WWE 205 Live Review - March 13, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa def. Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado

This should further fuel the rumors of a tag team title being added to 205 Live after WrestleMania. Both tandems are babyface, so while the crowd didn't have an incentive to cheer one team over the other, this turned out to be an enjoyable encounter. They didn't go all out, mind you, but they did let loose a little toward the end. Itami and Dorado teased tension afterward, so expect to see more matches between these teams in the weeks to come.

Gentleman Jack Gallagher def. Murphy Myers

He may no longer be a part of the WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, but officials appear to be high on the idea of pushing Gallagher anyway, and I'm all for it because the guy is good. This was a glorified squash more than anything else, but it successfully showcased Gallagher's skill set and his new badass headbutt finisher. Here's hoping there is a renewed focus on him coming out of WrestleMania 34.

Cedric Alexander def. Roderick Strong in a WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

These two contested one of the best bouts I have ever seen at a live event back in November 2016 at an NXT house show, so I knew coming into this contest that it would be great. Sure enough, they did not disappoint and ultimately produced what might have been the strongest match in the tournament up to this point. Seriously, this was spectacular stuff as both guys had stellar showings. The whole thing was tremendous, but they managed to make a dead crowd care about what they were doing down the stretch with the suspenseful nearfalls and exciting action. Strong lost nothing in defeat because he was beaten by an inside cradle, and I'd love to see more of him on the show in the future. The post-match interview with Alexander was awesome as well with the crowd chanting "You deserve it!" toward him as he now heads to WrestleMania. What was there not to love about this?

Overall Show

The first two matches served a purpose and were effective for different reasons, but the main event of this show was on an entirely different level. Good lord. Again, I can't stress enough how high my expectations were for Alexander vs. Strong beforehand, yet they shattered them with their exceptional effort. You are doing yourself a major disservice by not going out of your way to watch it. Next week, we'll find out who Alexander's WrestleMania opponent will be when Mustafa Ali faces Drew Gulak in a semifinal match.