WWE 205 Live Review - February 5, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Brian Kendrick def. Mike Kanellis

For whatever it's worth, both of these are former TNA X-Division Champions. I know that doesn't have to do with anything, but I just thought it was interesting. At any rate, Kanellis seems to be a storyline at the moment where he can't win a match to save his life. Then again, that has basically been his gimmick since he first signed with WWE two years ago (I think I can count on one hand how many televised matches he's won in that time). This was a perfectly solid match with Kendrick and Kanellis having good showings, but Kanellis once again fell short. Unless this is leading to Mike and Maria receiving their releases (which was rumored weeks ago), then I have no idea what the endgame to this angle is.

Akira Tozawa def. Cedric Alexander, Humberto Carrillo and Lio Rush in a WWE Cruiserweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match

Between Raw, SmackDown Live and now 205 Live, No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way matches seem to be "in" these days. On the bright side, all of them have been entertaining, so I have no reason to complain. Each of these four guys had a claim for a championship shot, but Tozawa felt like the most logical choice. Sure enough, he outlasted the competition and punched his ticket to Elimination Chamber by lastly beating Alexander. The early goings were decent, but once Tozawa and Alexander picked up the pace down the stretch, it turned into an absolute blast of a bout.

Overall Show

I've been digging the two match format 205 Live has been going with lately, but as I've said before, I can't help but feel the show hasn't been the same since Mustafa Ali moved to SmackDown. Alexander and Tozawa have been holding down the fort in recent weeks, but they too have been a part of the Cruiserweight division for years. Buddy Murphy is a tremendous talent, but 205 Live needs an influx of new talent and fast. Carrillo is a great start, but they'll need more than that for the show to feel fresh again. As for this episode, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about Kendrick vs. Kanellis whatsoever, bu the 4-Way was fun and worth checking out.