Former WWE Superstar reveals power struggle between Triple H and Vince McMahon hindered 205 Live

Former WWE Superstar Tony Nese has detailed the original ideas Triple H had for WWE 205 Live. With this vision, the brand was meant to be its own standalone program, but Nese recalled how Vince McMahon turned 205 Live into "RAW light."

Nese, a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, was the face of the 205 Brand throughout his time with WWE. The company released him, alongside several other Superstars, on June 25.

During an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Tony Nese said that 205 Live was Triple H's "baby." The former champion described how The Game wanted the brand to have a yearly tournament, among other ideas that would have given the show its own identity.

Nese recalled how it was Triple H’s idea to have 205 Live function as a separate show on its own. But the moment it was announced that 205 Live stars would be a part of RAW, Vince McMahon took control of the cruiserweight division moving forward. (H/T: Wrestling News)

“As soon as it was announced that the cruiserweights would be a part of RAW, that was where Vince was like, ‘No, it’s my show now,'" said Nese. "All that other stuff went out the window. We even joked about it. We said, ‘This is RAW lite.'"

Vince McMahon eventually gave control of 205 Live back to Triple H

During the same interview, Tony Nese suggested that after a while, McMahon decided to give control of 205 Live back to Triple H. But the former Cruiserweight Champion speculated that, by this point, The Game seemingly didn't care about the cruiserweight brand anymore.

“We got our backs against the wall after all the stars competed," Nese continued. "So Vince had control, but after a while, he was like, 'I’m done playing with this toy.' He gave it back to Triple H, who was like, 'You’re Vince’s boys now. You are tainted to me.' This is my speculation, but it feels like Triple H didn’t care about it either.”

WWE 205 Live was established following the massive success of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament. The tournament featured some major stars, such as Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr., Cedric Alexander, Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and others. Some of these competitors eventually signed with WWE.

The brand enjoyed some initial success, and despite the issues Nese discussed, 205 Live still airs on Peacock; new episodes premiere every Friday after WWE SmackDown.

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