Reports are swirling that NXT’s arrival on the USA Network may lead to WWE cancelling 205 Live, but whether that is true or not, you wouldn’t have thought about it after watching ten top talents put on a show for nearly 50 minutes. On this week’s episode of 205 Live, the babyfaces united to take on the heels, and rivals even joined forces in a Ten-Man Tag Match named the Captain’s Challenge Ten-Man Tag Team Elimination Match.
Oney Lorcan captained his team, which consisted of Jack Gallagher, Akira Tozawa, Humberto Carrillo, and NXT’s Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott, and they took on Drew Gulak’s team featuring the Champion Gulak, Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, Mike Kanellis, and Humberto’s cousin, NXT’s Angel Garza. It was only the match on this week’s show; in fact, it was the only thing on this show. A bout featuring so much talent merited the tag line of “biggest fight in 205 Live’s history,” and not only did it deliver in terms of action, but there was also a lot of interesting storyline development.
Oney Lorcan, Jack Gallagher, Akira Tozawa, Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott & Humberto Carrillo vs. Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari, Mike Kanellis, Tony Nese & Angel Garza (Captain’s Challenge Ten-Man Tag Team Elimination Match)
Once all ten men made their way to the ring, both teams had a staredown in the middle of the ring. Leading to all ten men brawling before the bell even rang. Oney’s team got the better of the exchange, sending Drew’s team to the outside. Gallagher then gave each of his teammates an umbrella, and with his umbrella, he directed them to leap off the top turnbuckle to the outside. It was a fun way to kick off the match, and it got the fans in attendance into the action.
Humberto Carrillo and his cousin Angel Garza come from the same wrestling family, and this was made clear by their quality of wrestling against each other. Both men complemented one another, as they both come from the Lucha Libre background. Garza’s heelish antics made the exchanges even better because there was a clear difference between both performers. Garza pleading with Humberto, claiming they were “cousins” was a nice touch, making Garza an unlikeable heel and his cousin the loveable babyface.
Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott was the VIP of this Captain’s Challenge Ten-Man Tag. He consistently brought a great deal of excitement, lighting up the live crowd with his fast-paced action. His series of exchanges with Tony Nese demonstrated this by Scott doing Nese’s trademark duck and kip up immediately after Nese had done it himself. He also sold his beatings very well, when the time came for the heels to take control.
As I mentioned earlier, as well as the strong in-ring action, this match also featured some great moments that advanced and lit the fire to some new feuds. Tozawa’s elimination led to some more tension between himself and Jack Gallagher. Nese refusing to accept the heelish tactics of his team showed the tension that still existed between him and his partners. We also saw the clash of family members as well.
Oney Lorcan pointing to Drew Gulak and challenging him to enter the ring after Oney levelled the score to three versus three, excellently highlighted their feud. In addition to Oney’s desire to eventually capture the cruiserweight title. Also, Gulak getting himself disqualified to halt Oney’s momentum was another effective tool to advance their feud, while also allowing the champion to lose without getting pinned.
Ultimately, after constantly fighting back from being a man down, Oney’s team ended up having the advantage as Oney and Humberto took on Garza. Humberto and Garza then went back and forth in an entertaining finale before Garza’s overconfidence led to his downfall, and Humberto got the one, two, and three.
Overall, this was a fun show. The significance of the Ten-Man Tag allowed a lot of stories to develop in a match that felt important. All of the superstars involved utilised the time they were given and put on a highly entertaining tag match.
All images courtesy of wwe.com.