The cruiserweight division has been the brightest spot in WWE for me personally. 205 Live features more bell to bell action than even NXT nowadays and the little bits they borrow from Ring of Honor (like the pre-match handshake) make this show in particular feel a little more legitimate.
At the top of the heap is the current Cruiserweight Champ, Rich Swann. Swann isn't my favorite cruiserweight, but he's a good babyface wrestler who can milk sympathy from the fans in droves, even if his facial expressions are a little over the top sometimes. The newer, meaner version of Neville who's been nipping at his heels in recent weeks is a good foil for him, every bit as scowly and cross as Swann is energetic and jubilant. I like seeing this side of Neville, and I really like how he mentions things like Swann being his "young boy" (apprentice/squire) while they were in Japan. The Man that Gravity Forgot has a chip on his shoulder, and you believe every syllable of his frustrated tirades. Good stuff.
On the climb are four other men that I think benefit the show greatly. Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar's feud has turned into a bizarre love triangle with Alicia Fox. The matches have been excellent, with Dar's craftiness and underhandedness playing off of Cedric's "in your face" style offense. I see big things for Dar. He's a slimy shitheel who reminds me of Christian during the C.L.B. phase of his career. Cedric is a dynamo to watch, but just like Apollo Crews on Smackdown, he's limited in how much personality he's allowed to show. His breaking up with Ms. Fox and the fallout backstage has me intrigued as this feud enters its next stage.
Ariya Daivari's ongoing troubles with Jack Gallagher are set to culminate in an "I Quit"--er, "I Forfeit" Match on next week's show. The matches between these two are mainly a place for Gallagher to get his unique offense over, but the in-ring and backstage verbal exchanges have really heated up as well. Daivari has a lot to prove, being part of a wrestling family, and he has no time for the Extraordinary Gentleman's antics. Gallagher is great on the mic and seems like he could fill any number of onscreen roles, even if he never ascends to the title picture.
There are plenty of great veterans helping to flesh out the show: Brian Kendrick, Tajiri, and Austen Aries are all waiting in the wings. The only one who seems lost in the shuffle right now is T.J. Perkins, who was riding high a few months ago, but seems to have become an afterthought as of late. (One of the dangers of "dabbing", or so I'm told.)
Shifting over to NXT, 2017 started with a couple of great live shows previously recorded in Melbourne and Osaka, but this week saw the triumphant return of the Yellow Show to Full Sail University in Florida with an incredible title rematch between The Revival and #DIY. Johnny Wrestling and the Psycho Killer put away Dash and Dawson one more time to retain, but had their celebration cut short by the Authors of Pain. I see the Revival getting called up in the coming months, hopefully to help out Raw's weak tag team scene. For what its worth, I think they could have a killer set of matches with Sheamus and Cesaro.
Bobby Roode is the current number one contender and is set to face Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover San Antonio. This week we got a word from the champ about his new opponent, setting up a contract signing and face to face confrontation next week. I'll have much more to say then . . .
This week's NXT set the stage for a few possible women's division feuds. Asuka is currently dealing with the Owens/Jericho-like tandem of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, but the obvious money match is between Asuka and Sanity's Nikki Cross. Cross has her fellow Sanity stable-mates in her corner, and personally I hope this is where Sanity gains a foothold and starts taking over NXT. I love a good faction.
Elias Samson and Andrade Cien Almas are still kicking around, I thought both of these acts were dead in the water, but they seem to be getting pushed as midcard heels. I see both of these guys putting over Roderick Strong in the near future. They need to flesh out that title scene, since it seems like a given that Samoa Joe will be moving up to the main roster soon enough.
Last but not least, I'd like to give a shoutout to Oney Lorcan, who has been popping up all over WWE programming lately, from NXT to Smackdown to live shows. The 'E clearly has some faith in him as a ring mechanic, and he and Almas have quietly been having a kick ass series of matches while no one's looking. Good stuff, Oney!
As if there weren't enough WWE content to consume on a weekly basis, tomorrow the United Kingdom tournament begins, with the intent of creating another belt and a weekly program the same way the Cruiserweight Classic begat 205 Live. The competitors on the bracket published by WWE's Twitter are all fresh faces to me since I'm not a huge follower of Europe's wrestling scene. I am quite familiar with their latest broadcaster, Nigel McGuiness, an old staple of Ring of Honor and a wrestler who sadly never got to move up in the WWE ranks like his contemporary Daniel Bryan due to medical issues.
Damn, there's a lot going on right now in the WWE. Good time to be a fan, and to be a wrestler looking for exposure, it seems. Thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter @ChrisBComics.
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