WWE: Ranking The Top Five 205 Live Matches Of 2018

4. Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami Falls Count Anywhere, Oct. 24

If I had to make a shortlist of the craziest spots in WWE this year, the finish to Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami has to be near the top of the list. When Itami is involved, a final grudge match has to involve a brutal, emotionally career-altering spot that serves as a sharp exhale for the audience watching.

That’s exactly what I did when I saw Ali hit an 0-5-4 to the outside, crash through Itami on a table, and collapse on top of the former NOAH star for the 1-2-3. It was equal parts acrobatic and horrifying, and it was the perfect way to finish an intensely personal rivalry that was all about “respect”. Itami has fought his entire 205 Live career to obtain respect, but while Ali doesn’t articulate it as explicitly, he, too, fights for respect every single time he steps in between the ropes.

Ali was pushed to his limits by Itami, who produced arguably the best match of his WWE career on this night. This match served as a reminder to the fans of what Itami is capable, and it also allowed Ali to be crowned as a man capable enough to potentially dethrone the ruthless Buddy Murphy as the Cruiserweight Champion.

Itami and Ali traded so many big moves and nearfalls, and they made great usage of the ringside area and all of its treacherous devices. This match is exactly how Falls Count Anywhere matches should be, harnessing the animosity between the two competitors while still being a free-flowing artistic expression of wrestling goodness.