The saga of Stallion continues
Just because Curt Stallion managed to pull one over on Ariya Daivari last week, doesn't mean this feud is ending. You didn't think we'd all get off that easy, didn't you? The new batch of purple-brand cruiserweights continue to make their mark on the show with the introduction of August Grey (the former Anthony Green, which we last saw on a Thatch-As-Thatch-Can segment on NXT) as Stallion's tag team partner against Daivari and Tony Nese.
If there's one thing that 205 Live does really well with its longer match times (which is saying a lot in the half-hour format) it's tag team matches. We got a good tag team match last week, and we get another good one now. If both these teams can't play for the Cruiserweight Championship, surely they could be added to the NXT tag team division?
Anyway, Daivari and Nese beat the upstarts because they're 205 OGs (not like that really means anything). And on we go.
Ashante's got some a-splainin' to do
On the undercard, you've got a random Mansoor vs. Ashante "Thee" Adonis match. Brian Kendrick is nowhere to be found, which is a waste of a storytelling opportunity as Mansoor's newfound friend and maybe-mentor. Meanwhile, Ashante needs to convince Mansoor that he's no longer an asshole, but Mansoor doesn't believe it until he beats him without experiencing any dirty tactics.
Here's the thing: maybe Ashante should've just stayed an asshole. His work as a babyface continues to be uninspiring, his presentation with the cut-off jorts and sneakers is bizarre, and there seems to be no reason to cheer for him at all. Mansoor takes the role of a pseudo-heel in this match because he doesn't trust Ashante, and I would've rather seen the roles reversed because I didn't see much of Ashante as a heel.
I thought that Ashante wasn't ready for TV, but it feels more like he isn't ready for TV as a face. I say let the man flesh out his persona as a heel, keep him a heel, and let him figure out everything he can do before he turns face. Curt Stallion and August Grey are better products than he is, and he's been on TV longer.
There's a fatal five-way next week
Next week's 205 Live is apparently the 205th episode of the show, and the way they've decided to celebrate that is to have a fatal five-way to determine the new #1 contender to Santos Escobar. Finally we get a match that has title implications, and I realize this is the oomph that's been missing from the show for a while.
Without matches that have impacts on the championship that's supposed to represent the division, the show is a lame duck. Glad to see they've thought about it again, and I can only hope that they continue to include 205 Live in the goings-on of the championship. It's been a while since Escobar's been on the show, too. All I want is for the show to not feel like a B-side.
205 Live 11/6/20 Final Grade: B
*****
Romeo Moran (@roiswar) is the Editor-in-Chief of Smark Henry and one of the three hosts of the Wrestling-Wrestling Podcast. He gets by in this hard knock life through working in advertising. 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, and he likes taking your wrestling questions over on his Curiouscat account.
: 205 Live—The New Class){kind=link}