WWE 205 Live Review - November 7, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Lucha House Party def. TJP and Mike Kanellis

The Lucha House Party have had established issues with TJP and Kanellis in recent weeks, hence the reason behind this bout. It was well-wrestled on the whole, but it didn't feel as frantic or as energetic as your typical Lucha House Party match due to Kanellis' involvement, who works at a much slower pace. This was still decent, but it's weird that such a big deal was made about Kanellis coming to the Cruiserweight division only for him to lose his second matchup on the brand.

Lio Rush def. Josh Morrell

A video filmed at the Performance Center aired beforehand, which showed Rush confronting Alexander and challenging him to a match on next week's episode. This was just a showcase for Rush ahead of that outing and he continues to impress me with what he brings to the table. I'm happy he's been featured on Raw recently via his alliance with Bobby Lashley, but it's even better he remains a regular on 205 Live where he can compete as well. Rush vs. Alexander should be a banger.

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy def. Mark Andrews (Non-title)

Andrews is one of my favorites on the NXT UK brand because he has such an exciting in-ring style and because he's a perennial babyface. He's had some great matches on 205 Live in the past and this was no different, as he and Murphy brought the best out of each other here. Since it was officially announced earlier in the evening that Murphy will be defending the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Mustafa Ali at Survivor Series, it was obvious Andrews wasn't winning, but he looked good in defeat, nonetheless.

Overall Show

In the past, 205 Live has featured a ton of talent from the NXT UK brand any time the show has emanated from England, but I'm actually glad that wasn't the case here and that the focus was on the regular roster instead. Sure, Andrews made a one-off appearance in the main event, but it was an excellent match and an opportunity for Murphy to maintain momentum ahead of Survivor Series, so I didn't mind it. The other two matchups on this show weren't incredibly memorable, but at least they furthered certain storylines and served a purpose.