relegated to this show with no clear direction. The bros got a clunker of a segment—I figure this would've worked slightly better in Full Sail.
They've got an interesting opportunity here, though: I know the Singhs are a comedy act, but if the title is going to be on the wrestling show, they might as well put on a wrestling match for it. Yes, it's going to be terrible when people start chasing the 24/7 champ on RAW or SmackDown, but... it's something. The gimmick is old without R-Truth's comedic chops, so you might as well try to reinvent it a little. That's just me.
New Blood vs. Originals
I'm doing my best to grasp how stories on both shows weave seamlessly together, but right now it's still a little tough—on one hand, Lio Rush is dealing with Angel Garza, but on the other, he's also dealing with Tony Nese. He seems to deal with Garza more on NXT, while Nese is his problem on 205. So, I guess... that leads us to a tag match on 205 Live with no clear implications for the winner.
While the match is, of course, solid (though not too mindblowing to wake up another post-SmackDown crowd) it all feels like a random showcase of guys Rush has interacted with over the past month. It's made even mind-boggling by the fact that Rush pins Nese clean. It certainly doesn't help that it's still not clear whose authority the cruiserweight division is truly under when they're not on NXT so it feels like they're going around in circles.
I do hope the clean pin means the Nese loose end is tied up, leaving Rush to focus completely on Garza.
I do hope the clean pin means the Nese loose end is tied up, leaving Rush to focus completely on Garza.
But still, tell me something, WWE. Anything. Make it make sense, because I still love watching cruiserweight wrestling.
205 Live 11/15/19 Grade: With more emphasis on featured cruiserweight bouts on NXT, this show is starting to get way more skippable each week. You're not missing a lot here. B
Photo from WWE
*****
Romeo Moran (@roiswar) is the Editor in Chief of Smark Henry, one of the three hosts of the Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast, and is associated with Philippine Wrestling Revolution. 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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