Review by: Andrew Hatcher, rajah.com reporter
Email: andrewhatcher45@gmail.com
Akira Tozawa vs Ariya Daivari
Before the match, The Brian Kendrick is shown backstage. He’s here to talk about Tozawa. The bell rings, and Daivari goes to work on Tozawa right away. Both guys exchanged a few chops, and Tozawa hit a hard slap to the chest that sent Daviari to the mat. Tozawa followed up with a senton, and followed up with a pin attempt. Daivari kicked out, and the two exchanged a few moves, before Daivari turned Tozawa inside out with a clothesline. Daivari attempted a pin of his own, but Tozawa kicked out at 2. Kendrick is shown talking backstage again. Daivari remained in control of Tozawa, until Tozawa hit a big boot. Daivari no sold it, and followed with a knee to the face of Tozawa. Tozawa, shook it off, and hit a blow big enough to knock Daivari down to the mat. Tozawa went to the top rope, and hit a massive senton for the 1-2-3.
Analysis: A pretty decent match for the time given. The purpose here was to make Tozawa look a little tougher going into the street fight with Kendrick. Speaking of Kendrick, I thought the way they used him here was odd. Either have him be at the announce desk, or interview him backstage. I know that was something out of the ordinary, but going out of the ordinary isn’t always the best idea.
After the match, Kendrick said he is impressed, but he is going to destroy Tozawa in the street fight on 205 Live.
Austin Aries vs Tony Nese
Before the match, Neville is shown in the ring with Nese. A replay aired of last week’s attack by Neville on Austin Aries after the 205 Live main event. It was also noted that at Extreme Rules, the WWE Crusierweight Championship match between Neville and Austin Aries will be a submission match.
Analysis: They both have submission moves as alternate finishing moves, so now they’ll be in a submission match. That’s cool. I’m sure the guys will tell an interesting story of trying to lock in their submission holds on each other.
The bell rang, and the two tied up in the corner. Nese went to the knee of Aries, and took control of things. Aries regained the advantage, and went to the top rope. Aries hit an elbow drop to the back of the neck of Nese, and attempted a pin. Nese kicked out, but Aries remained in control of things by applying a submission hold. Aries rolled up Nese, and tried to lock on the last chancery again, but Nese fought out again. Aries attempted to come back into the ring, but Nese went to the knee again. Nese started to go to work on Aries knee, and looked to be firmly in control. Aries hit a few chops to the chest, but Nese went to the knee again in the corner of the ring. Aries fought Nese off for a moment, and went to the top rope. Nese caught Aries in mid air with an elbow to the sternum, and followed with the hesititaion suplex setup. Aries countered with a guillotine, and Nese went to one knee. Nese attempted to power out of it with a flap jack, but Aries reversed with a modified ddt, and went into the last chancery. Nese tapped out, and Austin Aries wins via submission.
Analysis: Another match that wasn’t anything less than ok, and also put over the guy who is in a feud. Nese looked really good in defeat, as the top jobber usually does. In the end, the right guy one, but it wasn’t “easy”. The story of the match was Aries trying to lock in the Last Chancery, but not being quite able to. Good stuff.
After the match, Neville attacked Nese, and locked in the rings of Saturn. Aries clapped and said “Good for you”, and Neville stared at Aries as he held in the submission hold.
Analysis: Neville tried to send a message to his challenger here, but Aries looked on real confident like. I’m going to go out on a limb and pick Aries to win at Extreme Rules.
And now… 205 Live!
The show kicks off with The Brian Kendrick telling the story of Akira Tozawa. Kendrick says Tozawa still has to learn a lot, and that’s why Kendrick tried to mentor Tozawa. “But what did Tozawa do”? Replays of Tozawa telling Kendrick no after Kendrick offered to be Tozawa’s “teacher” showed. Kendrick said Tozawa disrespected him, and that’s when he started teaching lessons. Kendrick says that just as he thought tozawa was finally getting it, Tozawa started trying to teach Kendrick all the lessons. More replays were shown of Tozawa getting the upper-hand, after a backstage attack on Kendrick during an interview session. Kendrick told us that after the attack, there was only one thing he could do. He tried to do it in the ring, the traditional way, but Tozawa rolled him up for the 1-2-3. Kendrick reminds us that he’s “the man with the plan”, and not Akira Tozawa. Kendrick says the plan is to teach Tozawa one final lesson, and he’s going to do it in a street fight. Kendrick says he’s going to teach Tozawa the final lesson of all, and the show opening video package played. The pyro went off, and the announce team of Tom Phillips and Corey Graves welcomed us to 205 Live. They talked about a special preview of the upcoming WWE Cruiserweight Championship match between Austin Aries and Neville. That match is a submission match, and will take place at Extreme Rules. There was also a graphic shown hyping up the return of Cedric Alexander. The last thing the commentary team talked about was the main event tonight, which is a street fight between The Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa. Rich Swann made his way out to the ring, and he’s in the nights first match.
Rich Swann vs Ariya Daivari
A replay aired of last weeks backstage segment on 205 live that featured Rich Swann, Ariya Daivari, and Jack Gallagher. A box was given to Swann, and Swann said the box is for Daivari. After Daivari couldn’t leave well enough alone, he opened the box, and got powdered in the face. Now they’re going to fight about it. The bell rang, and Daivari began yelling at Swann, saying that shirt was $1500. Daivari told Swann he owes Daivari a new one, and “The Persian Lion” shoved Swann to the mat. Swann hopped up, and hit a dropkick. Davari went to the outside, but swann followed. Swann put Daivari back in the ring, and tried to shake hands with Swann. Swann went for the shake, but Daivari attempted to throw Swann into the corner of the ring. Swann reversed, and then ran the ropes. Swann front flipped over Daivari, and then turned around to deliver a dropkick that sent Daivari to the outside again. Swann tried a crossbody onto Daivari from inside the ring, but Daivari sidestepped it. Daivari tossed Swann into the LED board along the apron, and the ref started the 10 count. The two guys went back into the ring, and Daivari remained in control of things. Daivari worked on the left arm of Swann with a submission hold for a while, and Swann tried to fight out. Swann succeeded for a second, but Daivari immediately hit a running knee strike to the face of Swann, and applied a cover. Swann kicked out at 2, and continued to work over Swann. Daivari hard irish whipped Swann into the corner, and tried to follow it up. Daivari ran into a boot from Swann, but Daivari yet again held onto the advantage after an arm breaker on Swann, and a pin attempt. Swann kicked out at 2, and Daivari locked in the cobra clutch submission hold. Swann fought his way to his feet, but Daivari managed to hold on to him, before jumping into a neck breaker. Daivari attempted a pin, and Swann kicked out yet again. Daivari once again locked in the cobra clutch, and Swann created some space with a jaw breaker. Swann went into the corner, and Daivari attempted to follow. Swann reversed, and then hit a drop toe hold on daivari that sent him into the midde ropes. Daivari got up, and Swann started to heat up. Swann hit a front scissors kick variation, and then set up for a roundhouse kick for the 1-2-NO! Swann went up to the top rope, and nailed the Phoenix Splash for the 1-2-3.
Analysis: First things first, I like this new Daivari. Secondly, the match was really solid, although a little bit short. While both guys got in their usual spots, the thing that stood out to me the most was how it took a little something extra to put Daivari away. That could be promising for Daviari. It could also mean nothing.
After the match, Noam Dar attacked Swann from behind. Alicia FOOOXXXXX joined him, and the two celebrated to end the segment, while Swann looked on hurt.
Analysis: I thought Cedric Alexander may come down to make the save, but he didn’t.
The Brian Kendrick is shown backstage listening to some music, and preparing for tonight’s street fight. Following a commercial, the announce team talked about the WWE Cruserweight championship story that has played out over the last few months. A video package was shown from Aries/Neville I. Aries had the Last Chancery locked in on Neville, but just as Neville seemed to be on the verge of tapping, he went to the injured eye of Aries. Neville then hit the Red Arrow, and remained WWE Cruiserweight champion. The story moves on to Payback, where Aries has the Last Chancery locked in on Neville, but this time Neville grabbed the referee, and intentionally had himself disqualified. Finally things come back to last week, when Aries took on TJP. Aries forced TJP to tap to the last chancery, and then was immediately attacked by Neville. Neville locked in the rings of Saturn on Aries to end the show. Lastly, on Monday nights Raw, Aries forced Tony Nese to tap out to the Last Chancery, while Neville looked on from ringside. After the match, Neville attacked Nese, Aries looked on, as he yelled at Neville to “try doing that on me”.
Analysis: A brief recap of everything leading up to this point in the rivalry. There have really been some great moments involved with the Neville/ Aries story.
An Interview With The King
A very dapper Neville joined us via satellite, as well as Austin Aries, who was eating a banana. Corey graves started off by asking Neville what he says to those who say Neville/Aries III will be his toughest test yet. Neville questioned who gauges challenges for him, and that he’s insulted by the question because graves should know that Neville has “beaten and obliterated” all of his opponents so far, and that includes Aries twice. Neville says Aries does a stand a chance just like the other “pretenders”, and Aries cut him off. Aries said if you want to talk about delusional, then let’s talk about the way Neville cheated in the last two matches. Aries also says Neville is wrong for thinking that the time isn’t right for Aries to finally not only win, like last time, but to take the WWE Cruiserweight Championship to. Neville says Aries needs to calm down, and that Aries has had “multiple opportunities to take my crown”, and Aries cuts him off again by saying that’s true, and he also has a third one. Aries then goes back to the first match between them, and says he would have beaten Neville if Neville hadn’t got desperate, and poked Aries in the injured eye. Aries went on to talk about the second match, and said he had Neville beat once again, but Neville used the referee after getting desperate a second time. That angered Neville, as Neville interrupted by saying that wasn’t intentional, and Aries is starting to “slander” Neville. Aries said it isn’t slander, “it is the truth”. Aries gave Neville some more “truth”, and asked Neville a few questions. Aries said Neville isn’t the first person to stand in his way, and he isn’t the first to try to cut his legs out from under him either. Aries also says Neville isn’t the first to try to find a friend to help against him. Aries says this is nothing new, and that we all know Neville has been barely surviving. Aries says he’s going to take the anger from the last two matches against Neville, and use it to “inflict pain” on Neville. Aries tells Neville that he has “a whole catalog of submission moves”, and the last one he is going to use is the Last Chancery. Aries says when he locks it in this time, he is going to make Neville tap, and take Neville’s championship. Neville began shaking his head, and said “what a cute fairytale”. Neville said regardless of what you want to tell yourself, you’re in no condition to have a match against him. Neville says he is dangerous, and Aries says he is dangerous to. Neville gave Aries some “advice”, and told Aries he won’t be responsible for what happens at Extreme Rules. Aries says to Neville “neither will I”, and the segment ended there.
Analysis: There was a nice exchange of words here, but if you missed it, then you really didn’t miss much. This felt more like something on a “go home” episode of Raw.
Cedric Alexander vs Johnny Boone
The bell rings, and Johnny Boone attempted to kick Alexander. Alexander caught him mid kick, and hit a huge spinning elbow strike that sent Boone to the outside of the ring. The referee started the count, and Cedric went on the chase. Cedric sent Boone back into the ring, and then sprang off of the top ropes with an elbow drop. Alexander set up for the Lombard Check, and nailed it for the 1-2-3.
Analysis: Just a quick match to put over the returning Cedric Alexander. He has been gone for a few months now, so it was really great to see him in the ring, and moving around with such fluidity. Seriously, he glided through the match, and hit three big moves to pick up the win like this was a hot dog contest and his name is Kobayashi.
Following that match, a replay aired from last week when Drew Gulak attack Mustafa Ali before his match against Tony Nese. After the replay, Drew Gulak appeared on the screen, clearly near a green screen. Gulak said he believes in a better 205 Live, and said he represents some of the greatest men in sports entertainment, the cruiserweights. He says when he thinks of the cruiserweight division, he thinks of great wrestlers, and not “show offs” as images of TJP, Rich Swann, and Jack Gallagher were shown. He also name drops Mustafa Ali, and says if he wanted to see a style like Ali has, he would just go see Circe Du Soleil. Gulak says that the WWE Universe can now help make change, and to join him in his movement to end high flying. Gulak gives a thumbs up, as well as a cheesy smile, and the segment ends there.
Analysis: That wasn’t a very good segment. Don’t get me wrong, the gimmick of being an anti cruiserweight member of the Cruiserweight division is really starting to grow on me, but I just don’t like the booking. Can the guy not have a match? Can he not do anything physical without his buddy Tony Nese being there? These are just things I think while Gulak is on my tv screen. Nothing personal.
After that was over, Tozawa was shown walking backstage, and he’s up next in the main event.
Following a commercial for next weeks Extreme Rules event, The Brian Kendrick made his way out to the ring. The announcers plugged Money In The Bank, and Akira Tozawa made his way to the ring to a big ovation.
The Brian Kendrick vs Akira Tozawa
The bell rings, and Kendrick immediately goes to the outside of the ring. Kendrick searched under the ring for a weapon, but got caught with a missile dive from Tozawa. Tozawa began to fire up the crowd, and that allowed Kendrick to slam Tozawa into the announce table. Kendrick took a bried second to gloat, and went back to work on Tozawa, but Tozawa sidestepped Kendrick, and hip tossed him over the announce desk. Tozawa rolled Kendrick into the ring, and applied a pin for a 2 count. Tozawa then ran the ropes, and nailed a kick on Kendrick, followed by a back senton. Tozawa applied another pin, and Kendrick kicked out yet again. Tozawa nailed a few chops, and then faked Kendrick out with a big shot. Kendrick went to the apron, and attempted to run the ropes, and knock Kendrick to the floor. Kendrick slightly sidestepped the attempt, and both goes went crashing to the outside. Both guys remained on the floor for a bit, before looking under the ring for weapons. Both guys attempted to grab a table at the same time, before realizing what was going on, and continuing to fight. Tozawa tossed Kendrick into the ring again, but Kendrick then hit a knee to the gut. Kendrick tried to stay hot, but Tozawa stayed on his heels, and took Kendrick down with a head scissors that sent Kendrick to the apron. Tozawa began chanting again, and set up for a second missile dive. Tozawa started to run, dove, and Kendrick through his jacket into the face of Tozawa. Tozawa got hung up in the ropes, and Kendrick set up in a ddt position, but suplexed Tozawa onto the ringside mat. Both guys were down again, before Kendrick tossed Tozawa back into the ring. Kendrick grabbed some duct tape, and hit a huge kick to the face of Tozawa. Kendrick then taped the mouth of Tozawa, and locked in the Captain’s Hook. Kendrick brought Tozawa to his feet, and tried to hit sliced bread #2. Tozawa reversed, and sent Kendrick over the top rope, to the outside. Tozawa took the tape off, and went to the outside. Tozawa hit a pump kick on Kendrick while the two went up the ramp, and worked on Kendrick all the way to the stage area. Tozawa leaned Kendrick against an LED board, and attempted to kick Kendrick, but Kendrick ducked, and Tozawa ran himself into the board. Kendrick took control of things, and the two went back towards the ring. Kendrick through Tozawa into the rings steps, and then looked for the duct tape. Kendrick went on to tape the hands of Tozawa to the ring post, and then began to whip tozawa with a belt. Kendrick went a grabbed a table, as the WWE Universe chanted “table”. Tozawa came in from out of nowhere, and smacked Kendrick with the belt some. The two went back into the ring again, and Tozawa continued to whip Kendrick. Tozawa went to the top rope, and attempted the huge senton, but Kendrick hopped up mid-flight. Kendrick then locked in the Captain’s Hook a second time, and Tozawa was forced to throw himself, as well as Kendrick to the outside, so that kednrick would break the hold. Tozawa tried to bring Kendrick to the steel steps, and Kendrick began fighting back. The two fought on the top step, before Tozawa dropped Kendrick face first onto the mat. Tozawa hopped down, and hit a snap suplex on Kendrick after an attempted clothesline by Kendrick. Tozawa followed that up by smashing the face of The Brain Kendrick into the steel steps. Tozawa set Kendrick up on the table, and went to the top rope. Tozawa hit a MASSIVE back senton onto Kendrick on the table, as the WWE Universe chanted “ECDUB” and “holy sh*t”. Tozawa slowly rolled Kendrick into the ring, and applied a pin for the 1-2-3.
Analysis: What a match that was! The story telling of it all was the best part to me. A few of the lessons the two have taught each other recently resurfaced, the steel steps came into play multiple times, and Tozawa had to pull out a HUGE move to put Kendrick away. Great stuff. I feel like the guys had to hold back a little due to a gimmick pay per view being a week away, which is probably why we got two duct tape spots, but other than that, this match was really fun from bell to bell. Also, any time the WWE Universe breaks out the fecal chants during a Cruiserweight match, is a great time!
That’s all for this week’s show folks. Other than a few minor bumps, 205 Live is truly trending upwards these past few weeks, “and that’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing”. BANG!!