WWE 205 Live results: Captain’s Challenge elimination tag match

By Chick Fritts for F4WOnline

Big Takeaways —

Team NXT emerged victorious after weeks of build.

Jack Gallagher proved to be an essential player in 205 Live. 

Show Recap —

Captain’s Challenge match: Team NXT (Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Tyler Breeze, Danny Burch, Oney Lorcan & Kushida) defeated 205 Live originals (Ariya Daivari, Brian Kendrick, Tony Nese, Mike Kanellis & Jack Gallagher w/ The Singh Brothers)

205 Live’s only match this week was held in the attendee-free WWE Performance Center. As the two teams entered the empty gym it became evident the unique setting would be an added element of intrigue for this long-built match.

After team 205 had already entered the ring, the four announced members of team NXT stood at the top of the entranceway. A brief note was made by the announce team reminding viewers that team 205’s Jack Gallagher had violently removed Lio Rush from team NXT’s leadership role during Gallagher’s return two weeks ago. Kushida’s music hit and he was revealed to be the replacement for Rush. 

The match began with Kushida standing opposite of team 205’s captain, Tony Nese. The two entered an all too typical slow chain grappling opening sequence in what is intended to be a heated blow-off match. 

After Nese was shown up in the opening moments of the match, he tagged in Mike Kanellis. Kushida maintained the advantage for his team and tagged Danny Burch, who with aid from Oney Lorcan double-teamed Kanellis. Kanellis was able to escape and make a tag back to Nese, making Nese the legal man now standing across from Burch. 

Burch and Nese made their way to the outside for seemingly no reason. Once outside, the Singh brothers acted as a momentary distraction. Burch was not thrown off in the slightest by the Singhs and reentered the ring within seconds.

Burch gracefully transitioned an attempted move from Nese into a crossface in the center of the ring. The submission attempt was interrupted by Kanellis, which initiated a brawl.

The chaos created by the brawl distracted the referee. This gave the Singh brothers an opportunity to interfere, this time with actual repercussions. Both Singhs entered the ring and were laid out by Burch. Burch, with his back turned, was blindsided by Nese, who then immediately eliminated Burch to give team 205 the numbers advantage. 

Tyler Breeze then entered the ring as a legal competitor for the first time. Nese proceeded to dominate Breeze. Gallagher tagged himself in to act as a sign of disorder in team 205.

Gallagher wasted no time. He attacked an already down Breeze, who showed a small amount of fight. Gallagher scored a quick pin, leaving team 205 with a two-man (not including the Singh Brothers) advantage. 

Lorcan entered the ring to replace his eliminated teammate. Gallagher held the head of Lorcan and tempted Nese with a tag. Nese was not entertained by Gallagher’s games and tagged himself in — only to be immediately eliminated by Lorcan. 

Gallagher and Kanellis both opted to replace their fallen team captain, which led to them arguing. Kanellis won out and Gallagher returned to the apron. This resulted in the eliminated Nese attacking Gallagher, his own teammate. Gallagher then superkicked Nese and punched an onlooking Kanellis. Lorcan rolled up Kanellis to even the numbers. 

Brian Kendrick and Ariya Daivari double-teamed Lorcan in the ring. This slowed the match to a crawl and set up a hot tag. Isaiah Scott entered for the first time and sped the match up once again.

All three remaining members of team 205 tried their hand at hindering Scott’s momentum but failed. Scott rolled Daivari up and eliminated him. No more than two seconds later, he did the same to Kendrick. 

An enraged Daivari and Kendrick brutalized Scott following their elimination from the match. The last remaining member of team 205, Gallagher, was left with three opponents to face. Even after the attack from Daivari and Kendrick, Scott was able to make the tag to Lorcan, who was then eliminated by Gallagher. 

Gallagher followed this elimination by diving from the top rope to the outside, taking out Scott. Gallagher then drove Kushida into the barricade and rolled him into the ring. Kushida fought from his disadvantaged position and landed a devastating forearm to the face of Gallagher. Scott and Kushida then delivered a double enzuigiri. Kushida followed up with an armbar for the submission victory. 

Final Thoughts —

Though the match started slow, it picked up in the final stretch. In hindsight, it felt less like a grudge match between rival brands and more like a showcase for Jack Gallagher. Even in defeat, Gallagher looked nearly superhuman as he took on both teams in the match and still lasted till the bitter end.

Gallagher is seemingly being set up for a match with Nese. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he has to go through Kanellis first, however.