Drew’s Reviews
Hello again 205 live fans! After a bit of a hiatus on my part, I’m back in the saddle again to bring you another edition of Drew’s Reviews! Enjoy!
The Raw Rebound
Before the match, Neville said he is still the champ. He said aries is better at talking than fighting. Neville said you might not like him, but you can not deny that he won at Wrestlemania. He said on 205 live he will celebrate, but tonight he is going to remind us that he is… and Mustafa Ali made his way out to the ring. No handshake before the match. They tied up, and went into the corner. The two started, then Ali started to take control of things, knocking Neville to the outside. Ali jumped from the second rope onto Neville, and tossed him into the ring. Ali set up for another move, but Neville threw him into the mat. Neville then tossed Ali to the outside, and the match went to commercial break. Back from the break, Neville is still in control, as Ali tries to fight out of a submission hold. Neville let go to stare at the crowd, but Ali was able to recover, and hit a dropkick. He then dropped Neville, and hit a roll through neck breaker for a near fall. Neville would then start to heat up, and go to work on Ali. Neville a suplex of some sort, followed by a clothesline that turned Ali inside out. Neville went for a pin, but Ali kicked out of it. Neville remained in control, and set up for a superplex. Ali reversed, and hit a standing Spanish fly on Neville from the top rope. Both men were down, and then made their way back up, exchanging shots. Neville took Ali down, and attempted a move, but Ali got up and hit a superkick. Ali then hit a big ddt for a nearfall, but Neville got his foot on the ropes. Ali then went up top, but missed an attempted inverted 450 splash attempt. Neville then set up for the Red Arrow, but didn’t do it. Neville locked in the Rings of Saturn submission hold, and Ali tapped out.
Analysis: Now that was a good match!!! You don’t often see what he cruiserweights are fully capable of on Raw, but we did tonight. For a split second I thought Ali would win after that bug ddt following the superkick. In the end, Neville won, an it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. Maybe a fued with Ali? I could watch that!
And now… 205 Live!
The show started off with a video package recapping the cruiserweight championship match from last Sundays Wrestlemania. Neville retained the title, but not without a good fight from Austin Aries. The opening video package played, and the pyro… failed(the speakers at least). Tom Phillips and Corey Graves welcomed us to the show, and talked about tonights main event. The match is a fatal 4 way to become the number one conteder to Nevilles WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Akira Tozawa made his way out to the ring, and hes in the nights first match.
Akira Tozawa vs The Brian Kendrick
Before the match, Kendrick said Tozawa doesn’t get it, and that lesson number 10(10! 10!) is, it’s not about athleticism, It is about psychological supremacy. The bell rang, and Kendrick immediately slid out of the ring to start the match. Tozawa then chased him back inside the ring, and started to go to work on Kendrick. The two started exchanging blows after a quick pin, and then Tozawa attempted to fake out Kendrick, but Kendrick avoided it for a quick roll up. Tozawa eventually caught Kendrick with the previously attempted shot, but then Kendrick started to fire up, and locked in a camel clutch on Tozawa. Tozawa would eventually fight out, and hit Kendrick with a big drop kick. Kendrick then went for a move on Tozawa, but he reversed the attempt, and followed with a kick. Tozawa followed by dropping Kendrick with a head scissors take down that sent him to the outside. Tozawa then dove through the ropes onto Kendrick, and rolled him back into the ring. Tozawa set up for a top rope move, but Kendrick caught him, and tried to go for a superplex. Tozawa reversed, and then jumped over Kendrick. Tozawa landed awkwardly, and started grabbing his knee. Kendrick looked to the crowd in disbelief , and Tozawa caught Kendrick with a quick roll up from behind for the 1-2-3.
After the match, Tozawa said that was lesson number one.
Analysis: I guess Tozawa is learning his “lessons”. I really thought for a second Tozawa might be hurt. He fooled me, and most importantly he fooled Kendrick. The match was solid, as you would expect from these guys, but nothing to spectacular.
A commercial aired for Wrestlemania 34 in New Orleans.
Analysis: I’ll be there, but geeze we just had Wrestlemania 33. Slow down WWE.
Rich Swann made his way out the the ring in the same jacket he wore to the hall of fame Friday night. Hes in the second matchup of the night.
Rich Swann vs Oney Lorcan
As soon as the bell rang, Lorcan hit an uppercut on Swann, followed by another in the corner. He then jumped over Swann a few times, before he turned Swann inside out with a clothesline. Lorcan took a second to gloat afterwards, then hit Swann with a few chops in the corner. Lorcan then locked in an abdominal stretch, and Swann tried to fight out. Lorcan then kneed Swann in the gut, hung him up in the ropes, and went for a pin attempt on Swann. Lorcan then locked in another submission hold with his legs wrapped around the ribcage of Swann, and twisted his neck a bit. Swann tried to fight out, and eventually did. Swann then set up for a top rope move, but Lorcan pushed Swann, and he fell onto the top rope. Lorcan then went for a half and half suplex, but Swann fought him off. Lorcan went for the suplex again, and this time he nearly hit it, but Swann somehow flipped out of it. Swann trained to gain momentum, but Lorcan drove Swann into the corner with a running alabama slam for a near fall. Lorcan stayed in control, and hit a big European uppercut on Swann. They exchanged some moves, and Swann came out on top of things for the moment. Swann drove Lorcan into the corner, and Lorcan ended up on his back after a leaping hurricarana by Swann. Swann set up for the Phoenix Splash, and hit it for the 1-2-3.
After the match, Swann said that for weeks and weeks Alicia Fox has been getting presents, and they are from him, not Noam Dar.
Analysis: Wow what an impressive showing by Oney Lorcan. He is an NXT guy, so I am not sure if this is a one off deal or not. The announcers didn’t say anything otherwise, so I am assuming that this is just a one time thing. If not, that’s great because as we saw here, this guy is good. In the end, Swann caught Lorcan slipping for just a brief moment, and that led to his downfall here as Swann picked up the win. As for after the match… what a shocking reveal! I had no idea those gifts were coming from Swann (said no one ever).
After that, Mustafa Ali was shown backstage. He was stopped by Drew Gulak, who said he should compete more conservatively. Ali said he isn’t buying what Gulak is selling. Gulak said change is coming to 205 live, and he wants to offer Ali an opportunity to be on the right side of history, and the segment ended after Gulak walked off.
Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, and Pete Dunne were shown on the stage. The WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate also made his way out to the ramp. This is just to plug a tour of the United Kingdom that will feature the U.K. Tournament guys, as well as the 205 Live roster.
Neville made his way out the ring to celebrate his win at Wrestlemania. He said no one is on the Neville level. He said it feels good to be proven right, but the WWE Universe wouldn’t know about that since they chose Aries. He then held up the title, and said that says it all. He said wrestlemania was a great moment for him, but the WWE universe still tries to belittle him. He talked about gauging the eye of Aries, and said he did it because Aries deserved it. He got three cheers(“hip hip!” HOORAY!) from the crowd for the king, and said he wants to thank everyone for never believing in him. He also thanked Austin Aries for being such a “detestable clown to obliterate”. He lastly thanked the entire roster for bolstering his reputation since he has beaten them all. Neville said the circus continues tonight, and he will be at ringside for the main event.
Analysis: I like Neville a lot, which is why I feel it when he says we never believed in him. I always have, and I still do. I know most people out there in the WWE Universe feel the same way. Evil Neville is the man, and a true heel, as shown by the way he twisted everything when he “thanked” people.
Fatal 4 way to become number one contender to the WWE Cruiserweight championship
Jack Gallagher vs TJ Perkins vs Mustafa Ali vs Austin Aries
All for guys shook hands, and the bell rang. Gallagher tied up with Perkins, and Aries tied up with Ali. Perkins took down Ali, followed by a takedown by Aries on Perkins. Perkins then took down Gallagher and Aries, and Ali tried to throw Perkins out of the ring. Perkins caught himself in the ropes, and went on the attack. Jack Gallagher tried to get going, but Aries caught him with a drop kick. Aries then took a chill on the ropes, and got off to deliver a big elbow to Perkins. Perkins made his way back up, then bulldogged Aries while he simultaneously clotheslined Gallagher. Perkins hit a pendulum dropkick, and then was taken down by Ali. Ali hit a kick for a near fall on Perkins, and Gallagher came back into the ring. Aries then rejoined the action, but was taken down by Perkins. Perkins hit a missile dropkick on Ali, then applied the kneebar to Gallagher. Aries then came in, and locked in the last chancery on Perkins. Ali would then run in, and double dropkick on Aries and Perkins, then hit a crossbody on Gallagher. Ali tried to stay on top, but was caught by Perkins. Gallagher then went for a standing dragon sleeper on Perkins, but Aries came in from behind to attempt a neck breaker of his own. Ali hit a roll through neck breaker on all the guys, and then set up for a top rope move, but got caught by Aries. Aries set up for a superplex, but Perkins came in, and separated Aries by using his shoulders, doomsday device style. Aries got off of him, and onto the ropes, then Gallagher joined him there. The two held down Perkins, and both superplexed Ali. Aries pinned Ali, and Gallagher pinned Perkins. Both kicked out, and then Aries hit a gutbuster followed by a pendulum elbow on Gallagher. Aries then dove into Perkins and Ali on the oustside, and Gallagher went to get his umbrella. Gallagher then opened the umbrella, and went to the top rope, before jumping onto all three guys. Gallagher then rolled Perkins into the ring, and went for the big kick in the corner. Perkins ducked it, but then got Caught by Ali. Aries then came back into the match, and started to go to work on Ali. Aries went for the five arm, but Ali blocked. Gallagher hit the dropkick on Ali, then a headbutt on Aries. Gallagher collapsed into the pin, and Aries kicked out at 2 and a half. Perkins and Gallagher then started exchanging some big shots, and then Perkins hit a detonation kick, and then Gallagher somehow hit a headbutt on Perkins before he fell down. Aries then came in, and hit the Discuss Five arm for 1-2-3.
Analysis: Holy Cow there was so much going on there it was hard to keep up with. Perkins looked strong throughout the match, and there were times where I thought Ali would win, especially since he came up just short against Neville on Raw. So did the crowd, as at one point most it was chanting his name. In the end, Austin Aries won the match, and this sets up Neville vs Aries II. After witnessing the first match, you can bet the two will bring it yet again. Will they top the match from Wrestlemania? Is that even possible? Stay tuned to Drew’s Reviews to find out.