WWE 205 Live Recap (5/2): TJ Perkins Vs. Lince Dorado, Noam Dar Vs. Rich Swann, Ali Vs. Gulak

By Leon Milici

'205 Live' On The WWE Network
Live From The Save Mart Center in Fresno, California

* Chris Jericho is still being tended to by WWE officials and the medical staff, when 205 Live "starts".

205 Live officially starts with a video package chronicling the current Neville/Aries/TJ Perkins storyline.

After the 205 Live theme plays, Tom Phillips and Corey Graves hype this week's show from ringside.

"TJP" vs. Lince Dorado

An early standoff between the two. Corey Graves attempts to put over TJP's new style and attitude but immediately gets discouraged when Perkins dabs. Moments later, Dorado grounds Perkins and delivers a dab of his own salsa style.

The action heads to the outside and Dorado connects with an asai moonsault on Perkins. When both men get back in the ring, Dorado tries to take to the air but Perkins takes out his legs. Dorado crashes to the mat and Perkins starts to beat him down. TJ hits a springboard senton on Lince and dabs yet again. TJP controls the next few minutes of the match. When both men get to the top rope, Perkins attempts to take off Dorado's mask. It backfires when Dorado knocks him down and then hits a monnsault double foot stomp. The momentum continues for Lince when he hits a cross body for a near fall. Dorado then attempts a handspring stunner but Perkins evades it and delivers a stiff kick to Dorado's head. Moments later, Lince hits a sunset flip from the top rope. When he goes to cover Perkins for the potential pin fall, TJP grabs on Dorado's mask. Lince retreats and then gets caught in the knee bar and taps out.

'TJP' defeats Lince Dorado by submission

A sit down interview with The Brian Kendrick airs. The interview is conducted by Corey Graves. In the interview, Kendrick defends his actions towards Akira Tozawa. Kendrick says that his goal all along has been, to be a mentor and teach Tozawa and instead, Akira has disrespected and insulted him. Kendrick is disappointed that Tozawa has been focusing on playing to the crowd with his chants, rather than on winning. Just as Kendrick is continuing his rant, He is kicked out of his chair by Tozawa. Akira sits in Kendrick's chair and says that lesson number five is always end an interview with impact.

Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak

Gulak makes his way to the ring with a new theme and his "No Fly Zone" sign. He also has a megaphone with him and tries to get the crowd to chant "No High Flying".... A pre match promo by Gulak airs where he talks about Ali's reckless showboating.....

Gulak controls the early portion of the match. He trash talks Ali while pounding away at him. Ali starts to rally and hits an armdrag and hurricanrana. Ali then tries to go to the top rope and Gulak leaves the ring to prevent Ali from going to the air. The delay in the action enables Gulak to retake control with a clothesline, that turns Ali inside out. Gulak then takes Ali down to the mat with a side headlock. Mustafa rallies again and the pace of the match picks up. Ali hits a big boot on Gulak and then a rolling neckbreaker. He then tries to head to the top but Gulak grabs his ankle. Ali breaks free and heads up top again. He goes for a frog splash but Gulak puts his knees up at the last second and pins Ali.

Drew Gulak defeats Mustafa Ali by pinfall

After the match, Gulak is interviewed in the ring by Dasha Fuentes. Drew talks about his campaign and he criticizes the fans for encouraging people like Ali to take to the air. Drew says that Ali just proved his campaign message by crashing and burning.

Phillips and Graves reset the show at ringside. They go over the current Noam Dar/Alicia Fox/Rich Swann storyline. A video package follows of what has taken place between the three in the last several weeks.

Rich Swann vs. Noam Dar

Something funny about Tom Phillips referring to Noam Dar as a "euro trash pervert" repeatedly....... In relation to all that, Corey Graves caused quite a bit of controversy, referring to Phillips and his personal life. Graves made a crack about Noam Dar never DM'ing someone on Instagram. The line drove Phillips to silence on air... It was pretty funny. This match starts with both men wrestling on the mat. When Dar tries to speed up the action. He gets chop blocked by Swann and put back into a side headlock. After Dar works hard to escape and does. He ends up eating a beautiful drop kick from Swann. Rich takes him back down to the mat after getting only a 2 count. Dar tries to break free with a back suplex but Swann retains control of his side headlock. Dar finally escapes by lifting Swann and draping him over the top rope. Dar then knocks a hanging Swann off the ropes and he crashes to the floor.

Noam Dar is now in control. He grounds and pounds Rich Swann for the next couple of minutes. Swann tries to battle back but his leg is swept out from under him. Noam then hits a nice looking butterfly suplex for a near fall. Noam stays in control on the mat. He goes to work on Swann's arm. Dar then hits a belly to back suplex on Swann. He then sets up for his finisher but Swann evades it. Swann then rallies with a flurry of strikes and corners Dar. They battle to the apron and Darr regains control by hitting a soccer style kick on Swann, that trips him up. The two men then battle near the announce desk outside. Both men ram each other's heads onto the desk and then trade strikes. The ref's count reaches 9 and both men just beat the count back in. When the pace picks up inside the ring, Swann sends Dar to the opposite side and hits a top rope plancha. Swann then grabs Dar and drapes him over the barricade and he hits a leaping leg drop on Noam. Swann sets up Dar in the ring and hits the Phoenix splash but Dar surprisingly kicks out. There was hesitation in Swann's cover because he injured his arm on the landing.

Moments later, Swann tries to springboard off the second rope but gets caught in mid-air and placed in a fujiwara armbar. Swann teases tapping out but gets to the bottom rope to break the hold. A frustrated Noam Dar then sets up Swann's left arm over the bottom rope and tries to leap on it. Swann moves out of the way and delivers a superkick. Swann tries to go for a Phoenix splash again but Dar trips him up, and Swann crashes onto the mat. Noam finishes off Swann with a running kick and secures the victory.

Noam Dar defeats Rich Swann by pinfall

After the match. Alicia Fawwwwwwx makes her way to the ring. She tries to get back together with Dar again. The fans chant No but Dar ends up hugging and reuniting with Alicia, to the fans dismay. The show ends with both of them hugging.

Show Closing Thoughts: 3 solid matches but that's never been the issue with this show. The talent isn't the problem. Sure 205 Live and The Cruiserweight division could receive a boost from the likes of Kalisto and someone like Lio Rush, but the real issue with this show is the direction of it. What made the CWC so great was the sports like feel of it. It felt different from the rest of WWE programming. The focus was on the athleticism, competition and the personal backgrounds of the competitors. This show and the division itself desperately needs a change in vision. You can argue that 205 Live is in danger of becoming 205 Dead, if it isn't already. The crowds have been, that's for sure. Instead of being a show that focuses on the slow burn of elongated and silly storylines. The focus needs to be on the action and the competition.

Comments

Recommended