Fab watches 205 Live (2018 - ????)

[Crippler]

WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander

205 Live
May 1st, 2018
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Akira Tozawa & Hideo Itami vs. The Brian Kendrick & "Gentleman" Jack Gallagher
This is built as the strikers vs. grapplers, and it's heel/heel match. This also has a back story with Hideo breaking Kendricks' face last year so there is some bad blood, but sadly that never deteriorates. The match is fine it's like one of those mid-2000 indy/japan matches tones of strikes and moves with both teams getting a good lengthy isolation period. Late in the match, Tozawa blind tags in and Hideo doesn't like that, then minutes later Tozwa is about to win with the senton off the top, but Hideo comes in and runs the ropes and Tozawa ends up crotching himself on the top rope. That allows Jack to finish him off with the headbutt for the win. Good angle match. Hideo shoves him post-match and leaves. **3/4

Buddy Murphy vs. Liam Louie
Buddy made weight at 20lbs, total squash match. Cedric comes out post-match and they have a shitty brawl.

Kalisto vs. Drew Gulak
This rules almost entirely because of Drew, he controls the early portion of the match with holds and has everything Kalisto does scouted. He targets the arms to start but once Kalisto makes a comeback he baits Kalisto into a dive so he can avoid and that sets up him working the back. And that's incredible he locks in the Gory special at one point and even invents this modified Boston crab where he hooks Kalisto's ankles in his thighs as he bends him back. I don't think I've ever seen it before. This is totally just a 10 minute Drew showcase and it fuckin' rules, Bum ass Kalisto refuses to sell anything cause fuck him. They do the "disrespectable" mask spot, which makes Kalisto angry and he makes a comeback. He does hit this awesome springboard flipping summersault senton to the floor. The match ends when Kalisto tries to get too flashy while going for the SDS but Drew counters it into the Dragon Sleeper and gets the tap out win. ***

 

[Crippler]

WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander

205 Live
May 8th, 2018
Baltimore, Maryland

Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali
Awesome stuff here, they skip all the feeling out stuff and go right into trading counters and big spots. Ali has the early advantage until Buddy hits the running suplex on the floor to take over. Solid back work from Buddy, he's improved leaps and bounds from what he was in NXT, he's also stolen every moveset from current NJPW so that helps a lot. Awesome spot, Ali counters a sleeper into one of his own, but the sicko Buddy then takes a running start and with Ali still on his back sends them both crashing into the corner to break the hold. It's another one of those moves or counters that I've never seen again. Then a couple of minutes later, Buddy gets caught in between the ropes and Ali hits a fucking around the world spike tornado DDT for two. They begin trading big moves for near-falls with the last big move being harder and having more impact than the last. It's so well put together. Buddy hits the Brock triple powerbombs that got him the win last week, but Ali waves off the refs. So Buddy goes for it again, but in mid-air, Ali counters it into the X-Factor for two. They both end up fighting on the apron with Ali going for a super Frankensteiner off the top but Buddy shoves him off but Ali lands on his feet and catches Buddy off the top with a superkick out of mid-air. He rolls him back in and gets a two count because Buddy puts his boot on the ropes. 450 misses and that allows Buddy to go after the arm just like Ali did in the first match. He does all the same pin-point strikes and counters the DDT sending him should first into the LED ring post which allows him to hit Murphy's law for the win. AWESOME! ***1/2

 

[Crippler]

WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander

205 Live
May 22nd, 2018
Worcester, Massachusetts

Hideo Itami vs. Akira Tozawa
This is fine, but I was expecting so much more. If it's the first match, which makes sense that they would hold back and not pull out all the stops. It's mostly punches, kicks, and chops with the occasional chin lock by Hideo during the control. Hideo does his dickish heel stuff but it doesn't bang like it has before and Tozawa actually has one of his better performances here just a shame it goes to waste kindof. They have a fun closing 5 as now they start adding big moves and stiff kicks. Match ends when Tozawa misses the back senton and Hideo hits a modified GTS for the win. **1/4

 

[Crippler]

WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander

205 Live
May 29th, 2018
Raleigh, North Carolina

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander
So, this is Cedric's big homecoming as champion as he's from the Carolina area so he gets the reaction even though the building looks 20% full they had to dark out the top part but you can clearly see no one is in the seats. As for the match it gets 20 minutes and bangs hard, it's the new breed cruiserweight/Indy style so they start off doing some flashy counters and complicated sequences, with neither man really able to maintain control as they're so evenly matched. Cedric gets the first brief run of offense but he starts feeling himself a little too much after a dive which allows Buddy to sweep the leg as he's standing on the announce table so Cedric lands on his back, he quickly follows up with the Roddy backdrop on the apron and follows up by throwing him back first into the barricade to take over. Awesome Buddy control lots of kicks to the back, and hard Irish whips into the corner. Cedric sells it fantastically which is given as he wants to put on the best show for the hometown, he even adds these awesome in pain or disbelief facial expressions. Awesome fuckin Cedric comeback everything is so smooth and clean, and they go into trading strikes and dives, kinda like the whatever you can do I can do better. Before going into trading near falls. Fucking awesome spot, Cedric blocks the running suplex on the apron and counters it into a flying flatliner onto the apron, and Buddy takes another wonderful looking death bump. Man, I knew he got better but I'm ready to argue NJPW Buddy is like top 10 in the company. The finishing stretch is marvelous as they go back to trading big strikes and counters, but Buddy makes the heel mistake by talking trash instead of finishing the job which allows Cedric to hit two back-to-back stand kicks and the lumbar check for the win. Classic. ****1/4

 

[Crippler]

WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander

205 Live
June 5th, 2018
Corpus Christi, Texas

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy
This again rules, Buddy tries to use his strength but Ali counters with speed to get the upper hand to start. Buddy takes over after dropping Ali mid-section first over the steel beam that connects the ringpost and turnbuckles together. Again another superb Buddy control as he works the belly, he locks in a brief abdominal stretch but Ali breaks it and hits a sick reverse spike 'rana which leads to his comeback. The match moves into the big strikes and counters strikes to set up the KO strike, it's Buddy's go to which I've noticed. I love it, but at times it does become a bit much. They end up fighting on the apron, where Ali avoids a running knee strike and Buddy hits his knee on the ringpost and Ali follows up with an X-Factor on the apron for two. Buddy recovers quick and goes on offense again for some near-falls but again he makes the mistake of trash talking instead of going for the kill and it cost him with Ali making a comeback. FUCKING AWESOME SPOT WITH ALI HITTING A TORNADO DDT OFF THE TOP TO THE FLOOR! He quickly rolls Buddy back in looking for the 054, but Hideo attacks him for the DQ. Good shit once again. ***1/4

Hideo KO's Ali post-match. RESPECT HIM!

 

[Crippler]

WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander

June 12th, 2018
Memphis, Tennessee

Lucha Dragons vs. Drew Gulak, Gentleman Jack Gallagher & The Brian Kendrick
This is a ton of fun, I can't stand the LD'S as singles or a basic tag team but them in trio matches where they can get triple teams off and basically have a triple a match is great. Opening 5 minutes sees the Dragons control all three members of the heel side until Jack sweeps Kalisto's leg as he's standing on the middle turnbuckle and the back of his head hits the top turnbuckle allowing team stretch to take over. Solid control as they spend the majority of it stretching and beating the shit out of Kalisto. Metalik has a good hot tag, he and Lince go on a good run of offense as the match breaks down. The match ends when lucha finds its 2nd wind and starts taking out everyone with dives triple teams leaving Lince and Kendrick, Kendrick intercepts a dive for the captain hook but Lince rolls through alla Benoit/Trips but this time Lince rolls him up and hooks the tights for the win. **3/4

Mustafa Ali (w/Cedric Alexander) vs. Tony Nese (w/Buddy Murphy)
Tony goes right to work on the mid-section and back of Ali, picking up from where Buddy left off last week. This is the most brutal and violent I've seen Tony. Way more than the mini-match against Drew, he's throwing some nasty strikes and throwing Ali around is tremendous. And Ali bumps his fuckin ass off, mid-way through the match Tony ditches his mid-section work and starts attacking the throat and it rules, it's one of the not done regularly things that I love every time it happens along with working hands and fingers or when a wrestle specifically targets an ankle instead of the whole leg. Ali never really gets a full comeback, its something I've noticed he does a lot where he has these awesome mini ones but keeps getting cut off like a true underdog before they go into the finish. Late in the match, Buddy attacks Cedric on the floor and they fight to the back. Tony hits a sick one armed buckle bomb for two and follows up with a running knee to set up the total kneese but Ali avoids and hits the tornado DDT and follows up with the 054 for the win. ***