WWE 205 Live Review - December 13, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Raul Mendoza def. Ariya Daivari

This just might have been the best match I've seen Daivari have in a while. He's faced equally exciting athletes over the past few months, but for some reason, he wasn't as boring here as he normally is. Maybe it was because he wasn't on offense for most of the matchup? Either way, this was a well wrestled with the right outcome. It would have been stupid for Mendoza to lose coming off his victory over Cameron Grimes on NXT this week.

Joaquin Wilde def. James Tapia

Wilde's comeback from injury is really something special. I don't think they played it up enough upon his NXT debut, but I hope they can on 205 Live. I was never his biggest fan in IMPACT (the dumb DJ noises always annoyed me), but the dude is a hell of an athlete and seems like a genuinely good guy, so I'm happy he's made the move to 205 Live. His debut wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but I thought he fared well and hope to see more of him on the show in the future.

Tony Nese def. Danny Burch

​There was no storyline reason why this match happened, so while fans had zero incentive to invest in the action, they produced a hard-hitting and enjoyable main event. The crowd wasn't completely dead for it, which was nice. Nese winning was questionable as Burch needed the win more and isn't as established yet, but it isn't a career-killer. He can always bounce back with an important win or two.

Overall Show

There was a ton of talk throughout the show regarding Angel Garza becoming the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion on Wednesday's NXT, but he did not appear. I can't say I'm surprised, and honestly, I'd rather they save his grand celebration for NXT where the fans would care. He wasn't promoted for next week because it's going to be a recap show as well as the week after, meaning 205 Live won't return until the new year. As for this show, it was better on the whole than most episodes they've put out lately with two entertaining matches and a successful debut for Wilde.