WWE's Original Vision For 205 Live Sounds A Lot Like AEW
Triple H's idea for 205 Live sounded like a true alternative. And then Vince McMahon happened...
205 Live, WWE's oft-neglected purple brand, lost its unique selling point earlier this year, as the promotion removed the show's 205-pound weight limit and Cruiserweight focus. It has effectively become an extension of NXT over the past few years, though this is far from what Triple H may have originally had planned for it when the show was conceived in 2016.
Interviewed by Chris Van Vliet earlier this week, former 205 regular Tony Nese speculated on WWE COO's original vision.
Calling the show Triple H's baby, Nese theorised that Hunter wanted to give 205 a "different feel", with win/loss records, tournaments, and more (h/t WrestlingNews.co):-
"This is all speculation, but it seemed like they had an idea for the show. It was Triple H’s idea, it was his baby. He wanted the show to have a yearly tournament, win/loss records, all that stuff. He wanted it to have a different feel."
This may have changed following the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic tournament, when it was announced that the Cruiserweight division would feature on Raw:-
"As soon as it was announced that the cruiserweights would be a part of RAW, that was where Vince was like, ‘No, it’s my show now.’ All that other stuff went out the window. We even joked about it. We said, ‘This is RAW lite.’ We got our backs against the wall after all the stars competed."
Nese continued, saying the wrestlers involved felt neglected, even when the show was handed back to Triple H:-
"So Vince had control, but after a while, he was like, I’m done playing with this toy. He gave it back to Triple H, who was like, you’re Vince’s boys now. You are tainted to me. This is my speculation, but it feels like Triple H didn’t care about it either. We were in this limbo of the show, it had to be booked, but they were just like, whatever, put whatever on and just move on. No matter how much we would fight, they were just like, have a good match and that’s it.”
A former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Nese was a 205 Live mainstay from its November 2016 launch all the way through to his release from the company this June. The 36-year-old has since signed with AEW, having debuted in the crowd during last week's Dynamite tapings, though the promotion is yet to bless him with an X Is #AllElite graphic.