Last week was the premiere of 205 Live, and it was a promising one. The Bollywood Boyz picked up a victory over Drew Gulak and Tony Nese, Jack Gallagher defeated Ariya Daivari (and once again on last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw), and most importantly, Rich Swann defeated Brian Kendrick for the Cruiserweight Championship. Tonight, we have plenty of more Cruiserweight action, including Brian Kendrick cashing in his rematch for the Cruiserweight Championship.
Noam Dar vs. Cedric Alexander
We have seen both Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar plenty of times on Monday Night Raw, and Alexander has even been feuding with Andrade “Cien” Almas on NXT. However, this is the first time either of these men are competing on 205 Live. Noam Dar was the youngest competitor in the Cruiserweight Classic, while Cedric Alexander was clearly the fan favorite.
According to Corey Graves (or at least his source), Cedric Alexander and Alicia Fox are now “a thing.” This was hinted at last night, when Fox took on Bayley in a fit of jealousy (Bayley gave Alexander a “Bayley Bear”).
Noam Dar dodges a split-legged moonsault, runs Alexander into the ring post, and hits a running kick to pick up an impressive victory in his 205 Live debut. After the match, Dar dedicates his victory to Alicia Fox. Winner: Noam Dar
Two interesting (for lack of a better term) developments took place in this match. Cedric Alexander is being given a girlfriend, for reason we don’t yet know. Noam Dar, on the other hand, used his dedication (and unintentionally his thick Scottish accent) to establish a heel status within the Cruiserweight Division.
Ariya Daivari vs. Jack Gallagher
Jack Gallagher defeated Ariya Daivari both last week on 205 Live and last night on Monday Night Raw. While Gallagher likes to mat wrestle with a flashy technical arsenal, Daivari is more of the “beat ’em up” kind of guy. After last nights victory for Gallagher, Daivari had enough and attacked the extraordinary gentleman’s knee in order to make a name for himself. It certainly had an effect, seen by Gallagher wearing a brace on his knee during this match.
Daivari plays it smart, and attacks Gallagher’s knee throughout the entire match. After one last brutal stomp to the knee, Daivari unexpectedly went to the top rope and hit a frog splash to pick up his first win on either Monday Night Raw or 205 Live. Winner: Ariya Daivari
Video Packages
While they are not competing tonight, we get two video packages hyping the 205 Live debuts of Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali. It is interesting that they both get some spotlight at the same time, since they had an impressively great match in the first round of the Cruiserweight Classic.
Dorado hails from Puerto Rico, and he implements a unique version of Lucha Libre in his move set. Mustafa Ali represents Pakistan, and the former police officer has his own incredible aerial attack that is sure to excite the WWE Universe in the not so distant future.
Rich Swann (c) vs. Brian Kendrick – WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Rich Swann defeated Brian Kendrick three times in a row, and the final time (last week on 205 Live), Swann became the Cruiserweight Champion. Only one week removed from his title loss, Brian Kendrick asked for his rematch and hopes to win back the title tonight. TJ Perkins is on commentary during this match, and he is still owed a championship rematch, which he is sure to cash in against the winner.
Before the match starts, Kendrick told Tom Philips that his mind was in a million different places during his title defense, from the media appearances to being the face of a new brand. While those excuses will not give him the title back, he says that he has trained more, he is focused, and he is more ready than last week to defeat Rich Swann.
Outside of the ring, Rich Swann pushes Brian Kendrick, who runs into TJ Perkins. The slight distraction gave Swann enough time to capitalize with a spinning back kick, retaining the gold (purple and silver? That expression doesn’t work anymore.). Winner, and STILL WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Rich Swann
