205 Live Landscape: 11/29/2019 (Garza vs. Gallagher)

Welcome to the review of the November 29, 2019 edition of 205 Live. After a week off from live television, the fastest moving show on the WWE Network is back! And it brings us another edition of exciting action. Tonight’s 205 Live big main event rematch is between Angel Garza and Gentlemen Jack Gallagher.

We kick off the show with having Aiden English and the returning 205 Live original, Tom Phillips, back in the booth. They remind us 3 years ago, Tom was there when 205 Live first debuted.

We will let you know any update on Jon Quasto, but in the meantime, we kick off tonight’s episode with Daivari and the rising star of the division, Raul Mendoza!

Ariya Daivari vs. Raul Mendoza

A great opening for this week’s edition of the cruiserweight brand. Ariya continues to display some great heel ring work over the past few months in 205. But Raul is the new toy that we love to see on display. Mendoza has come far from being squashed food. He’s now a prominent roster fixture. A standout moment in the middle of the match as Raul pulled his best Gran Metalik walking the top rope to a dropkick – highly impressive. Mendoza also pulled out a little strength with an interesting rendition of the End Of Days in the middle of the match which was an impressive close finish.

But even with Ariya pulling out a Rock Bot… I mean Uranage, Mendoza continued to battle back. Picking up the pace on the Persian Prince. Eventually, with several counters later, Ariya hits the Hammerlock Clothesline for the, do I dare say, upset?

Winner: Ariya Daivari (via pin)

After the match, we get two promos from tonight’s main eventers. Until WWE themselves hear my voice, I will continue to say Jack Gallagher is one of the most impressive wrestlers in promos on the 205 Live brand. The close-up action was a nice touch for the cruiserweight division OG. Garza, who may still need some work in that department, also spoke of tonight’s main event. If Garza is being groomed to be the brand’s new IT heel, he may need a little more work at the PC.

After a small break, we see tweets from Daivari and Gentlemen Jack talking about the brief history of 205 Live. I want to point out that Gallagher’s selection of his three moments for three years is spot on. I still say to this day his match on July 16th, 2019 vs. Chad Gable is still one of the best matches in the brand’s history and will not easily be topped.

Up next, with an embarrassing Titantron flub, we get the 205 Live singles debut of Danny Burch against a local competitor.

Danny Burch vs. Greg Williams

Danny Burch is a man’s man. Not William Regal level, but he’s up there. Mr. local competitor had some cool offensive moves. Including a nice pump knee but there’s no fighting Burch and his ring experience. We finally get a name for his solid head butt, London’s Calling. Which is a lot more solid than even Tyler Bate, or even Jack Gallagher (see below). 2 minutes later, with one corner clothesline, a brutal German suplex, a running clothesline out the corner, and a Tower of London to make his countrymen Nigel McGuiness proud, Burch gets the job done. Oney who?

Winner: Danny Burch (via squash)

Jack Gallagher vs. Angel Garza

The higher-ups of WWE, more specifically Triple H, continue to give us some impressive first time on 205 matches. I loved the Gallagher / Garza bruiser vs. high flyer matchup here.

The switching between Jack being heel and face as some of his nuances between both personas have been shown in his matches have been a bit frustrating. But no matter what the distinction the Gentlemen continues to set a bar with his ring work. Garza, however, is in a league of his own since debuting in NXT. The cocky persona developed in Impact is flourishing in WWE as he continues to make big strides. But more so than his impactful hamstring dropkick or his reaction time counters, he continues to sell better than anyone on the 205 brand.

That’s until a beautiful head-butt (now deemed the Gentleman’s Kiss) leads to an awesome rebound superkick that left both men laid out. Back and forth, this match was highly enjoyable. But it’s obvious whose WWE high on at the moment. Jack goes to the well a bit too much here and a middle rope splash leads to a bear hug catch by Garza into The Wing Clipper for the finish.

Winner: Angel Garza (via pin)

After the match, Jack once again goes near Aiden English, a story I was highly interested in since two weeks ago. But rather than targeting the former NXT tag team champion, he goes after the desk itself flipping the logo borders, spilling out Aiden’s water and tossing chairs. Our trusty “WWE Security” comes down but a few get plastered for their trouble.

The key here is when current Smackdown superstar and 205 Live GM Drake Maverick came down to break up the fray only to get a Gentlemen’s Kiss of his own for his trouble. Will this lead to another first-time bout for the general manager?

Only time will tell as we will see next Friday!

John Caul is a longtime wrestling fan since the Attitude Era. A former color commentator for several independent companies and former owner of independent wrestling company Imperial World Wrestling, John currently spends his time interacting with wrestling fans on Twitter while enjoying podcasts such as Cheap Heat and Jobber Tears.