On this week’s episode of 205 Live, fans had a very wrestling-focused show with two very different matches. Firstly, to kick off the show, Humberto Carrillo went one on one with Lince Dorado to continue their feud that escalated last week after Dorado’s insults. In the main event, we had a six-pack challenge featuring Oney Lorcan, Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, Kalisto, Jack Gallagher, and Tony Nese to determine who will challenge Drew Gulak for the Cruiserweight title at SummerSlam.
Although the quality of wrestling was high in the opener and main event, one of the strongest parts of this show was that both matches advanced stories and gave us the incentive to watch upcoming shows. Dorado and Humberto left us curious to see what will happen next, and the six-pack challenge gave us our title match for SummerSlam.
Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado
Surprisingly, this match started a little on the slow side. There were some impressive flips and cartwheels, but both men eased their way into the high flying manoeuvres fans were expecting from them. When the match picked up, though, we had an impressive display of back and forth Lucha libre style action, with Lince Dorado getting the upper hand early on.
The commentary team deserves a lot of praise for their work in this match. They told the story of Humberto vs. Dorado very well, describing the respect and underlying tension that exists between the superstars. Humberto and Dorado also showed that when they both attempted a kick, only to catch each other’s leg, and then slowly put their opponent’s leg down at the same time.
The use of chops and kicks gave this match an intensity that was necessary for the story they were trying to tell. But while the action was fun, some of the moves did feel a little too choreographed, and it was not as fluid as say Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade, which was a perfect example of balancing Mexican and American style wrestling. This match felt like a dance at times, not an actual contest.
In the end, after a dive to the outside that left both men lying on the ground, Humberto failed to make it back into the ring due to Dorado tripping him. The fact Dorado’s desire to see Humberto fall short trumped his desire to win, showed us a heelish side to one of the members of the Lucha House Party. That cheap tactic even sent Humberto into a rage as he attacked Dorado and Metalik after the bell.
Tony Nese then had a backstage promo, promoting the six-pack challenge and his quest to regain the Cruiserweight title. His final line, however, was the standout moment in this segment, as he said that he did not know where he’ll fit in the division if he fails in tonight’s main event.
Before the main event, Ariya Daivari had an interesting backstage segment with Lince Dorado. He tried to sway Dorado to the “dark side,” claiming that he wants to see Dorado reach new heights. Although Dorado showed few signs of accepting this advice, the mention of Kalisto in 205 Live’s main event did leave him a little speechless, giving us a nice tease in this ongoing narrative.
Oney Lorcan vs. Tony Nese vs. Tozawa vs. Jack Gallagher vs. Daivari vs. Kalisto (Six-pack challenge)
Unlike previous singles main events, this was a shorter final match for 205 Live, but considering the number of bodies that were in the ring, a shorter length made for a more enjoyable match. Oney, Nese, Tozawa, Gallagher, and Kalisto started the match by taking out Daivari. It made sense considering Daivari’s history with each superstar, and it also led to a well-timed comedy spot where all five men moved out of the way as Daivari attempted a splash off the top turnbuckle.
When all six participants began fighting one another, they did so at a fast pace, which they maintained for almost the entire match. There were some memorable multi-man spots, such as three submission holds being locked in at the same time, and Kalisto hitting the announce table hard after being caught and thrown by the other five superstars.
They finished off with each man having a moment to shine, while also giving us a series of exciting exchanges. In the end, Nese hit his running knee strike on Gallagher, but Oney capitalised by hitting his Half and Half suplex on Nese for the one, two, and three. Drew Gulak then made his way to the entrance ramp and had a staredown with his new challenger to close the show.
Overall, we got another solid episode of 205 Live this week. Each cruiserweight delivered in the ring, and WWE did a good job planting seeds for the future. As for Sunday, Oney Lorcan vs. Drew Gulak will definitely be a physical match, and they certainly have the potential to surprise the Toronto crowd with a potential show-stealing bout.
All images are courtesy of wwe.com