WWE 205 Live Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for November 29

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Follow along with our review of the first episode of WWE 205 Live.

Three weeks after its initial announcement, WWE 205 Live debuted on Tuesday night. It aired immediately after the two-hour SmackDown program.

205 Live is a show dedicated to the cruiserweight division, which arrived on Raw in the middle of September. They rode off the wave of momentum from the Cruiserweight Classic and went to Monday nights.

However, things haven’t been so easy for the cruiserweights. Lack of fan interest and uninteresting booking techniques caused this group of wrestlers to struggle. There even seemed to be a chance of them moving to SmackDown at Survivor Series, but this didn’t resonate after Kalisto unsuccessfully challenged Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

Well, after all of this, the cruiserweights now have a chance to shine on their own platform. They will still have Raw to perform on, but only as a sideshow. 205 Live seems to be their main outlet for wrestling, so we’ll see how well WWE developed the show.

The debut episode saw three matches and plenty of introductions take place. The WWE Cruiserweight Championship even got put on the line.

Here’s a list of the bouts that aired on the show:

Another small note is Austin Aries joined commentary and seems to be a permanent fixture on there. He is currently out until 2017 with an orbital bone fracture.

So, what would go down on the first-ever episode of 205 Live?

205 Live Introduction

Ring announcer Mike Rome introduces the fans to the cruiserweights that will be part of 205 Live. No real surprises with the names set.

Bollywood Boyz vs. Drew Gulak and Tony Nese

Result: Bollywood Boyz defeat Drew Gulak and Tony Nese via pinfall.

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars

Both of these teams tried to get the already tired crowd out of its funk, but it didn’t work much. A bad match wasn’t even put on here as all four wrestlers had solid performances. It was just difficult to care about what was going on.

Also, the crowd needed to be woken up with some high-flying, wild moves; multiple ones. This didn’t happen either, so we’ve probably gotten a good picture of how this evening will go.

It’s just one match, though, on the first episode of 205 Live. The post-match promo from Nese and Gulak may be a sign of unique aspects being added to the show, so we’ll see if that keeps up.

Another positive is the vignettes. WWE aired one for the Bollywood Boyz so fans can learn about who they are, and it worked. Why they have resorted to not doing this over the past few years makes little sense.

Noam Dar Vignette

We learn a bit about Dar, who debuted on the WWE main roster about three weeks ago. Again, like the Bollywood Boyz, this worked well.

Brian Kendrick Interview

Kendrick says everything should be bet on him in his title match with Rich Swann. TJ Perkins eventually comes up and says he’s still owed a rematch. He says he’ll hunt Kendrick down if he wins.

Jack Gallagher vs. Ariya Daivari

Result: Jack Gallagher defeats Ariya Daivari via pinfall.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Gallagher had been kept under wraps for nearly three months since being eliminated from the Cruiserweight Classic. He looked solid during the tournament, but never really had a chance to break out. This 205 Live match would accomplish that, though.

Gallagher’s charisma shows from the moment he steps into the venue to when his music goes off after he wins. The mustache, his uniqueness, and technical wrestling ability can easily win over fans. It did so here with an arena already exhausted from watching two hours of SmackDown. The previous tag match hadn’t been able to do that, but seeing Gallagher tangle up Daivari and toy with him in the ring got the fans into him.

So far, so good for the Englishman.

Rich Swann Vignette

Like some of the others, we got a vignette for Swann before his first title match in WWE. Another great job at introducing someone. It will go a long way when fans buy a ticket just to see 205 Live after SmackDown.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship MatchBrian Kendrick (c) vs. Rich Swann

Result: Rich Swann defeats Brian Kendrick via pinfall to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

We have kicked off 205 Live with a bang!

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Coming into this match, Jack Gallagher had somewhat woken up the crowd. However, everyone still seemed mild heading into the WWE Cruiserweight Championship match.

That changed quickly.

Swann and Kendrick went all out from the start and had the hottest start of any cruiserweight match since the Cruiserweight Classic. The crowd, that had been there for nearly four hours, woke up from the moves and bumps that both Kendrick and Swann took in the ring. Some of them were nasty, included the suplex the former WWE tag team champion took on his neck, and the neckbreaker the Baltimore native sold; both made you cringe, but fans wanted to see something that would make their eyes pop.

The false finishes also woke the crowd up more than anything. The Whole Loaf (not really, it’s the Sliced Bread) got hit on Swann, it seemed like he would be down and out. However, the kick out was stunning and set the wheels in motion that it would be the former EVOLVE star’s night.

Moves like the Sliced Bread off the top rope and some of Swann’s high-flying action is what made the cruiserweights popular in the first place. This seemed to go away once the cruiserweights arrived on Raw, but maybe this is a sign of the old ways returning.

Swann is your new WWE Cruiserweight champion, though, and it’s great. He gets 205 Live off to a hot start and has people talking with his win. Losing with a lackluster finish wouldn’t have done much and may have made fans turn away from the Tuesday night show quickly. Now, they’re going to want to tune in to see what will happen next. Others may even buy a ticket just to see 205 Live after SmackDown because of this wild ending and great match.

Swann had an incredible moment to close 205 Live too. His passionate speech saying how he did it and honored his late mother was special. It capped off his emotional night and title win in grand fashion. He now gets to carry the cruiserweight division, and based on everything he has shown these past two months, WWE may have chose the right guy.

We are only one week into the show, though, and title changes aren’t going to happen every week. So, expectations should still be tempered for the next few weeks. Then, we’ll be able to evaluate what 205 Live, its potential, and if it can stay as a post-SmackDown live show.

So, what did you think of the debut episode of WWE 205 Live?

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