WWE 205 Live
12th June 2018
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson
Good day, grapple fans! We start with highlights of last week’s main event where Hideo Itami ran in to cause a DQ finish, before accosting Mustafa Ali and Buddy Murphy. Drake Maverick tells us that, as a result of his reprehensible actions, Itami is banned from appearing on this week’s show. Tonight, we’ve got six-man tag action as the Lucha House Party clash with Drew Gulak, ‘Gentleman’ Jack Gallagher and The Brian Kendrick, while Mustafa Ali is back in action against Tony Nese. Let’s get to it!
Later posting than normal this week as I spent this morning following the live stream of the FIFA congress meeting before getting in a KFC lunch. Congratulations to the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico on winning the rights to host the 2026 soccer World Cup. I was rooting for Morocco for the purely selfish reason that, as a Brit, them hosting meant I could watch the games at a reasonable hour. But the North Americans put in the far superior bid and they should do a great job hosting. Plus, Canada, a notoriously dreadful soccer nation, get the chance to play at a World Cup without having to go through qualification, so good news for them. And congratulations are also due to the Spanish F.A. for having the balls to sack their coach, Julen Lopetegui, after he double-crossed them to move to Real Madrid. Anyway, for those that came here for wrestling, I digress…….
Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik & Kalisto vs Drew Gulak, Jack Gallagher & The Brian Kendrick
The Luchas are out first and, in what can only be described as an inestimable blessing, having all three guys in action means we won’t have to listen to those blasted maracas from ringside. They do however bring out a piñata with Gulak’s face taped to it. Dasha interviews the heels pre-match. Gulak tells us that, with the help of his fellow professors (Jack and Brian) he’ll make the Luchas tap out. Kalisto starts things off against Gallagher, who get the best of it early by working a waistlock. Kalisto gets out of it and taunts Jack by swivelling his hips, before commencing with some moronic ‘Lucha!’ chanting. An enraged Gallagher walks straight into an armdrag takeover into an armbar. Dorado gets tagged in and keeps going to work on the arm. Kendrick comes in for his team and runs straight into a backdrop. Kalisto back in as all three Luchas take turns at splashing Brian. Metalik in and he connects with a hurracanrana takeover and a dropkick on a dizzy and confused Kendrick before combining with Lince to hit a double suplex for a near fall. Kendrick bails out and tags in Gulak, who smashes Lince up with a hard forearm to the face. Criss-cross action from Drew and Lince results in Dorado hitting a hurracanrana takeover and Gulak bailing out to the floor. Gallagher tries to attack but also gets tossed to the outside, where Dorado takes he and Gulak out with a somersault plancha. Back inside and Kalisto and Gallagher are going at it. Kalisto with a head-scissor takeover before scaling the middle turnbuckle on the inside. Kendrick is in and trips Kalisto, sending the Luchadore crashing down to the mat.
Dragon sleeper and an armbar combination from Kendrick, looking for a submission. Back up and a snap suplex from Brian for a near fall, before tagging Gulak back in. Scoop slam from Drew as the heels are in firm control now. Kalisto looks for a hot tag but Drew catches him by the feet. Kalisto tags Dorado, but the ref misses it as he was distracted by Gallagher and Kendrick; nice, old school tag action. Gallagher is back in with an elbowdrop, as Kalisto is in trouble. Abdominal stretch from Gallagher, who locks his hands for extra pressure. Kendrick back in, who downs Kalisto with a boot to the face for a near fall. Gulak back in; the heels have cut the ring in half. Gulak has Kalisto in a torture rack; shades of Lex Luger. Drew then has Kalisto all tied up with a hammerlock and a single leg Boston crab combo. Brian is back in and sends Kalisto crashing into the corner with a hard Irish whip. Kendrick lifts Kalisto up onto the top turnbuckle but eats a tornado DDT for his troubles. Both guys look for tags, which brings in Metalik and Gallagher. Springboard crossbody from Gran, followed by a hard overhand chop. Twisting bulldog, followed by a dropkick from the masked grappler for a near fall. Dorado is tagged in, whereupon he lifts Gallagher up for a dropkick from Metalik, leading to a rollup pin attempt, which is broken up by Gulak. Drew gets tagged back in, where he nearly takes Lince’s head off with a Lariot for two.
Drew tries for the GuLock, but Lince evades it and both guys trade rollups, which is called off by the ref as he spots Gulak pulling the trunks. Kendrick is tagged back in and has Dorado locked in Captain’s Hook. Everyone is in trading blows as the ref has lost control. Springboard double stunner from Dorado to Gallagher and Drew sends both heels to the outside, where they receive further punishment from a pair of somersault planchas from Kalisto and Metalik; the ringsiders enjoyed that one. Lince surveys the scene and wants a dive of his own, but he runs straight into the Captain’s Hook from Kendrick. Lince fights his way to the ropes, so Kendrick tries to roll him back to the middle of the ring, only for Dorado to roll through into a pinning combination (complete with a handful of tights) for the 1-2-3 at 15:15.
Match rating: B Enjoyable action, as it felt like the first two thirds of an epic. Two or three more minutes of near falls, big spots and saves could have turned it into a classic. That said, the rollup with the tights finish gives plenty of room for the heels to bemoan Lucha cheating and call for a rematch somewhere down the line.
Siv’s take: As a side note, that pair of somersault planchas was beautiful, but when you see that move literally every week, it makes what is a fantastic spot that little bit less impressive. Sometimes less really is more.
Selfi-promo from Hideo Itami, demanding respect.
Buddy Murphy and General Manager Drake Maverick are talking backstage and Buddy has beef; he wants a match with Itami. Drake doesn’t give it to him.
Ad for Money in the Bank where AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura have yet another match, as we are deep into the era where every main roster rivalry needs to last about 6 months.
Selfi-promo from Mustafa Ali, who vows to get back up from his disappointment last week and defeat Tony Nese tonight. He hopes Buddy and Hideo are watching tonight’s match closely.
Akira Tozawa vs Steve Irby
This week’s jobber looks like a cross between a diminutive version of Luke Harper and a normal-sized Kassius Ohno. Chops from Tozawa early and a hard jab. Irby comes back with a spin kick. Sunset flip from the jobber, but Akira comes back with a kick to the face. Pump kick from Irby, who then stomps away on Tozawa in the corner. Forearms from the jobber, who’s getting too much offense for my liking. Tozawa comes back into it with a hurracanrana takeover followed by a missile dropkick. Spin kick from Akira downs Irby, before getting the pin off a senton splash from the top (with wonderful elevation) at 2:28.
Match rating: D- Nothing squash match in which the jobber probably got too much offense for the babyface to even gain anything from it. Nice to have Tozawa back on TV after his decisive feud losing match against Itami a couple of weeks ago though.
Another vignette for Lio Rush, who bemoans that he’s not been in a cruiserweight tournament yet. He again shows good fire and charisma.
A disturbingly ripped Tony Nese is warming up backstage. He cuts a promo on Mustafa Ali, telling us he’s going to make a statement at the Chicago native’s expense.
Ad for nXt Takeover Chicago, which looks set to be another excellent card of wrestling.
TJ Perkins gives us a selfi-promo, moaning about going another week without a high-profile match, before again pimping himself out to the other WWE brands. I’m kinda hoping this leads to TJP vs Maverick sometime soon.
Mustafa Ali vs Tony Nese (w/Buddy Murphy)
Ali is up against another member of the Juice Brothers this week; let’s hope we get a clean finish tonight. Nese looks as roided as ever as he literally counts his 8-pack. There’s no way in hell Nese came under 205lbs. Nese stops to pose on the ring apron before getting in there, as I’m wondering what decade we’re in. Cedric Alexander’s music hits, as it looks like he’s coming out to watch Ali’s back. The bell sounds and they begin with a lock up. Nese’s strength advantage tells as he backs Mustafa into the corner and strikes with rights and lefts to the body. High back body drop from Tony for a one count. A dropkick from Ali sends Nese to the outside. Tony gets up on the apron but is knocked straight back to the floor by a lovely spinning heel kick from his adversary. Nese is back on top as he decks Ali from behind following distraction from Murphy. Nese builds momentum (#wwecorporatespeak) as he throws Ali back-first into the ringpost. Back inside and Nese brags to the fairly disinterested ringsiders. Body scissors from Nese, complete with some overhand chops to the chest. Ali fights out with some rights to the leg, but Tony is back on top with a waistlock on the mat. Roll-through X-factor from Ali gets two. Cedric is slapping the mat at ringside, trying to engage the crowd. Knife edge chops from Ali. Mustafa goes for a tornado DDT, but Nese escapes and takes over with a succession of blows to the body. Both guys are down following a double clothesline. If Ali was on steroids, I could say it was shades of Hogan/Warrior. Nese has Ali in the corner and climbs to the middle turnbuckle on the inside, where Ali neutralises him with a dropkick.
Mustafa climbs up to the top and goes for a super hurracanrana. Nese won’t go down so Ali flips down to the mat only to be taken out by something resembling a spear from Tony. Pump-handle into a Michinoku driver from Nese for a near fall. Nese sits Ali down in the corner and hits the ropes, only to eat a superkick to the jaw. Ali goes up top and wants 054, but Nese bails to the floor. Somersault plancha from Ali takes Nese out at ringside. Murphy jumps Alexander and they brawl into the ring. Cedric sends Buddy to the outside with an uppercut and follows him out with a tope through the ropes; all hell has broken loose! Cedric and Buddy brawl to the back, leaving us with a fair one-on-one. Nese hits a bucklebomb for a two count, inflicting further punishment on the back of his foe (none of the announcers picked up on that, which makes me wonder why they’re out there). Nese chokes Ali in the corner and talks trash. Nese pulls down his knee pad, but misses with a running knee to the corner. Ali connects with his incredible tornado DDT. 054 from Ali is good for the win at 10:14.
Match rating: B- Okay main event, mainly thanks to the ever-reliable Ali. Fun antics from Murphy and Alexander at ringside; hopefully this might lead to a tag match with all four guys sometime in the near future.
After the match Mustafa Ali grabs a mike and demands Drake Maverick book a triple threat match for next week involving himself, Buddy Murphy and Hideo Itami. Dasha interviews Drake backstage and he makes it official; looks like I might have to wait a while for that tag match.
Overall show rating: C+ Serviceable show, but nothing particularly worth going out of your way to see. Next week should worth checking out though, as Murphy, Ali and Itami going at it in a triple threat match sounds like vintage 205.