Tonight, 205 Live answers the ever-present question: Who will be the next man to challenge Neville for the Cruiserweight Championship? It was announced on Raw this week that Enzo Amore, Cedric Alexander, Tony Nese, The Brian Kendrick, and Gran Metalik will all compete in a Fatal Five-Way Elimination Match (205 Live’s specialty) to determine who will challenge the King of the Cruiserweights for the gold at No Mercy.
TJP vs. Ariya Daivari
Last week, Ariya Daivari competed in the main event of 205 Live against Rich Swann with TJP on commentary to scout Swann while recovering from a knee injury. While Daivari was at ringside, he tried to attack TJP with his own crutch and it cost Daivari the match. Both men brawled after the match and TJP battled like he never suffered an injury in the first place. Now that Swann and the entire WWE Universe knows that the former Cruiserweight Champion is healthy, Daivari gets a chance to get revenge on the man who he believes cost him a win last week.
TJP is able to dodge an attack in the corner from Daivari and he takes advantage to land the Detonation Kick and pick up the victory. After the match, TJP is looking as confident and arrogant as ever and he is approached by Rich Swann. Swann sees that his friend is ready to compete and challenges him to a one-on-one rubber match next week, which TJP accepts. Winner: TJP
Drew Gulak vs. Akira Tozawa
Before getting ready for his match against Akira Tozawa, Drew Gulak continues his campaign for a “better 205 Live” by preparing a Powerpoint presentation. After going through his first two slides, Tozawa starts making his way to the ring before the other 275 slides are presented. Gulak refuses to share the rest of his presentation because of Tozawa’s rude interruption. This is Tozawa’s first match since failing to regain the Cruiserweight Championship from Neville and he is noticeably without Titus O’Neil by his side.
Gulak’s campaign for a better 205 Live falls short, as Tozawa breaks Rule #1 by jumping off of the top rope and finishing the mat technician off with the Senton Bomb that won him the Cruiserweight Championship. Winner: Akira Tozawa
Tony Nese vs. Cedric Alexander vs. The Brian Kendrick vs. Gran Metalik vs. Enzo Amore – #1 Contender’s Elimination Match (Cruiserweight Championship)
Outside of The Brian Kendrick, none of the men in this match have been involved in the Cruiserweight Championship title picture. Gran Metalik came the closest by being the runner-up in last year’s phenomenal Cruiserweight Classic, but since the inception of 205 Live, three of the other four men have been scratching and clawing at a chance to get a chance to face Neville for the gold. That is, except for Enzo Amore.
Amore only joined the Cruiserweight Division a few weeks ago and after finishing a feud with Big Cass due to Cass tearing his ACL, Smacktalker Skywalker has found himself and 205 Live new life. Outside of a seemingly fluke victory over Noam Dar, Amore has won two consecutive six-man tag team matches through some form of cheating. Amore knows that he is not as athletically and technically gifted as his opponents, so he has to compete “smarter.”
While Tony Nese sets Gran Metalik up for the Tony Knees, Cedric Alexander sneaks up from behind the Premier Athlete to hit the Lumbar Check and pick up the first elimination. Eliminated: Tony Nese
Alexander then catches Metalik in the middle of a handspring elbow, resets himself, and hits another Lumbar Check to eliminate his tag team partner from the past few weeks. Now we’re down to three Cruiserweights. Eliminated: Cedric Alexander
The Brian Kendrick starts brawling with Alexander outside the ring, but Alexander slams the former Cruiserweight Champion right onto the ring apron. As Kendrick rolls around in pain, Alexander scoops him up for yet another Lumbar Check to pick up his third elimination in a row. Eliminated: The Brian Kendrick
Right after Alexander eliminated Kendrick, Enzo Amore rushes in the ring for a roll-up and uses the tights for leverage to steal his third consecutive victory, but this time, he earns himself a Cruiserweight Championship match against Neville at No Mercy. Alexander definitely did all of the work, eliminated three of the other four competitors involved in the match. Winner, and NEW #1 Contender: Enzo Amore
