Guess Who’s The Number One Contender – 205 Live Recap and Reaction – September 6, 2017

Following up on a solid Smackdown, 205 Live brings the excitement and kicks off quickly.  And if my excitement about getting Corey Graves on Smackdown wasn’t enough, his 205 Live and Main Event duties have been handed off.  Please welcome our new 205 Live commentator Nigel McGuinness.

This is a great trade off if I have to lose Graves, as Nigel is an extremely talented commentary piece who speaks from the experience of his extensive career inside the ring.  If you’re not familiar with Nigel (because you don’t watch NXT or you missed the United Kingdom tournament, which, what the hell is wrong with you?) you’ll appreciate him quickly.  Or maybe just I will, since I’m apparently the only person watching this show.

• TJP def. Ariya Daivari via the Detonation Kick – This was a pretty damn good match from these two.  The more important factor here for the sake of continuity was the fact that Rich Swann was on the commentary table, and I don’t mean he was on commentary, he actually set up a chair on the top of the commentary table and watched the match from there.  Following the win, which TJP got when Daivari was briefly distracted jawing at Rich Swann, Perkins pointed at Swann to let him know it was go time.  During the break, McGuinness texted Commissioner Angle and got confirmation that next week we will finally get the rubber match here.  Yay!
• Akira Tozawa def. Drew Gulak with the Flying Senton – I feel bad for Gulak.  While I understand the purpose of the gimmick, they’re missing the point in delivery.  Gulak is intent to keep the Cruiserweight Division grounded because he is a submission specialist, a point that they never really get across, and if they give any explanation, it’s either that Gulak doesn’t do high flying moves or that he’s a vicious striker.  Remind people why he’s about “No High Flying” by letting him get several key wins by submission and the gimmick will pick back up.
• Enzo Amore def. Cedric Alexander with a roll up (holding the tights) to become the Realest Number One Contender in the Room – Cedric Alexander did all the work, eliminating Tony Nese, Gran Metalik and Brian Kendrick with a hat trick of Lumbar Checks.  Following the third, on Metalik, Enzo sprung into action and rolled up Alexander, securing the tights to get the pinfall.  This won’t stand, I don’t think, so you’ll likely get a triple threat at the very least for the Cruiserweight Championship at No Mercy.  Won’t matter.  LONG LIVE THE KING!

I was going to use an Enzo gif from the list, but this works just as well.

Overall Reaction:

The fatal five way match was fantastic, even if the incredibly quick finish with the roll up seemed lackluster coming off such a strong, lengthy affair between the five men in the match.  It was a testament to the talent on the 205 Live roster, and featured four of the best guys that WWE can put in the ring, plus Enzo.  I’m indifferent on Enzo being on 205 Live at this point because he’s not terrible in the ring with these guys, but they’ve really got to make a call here.  Enzo can’t win matches with heel tactics if he’s supposed to be the face in the match against Super Heel Neville.

Worth watching, as both the opening and closing matches were pretty damn good.  The middle affair was fine, and I’m sure you’d love it if you’re into Tozawa, he just doesn’t do a whole lot for me.