With Lio Rush, Drake Maverick and Lucha House Party beginning to take part in storylines on Raw, there is more attention on the cruiserweight division than usual.
Unfortunately, WWE still treats most of the cruiserweight roster as a sideshow. The red brand even glossed over Buddy Murphy's championship win in Australia.
However, the 205 Live crew still delivers some of the best action every week. Let's take a look at what happened on Wednesday's show.
The Lucha House Party vs. Mike Kanellis and TJP
205 Live newcomer Mike Kanellis has joined forces with TJP to battle Kalisto, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado, and their first order of business was a tag match against Kalisto and Dorado.
TJP's obsession with taking the masks from luchadors was on display early, as Kalisto prevented him from snatching another one.
Kanellis served as the muscle of his team, while TJP focused on technical and high-flying offense. As expected, the luchadors used their speed every chance they had.
This was a standard tag team bout. All four men looked good in the ring, but it fell short of what we know they are capable of as individuals. Kanellis' limited experience fighting Kalisto and Dorado likely contributed to a lack of chemistry.
The longer the match went on, the more exciting it became. Dorado and Kalisto were especially impressive with some of the unique offense they utilized. TJP successfully removed The Golden Lynx's mask, but he didn't realize the luchador was prepared with a second mask.
The Lucha House Party scored the win, but the look on Maria Kanellis' face after the match tells us this feud is not over.
Grade: B
Notes and Highlights
- If Kanellis ever turns babyface, he is going to need new music right away. His current song will not get people to cheer during his entrance.
- Dorado called Kanellis a coward for hiding behind his wife, Maria. What if she is tougher than he is? Is it still cowardly?
- What was part of the crowd chanting for the entire match? It was hard to hear because it was only a small portion of the crowd making noise. It was kind of annoying.
- Kalisto might be more versatile than Rey Mysterio ever was. He can do just about anything he wants inside the ring. Some of the counters he used in this match were incredible.
Lio Rush vs. Josh Morrell
The second match of the night featured Lio Rush taking on an enhancement talent named Josh Morrell. Surprisingly, the unknown Superstar got in some offense in the early moments.
Once he gained the upper hand, The Man of the Hour picked up the win with his trademark frog splash. It was a short bout, but it had a few things to like.
Bobby Lashley's manager gave a promo after the match, and the crowd tried to drown him out with chants.
Grade: C-
Notes and Highlights
- Rush was shown obnoxiously bothering Cedric Alexander at the Performance Center to set up a match between them in the future. Heels are supposed to get under your skin, but Rush is annoying for the wrong reasons.
- This Morrell kid, if that is his real name, might have a bright future. He showed real skill during this short match.
- The way Rush sent Morrell's face into the bottom turnbuckle was brutal.
Buddy Murphy vs. Mark Andrews
NXT UK talent Mark Andrews crossed the pond this week to take on the reigning cruiserweight champion, Buddy Murphy.
This was a classic mismatch of power vs. speed. Murphy is quick on his feet, but his speed was nothing compared to that of Andrews, so he had to focus on his strength advantage.
Most of Murphy's performances show off his athleticism, but this match was all about positioning him as one of the most powerful and dominant competitors in the division.
While the Aussie may have controlled most of the action, Andrews was able to get in plenty of exciting offense to get the Manchester, England, crowd on its feet.
Both men put on a fun and entertaining performance in the main event. They each had several chances to impress the audience, but in the end, Murphy's power was too much for Andrews to overcome. The cruiserweight champion picked up the victory with Murphy's Law.
Grade: A
Notes and Highlights
- Using 205 Live and NXT to promote NXT UK is smart. The roster for the British developmental system has a lot of great talents the WWE Universe should take the time to check out, and Andrews is definitely one of them.
- It's cool to see WWE trying new things with Mustafa Ali's promos. It helps make his character feel unique.
- Showing Murphy as being too powerful for many of Andrews' counters to work was a nice bit of booking. It forced the Welshman to change his strategy.
- The inverted hurricanrana from Andrews was incredible.
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