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A recap of the cruiserweight segments on the previous night's Raw kicked this edition of 205 Live. Enzo Amore wanted to have a celebration for his Cruiserweight Championship win at No Mercy and wisely secured a no-contact clause from Kurt Angle against the other wrestlers in his division.
Neville decided that beating Enzo was better than a rematch for the title, so he laid waste to Amore to close out the Monday show.
The main take away from the Raw developments was the promo Enzo gave to the entire division. He mocked them and verbally tore them down in every way possible, painting himself as a very unlikable guy.
Neville's attack was likely intended to be presented as a person standing up to a loud-mouthed bully. However, it's hard to paint Amore completely as the villain from Raw because he then suffered such a lopsided thumping after the main broadcast went off of the air.
If Amore is truly supposed to be the heel champion for fans to disdain, this episode needed to clearly lay that out. By the end of the hour, that task does get accomplished.
#1 Enzo Amore addressed the Raw attack
At the start of the 205 Live broadcast, Amore came out with the assistance of a crutch. His left arm and shoulder were completely wrapped up in some sort of black bandaging. Enzo bragged that he's the reason people stayed up late to watch this show then called the former champ ugly.
Neville showed the footage of what happened after Raw went off the air. The entire cruiserweight division, including Braun Strowman, took turns beating up on Amore.
The live crowd hilariously chanted "You deserve it" after seeing that footage. Enzo cleverly responded as if they were happy for his title win. Amore stated that his mother was in the front row to witness the Raw beatdown. He brought up the fact that every cruiserweight in the entire division, and presumably Braun Strowman, violated the no contact clause, which meant that he may as well retire as champ.
The new commentary team for 205 Live is now Vic Joseph and Byron Saxton. They explained that Ariya Davari will take on Neville later in the show. Drew Gulak was then seen backstage, heading towards the ring. There was going to be a match between Tony Nese and Akira Tozawa, happening next.
#2 Tony Nese vs. Akira Tozawa
Drew Gulak entered to a new theme song that sounded like something from the video game series Metal Gear Solid. Akira Tozawa came out next, not accompanied by any other representatives of Titus Worldwide. Tony Nese then made his entrance, and counted his plethora of abs at the top of the ramp.
On commentary during the match, Gulak made it a point to complain about the showboating screams of Tozawa yet he had no problem with Nese's flexing. Tony even did his signature ab workout/bicycle kick combo when Tozawa was trapped in the Tree of Woe in the corner. Drew was complimentary of that manoeuvre.
There was a rough suplex around this time in which Nese dropped Tozawa Gordbuster-style onto the top rope. Tozawa landed awkwardly on the mat after this, but he seemed okay.
Nese escaped out of the ring to avoid a top rope attack, then suffered a bullet-style suicide dive. Gulak raised out of his seat to scold the high-risk move he just observed. The two then traded some stiff shots inside of the ring. Tozawa finally was able to get Nese into position for a top rope senton, which was enough for the win.
Result: Akira Tozawa def. Tony Nese
Post-match, Gulak sounded the alarm on his bullhorn. He then entered the ring to inform Tozawa that he was in direct violation of Proposal #3 of Drew Gulak's Rules for a Better 205 Live.
He also said that Akira was in violation of Proposal #7. Drew last left off on #6, so that meant that he was going to resume his Powerpoint Presentation!
Proposal #7 is No Celebrating. He quoted MLK to set up his announcement of his "Drewtopia." He said that Tozawa's chants should be changed to "Baa" because all of his supporters are simply mindless sheep. This earned Gulak a stiff spin kick, knocking him out of the ring.
Enzo was hobbling backstage, still revelling in the "You deserve it" chants. Ariya Daivari met him to apologize, which Amore did not accept. Ariya said he was a victim of mob mentality on Raw, and complimented Amore on how big of a star he could be, even outside of WWE.
To prove his sincerity, Daivari invited Enzo to watch his match against Neville tonight. The invitation was accepted. Ariya said "How you doing?" while they shook hands. Amore is apparently not one to tolerate gimmick infringement so he told him to never say that again.
#3 TJP vs. Lince Dorado
Perkins made his way to the ring first. Footage from last week was aired, showing TJP assaulting Lince Dorado backstage, then beating up Rich Swann. He also ripped out Rich's hair, a souvenir he still had this week.
Dorado made his way to the ring next, but he was way too slow to see any action. Before Lince made it off of the ramp, Rich Swann sprinted past him toward the ring to wail on his former friend. They brawled inside of the ring and Swann got the better of Perkins. TJP stared a hole through Rich from the safety of the crowd.
No result: match never began
Where was Lince during this attack? He got beat up last week by TJP, too.
More footage from last week was shown, this time from when Cedric Alexander defeated Brian Kendrick. Jack Gallagher joined Brian Kendrick for a post-match attack. To settle this score, Alexander will face off against Gallagher next week.
Gallagher and Kendrick then are seen backstage together, set to deliver a promo. They explained that they didn't want to talk about their new alliance, they'd rather showcase it via cruelty. Cedric better be worried for next week.
#4 Neville vs. Ariya Daivari
Neville entered the ring first and grabbed a microphone. He stated that he's been told that his actions from Raw were irrational. He countered that he knew exactly what he was doing and that it was the best night of his life. He didn't care that he forfeited his title rematch. He then sent a warning to Enzo and told him to sleep with one eye open.
Enzo Amore came out next, followed by Ariya Daivari. The match started and Neville left the ring to stare down Enzo. Daivari attacked him from behind before he could do anything, throwing him into a few barricades. Amore taunted the former champ with a few Lord of the Rings insults while the action returned inside the ring.
Daivari planted Neville with a draping inverted DDT off the turnbuckles. He attempted a top rope frog splash, but Neville moved out of the way. Neville regained control, stomping his opponent in the corner while he glared at Enzo on the outside.
Neville crept out of the ring again, but Daivari stopped him. As the action returned inside the ring, Neville locked in the Rings of Saturn for the submission victory.
Neville def. Ariya Daivari via submission
Before Neville released the hold, Enzo was already inside the ring. He whacked Neville hard with his crutch. He connected with several stiff strikes with the object before a few referees stopped his attack.
Amore mockingly chanted "You deserve it" as he exited the ring. He held his title up high as the show went off the air.
This seemed to be an unambiguous jerk move, which is what was needed. Enzo took the cheap shot and he was ruthless. The next few weeks will be interesting, especially as a new challenger will need to emerge from somewhere.
