BRM Reviews the 6/18/2019 205 Live

[Big Red Machine]

DRAKE MAVERICK ANNOUNCES THAT DUE TO THEIR DOUBLE-PIN FINISH, BOTH DREW GULAK AND AKIRA TOZAWA WILL CHALLENGE FOR THE WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE AT STOMPING GROUNDS-
This happened in a pre-taped video package, which is an important continuity details because apparently Drake Maverick left the building with the WWE 24/7 Title during Smackdown.

THE BOLLYWOOD BOYS vs. LUCHA HOUSE PARTY (w/Kalisto)- 6/10
A fine opener in terms of action, but the finish was extremely frustrating. Said finish saw one of the Singh Brothers grab LHP’s stupid piñata, causing Kalisto to grab it break and it broke in the tug of war. This distracted Lincé Dorado for some reason, allowing him to be rolled up. This is the kind of dumb sh*t I watch 205 Live to get away from.

NOAM DAR PROMO- He claims to be “rehabbing” his leg on the Mediterranean island of Majorca. Kendrick walks by, which betrays the fact that Dar is not doing anything he claims. This was entertaining, and a decent set-up for a Dar vs. Kendrick feud.

BRIAN KENDRICK vs. RUSS TAYLOR- no rating, fine squash
Taylor was a great irritating dickhead heel, and Kendrick played the role of the pissed off veteran babyface wonderfully as well. The announcers speculated that some of Kendrick’s aggression could be him trying to work off the frustration of his big loss to Mike Kanellis a few weeks ago.

SARAH SCHREIBER INTERVIEWS JACK GALLAGHER- great segment
Gallagher manages to stay a total babyface while still suggesting that he and Gable should face off again because a Gable’s count-out victory of him, while completely legitimate, was an unsatisfying finish for the fans (he didn’t say that last part directly, but he got the idea across in a kayfabe way. The Kanellises appeared and made fun of Gallagher for losing and claimed that people like Gallagher dropping the ball are the reason some fans don’t pay attention to 205 Live. They used this as a segue to bury GM Drake Maverick for not even being here tonight because he’s so focused on the 24/7 Title, then transitioned back to Gallagher. Gallagher challenged Bennet to a match next week and Bennet accepted it. Then Nigel capped it off wonderfully by saying “I hope Drake Maverick shows up to make the match,” getting both angles over with one simple comment.

ONEY LORCAN vs. ARIYA DAIVARI- 7/10
They were having what seemed on track to be a great match with Lorcan as the fiery babyface out for revenge and Daivari working over his arm. Daivari eventually got himself DQed via chairshot. Daivari then beat Lorcan up all over the ringside area and up the ramp to the stage. This is pretty clearly leading to a no DQs match. I wish they hadn’t done this finish in a main event, but it does work from a storyline point of view, and it does establish the chair as a motif in this feud.
That being said, this feud will always feel like a missed opportunity to me. I think first blood matches are dumb because normal matches don’t stop the moment someone bleeds. This means that in order to make them work, I think the idea of making someone else bleed has to a driving element in a feud... and a feud like this one, which was based on one guy getting angry that the other caused him to need stiches, and then saw each man vow to give the other stitches, would be a PERFECT opportunity to actually have a first blood match that makes sense. Unfortunately, due to WWE’s policies against blading, that will never happen.

TONY NESE PROMO- very good babyface champion stuff’

AKIRA TOZAWA PROMO- good babyface challenger stuff

DREW GULAK PROMO- very good challenger stuff

A decent episode of 205 Live, but certain well below their usual.