For the first time, I watched a full episode of 205 Live. For the first time since the show’s inception, I was intrigued to see what was going on with the show. The news of a cruiserweight championship tournament, coupled with the announcement of Drake Maverick as the GM, gave me a purpose to watch the show.
205 Live has gone through its fair share of criticism since its launch. After the incredible success of the Cruiserweight Classic, fans were craving to see more of the high-flying action. Guys like Cedric Alexander, Jack Gallagher, and TJ Perkins were standouts, and WWE fans were excited to see them on a weekly basis.
Since then, though, the cruiserweight division has fallen flat. A combination of factors has contributed to this, such as having to perform in front of a tired crowd after SmackDown, a lack of strong characters, and weak storylines. But one thing I want to focus on that hasn’t gotten enough attention is a simple question: why hasn’t 205 Live been treated like its own brand?
Think about it: the organization of 205 Live has been a mess since it started. Along with having its own show, the cruiserweights have been featured on Raw. This is troublesome for me, as it hurts the allure of tuning in to 205 Live on a weekly basis. If I already saw Brian Kendrick wrestle on Monday night, why should I tune in to watch him on Tuesday as well?
They’ve also used Raw to further storylines for the cruiserweight division. Before Enzo Amore was released, they were doing the number one contender matches for the cruiserweight title on Raw. What’s the point of giving the cruiserweights their own show if all the important things are going to happen on Raw? Why do I need to watch a whole other show on Tuesday when all the things I need to see happen on Monday?
It’s not like you see Raw or SmackDown having an “NXT” division. You don’t see Andrade Almas facing Eric Young on Monday, and then WWE expects you to tune in Wednesday to see it again. That’s what they’ve done essentially with the cruiserweight division and 205 Live.
Now, WWE has a chance to change the narrative surrounding the show. This new championship tournament has featured some good matches. Having a GM now gives the show a sense of order as well. If they truly want to make 205 Live reach the levels it was supposed to, then they should take the cruiserweights completely off Monday Night Raw and let them focus solely on 205 Live.
Letting the cruiserweights have their own storylines on their own show as opposed to two shows should help 205 Live viewership. Also, putting no restrictions on the guys to show their personalities and in-ring abilities should also happen. We were all blown away by what they did in the Cruiserweight Classic, and we want to see more of that on Tuesday nights. We haven’t yet, but letting 205 Live be its own brand should go a long way in helping us get back to that point.