In a rapid and surprising turn of events, Cedric Alexander will seemingly have his last match under the 205 Live banner this week, against the most recent thorn in his side, Oney Lorcan. With Alexander moving to Monday Night Raw as part of the WWE Superstar Shakeup, the 205 Live veteran will look to go out with a bang. As far as the result is concerned, however, Oney Lorcan might want to make sure Alexander is in no fit state to compete as early as next week on Raw!
Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese opens the show this week instead of Drake Maverick. He discusses his successful last two weeks. Now, he is looking towards the future. It’s time to find his next challenger. “Who will step up tonight on 205 Live?”
Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, and Aiden English welcome us to this week’s episode of the Cruiserweight Division show. Drake Maverick is with them for the first match. He thanks Cedric Alexander for everything he has done for 205 Live.
Buddy Murphy has also moved to Smackdown Live. Personally, this is a bigger loss for 205 Live. Rarely did I feel that a Murphy match didn’t offer something of note. He could have great matches with a who’s who of the Cruiserweights, no matter the size and style. Here’s hoping he tears it up in the early Tuesday night show! Also, he’ll hopefully fight Mustafa Ali again in the future. Yeeeeees!
Fatal Four Way Match: Gran Metalik vs Airiya Daivari vs Mike Kanellis vs Akira Tozawa
This should be fun. Multi-man action is usually handled very well on 205 Live. With a fresh Cruiserweight Champion in Tony Nese, and top competitors leaving as part of the Superstar Shakeup, opportunities are up for grabs.
Daivari has no interest in the battle of wills taking place in the ring. He ventures out as the other three close in on each other. Kanellis is thrown to the outside. Tozawa and Metalik begin proceedings officially. Tozawa gets the upper hand as Metalik, also, now falls to the outside. Tozawa winds up for a tope suicida, but Daivari slithers in and floors Tozawa with a lariat.
Daivari is standing tall, until Metalik bounds in, using the top rope as a springboard to give his resultant dropkick more impact. Tozawa is back in. He wraps himself round Metalik for the octopus stretch. Both men receive superkicks from Kanellis and Tozawa. The villains of the piece are now in control, systematically breaking down their babyface opponents’ resolve. Kanellis and Daivari form a union of sorts for the time being. It’s working, but not for long. Daivari has Tozawa’s arms locked, offering him up to Kanellis for a superkick. Tozawa breaks free at the last minute, and Kanellis’ foot lands squarely on Daivari’s face.
Tozawa hammers clubs down on Kanellis’ head, but Kanellis seems unperturbed. He powers out and slams Tozawa to the mat. He goes for the pin, but Daivari, from the outside, pulls Kanellis off. The following exchange between the two gets heated. Daivari gets the better of it with a spinebuster onto the floor.
Back in the ring, Tozawa and Metalik are dancing around the ring with impressive offense, after both eliminating Daivari from the current picture. A facebuster from Metalik sees Tozawa grounded. Kanellis is back in, throwing Metalik to the outside. Tozawa is still very much on the offensive, however, taking to Kanellis with a flurry of moves culminating in a missile dropkick from the top rope.
Tozawa is prone in the middle. Metalik, out of nowhere, hits Tozawa with a frog splash. Seconds later, Daivari takes Metalik out with the same move. Certainly a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment. Daivari earns a two count, but Metalik kicks out. All four men are sprawled on the mat, the effects of their labor showing.
Shortly after, Metalik kills two birds with one stone. He vaults the ropes, landing on Daivari’s shoulders on the apron, and hurricanranas him from the apron onto Kanellis on the outside. Tozawa crouches in wait in the ring, taking out Metalik with a suicide dive headbutt. Tozawa brings Kanellis back into the ring. He’s looking for a German suplex, but Kanellis throws elbows, warding Tozawa off. The pair exchange a series of chops, testing each other’s mettle.
Tozawa seems to be fired up by the back and forth, throwing out his mouth guard in the process. Kanellis falls into Tozawa’s trap, and the German suplex officially lands. Tozawa looks for the top rope senton, but Maria Kanellis jumps up to the apron, distracting Tozawa. This affords Kanellis the time to climb up and lay strikes into Tozawa. Tozawa eventually fells Kanellis and jumps from the top. Kanellis’ knees are up and waiting, Tozawa crashing hard down on them. Kanellis lands his swinging neckbreaker finisher and goes for the cover, but Metalik springboards off the ropes with an elbow in mind. Kanellis moves out of the way, Metalik’s elbow landing on Tozawa instead.
Kanellis throws Metalik out of the ring, looking to take advantage of the incapacitated Tozawa. Daivari, who has been quiet for a few minutes, comes in and spills Kanellis from the ring. He folds Tozawa up for an easy three count and the victory.
Winner: Ariya Daivari
This was more fun than I expected. The set pieces were excellently executed, and each man displayed their strengths well. Kanellis looked to be the one who would win more often, but Daivari coming in at the last second was your typical heel tactic in a multi-man match. A nice little match to start the show.
Oney Lorcan is warming up backstage for his match with Alexander. He admits that nobody has been more important in the rebuilding of WWE’s Cruiserweight Division these last three years. Lorcan wants to take over that mantle. He wants to drive forward and build more upon 205 Live. The only way he can do that is by beating Alexander.
Speaking of which, the departing Alexander is up next. He talks about building his legacy all over again on Monday Night Raw. He is used to building a legacy, here on 205 Live. He wants Lorcan to understand and respect that. He tells Lorcan to bring it, as he’s not going down without a fight.
Cedric Alexander vs Oney Lorcan
I wasn’t a huge fan of this pair’s Cruiserweight Tournament encounter. Alexander soaked up so much damaging offense, including a top rope half and half suplex, and saw Lorcan off with ease, when all was said and done. That suplex, in particular, should have been the final nail in the coffin, but it wasn’t to be. I expect to see a repeat of the move tonight, however, I also expect to see a different result at the end of the match. We shall see.
The match starts with a typical feeling out process. Alexander has Lorcan grounded with a leg lock. Lorcan scurries out of the hold, locking eyes with Alexander. Both are weary. Both want to win for different reasons. It should be a hotly contested affair.
Alexander continues trying to out-wrestle Lorcan, this time with a front face lock. Again, Lorcan escapes. A test of strength sees Lorcan explode with a headlock takeover. He cinches the headlock in tight. Alexander tries in vain to break free. He stands up, looking to bounce Lorcan off the ropes, but the Boston Butcher is not in the mood for frivolities. So far.
Alexander eventually powers out, but Lorcan charges in from the ropes with a sickening chop. He launches Alexander into the furthest away turnbuckle with an Irish whip. Lorcan charges in but Alexander is fired up now. He lands a succession of dropkicks at different and specifically chosen parts of the body, finishing with the leg.
It’s Alexander’s time to deliver some brutal chops. Lorcan, on the apron, eats an enziguri. With him on the outside, Alexander looks for a suicida. Lorcan dodges at the last second and adds velocity to Alexander’s fall by pushing him downwards. The landing is very ugly; not what you want to see with Alexander’s Monday Night Raw career starting officially next week! Lorcan launches Alexander into the LED board, before sliding him back into the ring to continue his brutal offense.
Lorcan has Alexander grounded with a bear hug. Alexander fights his way out of an attempted half and half suplex. He gets in some strikes, warding Lorcan off. Lorcan, however, drives his knee into an incoming Alexander’s knee, locking in the bear hug once again. Softening Alexander’s core is an intelligent tactic by Lorcan, as he looks to snap his finisher suplex in with ease at some point in the future.
Alexander fights out, delivering a hard-hitting single leg dropkick to the back of Lorcan’s head as he sits on the floor. Lorcan folds up from the impact. Alexander is on top for the first time in the match. He’ll have to keep the barrage going, however. Lorcan can soak up punishment like few else in WWE. Alexander tries his best to break that barrier, however, with a Michinoku driver. Lorcan kicks out at two, though.
A Lumbar Check is attempted, but Lorcan steadies his weight, ensuring the lift-off cannot happen. Alexander tries a different tactic with the Neuraliser. The back of his head meets Lorcan’s forearm, however. The vicious European uppercut is followed by a blockbuster and another uppercut. The resultant pinfall attempt is not a successful one, however. Lorcan goes for the half and half again, but Alexander throws elbows behind him. Lorcan takes out Alexander’s knee and picks him up for a powerbomb. After another unsuccessful pin attempt, Lorcan locks in a single leg Boston crab.
Alexander grabs the ropes, but his back will be in bad shape. He crawls away from Lorcan, stalked the whole time as he climbs a turnbuckle. Lorcan sees his opportunity, jumping up and going for the half and half. Alexander trips Lorcan up, Lorcan landing on the outside. Alexander follows up with a somersault to the outside. He throws Lorcan back in the ring, going for a springboard clothesline. Another devastating European uppercut fells Alexander though.
Both men use each other’s heads as leverage to get back to their feet on the apron. They exchange chops, but not for long before Lorcan grabs Alexander’s beard and slaps the spit from his face. Alexander fights back, looking to kick Lorcan from the apron. Finally, the half and half lands, this time on the apron.
Alexander rolls into the ring and stands up, but is turned inside out with a crazy clothesline from Lorcan. He lands a final half and half suplex. Lorcan goes for the cover and the referee counts to three. Alexander exits 205 Live with a loss.
Winner: Oney Lorcan
Alexander is nursing his neck as he slowly gets to his feet. “Thank you, Cedric” rings out from the crowd. Lorcan offers his hand to Alexander as a sign of respect. Alexander stands in the ring and receives a final farewell message from the commentary team.
As he has never been a personal favorite, I find it hard to feel any upset over Alexander’s departure from 205 Live. It would be ignorant of me, though, to not see what he did for the Cruiserweight Division as a whole. Good luck to him going forward, and thanks to him for helping put the Cruiserweight Division on the map.
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