Who would’ve thought that, in the midst of the blessed Road to Wrestlemania, the show we were all talking about the most would be 205 Live?
Ever since the brand rebooted in losing Enzo, gained a General Manager in Drake Maverick (which is still the best name of all time and I wish my own mother had named me the same) and Triple H gave the show a new lease of life, the Cruiserweight division hasn’t felt this exciting since going back to the Cruiserweight Classic.
Currently, the brand is in the midst of a big tournament, with the winner to be crowned the new Cruiserweight Champion (although whether this will culminate at Wrestlemania and if it will actually make it on to the main card is yet to be determined).
So far, the tournament has given 205 Live a sense of importance and direction it had severely lacked since its inception, and this has been reflected in the match quality. 205 Live’s lifespan is largely determined in flaunting the abilities of their stars, so the matches need to reflect this each and every week. Needless to say, business lately has been picking up and we’ve been exposed to a consistent standard of matches that you just don’t see on Raw or Smackdown.
With that said, the tournament enters the second-half of the Quarter-Finals next week, with Cedric Alexander and Roderick Strong already through and set to meet in the Semi-Finals (I cannot wait for this). Drew Gulak is set to face-off with ‘White Lightning’ Mark Andrews, the only WWE UK star left in the tourney, and Buddy Murphy will be taking on Mustafa Ali.
Here are our predictions of who will progress to the second semi-final bracket:
Drew Gulak vs. Mark Andrews
“In Brightest Day, and Blackest Night / No Fly Zone shall escape my might / Let those who worship evil’s might / Beware my PowerPoint – Drew Gulak’s light!”
In the darkest days of 205, Drew Gulak gave us all a glimmer of hope in the form of his PowerPoint presentation, which I still hope in given to us all in the WrestleMania pre-show, making it the best pre-show in WWE history.
Gulak, despite being a heel and anti-Cruiserweight antics since day one, has been one of 205 Live’s most consistently entertaining characters and is the only bad guy left in the tournament. Mark Andrews, on the other hand, is about as ‘good-guy’ as they come and the type of agile, jumpy boy that Gulak despises. Their match-up will be an interesting mix of high-flyer vs technicality, and I have to pick Gulak to come out with the win, if for no other reason than to keep a baddie in the running.
Prediction: Drew Gulak
Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy
Mustafa Ali put on a barnstorming match with Cedric Alexander a few weeks ago, helping bring in the new era for the Cruiserweight division and put the wrestling world on notice with a bold claim that change was coming for the purple brand.
Buddy Murphy is called “The Best Kept Secret” and 205 Live may damn well be the showcase to let the world know why. Murphy had appeared sporadically on WWE TV since his NXT tag days with Blake Murphy, and 205 Live has been making a big deal out of his journey to meet the brand’s weight limit with video packages and the like.
Whilst it will be a shame to see Ali beaten, WWE is putting a lot of stock into Buddy Murphy and presenting his comeback as a big deal. Plus, having new faces make it further in the tournament really helps push them in the long-term and creates newer, fresher matches. On that basis alone, my pick is Buddy Murphy.
Prediction: Buddy Murphy
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