4 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE 205 Live (Jan 3)
The return of one legend, and the making of another.
WWE 205 Live is slowly growing into itself.
After an inauspicious start, the viewer interest of which was represented visually by the mass walkout during the first episode, the reintroduction of Neville has provided the show with a (literally) strong anchor with which to ground it
Much like NXT, it benefits from the freshness enforced by its brief runtime. Paul Heyman and JBL may have other ideas, but even The Sandman, circa late 1994, could see that the third of RAW is killing the quality of it. WWE might consider it best for business - and the ad revenue is probably categorically difficult to argue with - but is the burnout worth risking for short-term gains? The wider picture might suggest otherwise.
It reduces overexposure and provides a logical pivot. There isn’t enough room to accommodate everybody - and that’s a good thing. The absence of Rich “Swanny” Swann, “selling” the effects of last week’s match, only served to bolster Neville’s growing aura as a bad-a**.
In-ring, the stricter regulation of the proper WWE environment means the action is but a shadow of the best the Cruiserweight Classic had to offer - but, insofar as episodic television goes, those fans who deserted the show in its first week are being provided with many a reason to tune back in…