WWE 205 Live: Results, Grades and Analysis for April 10th

After crowning a new Cruiserweight Champion at WrestleMania, the age of Alexander began on this week’s edition of 205 Live

With WrestleMania now in the rearview mirror, 205 Live began a new chapter in its life this week. After putting on a great match with Mustafa Ali at WrestleMania, Cedric Alexander began life as Champion on 205 Live, and without the Cruiserweight tournament hoisting up the show, the pressure was on to see if the brand could continue its fine run of form.

Unlike the other brand’s post Mania outings, 205 Live wasn’t going to have big name debuts or surprising moments to give it a post-Mania boost. Instead, the brand would have to rely on pre-established storylines, with Kalisto taking on Akira Tozawa, and Drew Gulak and Mark Andrews coming face to face after weeks of tension.

In the show’s headline spot, Cedric Alexander would be greeting the crowd and addressing his Mania victory, but with new number 1 contender, Buddy Murphy lurking in the shadows, chances are this wasn’t going to be the celebration Alexander had anticipated.

Could 205 Live once again deliver a knock-out hour of television and continue what has been a very fine week of post-Mania shows for the WWE? Let’s take a look at this week’s show and find out.

Source: WWE.Com

Kalisto Vs Akira Tozawa

Result: Kalisto Wins with the Salida Del Sol

Grade: B-

The feud between the Luchadore team of Kalisto, Gran Metailk and Lince Dorado, and the team of Akira Tozawa and Hideo Itami, has dominated the opening portion of 205 Live for the best part of a month now, and credit where credit is due, the men involved have managed to be consistently entertaining week after week.

For once, none of the other team-mates were involved this week, and this match between two former Cruiserweight champions was a great way to kick off proceedings. The two men did some solid back and forth work, and while both men are faces, Tozawa certainly worked the meaner, and more heelish style of the two here.

Kalisto picked up the clean victory after hitting the Salida Del So, following a solid piece of back and forth in-ring action, which I guess swings momentum in his team’s favour, for now at least. The company has had this feud going for at least five weeks now, so you would presume that the introduction of the tag-team belts is just around the corner. Either way, this was a solid way to kick off proceedings and to continue this feud.

Mark Andrews Vs Drew Gulak

Result: Drew Gulak Wins with the Gu-Lock

Grade: B

A match-up that was announced on last week’s episode of the show, Drew Gulak and Mark Andrews were out this week to finally settle the score between them.

Gulak worked the crowd like a pro before the match, teasing a power-point presentation, only to tell the crowd that this was not the correct time or place for such a thing. Gulak’s character has really developed since the early stages of the Cruiserweight tournament, and his newer, more aggressive character and in-ring style has really helped make him a more legitimate contender on the show.

Mark Andrews, as always, was great in the ring here as well, and the two men put on a fine match-up. Gulak’s grounded, submission based style makes him stand out on the show, and Andrews complimented that perfectly last night. Gulak picked up the victory with the Gu-Lock, forcing Andrews to tap out.

Gulak is beginning to gain some serious momentum with his new character, and it was a smart move having him pick up the victory here. After the match, he locked the Gu-Lock back in on Andrews, only for Tony Nese to run down and save Andrews, beating up his former best friend in the process. A feud between Nese and Gulak will no doubt make for excellent viewing. The two men are great in the ring, and they had a solid match during the Cruiserweight Championship tournament. Nese has been in need of a change for a while, and this provided it.

Backstage we see Drake Maverick talking to Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick. The crowd popped for the return of Kendrick, and these two will make a great addition to the tag-team division.  They mentioned their previous issues with Hideo Itami, insisting that they are all water under the bridge.

Source: WWE.Com

The Age of Alexander Begins

Drake Maverick is in the ring to introduce the new Cruiserweight Champion, Cedric Alexander. Alexander makes his way to the ring to a fairly big pop from the audience. He takes to the mic and a ‘you deserve it’ chant breaks out. The crowd has been invested in the show all night, and this was a nice gesture from them.

Alexander talks about how it was the same fans who helped get him signed for the company in the first place, and how winning at Mania was a dream come true. Mustafa Ali’s music then hits.

Ali says that Alexander doesn’t just deserve it, he earned it. He reminds Alexander that will be in the queue for a title shot and then Buddy Murphy’s music hits. The two men turn their attention to the titantron, but Murphy sneaks in and takes out Alexander from behind before leaving the ring.

Next: WWE Raw: Ranking the Debuts and Returns From Post-Mania Show

This was an okay closing segment. Having Murphy do the cheap attack from behind kind of ruined it. Having him come to the ring and run his mouth before doing it would have perhaps gained him more heat, but I guess because of Ali, this made sense. Alexander and Ali were great here though, and I’m sure Murphy and Alexander will have a great match when they meet.