This week’s edition of WWE 205 Live was my favorite since the show’s creation.
WWE 205 Live opened this week with Daniel Bryan on the top of the entrance ramp to open up the show. He was there to tell the fans who had been chosen as the first ever GM of 205 Live. And Bryan wasn’t alone to make the announcement.
Bryan told the WWE Universe that Drake Maverick (formerly known as Rockstar Spud in Impact Wrestling) will be the 205 Live GM going forward.
While Maverick is new to the WWE audience, he immediately established his authority over the show and demonstrated great mic-work right off the bat. We were also told that a 16-man tournament to crown the new Cruiserweight champion would start tonight and it will culminate in a title match at WrestleMania 34.
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I personally love the idea of a long tournament to determine the next Cruiserweight champion for many reasons. I really enjoy the tournament format in general and I always have.
I think WWE should have never dropped the King of the Ring from its’ PPV schedule. Tournaments similar to this are also a reason that I enjoy the New Japan format so much, because it adds an element of sport to sport entertainment while creating championship contenders and storylines along the way. We also need to remember that this format is what helped get the division over so well to begin with, as the Cruiserweight Classic was a major success.
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As for the first round matches last night, we got Cedrick Alexander vs. Gran Metalik and Tyler Bate vs. TJP.
Both of these matches were highly entertaining.
Cedrick seems to be getting a legitimate push, which is refreshing considering the reception he got during the CWC. Metalik losing so early was a bit confusing to me, as he made it all the way to the finals of the CWC. But to be fair, from what I’ve seen so far of the first round match-ups this whole tournament is stacked.
I love the story of TJP trying to duplicate the success he had when he won the CWC to become the “first ever” WWE Cruiserweight Champion. TJP can use this tourney as a way to re-energize his career as he’s been lost in the shuffle for quite a while.
Tyler Bate is a wrestling prodigy. At only 20 years of age I really believe he has “John Cena” potential if he can avoid major injuries. I will also say that I’m pretty disappointed to see Bate eliminated in the first round because there’s so much he could have offered this tournament. We can’t forget that Bate won the WWE UK Tournament at 19 years old. I just have to believe that WWE has bigger plans lined up for Bate.
Seeing matches like we saw last night really get my hopes up that 205 Live is turning the corner and putting on a much more wrestling-based product. I think the WWE is viewing this entire situation as a do-over for the whole brand.
I’d imagine that WWE feels pretty stupid for putting so many eggs in the Enzo Amore basket. And that’s a topic that would take an entire article in itself. But this is WWE’s chance to right the wrong of having the least talented in-ring performer on the roster carry a “workhorse” title. 205 Live should be about the in-ring action and the characters and promos should be totally secondary.
When this episode of 205 Live ended, we were shown the next two match-ups for the first round of the Cruiserweight title tournament.
First we saw that it’ll be Lince Dorado vs. Kalisto which will pit two luchadors against each other in a very favorable stylistic match-up. Then, what I saw really caught my eye. Next week it’ll be Hideo Itami vs. Roderick Strong.
Seeing Itami vs. Strong on the billing originally scared me because I’m a massive fan of Roddy Strong and 205 Live has been like career-suicide up to this point. But after seeing last night’s show I’m honestly very optimistic. Itami vs. Strong could be the breakout match that the fans need to really get positive attention back on the 205 Live product.
Next: WWE SmackDown 5 Takeaways
The obvious issue with this match is that one of them has to lose (I’d like to see both pushed as much as possible). I’m actually so interested in the matchup between Itami & Strong that I’ll do a full match preview for y’all before it happens so keep your eyes out!
The bottom line is simple: WWE looks to be turning things around for 205 Live. And in my opinion, it’s about time.