WWE 205 Live Review - November 29, 2016

Rich Swann, your new Cruiserweight Champion!

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Bollywood Boyz def. Drew Gulak and Tony Nese

I'm not sure if this was the best bout to kick off the all-new series with. It was a well-wrestled match, sure, but The Bollywood Boyz are far from the greatest athletes on the show. They have a decent little act, but the crowd couldn't have cared less, sadly. It also didn't help that Nese and Gulak have been established as the enhancement talent of the Cruiserweight division thus far, and that seemingly hasn't changed on 205 Live. They're talented wrestlers, and I liked their post-match promo, but nothing stands out about them thus far that makes me want to boo them.


Jack Gallagher def. Ariya Daivari

I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Gallagher in the Cruiserweight division for months, and this was well worth the wait. Simply put, the guy is freakin' awesome. He managed to do the impossible by winning over the audience with his exciting offense and entertaining mannerisms and I'm glad he was able to showcase that same personality that made him a favorite in the Cruiserweight Classic. He should be in contention for the title sooner rather than later.

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The Bollywood Boyz double team Tony Nese.

Rich Swann def. The Brian Kendrick to Win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

The video package that aired beforehand focusing on Swann's upbringing and motivation for wanting to get into wrestling was wonderful, and it blows my mind we hadn't seen that on the main roster prior to this point. He's such a likable guy, and it warmed my heart the crowd came alive for all the great nearfalls and drama down the stretch. This was an excellent match the audience was actually invested in, and you had to know they were going to end the debut episode with a big title change so it was a newsworthy night.


Overall Show

The premiere edition of 205 Live was off to a rough start with the underwhelming tag team match, but the pace picked up nicely from there with Gallagher's debut and the above-average main event. I still say they should be filming the show out of Full Sail University where the fans usually look like lively, but we'll see how the show pans out in the future. Austin Aries was also a pleasant surprise on commentary and I look forward to him eventually entering the Cruiserweight ranks once he's cleared to compete. On the whole, this was a fun first episode from 205 Live.

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