WWE 205 Live Review - February 7, 2017

​By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Mustafa Ali def. Ariya Daivari to Qualify For the WWE Cruiserweight championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 5-Way Match

Daivari has proven himself to be a solid heel since his feud with Gentleman Jack Gallagher and I liked that this was a complete squash in Ali's favor. They worked a better bout than I thought they would and both men were allowed to showcase their skills a bit. In terms of why Tony Nese was pulled from the Fatal 5-Way, the commentators made mention of how he was apparently injured on Raw, which is news to me. If true, here's hoping he isn't out for too long.

The Brian Kendrick def. Lince Dorado

Similar to the opener, I assumed this match wouldn't last long at all and Kendrick would make quick work of Dorado, but I'm glad he didn't. Dorado is an impressive athlete in his own right, so he looked good in defeat here. Kendrick winning was pretty predictable (as well as the right finish), but he does such a stellar job of selling that it always looks like he is on the verge of losing. Meanwhile, I'm glad Tajiri is back from the knee injury he suffered last month. It remains to be seen whether he and Kendrick will rekindle their rivalry or if Akira Tozawa will continue his program with Kendrick.

Gentleman Jack Gallagher def. TJ Perkins, Mustafa Ali, Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar in a WWE Cruiserweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match

The match started off slow, but as it progressed, they picked up the pace nicely and I appreciated how it was all action. Quite honestly, that's what the entire Cruiserweight division should be all about. Alexander and Dar cancelled each other out and furthered their own feud, and Ali surviving until halfway through despite competing earlier in the evening was an unexpected treat. Perkins and Gallagher delivered a fun final stretch, and Gallagher beating the inaugural Cruiserweight Champion to earn himself a future title was smart booking. They also deserve credit for getting the crowd engaged, which is rare for 205 Live. Gallagher vs. Neville is a fresh match that could very well steal the show if they are allotted an appropriate amount of time at Fastlane.

Overall Show

It's a shame that 205 Live seems to be improving by the week with consistently entertaining main events yet there just isn't any buzz surrounding the show. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode with two solid back-to-back bouts in addition to an exceptional main event, not to mention that Tajiri is back as well and the crowd was livelier than usual. I would strongly recommend checking out this edition of 205 Live if you have 45 minutes to kill, if only for the Fatal 5-Way.