3 Ways to make WWE 205 Live great again

Following the success of the Cruiserweight Classic, WWE decided to air a weekly television show alongside Raw and SmackDown, which came to be known as 205 Live. The winner of the Cruiserweight Classic, TJ Perkins was crowned the inaugural champion, and big things were expected from this division.

However, underwhelming booking by the management and the lack of story development led to it becoming a show with wrestlers flying around and working multi-man tag matches without proper sense of direction, making it difficult for the viewers to care.

The show suffered from lack of audience and boring chants and control of the show was handed to Triple H. In Buddy Murphy, it seems like 205 Live has found a credible champion. However, too much damage has been done in the past, and hence measures need to be taken to get the viewers back into their seats.

Here as 3 ways in which 205 Live can be made relevant again.

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#1 New high-risk match types

Mustafa Ali goes for the 054 splash

What made the X-Division in TNA so successful? One of the major reasons behind the success of X-Division was the unique match types that the wrestlers from the division were involved in. These included Ultimate X matches and Team X Gold matches, which received rave reviews from fans as well as wrestling critics.

New match types in which the talent can showcase their high flying maneuvers can actually be a hit with the fans. Gimmick matches should be made frequent, including multi-man ladder matches, multi-man cage matches and no disqualification matches to help point out what these wrestlers are good at - taking risks.

The title should be defended more often on live television to add excitement and a sense of urgency to the programming. Maybe make biweekly title defenses compulsory?

205 Live has a lot of potential, with so many talented Superstars who can do beautiful aerially as well as technically and are a joy to watch. Their talent needs to be channeled, and the matches they are involved in is an important factor which needs to be fixed.

#2 Bringing in star power

Should Ricochet move to 205 Live?

There is no doubt the 205 Live roster is filled with talented Superstars. But to help them get noticed, viewers are required to tune in to the show every week. 205 Live lacks the star power to move heads and garner ratings.

Remember when Enzo Amore was champion? Though he lacked the technical ability which makes the Superstars on 205 Live special, he had the mic skills to keep viewers listening to what he said.

205 Live needs some star power to be relevant again. It would give the show credibility. Superstars from NXT, such as Ricochet and Johnny Gargano, instead of moving to the main roster, should debut in 205 Live first and have feuds with current Superstars Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy.

This would help elevate both the talent on 205 Live as well as the show itself. 205 Live could act like a transition phase for certain Superstars between NXT and the main roster, while also building its own brand strength.

#3 Raw/SmackDown Invasion

Could we see 205 Live vs SmackDown Live?

We have seen Invasion storylines being played out multiple times in the WWE, from the WCW invasion of WWE to Invasion of Raw by Nexus. It is no secret that 205 Live is the lowest of the three brands, and thus it may be time for the Cruiserweights to take matters into their own hands. We have seen the 205 Live roster working together before, against the former champion Enzo Amore, standing united against his title reign.

Under the leadership of Buddy Murphy, the Cruiserweights could invade one of the prime shows, Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live and hence enter into a feud which would culminate at a Pay Per View where matches would be scheduled to establish brand supremacy.

This would help create interesting match-ups between Raw/SmackDown wrestlers and the Cruiserweights. We could see storylines including wrestlers selecting where their loyalty lies, like Mustafa Ali's decision to choose between SmackDown and 205 Live.

We could see the Cruiserweight Championship being defended against heavier Superstars, adding a new layer to its history. The storyline, though a little far-fetched, may get the audience to the edge of their seats, and make 205 Live great again.