- Last week on 205 Live, Hideo Itami disrespected Akira Tozawa following another loss, this time to the tandem of Jack Gallagher and THE Brian Kendrick… Buddy Murphy made weight and beat up on an enhancement talent to the point that the referee stopped the match without a pin-fall or submission. Post-match, Cedric Alexander started a brawl to let Murphy know he's here, and if he wants a piece of him, he's not hard to find… Drew Gulak continues to build momentum with a victory over Kalisto.
- Presented LIVE on the WWE Network from Baltimore, MD. Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson are calling the action, unless otherwise noted. Advertised for tonight's episode: Mustafa Ali faces the "Best Kept Secret", and the Lucha House Party meets Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick in tag team action.
- Mustafa Ali with a cell-phone promo. He's recording from the train tracks. Murphy's built for show but he's built for go. It's not about avenging a loss, it's about clearing the way. Murphy has two options: move or "I make you."
- Buddy Murphy is backstage with Tony Nese. He offers him words of wisdom before Dasha Fuentes enters to ask Murphy about his match later tonight. He's got one blemish on his record since coming to 205 Live, and that's to Mustafa Ali. He's adjusting to the weight-cuts, but he's become unstoppable. He just hopes the Champ is watching. So, wouldn't failing making weight count as another blemish on his record?
- Video package dedicated to Hideo Itami. I love the soundbite of Michael Cole calling him a "young up-and-comer." It's almost as laughable as Gorilla Monsoon saying there's a lot of fire in this youngster referencing Carlos Colon. In 1993. The point of the video is that Itami had no desire to be saddled with a tag team partner and says Akira Tozawa doesn't deserve respect.
- Drake Maverick is joined backstage by Cedric Alexander. He's going to let things form last week slide and wants to make sure it's not going to affect tonight's Main Event. Alexander says when he gets his chance with Murphy in the ring, he's going to finish the fight. Next week 205 Live is from London, England. Maverick says the 205 Live roster will face-off against the stars of the UK competitors. Interesting…
Back inside, Murphy covers for two. Murphy with a hard whip into the corner, followed by a back drop. He teases coming off the ropes with a punt to the back but fakes everyone out by grabbing a chin-lock. Would've been more impressive of the audience cared. Ali escapes with a jaw breaker, flips out of a back suplex, and comes off the ropes with both men hitting cross bodies in the middle of the ring. Murphy with a knee to the midsection and Ali with a punt to the chest. Ali with the push-off dropkick, clothesline, and charging elbow. He avoids a charge in the corner, but the rolling X-Factor is countered with a rear-choke. Ali backs him into the corner bur Murphy grabs the hair to keep the hold applied. Ali turns things around, hopping on Murphy's back with a sleeper hold. Murphy fights to his feet and rolls into the corner, sending both their bodies crashing into the turnbuckles.
Murphy is to his feet first, paint brushing Ali with his boot. Ali pops up with a series of hard forearm strikes. Ali cuts off a flurry from Murphy and hits him with an innovative draping DDT. What the hell do you even call that? That spot right there deserves 50 replays, it looked that good. Ali positions Murphy across the top turnbuckle for a Super-Plex. Murphy blocks and drops Ali face-first on the canvas. He pulls Ali in with a knee strike and hits him with the Gory Special into a DDT for a near fall. Ali with a leg sweep and rolling cradle for two. Murphy with the trifecta Powerbombs. The referee forces them apart to check on Ali, but he doesn't call for the bell because Ali has a storyline death wish based on some of the bumps he's taken. He tells Murphy to bring it and counters the Powerbomb with an X-Factor for a near fall. Both men end up on the apron, and this won't end well for Ali. They climb the ropes, facing the arena floor. Murphy pushes Ali off, who does a flip landing on his feet, and catches Murphy diving off with a Super-Kick. Ali rolls Murphy back in but makes the mistake of hooking the near-leg with Murphy too close to the ropes. Ali tries to hit the springboard 450 splash to the arm (call-back to their Tournament match), but Murphy has the move scouted, rolling away. He drops a double knee across the draped arm, sends Ali into the corner, and yanks him down by the arm. Whip to the corner is reversed and Ali rolls Murphy up for two. He springs off the ropes for a Tornado DDT, but Murphy puts the breaks on, twists the arm into a hammer-lock, and sends Ali into the post. Murphy's Law finishes at 15:45. I'm convinced these two can't have anything less than great matches together. As expected, lacked the crowd heat, but my goodness, these two deserve every eyeball of a WWE fan. ****1/4
Final Thoughts: Strong Main Event this week makes for an episode worth checking out. I'm slightly intrigued by a potential series of matches with Tozawa and Itami, although the WWE career of Itami hasn't lived up to expectations. Tony Nese is being repaired, but I feel the damage is already done for him, and who knows where things are going with these tag teams they put together. There's definitely not enough for a Championship, but who knows, stranger things have happened.