205 Live Results – November 29, 2016 (Debut Episode)

205 Live
Date: November 29, 2016
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Austin Aries, Corey Graves

Remember the Cruiserweight Classic being all awesome? Now do you remember the cruiserweights being equally awesome on Monday Night Raw? Odds are you don’t, because the division has floundered on Monday nights and it’s already time for the show to have its own show on the WWE Network. This debut episode could range from good to a mess so let’s get to it.

The opening sequence says tonight it’s time to defy expectations. There are very few clips from Raw here with almost everything coming from the tournament.

Opening sequence

Austin Aries, currently out with an eye injury, is a surprise commentator. He teases winning the title once he’s healthy.

The roster (or at least tonight’s roster) is on stage for introductions. We have Rich Swann, TJ Perkins, Jack Gallagher, Hoho Lun, the Bollywood Boyz, Noam Dar, Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, Akira Tozawa, Mustafa Ali, Gran Metalik and Brian Kendrick.

Video on the Bollywood Boyz, Harv and Gurv Sirah. They grew up watching Bret Hart and want to bring the Indian culture to America.

 

 

Bollywood Boyz vs. Drew Gulak/Tony Nese

The Boyz do a lot of dancing and are clearly the faces here. Gurv (who is in trunks instead of tights like his brother) works on Drew’s arm to start before it’s off to Harv for more of the same.

Drew takes Harv’s head off with a running dropkick. Harv gets taken down into the corner with Gulak working over his leg. Nese’s chinlock doesn’t last long and a neckbreaker gets Harv over to the corner for the hot tag to his brother.

Everything breaks down and we get the eternally stupid spot with Gulak being thrown into Nese, who DDT’s his partner because he’s incapable of letting go of his partner’s head. Harv springboards into a crossbody to take Gulak down outside but Nese slams Gurv to take over again. Back in and a DDT sends Nese outside, setting up a double superkick to pin Gulak at 7:04.

Result: Bollywood Boyz b. Drew Gulak/Tony Nese – Double superkick to Gulak (7:04)

Gulak and Nese say the Dancing with the Stars rejects won because of greasy ropes.

Video on Noam Dar.

Kendrick says you should gamble on him tonight because he’s going to capitalize on Swann’s mistakes. Perkins comes in and wants his rematch so he wishes Kendrick luck.

Video on Gran Metalik.

 

Ariya Daivari vs. Jack Gallagher

Gallagher is a wrestling gentleman and got a very strong reaction in his Cruiserweight Classic run. Jack does his fancy spin to counter a wristlock before bending both arms around in ways other than nature intended. Even Graves has to appreciate how awesome Gallagher really is.

Gallagher handstands his way out of a headlock by walking on his hands. Another headstand in the corner has Aries freaked out and it’s time to tie Daviari’s limbs up in so much of a knot that Gallagher stands off to the side and smiles at him. A running kick to the back of the trunks annoys Aries because it wasn’t great.

Daivari comes back with some basic wrestling, including a neckbreaker and chinlock, which finally slows Jack down. Some dropkicks have Daivari in trouble again and a headbutt knocks him into the corner. A running dropkick in the corner puts Daivari away at 5:28. Even Aries calls it impressive, partially because that’s one of his signature moves.

Result: Jack Gallagher b. Ariya Daivari – Running corner dropkick (5:28)

Ranallo: “Austin, what do you think of 205 Live so far?” Aries: “Well I’m here so it’s great.”

Lince Dorado video. He’s your standard masked luchador.

Video on Rich Swann, who lost his parents young and has traveled the world wrestling anyone he can.

Cruiserweight Title: Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick

Swann, billed as outlandish for some reason, is challenging. We’re ready to go after the Big Match Intros and the standard handshake. They trade wristlocks to start before it’s time to speed things up, including a hard dropkick for two on the champ. A tiger bomb drops Kendrick again and he bails to the floor for a breather.

Back in and the champ snaps off a hard belly to back suplex but it’s too early for the Captain’s Hook to really work. A similar suplex does the same to Kendrick but Swann takes too long going up and gets caught in a neckbreaker onto the buckle. Kendrick has a target now and a bridging dragon suplex makes things even worse. It’s off to a straitjacket hold for a bit, only to have Swann grab something like a Michinoku Driver.

Brian’s eyes are bugging out but he gets the knees up to block the standing 450. The long form Captain’s Hook gives us the dramatic crawl to the ropes and Kendrick’s frustration continues. It only gets worse when Sliced Bread #2 gets two, allowing Swann to hit three straight spinning kicks to the head for the pin and the title at 13:31.

Result: Rich Swann b. Brian Kendrick – Spinning kick to the head (13:31)

Swann dedicates the win to his mother and Kendrick says you shouldn’t get used to this.

A replay of the title change ends the show.

 

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