205 LIVE WORKRATE REPORT – EPISODE #6
205 LIVE RETRO WORKRATE REPORT
EPISODE #6 (01/03/17)
(by Phil Rippa)
Starting off 2017 with a… well it’s not a bang but it’s not a whimper. God, this was a whole lotta the same. Don’t make me start wishing for the Enzo episodes. I don’t hate myself THAT much.
WHAT WORKED
+ Jack Swagger is sitting dead center in the third row and you can’t convince me otherwise.
+ Tajiri mists the beejesus out of Brian Kendrick. Everything else from that segment is below.
+ I am with Neville. I, too, am tired of hearing about TJ Perkins struggles.
+ Tony Nese and his abs get the spotlight video this week.
+ An “Akira Tozawa : Coming Soon” video package is rolled out and it consists of Cesaro putting over Tozawa. Yes, we are all wondering why they don’t do that will all the guys.
+ Austin Aries says “fans” instead of “WWE Universe”. Clearly he is going have more royalties kept from his paycheck.
+ Has Drake Younger been on all the 205 Live shows so far and I am just noticing it. Am I that oblivious? Was his Mania debut a lie?
+ Noam Dar really is a guy whose style was better suited for the handheld days. The HD era bones him as we all see him smashing the canvas instead of his opponents arm. And we can tell that he is applying any pressure as he “digs” his knuckles into dudes. I am all for working safe but none of us want to see the strings of the puppet master. That all being said there was enough of the Dar/Mustafa Ali match to have it “work”. I am feeling generous because this sure is a tedious show.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK
– If I was an ambitious man, I would count all the guys in the opening who have actually never wrestled on this show. I still love you Gran Metalik! (On the flip side of that coin – some really really like Ho Ho Lun.)
– The banana has appeared! Get Hyped?!?!?!
– So Tajiri have been coming for weeks. Well he shows up this week with absolutely no fanfare (and with no reaction from the crowd.) His opponent is Sean Maluta because if you are Samoan you will keep popping up on WWE shows like a bad penny. This is brief and Tajiri looks every bit his 47 years of age. Then Brian Kendrick comes out to remind everyone how old Tajiri (and himself) are.
– Ariya Daivari ruins Jack Gallagher/Tony Nese and since I am irritated, internet logic says that makes him a good heel. The internet is stupid.
– Dar tells the crowd to be quiet. I don’t think they need an encouragement. And thanks to the crack WWE production, after Ali pins Dar, they cut to a shot of a guy who has that “Jesus, can I go home yet?” look.
– Oh, the irony of Perkins saying that all Neville does is complain.
– Really the TJP vs. Neville match should go in the top half of the column or the Dar/Ali match should have been down here. They are both basically the same. They are “just there” matches that don’t make your eyes bleed or anything with one guy I really don’t care for. Dar/Ali got the nod since I saw it first and by the time we go to the Main Event I felt like I had sat through the entire taping just like this crowd.