WWE 205 Live Review - August 15, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cedric Alexander and Gran Metalik def. Drew Gulak and Tony Nese

It continues to boggle my mind that despite being one of if not the best wrestler in the Cruiserweight division, Metalik hasn't had much of a presence on 205 Live this year. That said, his impressive performance against Nese a few weeks back must have turned some heads backstage because he returned on this show and had another awesome outing. He and Alexander worked well together as a team and produced a fun match with Nese and Gulak. Alexander and Metalik can be true championship contenders if they're allowed to build more momentum.

The Brian Kendrick def. Mustafa Ali by Disqualification

On paper, this looked like a match with plenty of potential, but the crowd wasn't nearly as alive for it as they were for the opener. I find it weird that Ali was riding high following his huge victory versus Gulak last month, yet he came across as just another opponent for Kendrick here. Nevertheless, I liked how the feud was furthered between Kendrick and Jack Gallagher with Gallagher showing an aggressive side and attacking Kendrick whenever he gets the chance.

Ariya Daivari def. Rich Swann

This was basic storytelling with it being announced that TJP wasn't in the building only for him to surface during the match and appear to be "injured," distracting Swann long enough to cost him the victory. Unfortunately, the matchup itself was a total afterthought and the crowd couldn't have cared less about it. I've thoroughly enjoyed the Swann vs. TJP program thus far, but you can just skip right over this bout.

Neville Crashed Akira Tozawa's WWE Cruiserweight Championship Celebration

As exceptional of a wrestler as he is, Tozawa isn't the strongest talker, so I believe he benefits from having Titus O'Neil around. They're entertaining as a pairing, and I love how Neville sold the loss of his title by coming out looking all distressed and disheveled. I was happy Neville didn't get his heat back so soon and Tozawa was able to get the better of him for a change. He can't be positioned as a cheap champion but rather as a legitimate threat to Neville and the rest of the division if his reign is going to be deemed a success.

Overall Show

I had my hopes up for this edition of 205 Live after the exciting opening match, but the subsequent two matches were hardly anything to write home about. Thankfully, the night ended on a high note with the championship celebration, but that doesn't mean it was a stellar show on the whole. Instead, it was middle-of-the-road, though I'm interested to see if interest in the program goes up with Tozawa now the champion.