205 Live: The Forgotten Brand

[Tig]

JAN 12, 2019: TRIPLE H SPEAKS ON THE FUTURE OF 205 LIVE FOLLOWING NXT UK TAKEOVER: BLACKPOOL; PROMISES NEW TALENT AND DIRECTION Following a well-received NXT UK TakeOver in Blackpool, England, the COO of WWE, Triple H, spoke to the gathered press about the success of the event and took the opportunity to speak about the future of 205 Live going forward. “Yeah, yeah, we’ve definitely got plans for 205 Live. We’ve already seen through the success of NXT and now, NXT UK, that we can cultivate unique identities that attract a lot of attention. I think we showed that tonight in Blackpool and going forward, we’re definitely aiming to make 205 Live a priority. There’s a sense of “what could be” when it comes to 205 and I’m not afraid to say that so far we haven’t yet achieved the true potential of 205 Live. Starting on January 15th, in just a few days, 205 Live actually returns to live broadcasting and as you know, we’ve moved to a smaller arena for the live broadcast. Taping after Smackdown hasn’t worked as well as we originally envisioned and this is the first of many steps we’re taking at a corporate level to help move 205 Live on. There’s going to be a few new faces going forward, some big names are pencilled in to try and help elevate the status of the brand. We initially pinpointed 205 Live as bringing action you won’t see on other WWE programming and that’s what we’re going to try to get back to under this new creative direction, but, also, we’ve identified that we need to give it a lift in terms of star power. The roster is already full of immensely talented guys but we think a couple of big names and experienced hands can really help bring 205 Live up to the level we want it to be at. We’re going to put a lot into 205 Live this calendar year and help the brand reach the levels we know it can. I have all the faith in the world in the cruiserweight division we have in WWE, I truly believe it to be the best of its kind in the world. It’s time now for 205 Live to step up and be counted for, and we’re going to do everything we can to push the brand to achieve the expectations we have for it.”​ ON-AIR PERSONNEL Drake Maverick >>General Manager of 205 Live Greg Hamilton >>Ring Announcer Kayla Braxton >>Backstage Interviewer Maria Kanellis >>Manager of Mike Kanellis Percy Watson >>Color Commentator Vic Joseph >>PxP Commentator ROSTER Akira Tozawa Ariya Daivari The Brian Kendrick Buddy Muphy >>WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander Drew Gulak Gran Metalik Hideo Itami Kalisto Lince Dorado Lio Rush Mike Kanellis Noam Dar TJP Tony Nese Lucha House Party - Gran Metallik | Kalisto | Lince Dorado Ariya Daivari | Hideo Itami Noam Dar | Tony Nese SCHEDULE January 15th 2019 - Las Vegas, Nevada January 22nd 2019 - San Diego, California January 27th 2019 - Royal Rumble - Phoenix, Arizona January 29th 2019 - Sante Fe, New Mexico February 5th 2019 - Denver, Colorado February 12th 2019 - Tulsa, Oklahoma February 17th 2019 - Elimination Chamber - Houston, Texas February 19th 2019 - El Paso, Texas February 26th 2019 - Fort Wayne, Indiana March 5th 2019 - Detroit, Michigan March 10th 2019 - Fastlane - Cleveland, Ohio March 12th 2019 - Providence, Rhode Island March 19th 2019 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania March 26th 2019 - Brooklyn, New York April 2nd 2019 - Boston, Massachusetts April 7th 2019 - WrestleMania - East Rutherford, New Jersey​

Editor's Note: So, don't take this as the end of my TNA BTB as that is still my passion project and focus, but I've been tinkering around with this in the background for a few weeks and seeing as the NWA Collab never really took off - WE WILL ONE DAY - I've decided to pull the trigger on this. This will feature weekly 205 Live's in more detail than you will be used to from my TNA BTB - which focuses on monthly recaps. Hope you all enjoy this little offering. - Tig x

 

[BattleTank]

I always had an interest in 205 Live, even from the beginning. It was a fun sprint of a show, and it was always entertaining and fun. Even with the roster short, it is stacked enough to maximize some guys’ potential like Murphy, Alexander and Itami. Plus with Trips mentioning some other names coming in, I am pumped to see who you throw into the mix.

I always have time for a Tig project, and I am excited to see what you have in store. I wish you the best of luck with this, brother.

 

[JDBengal]

Excited for this. I loved 205 back in the day, and loved watching the shows that some of these guys put on. I'm interested to see what kind of bigger names you bring in and how, if at all, it will effect the main roster.

I'm also intrigued by how you do the Rumble and other PPVs. I assume you'll just write matches that pertain to 205 Live but It'd be interesting to see if you have any 205 Live exclusive PPVs coming up.

 

[Stojy]

So much potential here. Roster is awesome, you're awesome, I'm expecting good things. Looking forward to seeing who you bring in as well. Good luck man, not that you need it.

 

[Tig]

 

[King Kota]

Very good 1st ep, I think you gave it your own vibe right off the bat. I will say across the pond you guys are very much in love with Nigel McGuiness I feel like I seen him added as a GM in a few btbs. I don't have a problem with that and honestly I love to see that Maverick is back in ring. Lio & Cedric great roster depth especially for your upper main event too. The highlight for me tho is Aiden English Guerrero that's fantastic I love everything about it and while some people may say he's trying to make a living off the Guerrero name irl I absolutely think he would have nuke heat. I don't think he necessarily needed the gimmick change but, it does make sense in kayfabe to pair the two together. Buddy looks great too here in his promo and this felt like a miz talking smack ic championship type rant that def gives some momentum to the belt.

 

[JDBengal]

Great first episode! Really well done. It's very clean and, despite a lot text, it doesn't feel cluttered.

Changing the GM feels like the right move. I never bought into Drake Maverick as a GM and I'm glad to see him back in the ring. Excited for the new signings too, particularly Aiden English-Guerrero, which is absolutely amazing and has me hooked right off the bat. The Buddy Murphy stuff was pretty great too. His promo was great and you really sold him being a big deal on this roster. I'm also interested to see where you take Cedric Alexander after winning big.

Can't wait for the next episode!

 

[Sky]

Drake no longer GM? He will no longer be able to please his wife

This is good shit, I like to follow the mini brands

 

[Rasky]

205 on the old forum was some of my favorite work I have ever posted. I am excited to see this is something that you are undertaking.

Already some great character work to be on the reach out for. English's promo was really well done, and I think this could be the person some of your major stories are built around. Tyler Breeze and Xavier Woods are also much needed star power to the show as well. Just a really good hook in the show ending, something 205 desperately needed. I feel like I need to check out what happens next because of it.

 

[DTP]

WWE 205 Live – January 15, 2019:

Very novel period to go with, I’m familiar with a fair bit of this from the old forum. This was a time with much potential, as was 2019 for the company as a whole, but for obvious reasons things fell off the rails and the Cruiserweight Division got a hell of a raw deal. So I’m eager to see how you handle things in this time where the WWE Network was in pursuit of more digital content. Maybe with the NXT umbrella you will be able to infuse some original projects and perhaps even supershows to blow off feuds.

Interesting decision to have a promo to kick off this new era of sorts. I maybe would have gone with a wild off-the-wall high-flying spectacle, but I suppose this is what was needed here. I don’t know about Drake Maverick taking the heel General Manager role considering how grossly overdone it can be, but it is in-line with his run on the main roster. I kind of rate Nigel McGuinness in this role even more, if anything to put him on television more frequently.

I was a diehard fan of Tyler Breeze in the early years of NXT, so I am happy to see him coming to 205 Live. Hopefully here he’ll get more respect. I suspect this brings an end to his team with Fandango.

The right man won out of Lio Rush and Akira Tozawa, and I do like the touch with the Tale of the Tape for every match. It’s important to get over the vastly more serious nature of 205 Live than what once was, as well as introduce aspects of the programme that are less featured on the main roster. A hyper-realistic sports format fits well. Rush was the right person to go over, and although Tozawa is hardly new to the WWE ranks at this juncture, I hope he does not fall to the wayside and you are able to find a suitable role for him beyond a goofball ninja jobber-to-the-stars.

Considering what happened with Aiden English previously with Rusev and Lana, maybe a little run on 205 Live could work out for him. I’m not keen on him anchoring himself to Shaul Guerrero, who I was never high on previously, but so long as he doesn’t sing and continues to play up the Eddie Guerrero’s son-in-law character for heat, I’m on-board.

I like your style of wit, as showcased in the Cedric Alexander segment. I would like to see Alexander sit at the forefront of 205 Live – perhaps when the chase is on he could be the one to beat Buddy Murphy.

I forget that TJP was still under contract at this point. Strong win to kick off a revigorated career for Aiden English-Guerrero. I can only imagine the height difference in this match was something else. It is very clear that you have major plans for him, given the spotlight on this show.

It was fruitful for Buddy Murphy to give a strong promo here as the WWE Cruiserweight Champion. I would have personally put him in a match given this is the start of a new era for the brand, but c’est la vie.

Xavier Woods is light enough to be classified as a cruiserweight? Huh, ain’t that something. A little star power, I suppose. Clear win over Drake Maverick in what was a choice for a main event. It did tie together a nice little story that is the demise of Maverick’s authority on 205 Live.

This was a pretty good introductory show. You’re clearly going to be fleshing things out for a few weeks, given the nature of a one-hour show. With this said, I personally feel like we could have done with even more action and less character development angles to differentiate 205 Live from the other brands. I also think it would be cool to see more NXT talent, and perhaps newer names from the WWE Performance Center/independents pop up at some point or another. That said, this is merely show one, so I’m sure we’ve got a lot still to come. Fun, compact and clean outing.