WWE 205 Live Review - February 14, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rich Swann def. Noam Dar

I honestly forgot about Swann since he had barely been brought up after going down with a minor ankle injury on the post-Royal Rumble edition of Raw.  It's great to have him back on 205 Live, but would it have killed them to advertise his return in advance? This was a fun opener and the two worked well together, but I hope this doesn't turn into another love storyline over Alicia Fox.

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville and TJ Perkins Engaged in a War of Words

I really liked this type of back and forth when they did it last week on SmackDown Live with Nikki Bella and Natalya, so I was glad they brought it back here. It's just so much more effective than having them exchange words standing across from each other in the ring. That said, I actually enjoyed the exchange between Nikki and Natalya a bit more because I thought the delivery here wasn't as strong. Perkins continues to come across like an absolute dick, even though what he was saying was technically true. He should be next in line to turn heel because crowds are starting to turn on him, anyway.

Gran Metalik def. Drew Gulak

A few sloppy spots aside (and it's hard to blame him assuming he's still getting familiar with the WWE style), this was a memorable debut for Metalik on 205 Live. Similar to Akira Tozawa, he stands out from everyone else in the division simply with what he's capable of in the ring. Most of the aerial maneuvers he executed in this matchup were extremely impressive and successfully got the crowd engaged in the action. He should be a very valuable asset to the division now that he has officially arrived.

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville def. TJ Perkins (Non-title)

These two have done battle twice before, so this wasn't anything new. But each of their encounters have been excellent, so I can't complain. This was another above-average outing from them, and although there were some dull points, it was a solid effort on the whole. Of course, Neville going over in decisive fashion and resuming his reign of dominance was the right move, and the post-match brawl between Neville and Jack Gallagher was well done and a nice teaser of what we can expect from them at Fastlane.

Overall Show

I know of several people who have sadly stopped watching 205 Live on a weekly basis, and it's hard to blame them after the show lacked buzz for a few months, but it has taken a turn for the better since last week's extraordinary main event. This was another quality edition of 205 Live with a well-wrestled main event, a newsworthy debut from Metalik, and Swann's return from injury. Fingers crossed they can keep up the momentum in the weeks ahead and change people's perception of the once-fledgling Cruiserweight division.