12/13 WWE 205 LIVE TV REPORT: Tony Nese vs. Danny Burch, Ariya Daivari vs. Raul Mendoza, Joaquin Wilde vs. James Tapia

WWE 205 LIVE TV REPORT
DECEMBER 13, 2019
MILWAUKEE, WISC.
REPORT BY MICHAEL TAYLOR, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Aiden English, Tom Phillips

– The show opened with a highlight of the Cruiserweight title match between Lio Rush and Angel Garza on NXT. Garza was shown celebrating his title win as the package ended. The 205 Live intro video played and the camera panned the audience. Ariya Daivari made his ring entrance followed by Raul Mendoza.

(1) ARIYA DAIVARI vs. RAUL MENDOZA

The bell rang and both men talked trashed to each other. Mendoza knocked Daivari down with a series of shoulder tackles and scored a two count. They returned to their feet and Mendoza hit a flying head scissors followed by a cross-body for a two count. Daivari retreated to the outside and Mendoza followed him. Daivari threw Mendoza face-first into the ring post. Back in the ring, Daivari cinched in a headlock. Mendoza broke the hold but Daivari knocked him back to the mat with a back elbow. Daivari cinched in a modified headlock and taunted Mendoza and the crowd. From there, Mendoza created separation with a jawbreaker. The pace quickened and Mendoza hit a running kick. Both men were slow to their feet where Mendoza took control with a flurry of strikes. Mendoza scaled the top rope and hit a missile dropkick which sent Daivari to the outside. After, Mendoza hit a dive from the top. Back in the ring, Mendoza scored a two count. Daivari countered a charging Mendoza and hit a frog splash for a two count. Daivari returned to the top rope but Mendoza countered with a head scissors for a two count. Daivari dodged a dive from Mendoza and hit a urange for a two count. They traded strikes until Mendoza hit an enziguri. Mendoza then countered Daivari’s hammerlock lariat with a roll-up for the win.

WINNER: Raul Mendoza via pinfall

(Taylor’s Analysis: I’m happy to see Mendoza win, as I think he has the potential to be a standout of the 205 Live roster. However, he just lost last week. Why couldn’t he be kept off the show for a few weeks? 50/50 booking won’t elevate anyone, but WWE seems perfectly content with that.)

-A commercial for WWE Shop aired followed by a preview for Monday Night Raw.

-The show returned, and the announcers said the Singh Brothers would not be on the show because Samir Singh’s wife recently gave birth to their child. They threw to a vignette for 205 Live newcomer Joaquin Wilde. Wilde talked about a nearly fatal wrestling injury in 2016. He showed off a scar that covered his abs and the vignette ended. Back in the arena, Wilde made his ring entrance as his opponent waited for him in the ring.

(2) JOAQUIN WILDE vs. JAMES TAPIA

The bell rang, and they traded holds. The pace quickened until Wilde hit an arm drag before cinching in an armbar. Tapia broke the hold and Wilde taunted him from the second rope by mocking an air horn. Wilde wrestled Tapia back down to the mat. Tapia created separation but Wilde hit a dropkick. From there, Wilde scaled the top rope by Tapia interrupted him and attempted a superplex. Wilde countered with a powerbomb from the top rope. Wilde hit a codebreaker followed by his wild thing finisher for the win. He celebrated on the second rope and mocked an air horn sound again. He did it again on the entrance ramp.

WINNER: Joaquin Wilde via pinfall

(Taylor’s Analysis: Wilde has some good offense, but the air horn sound needs to go right now. That is one of the most annoying taunts I have ever heard. Please do no subject me or anyone else to this on a semi-weekly basis.)                  

-A commercial for Steve Austin’s interview with Bill Goldberg aired, followed by a preview for Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin at TLC.

-The show returned, and the announcers threw to a package of Angel Garza proposing to his girlfriend after winning the Cruiserweight title on NXT. After, the announcers said next week’s episode would be a 205 Live “Best Of” edition. Danny Burch made his ring entrance followed by Tony Nese.

(Taylor’s analysis: While this was a touching moment, I find the decision to show it on-air very confusing. Garza has been portrayed as a scummy heel over the course of several weeks. Now, he’s talking about how much his family means to him and is shown proposing to his girlfriend. Wasn’t being a family man Lio Rush’s new gimmick?)  

(3) DANNY BURCH vs. TONY NESE

The bell rang as Nese taunted Burch by flexing in the middle of the ring. They locked up and traded holds. Burch threw Nese to the mat and mocked him by doing his own flexes. Burch wrestled Nese to the mat again and stomped on his hand. Burch cinched in an armbar but Nese briefly created separation. Burch countered Nese and quickly wrestled him back down to the mat and cinched in a headlock. Eventually, Nese broke the hold and threw Burch to the outside. Burch countered Nese on the floor and hit a series of uppercuts before throwing Nese into the barricade. Back in the ring, Burch scaled the ropes but Nese pulled him to the mat. Nese then snapped Burch’s neck off the top rope and hit a moonsault for a two count. With Burch on the mat, Nese cinched in a body scissors. Burch broke the hold and returned to his feet, but Nese punished him in the corner with strikes. Burch countered a charging Nese and hit a missile dropkick. Eventually, both men returned to their feet and traded strikes. Burch rallied and hit a German suplex followed by a big right hand for a two count. From there, Burch attempted another German suplex but Nese landed on his feet and hit a double stomp for a two count. With Burch on the mat, Nese scaled the top rope but Burch countered with a cutter for a two count. After Nese kicked out, Burch quickly transitioned into a cross face. Nese broke the hold by reaching the bottom rope and knocked Burch to the outside. Back in the ring, Nese missed a 450 splash and Burch quickly returned to the cross face. Nese returned to his feet and threw Burch into the turnbuckle and then hit the running Nese for the win. The show ended with Nese celebrating on the entrance ramp.

WINNER: Tony Nese via pinfall

(Taylor’s Analysis: This was a very good match. I really like how much Danny Burch has incorporated mat-work and submission holds into his matches since his debut. It makes him stand out and counteracts all the high-flying maneuvers throughout the show.) 

FINAL THOUGHTS: It’s a shame the audience was not into the main event, as it was one of the more notable matches over the last few weeks. We’ve seen Nese challenge for the title before, but there are a lot of new, potential challengers for Garza as well. This was a standard episode of 205 Live with a main event worth watching.

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CATCH UP… 12/6 WWE 205 LIVE REPORT: Lio Rush vs. Danny Burch, Angel Garza vs. Raul Mendoza, Tony Nese vs. Trent Neuman