With Buddy Murphy no longer able to compete at The Greatest Royal Rumble, a new number 1 contender would be decided on this week’s episode of WWE 205 Live
On last week’s edition of WWE 205 Live, Buddy Murphy had to give up his Cruiserweight championship match against Cedric Alexander at The Greatest Royal Rumble because he failed to make weight, coming at 207 pounds, 2 pounds over the 205 limit.
This meant that on this week’s episode, the brand would need to find a new number 1 contender for Friday’s event in Saudi Arabia. It was announced on last week’s show that there would be a gauntlet match to decide who would go on to face Alexander. The competitors for the match were announced yesterday and are, Mustafa Ali, Drew Gulak, Kalisto, Tony Neese, and TJP.
These are five of the strongest competitors on the 205 Live brand, and the company went with the bold decision of allowing the gauntlet match to be the only thing that took place on the show. Given the talent involved, the match had plenty of promise. So did it deliver? And who would be going on to face Cedric Alexander in Jeddah this upcoming Friday? Let’s take a look at this week’s edition of 205 Live and find out.
Gauntlet Part One
Mustafa Ali Vs TJP
Result: Mustafa Ali Wins With an Imploding 450
Grade: B
Mustafa Ali, who had to be considered one of the favourites for this match opened up with former Cruiserweight champion TJP.
The two men went at it for just under 10 minutes and their match featured some solid back and forth action. TJP’s new heel persona hasn’t really managed to take off, and it’s a massive shame because he is an excellent in-ring performer.
Ali has been one of the brand’s MVPs in the last few months and he delivered again here. The story in the latter exchanges of the match focused on TJP targeting Mustafa Ali’s knee, locking in several Knee locks in an attempt to force him to submit.
Ali, however, is being booked as the show’s biggest underdog so naturally, he managed to fight back here and pick up the victory over TJP with the imploding 450. Ali progresses but he is selling his knee injury hard, which is not ideal when the next man out is Drew Gulak.
Mustafa Ali Vs Drew Gulak
Result: Drew Gulak Wins Due to a Stoppage
Rating: B
Gulak comes out and goes straight after Ali’s knee, throwing his opponent around and targeting his injured leg.
Gulak has been a delight to watch in the last few months, and his ruthless in-ring style makes for highly entertaining viewing. He was on fine form again last night, brutally beating down Ali, locking him in various submission holds and staying focused on victory.
Ali battled bravely against Gulak but eventually, he lost the match when Gulak pushed him off the top rope, forcing him to hit his head on the steel-steps and get knocked unconscious. The ref should have ended the match there, but Gulak, sadistically, dragged his lifeless body back into the ring and locked in the Gu-Lock, forcing the referee to call a stoppage.
This was an excellent way to end the match and really played nicely into Gulak’s character. Next up for Gulak, though, is his friend turned enemy, Tony Neese.
Gauntlet Part Two
Drew Gulak Vs Tony Neese
Result: Drew Gulak Wins with the Gu-Lock
Grade: B-
Tony Neese and Drew Gulak’s recent feud has been brewing nicely and the two men had a hard-hitting and heated exchange in the gauntlet match.
Gulak continued to excel in his second match of the night and came out on top when Neese decided to hit a running knee, only for Gulak to lock in the Gu-Lock and force his opponent to submit. The finish focused on the fact that Neese could have picked up the victory had he not been so thirsty for revenge on Gulak, which was a nice way of continuing their feud, and it also helped build Gulak’s ruthless and tactical in-ring approach.
Gulak was focused on nothing but the victory here, and in the end, that is what saw him progress to the final. Kalisto makes his way to the ring next.
Kalisto Vs Drew Gulak
Result: Kalisto Wins with the Costa del Sol
Grade: C+
Gulak stalls at the start of this match to sell the amount of time he has been in the ring, while Kalisto is full of energy. Kalisto hits the ground running here, but Gulak manages to turn Kalisto’s energy against him when he throws him into the barricades following a suicide dive, in what was one of the night’s best spots.
Back in the ring and Gulak tries to lock in the Gu-Lock but Kalisto fights his way out of it. After a little back and forth, Kalisto hits the Costa del Sol for the victory.
This last segment, as they so often do with gauntlet matches, felt like the quickest of the night, with the fresher Kalisto just having too much left in the tank for Gulak, who was easily the night’s MVP.
Kalisto and Cedric Alexander should have a great match at The Greatest Royal Rumble. The former US champion has really found his feet over the last month or so, and while he almost definitely won’t win, these guys should still entertain if given the correct amount of time.
Next: WWE SmackDown Highlights, Grades, and Analysis For Apr. 24, 2018
This was an action-packed and lively edition of 205 Live. The one-hour run-time gave them the opportunity to focus solely on the gauntlet match and it was a fast-paced, and brilliant hour of television.