WWE 205 Live results: Nese & Scott vs. Legado del Fantasma

205 Live kicked off this week with an Ariya Daivari promo. Daivari, in a boat and on a body of water, called out all of the notable cruiserweights: Santos Escobar, Tony Nese, Drake Maverick, etcetera. Ultimately, Daivari made it clear that he intended to return to 205 Live. 

Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza (with Santos Escobar) defeated Tony Nese and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott 

On the and only first match of the show, two of the only 205 Live storylines came to ahead. Tony Nese took the lead as the first legal man, perhaps in a show of responsibility to his newfound ally. Likewise, Raul Mendoza began the match for El Legado del Fantasma. Mendoza and Nese traded holds in an opening grappling exchange that set a good opening pace. The two continued to up the pace in the mere seconds that followed. Nese avoided an attack from Mendoza with a flip which led to a quick set of strikes. A bested Mendoza was then forced to tag in the pristine Joaquin Wilde. Isaiah Scott tagged in to challenge Wilde.

Scott and Wilde grappled back and forth after becoming legal. The two both gained an advantage on the mat. After an extended portion of mat control by Wilde, Scott used head scissors to create separation. Wilde, not allowing Scott to follow up, grabbed the hair of Scott to initiate a referee forced break. Scott grew enraged by this dishonorable act. This led to Scott thoroughly unloading on Wilde in the corner; Scott was showing a real sense of urgency combined with unfamiliar brutality. 

Scott sent the still dazed Wilde to the outside. Instead of maintaining a sense of focus for the match at hand, Scott turned his attention to NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar who had accompanied his underlings to the ring. After a staredown with the champion Scott returned to the ring, Escobar seemed to be unphased by the passion of Scott. Escobar then coached Wilde with an intriguing calmness. Said coaching caused Wilde to storm the ring with an intensity of his own. Scott tagged out as he was soon forced into his own corner. 

Nese stifled the attempted momentum of Wilde with a takedown. Nese tagged in Scott once more, this time the two launched a short two-man attack on Wilde. The double team offense continued as Nese and Scott traded tags. The budding partnership of Nese and Scott had seemingly left Wilde far behind in the match. 

Wilde’s break came after Mendoza slammed Scott to the mat while the referee was not looking. Wilde dropped Scott chin first onto his knee and tried in vain for a pin. Wilde tagged in Mendoza. Wilde and Mendoza then delivered a double Alabama slam followed by a double dropkick to Scott. Scott kicked from the pin attempt that followed. Mendoza was able to land some offense on Scott before tagging in Wilde again. Scott was immediately able to gain separation after Wilde became legal. 

Scott successfully went for the hot tag which allowed Nese to reenter the fray with ferocity. Nese initiated a brilliant sequence that he punctuated with a pump handle driver and a believable near fall. Nese locked in a deep Boston crab in the center of the ring. Before Mendoza was able to break up the submission, Scott landed a takedown on the would-be interferer and tried for an armbar. Wilde was able to push Nese into Scott from the bottom of the crab, breaking up both submissions. 

Wilde now had Nese grounded for the first time. Wilde climbed to the top rope but was uppercut immediately by Nese. Nese tried to crawl for Scott’s tag after the uppercut but Wilde, who was still seated on the top rope, grabbed the hair of Nese. Nese then without hesitation jumped for a rana on his highly elevated opponent to break his grip. With Wilde flat on his back, Nese was able to tag in Scott.

Scott hit the ring with a burst of energy. A clothesline hit the mark as Wilde tried to return to his feet. Mendoza tried to intervene but was met with a back-body drop as soon as he entered the ropes. This allowed Scott to show off with a quick ground sequence and a German suplex. Scott tried to end the match with a strong kick to the head but Wilde kicked out of the pin that followed. 

Scott tried to maintain his control, but Mendoza grabbed at his ankle from the outside. Wilde was able to break free from Scott and connect with a DDT. Mendoza tagged in before landing a springboard moonsault. Nese broke up the pin attempt that followed. At this point, a four-way brawl ensued. Nese and Scott gained the upper hand as they sent their opponents crashing to the outside. Nese and Scott then dove onto their opponents. Scott sent Mendoza back into the ring and connected with a double foot stomp but Wilde was able to break up the pin just before the referee’s count of three.

 Nese tagged in and hoisted Mendoza onto his shoulders. Scott climbed to the top rope. The two were setting up for something big. Before said setup could be actualized Escobar climbed the ring steps and stood on the apron gaining the attention of the referee, Nese, and Scott. Wilde pushed the now distracted Scott into the floor from the top rope. Nese tried for a rollup in the moments that followed, but Mendoza had sneakily tagged in Wilde. Wilde was then able to connect with a double knee face breaker on the confused Nese. This allowed Wilde to hold Nese in place for a Mendoza enziguri. Nese was then pinned by Wilde.

This match was good. Just as it began feeling long-winded, it came to a close. Storywise it succeeded in further establishing the current cruiserweight hierarchy; El Legado del Fantasma is at the top, everyone else is playing catch up. 

Also worth noting is crowd response. Early in the match, the crowd seemed quite loud, at least speaking in terms relative to the empty arena WWE shows. Whether this was a rather fervent set of attendees or a change in mixing, it’s hard to say.