WWE 205 Live Review - August 1, 2017

​By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Brian Kendrick def. Gentleman Jack Gallagher by Disqualification

I thought it was weird these two rivals went one-on-one without their match being advertised in advance (considering they have been feuding for about a month now), but this was exactly what it should have been. It was short-lived, and Gallagher came across like a total badass in attacking Kendrick, leading to him getting disqualified. It kept their program alive while also giving the heel a cheap victory.

Tony Nese def. Gran Metalik

At long last, Metalik has returned to 205 Live! I never understood why WWE bothered signing the guy if they had no intent to use him, but hopefully his strong showing here turned some heads in the back and will convince officials to utilize him more often. He and Nese contested a very fun match and Metalik looked good in defeat. Nese is trying his hardest to develop a personality, but he simply feels like a retread of Chris Masters from a decade ago to me.

Akira Tozawa def. Ariya Daivari in a WWE Cruiserweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I can't say I'm officially sold on Daivari as a top heel in the Cruiserweight division after all the losing he's done this year, but I will WWE credit for establishing him as a legitimate threat to Tozawa and doing this as a mini-feud before Tozawa focuses back on Neville in time for SummerSlam. As a wrestler, Daivari is decent, but I really thought Tozawa brought the best out of him here and they had a quality contest. Needless to say, Neville has been killing it as Cruiserweight Champion, but I would have no problem with Tozawa being the one to dethrone him in their next title match.

Overall Show

All things considered, this was an above-average edition of 205 Live with back-to-back very good matches, the latter giving us our Cruiserweight Championship matchup for SummerSlam. Meanwhile, Gallagher vs. Kendrick wasn't a barn-burner of a bout, but it furthered their feud along nicely. Rich Swann and TJP even had a backstage segment together. Sadly, the crowds still suck for these 205 Live shows, but that's been the case since its inception late last year, so what else is new?