By Austin Ginnell@WolfmanAustin13
We’re back for another week and episode of 205 Live! Unfortunately, the 205 brand seems to have missed out on all the Superstar Shake-Up fun. I was kind of hoping that they would add another name or two from NXT, or get some of the 205ers from RAW or SmackDown to be exclusive to the 205 brand. Maybe next time they decide to shake things up, I guess.
Vic Joseph is back with Percy Watson, and Nigel is still away due to the birth of his child. Congratulations to the former ROH superstar though. Family is important, and after the way his in-ring career came to an end, it’s just so awesome to see things going so well for McGuinness.
205 Live gets us right to the action, as Mustafa Ali comes out for the opening contest against Ariya Daivari, who challenged him to this match. Why would Daivari challenge the man who fell to Cedric Alexander at WrestleMania? For that exact reason. Daivari says that he is upset that Ali would dare to come out last week and “beg” Alexander for a rematch, saying that he had his chance and doesn’t deserve another one. Seems legit.
Ariya Daivari is the fresher of the two men, with Ali having been brutalized during the tournament leading up to his showdown with Alexander at WrestleMania 34: Prologue, as I am calling the pre-show. Because his freshness rivals that of Will Smith on this night, Daivari dominates the match against his more exhausted opponent… but Ali has been showing an edge in this match, and a fire to get things going. Unfortunately for Mustafa, he just keeps running into a brick wall as Daivari takes every opportunity to hurt him, including planting him on the outside of the ring with a Spinebuster.
Daivari would connect with his Persian Carpet Frog Splash, but Purple Tony Stark kicks out at two. Both men go up top, and Daivari is looking to make a big impact here, but a mistake allows Ali to land on his feet, while Daivari takes the brunt of the fall on the back of his head. Mustafa sees the opening and quickly runs to connect with his Imploding 450 Splash to secure the win.
Gotta love that opening match. Daivari has a legitimate beef with Mustafa Ali’s actions, whether or not he was right, and felt like he deserved the opportunity. Great reason to have a match. Then in the ring, we got to see the fallout of Ali’s recent run as Daivari was able to control the vast majority of the bout before making a mistake that would allow Ali to take the win. Great booking.
Mustafa Ali defeats Ariya Daivari via Imploding 450 Splash
In the back with Drake Maverick now, who says that Buddy Murphy’s actions last week were inexcusable. Despite that, however, Maverick cannot dispute the quality of his performances of late and was going to announce Murphy Vs Cedric Alexander for the Saudi Arabia show. Unfortunately though, we cut to a previously taped segment where Murphy is weighing in for the 205 Live General Manager, and misses the limit at 207.7 pounds. Because of this, Maverick announces that next week on 205 Live, we will see a Gauntlet Match to determine the number one contender for the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th.
Enhancement action time, as the team of Jack Gallagher & Brian Kendrick pick up right where they left off prior to Kendrick’s injury. Their opponents on this night will be Vinnie Scalise and Kevin Latrigre, whose names I can only imagine are a rib on Vince McMahon and his long-time right hand Kevin Dunn. Much like what I want to do to McMahon and Dunn on a regular basis, the team of Kendrick & Gallagher dominate the match, beating up their opponents and showing ruthless aggression that would make 2004 WWE blush. Kendrick picks up the win with the Bully Choke in a quick match.
Kendrick & Gallagher defeat Vinnie Scalise & Kevin Latrigre via Bully Choke
Drew Gulak is in the back, talking about his technical superiority and bragging about his win over Mark Andrews last week. Gulak runs down Tony Nese and his washboard abs, but he is much more focused on his campaign for a better 205 Live, which begins next week with the Gauntlet Match. Gulak claims he will win and move on to take the Cruiserweight Championship in Saudi Arabia.
And now it’s time for our main event. I’ve been looking forward to this one since it was announced last week. The Lucha House Party obviously couldn’t wait either, as they attack their opponents before the bell rings, meeting them on the entrance ramp.
Kalisto had come out for the entrance, but is now absent. Drake Maverick is with us on color commentary and explains that he had asked Kalisto to not stay at ringside, in order to keep the odds even and the competition fair during the match. God, I love Drake Maverick. The little things like that, and the storyline with Murphy missing weight, are absolute gold.
Itami tries to tear at the mask of Lince Dorado, and we get a brief glimpse of Tozawa maybe not approving of the tactic, but he goes right back to helping his mentor and partner. Early on in this match, the crowd could have been confused for a morgue, but Akira Tozawa gets them into the match with his screams, and now they are loud for the Lucha House Party after a big comeback from Metalik ends with both men hitting Stereo Springboard Moonsaults to the outside of the ring.
Back in the ring, we get to see a really cool variation of the played out Tower of Doom spot. With Itami & Tozawa trying for a Double Superplex on Lince Dorado, Metalik climbed back onto the apron and caught them off-guard, diving over the top of all three men and connecting with a Sunset Bomb on both of his opponents, who still manage to take over Dorado for the Superplex.
Later on, Tozawa connects with the high impact Senton Bomb that he is so good at, but cannot pin Dorado as Metalik breaks the count. Itami connects with his newer move, the Inverted DDT set-up into a Pele Kick on Metalik, but this time it is Lince diving in to make the save and continue the match.
Dorado takes out both of his opponents with the Springboard Stunner, falling onto both men for a dramatic two count that spurs the crowd into a This is Awesome chant, and these guys definitely deserve it. Itami goes back to the mask, this time of Metalik. Metalik manages to get away though, just in time for the incoming Akira Tozawa to connect with a Yakuza Kick on Itami by mistake. This leads to the finish, where Dorado hits the Shooting Star Press on Tozawa, and Metalik connects with his Rope Walk Elbowdrop on Itami for a double pin.
What a great match. This is the kind of action that fans were hoping to see when the Cruiserweight Division was announced as returning to the WWE. If you didn’t see this, go out of your way to do so. Amazing stuff.
The Lucha House Party defeats Itami & Tozawa via Shooting Star Press/Rope Walk Elbowdrop
Don’t forget that next week is the Gauntlet Match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
As always, if you have any feedback or questions, you can reach out via the comments or email me at threevalleywrestling@gmail.com
