Ever since the initial brand split, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan touted SmackDown Live as WWE’s “Land of Opportunity”. While that may have been true at one point, 205 Live has taken that torch with some truly brilliant wrestling over the past month.
The Miz, Alexa Bliss, Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Usos, Jinder Mahal, and Sami Zayn are just some of the superstars who have benefited from SmackDown Live. The show truly did earn its “Land of Opportunity” moniker by being different, exciting, fresh, and a true change-of-pace from a three-hour Raw. Talking Smack was one of WWE’s most captivating shows, and the “Blue Brand” honestly felt like a place where anything could happen.
Today, no major wrestling show garners as much criticism than SmackDown Live, and whether that’s unfair or not is a topic for another piece. But it is clear to me that SmackDown is no longer the “Land of Opportunity” in WWE. Thanks to the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, that distinction unequivocally belongs to 205 Live.
Ever since the tournament started, 205 Live has showcased a wide variety of talents, and although cruiserweight wrestling focuses on a certain style, the “Purple Brand” has effectively showcased differing styles. Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak, for example, was a completely different match from Lince Dorado vs. Kalisto.
By bringing in wrestlers from other brands, such as Tyler Bate and Roderick Strong, 205 Live has also been able to display an even more diverse wrestling experience. Plus, bringing in wrestlers who haven’t been regulars on 205 Live, most namely recent addition Buddy Murphy, the show has given opportunities to performers who wouldn’t have otherwise been given a chance.
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But opportunity is more than just letting underused talents like Lince Dorado and Mark Andrews showcase their wrestling chops. It’s also about showing different layers to characters and giving wrestlers an opportunity to freshen things up.
PWInsider.com’s Mike Johnson reported that Triple H has brought more of a focus to in-ring work in the Cruiserweight Division than Vince McMahon did. While this is clearly the case, given the quality of matches we’ve seen on 205 Live in a tournament (and tournaments are obviously meant to showcase wrestling), we’ve also seen some important character work.
It all starts with 205 Live GM Drake Maverick, whose presence and influence on the product cannot be understated. He was hired in kayfabe by Daniel Bryan to usher in a new era for the division, and he’s done exactly that. The best GM in WWE behind William Regal, Maverick does not make the show about him. He makes it about the wrestlers, which is why he spends most of his time announcing matches or dutifully hyping them on social media.
However, Maverick is more than just an official mouthpiece who announces tournament matches and leaves. He’s in the corner of his wrestlers and gives them advice that very clearly influences the wrestlers.
For example, Maverick absolutely tore into Jack Gallagher for wearing improper clothes while wrestling.
He challenged Gallagher to change his look and show a different side of him, and Gallagher did exactly that.
Although he lost, he put on a strong match with Mustafa Ali, and Gallagher looked a lot more serious than he did when he first turned heel.
Tony Nese and Drew Gulak were members of the “Zo” train, and while Gulak’s character was entertaining, it came at the expense of making him look like a real threat in between the ropes. Maverick slammed both of them for being soft, and he put them in a match against each other in the tournament.
The two delivered, and Gulak’s mercilessness was particularly noteworthy. He looked seriously deranged, willing to inflict as much damage as possible on Nese in order to win. Gulak became remorseless, far from the caricature of a politician that he portrayed months ago. Again, that was entertaining, but this iteration of Gulak’s character makes him a more believable title contender.
Each week, 205 Live puts together two excellent matches that are usually among the best in all of wrestling (not just WWE) for that week. TJP vs. Bate, Gran Metalik vs. Cedric Alexander, Ali vs. Gallagher, Kalisto vs. Dorado, and Strong vs. Hideo Itami are some of the most entertaining WWE matches we’ve seen in 2018.
That’s the best way to showcase the division, and giving someone like TJP the opportunity to reset himself by facing someone of Bate’s caliber is important. Giving guys like Gallagher and Gulak the opportunity to add another dimension to their characters is also important. Although 205 Live’s focus is smartly on the wrestling, they have a few entertaining segments (remember when Akira Tozawa tried to fire someone?) that are short, sweet, and fulfill the clearly defined purpose of helping the audience understand a character just a little bit more.
Next: Would Rey Fit Best On 205 Live?
205 Live might actually be WWE’s “most exciting hour of television” now, and it all started with giving the wrestlers a chance to shine.