WWE 205 Live Review - January 23, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Lince Dorado, Kalisto and Gran Metalik def. TJP, Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari

Dorado, Kalisto and Metalik have never teamed before on TV, but they already have excellent chemistry together. Must be a "Lucha thing." In all seriousness, this was a really fun opening match and what I want to see out of the Cruiserweights more often. TJP, Nese and Daivari need major reboots as heels because they're beyond bland and boring, but TJP teasing tension with Nese and Daivari afterward was interesting. TJP's slump continues. By the way, I liked Dorado (who hasn't been seen on TV in months) picking up the pinfall victory for his team.

Hideo Itami def. Gentleman Jack Gallagher

It didn't take long for WWE to make Itami feel like everyone else on the 205 Live roster (a.k.a. not special at all). This feud with Gallagher has been extremely dead with no real heat behind it whatsoever. They wrestled a decent little match, but this lacked intensity and a sense of urgency that caused me to not care. Itami's new finisher is nothing compared to the GTS, which is still seemingly banned.

Cedric Alexander def. Mustafa Ali

Despite there not being anything on the line and this instead serving as an opportunity for Alexander and Ali to "impress" the new general manager, this was a very entertaining main event. The live crowd was actually engaged in the exciting action for a change and the two of them didn't feel as limited as they usually do. Alexander had his WWE Cruiserweight Championship shot taken away from him as a result of Enzo Amore getting suspended/fired, so him going over here and maintaining momentum was a no-brainer.

Overall Show

It is worth noting that Daniel Bryan opened the episode by saying that Amore "vacated" the Cruiserweight title (in reality, he was fired early Tuesday) and the future of the championship will be addressed by the new 205 Live general manager, who will be revealed next week. Any guesses? Rey Mysterio would be a big name for the spot, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Nevertheless, this was an above-average show by recent 205 Live standards. Itami vs. Gallagher didn't light the world on fire, but the other two matchups were enjoyable enough to hold my interest.