WWE 205 Live Review - January 31, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tony Nese def. Lince Dorado

Nese needs a consistent string of victories in order for me to take him seriously, but even then, it will be difficult for me to invest in his character considering he comes off as being so bland. This was a fine enough match, but Dorado is essentially the jobber to the stars on 205 Live, so the ending outcome here was never in doubt. On the bright side, Nese has seemingly finally found direction in this feud with TJ Perkins.

Akira Tozawa def. Aaron Solow

It was about damn time Tozawa debuted, and it looks like he's replacing Tajiri in his program with The Brian Kendrick. Does that mean Tajiri will be out for an extended period of time? At any rate, this was a fun little match and Tozawa is definitely different from everyone else in the division in terms of what he's capable of and the aura about him. Austin Aries is hilarious, but I hope they don't condition fans from the start to buy into the tiresome Japanese stereotype WWE puts out where they can't speak any English. On a side note, here's a fun fact for you: Solow is actually engaged to Bayley. Trust me, I was the first one to weep when I heard the news a few months back.

Cedric Alexander and Jack Gallagher def. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville and Noam Dar

For those who missed it, Rich Swann was legitimately injured in his segment with Neville on Monday's Raw, so here's wishing him a speedy recovery. As far as this match goes, the babyfaces (and specifically Gallagher) sold tremendously well for Neville's offense and I enjoyed the action immensely. It was also easy for the fans to stay engaged considering these are four of the more prominent stars in the division right now. I actually liked how Neville walked out on Dar considering how he attacked him on last week's show, leading to the babyface team picking up the victory.

Overall Show

Once again, 205 Live produced a solid show where all three matches were well-wrestled and Tozawa finally arrived on the scene, but I don't think that buzz officials had hoped for out of this program has been there thus far. Don't get me wrong, 205 Live has certainly benefited the division in giving the Cruiserweights an additional platform to tell their stories, but a majority of the live crowds they compete in front of (with the exception of Corpus Christi because they're always awful) just don't seem to care, which is a shame.