WWE 205 Live: Drew Gulak Should Beat Cedric Alexander For The Title

Cedric Alexander has been the WWE 205 Live Cruiserweight Champion since winning the title in the finals of the tournament at WrestleMania 34 against Mustafa Ali, but it’s time for a change. It’s time for Drew Gulak to finally change the landscape of the Cruiserweight Division by making a better 205 Live as Cruiserweight Champion.

On last night’s episode of WWE 205 Live, Drew Gulak defeated Mustafa Ali, Hideo Itami, and TJP in a Fatal Four-Way match to become the new No. 1 Contender to Cedric Alexander’s Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak picked up the victory by taking advantage of all the punishment Ali absorbed outside the ring from Itami, as he put the “Heart” of 205 Live into his Dragon Sleeper finisher, causing Ali to pass out.

There’s little doubt that Gulak has been one of the biggest stars on 205 Live over the past year, because even before Drake Maverick (read: Triple H) took control to save the division, Gulak was a shining star on a terrible show that was essentially run by Enzo Amore. Gulak’s powerpoints, comedic timing, and solid in-ring skills quickly made him a fan favorite.

Under the new regime, Gulak has been a far more serious character, and that’s largely thanks to Maverick, who absolutely tore into Gulak for being a megaphone-wielding goof. With some of the most impressive victories on the 205 Live roster in 2018, Gulak is now once again one of wrestling’s most menacing technical wizards.

By becoming the No. 1 contender to the Cruiserweight Championship, Gulak is set to position himself as Alexander’s most serious threat to date. Alexander has defeated Buddy Murphy and Hideo Itami as champion, in addition to defeating Ali at WrestleMania after outlasting the rest of the roster in a tournament (he had to face the likes of Roderick Strong to get to that point).

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But Gulak is a different challenge. He’s smarter, more experienced, more vicious, more relentless, more resilient, and more adept at grounding opponents than most of the wrestlers on the 205 Live roster. Gulak is a machine in between the ropes, and he’s been waiting an awfully long time for the opportunity to tear the Cruiserweight Championship away from someone like Alexander.

While Alexander is well-equipped to face someone of Gulak’s caliber, I think Gulak needs to be the wrestler to take the title off of Alexander. Firstly, Gulak is one of the best wrestlers on the roster and has put in serious work on this roster over the past year.

Few wrestlers are more popular than Gulak, and there is no heel on the roster who comes close to Gulak in terms of quality. Murphy is close, but the character work isn’t quite where Gulak’s is, simply because Gulak has been established on the 205 Live roster for so much longer.

Moreover, while Alexander has been a solid champion, the luster on his reign is starting to wear off a little bit. His relatively infrequent title defenses coupled with his high match quality have made him a strong champion who has restored prestige to the Cruiserweight Title, but 205 Live should make the title change before Alexander actually starts to feel dry.

Putting the title on Gulak would not only ensure that the championship remains in safe hands, but it would also freshen things up. Having a seasoned heel who thrives on technical wrestling and sadism would be an excellent change-of-pace for Mr. Maverick’s show, and it would also give a chance for other babyfaces to shine.

Gulak could put on some good matches with wrestlers like Kalisto and Akira Tozawa before eventually dropping the title to Mustafa Ali, whom he put to sleep last night. There’s no doubt that Gulak and Ali have had some great battles in their time on 205 Live thus far, and Ali defeating Gulak for the Cruiserweight Championship could be a brilliant story that gives Ali the crowning moment he’s wholeheartedly earned.

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It’s time for a change in 205 Live, and I’d love to see Gulak running with the title as a fitting way to end Alexander’s solid reign with the strap. And then, we could end up with an Ali vs. Gulak feud that helps build another strong layer of bricks for WWE’s most slept-on show.