205 Live: Can It Be Saved and Is It Worth Saving?

   Two years ago, WWE presented on the WWE Network, a 32-man tournament featuring the best Cruiserweight wrestlers from around the world.  This came to be known as the Cruiserweight Classic.  This tournament consisted of some of the best Independent wrestlers in that weight class, such as Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi.  We got to see the return of stars like Tajiri and The Brian Kendrick.  The tournament was presented in front of Full Sail University, the same crowd that is live for NXT.  Mauro Ranallo commentated the event with someone who had a love for Cruiserweight wrestling, the still retired at the time, Daniel Bryan.  The eventual winner was TJ Perkins, who also become WWE's new Cruiserweight Champion, reviving the Title.  The success of the Cruiserweight Classic conceived the revival of the Cruiserweight Division and a new show for the Cruiserweights to hone their craft called 205 Live, based on a weight limit of 205 lbs or below.

 Many of the wrestlers from the Cruiserweight Classic were signed to WWE deals and started appearing both on Monday Night Raw and the new show 205 Live.  TJ Perkins found himself in a feud with The Brian Kendrick, who became the new Champion.  A few months later, the charismatic Rich Swann captured the Title, and the hearts of wrestling fans around the world.  Before the end of 2016, one glaring omission from the Cruiserweight Classic tournament returned to WWE in the form of Neville.  He had been injured but felt he was overlooked, coming back with a new look and change of attitude, attacking new Champion Rich Swann and inaugural Champion TJ Perkins.  By early 2017, Neville became the new Champion and proclaimed himself to be the "King of the Cruiserweights."  So far, things were going well, as the Cruiserweights were focused on during both Raw and their own show, 205 Live.  Neville was brought back to prominence as he dominated the Cruiserweight Division.  

   Despite Neville's character revival, there was a problem in the Cruiserweight Division.  Many of these wrestlers were brought to Raw without much of a back story to their characters or wrestling ability.  After all, those who watched main stream wrestling shows like Raw may not have watched the Cruiserweight Classic.  While it was good to see the division on Raw, WWE felt it was important for them to be featuring exclusively on 205 Live.  There were some great wrestlers like Cedric Alexander, who got signed after a match on NXT TV, due to the crowd loving him.  Triple H, who was the man behind NXT and innovator of the Cruiserweight Classic, came out after Cedric's match, embraced the crowd's reaction, and signed him shortly thereafter.  After a brief run in NXT and a commentary gig on Raw, the world renowned Austin Aries made his debut in the Cruiserweight Division, leading to a feud with Neville towards WrestleMania XXXIII.  Unfortunately, to me, Aries was a step ahead of the Cruiserweight Division and was completely miscast.  He didn't even win the Cruiserweight Title!  Factoring this along with his perceived bad attitude was a recipe for disaster and he left WWE in mid-2017.  WWE really missed the boat by sticking Aries in the Cruiserweight Division in the first place.  Since his departure, he has become the Thanos of wrestling, collecting as many Championships as he could.

   The popular tandem of Enzo Amore and Big Cass broke up in 2017 when Cass turned on Enzo.  Cass defeated Enzo at Great Balls of Fire in July and then the Big Show at SummerSlam the next month.  In a rematch with Enzo the next night, Cass was injured.  Now fully on his own, Enzo and his shtick were thrust into the Cruiserweight Division and 205 Live.  Although Enzo went into his Title match with Neville a fan favorite, the entertaining Enzo came out as a heel, while Neville walked out and was eventually released from his contract.  Enzo started running down the entire division with his mic work.  He took several men in, creating the "Zo Train," which gave roles to Drew Gulak, Tony Neese, Ariya Daivari, and Noam Dar.  Before the year's end, Enzo was caught up in controversy due to real life issues and was subsequently let go from WWE.  

   Some time during 2017, the Cruiserweight division was no longer featured on Raw and was strictly used on 205 Live.  This was another problem!  At least on Raw, those who didn't necessarily follow 205 Live would be caught up on story lines featuring those in the Cruiserweight Division.  As I mentioned before, the Cruiserweight audience didn't always translate to Raw's audience.  In turn, without them featuring on Raw, the Cruiserweight Division were barely known to the WWE audience as a whole, only on 205 Live.  

   Another problem with 205 Live during this time was its time slot.  While being live was a great concept, the timing was awful.  It was put directly after Talking Smack, which was Smackdown's after show.  When Talking Smack was cancelled, to the detriment of fans, 205 Live was put on directly after Smackdown.  The problem had a lot to do with the previous issue I mentioned, meaning the fans that watched Smackdown didn't necessarily watch 205 Live.  By the time 205 Live came on, many fans at the arena were tired after having watched Smackdown and were leaving.  Therefore, much of 205 Live was presented in front of half the arena's crowd.  Not only was the time slot wrong, but so was the day of the week.  

   If WWE is intent on keeping 205 Live as a show, it is imperative that the show is featured in a different time slot and a different night.  After Smackdown is not the way to go, both due to fans exiting after Smackdowm, as well as the audience translation.  With that being said, perhaps 205 Live should be presented towards an audience that might better appreciate the amazing work these men have done in the ring.  It is not fair seeing these great wrestlers come out to crickets, getting nearly zero reactions during their matches.  205 Live in front of Full Sail, much like its predecessor the Cruiserweight Classic,  would be a great transition into NXT on Wednesday night, as NXT's audience would appreciate this kind of wrestling more.  205 Live would be a great lead-in for NXT.  If not there, put it on Thursday night but at least present it in front of Full Sail.

   Vince McMahon's vision of the Cruierweight Division and 205 Live was more character driven, especially when they were presented on Raw, as evidenced by the division being overtaken by Enzo Amore.  After Enzos' release, a tournament was set up to determine a new Cruiserweight Champion, with it culminating at WrestleMania XXXIV.  During this time, 205 Live was now run by Triple H and out of McMahon's hands.  While that is definitely a good thing, 205 Live still has a long way to go and I don't think even Triple H can ultimately save it, for it might be too late.  At WrestleMania, Cedric Alexander defeated Mustafa Ali for the Championship and holds it to this day.

   In my opinion, WWE should scrap 205 Live altogether.  While being presented on Raw again would be a plus, I'd even go as far as to get rid of the Cruiserweight Championship and Cruiserweight Division as a whole.  While there are positives for wrestlers who may not even get the time of day on WWE television normally, I think it holds people back.  For instance, I think Cedric Alexander and Hideo Itami are way too talented to be hindered in the Cruiserweight Division, on a show not many watch.  I think these men and several others are better than the Cruiserweight Division and it would be unfortunate to see these wrestlers be type cast.  Itami for instance, while not translating to Raw like he was on NXT, was brought into 205 Live.  Despite his problems with injuries and WWE starting to run out of patience because of it, Itami should have remained with NXT, where he'd be featured and thriving a lot more, especially now that the brand has a mid-card Championship.

   Cedric Alexander is another example of someone who could benefit a lot more on NXT, as well as great in-ring talents such as Mustafa Ali and 205 Live's resident Luchadores.  Jack Gallagher would be better served going back to being a babyface in the persona that brought him to WWE.  He has a good enough character to maintain on major WWE television but could also be featured prominently in WWE's upcoming UK brand.  Drew Gulak, while solid in the ring, now has a character and can stay on Raw without getting too lost, where as The Brian Kendrick is an established veteran that should be featuring more on Raw and Smackdown.  Again, not only would I get rid of 205 Live, I'd get rid of the Cruiserweight Division.  Unfortunately, there would be casualties, as several Cruiserweights are just kind of bland.  I would take Jack Gallagher, Noam Dar, and Mark Andrews, and place them on the UK brand, while several others can attain glory by going to NXT.

   Sadly, despite the pool of talent, I look at 205 Live as obscurity.  For instance, I worry in general when guys like Johnny Gargano, Tomasso Ciampa, Adam Cole, and Ricochet eventually get called up to the main roster.  However, the worry intensifies when I think about the possibility of these men going to 205 Live, getting lost and eventually released.  Their talents are too good to be stuck on 205 Live.  The same thing has already happened to Cedric and Itami.  I don't want Roderick Strong, who revitalized his career by joining the Undisputed Era to be "called up," only to end up a lost boy in 205 Live.  I don't think even Rey Misterio could save 205 Live!  Ultimately, I don't see 205 Live lasting, even with the change of direction under the guise of Triple H.  

 If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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