Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak – WWE Crusierweight Title Tournament Match- WWE 205 Live, February 13th, 2018

With the sudden departure of then champion Enzo Amore, WWE’s 205 Live could have fallen into chaos. The show and title, which had struggled to maintain relevance, was threatened more than it ever had been in the past. Just to be clear, the problem on the show has never been the talent. Following the Cruiserweight Classic, the WWE signed some of the best in the business. It just never came together story wise and, regardless of how some see it, story is essential in WWE’s television presentation. The division’s presence on Raw was certainly designed to help them, but Raw’s issues often relegated the talent to narratively insignificant tag matches and rarely allowed them to mingle with the rest of the roster. Basically, the normal mechanics to help talent “get over” weren’t being provided to them. This would change to an extent with the introduction of Neville and Amore, but their departures stunted the potential growth of the division. What could they do?

Go back to basics.

With Amore gone, 205 Live is seeking to reclaim the magic of the Cruiserweight Classic, a large part of which was its diversity in talent. For many fans, seeing talent like Akira Tozawa, Lince Dorado and Cedric Alexander together was already intriguing. Their matches only took that interest to another level. There are many on the roster with true superstar potential, something that can still be realized. Two of the closest to that are Drew Gulak and Tony Nese. Nese and Gulak were already being groomed, part of Amore’s Zo Train faction and more frequently featured than most of the talent on 205‘s roster. Watching Gulak’s role change over the past months, I wouldn’t have been shocked to see him with the belt around his waist even if Enzo didn’t leave. It just felt like he was the new anointed one. I feel this match introduced what was to be the eventual iteration of his persona, probably months earlier than they intended. Moving back toward his Catch Point days, and perhaps towards a more Shamrock-like persona, Gulak dumps his political schmoozer gimmick and his penchant for avoiding the ropes. Here he is a shooter, a brutal technician. He clashes with his former friend, Tony Nese. Nese is the perfect inversion of Gulak, an expert of a contemporary superstar style and a true hybrid athlete. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Nese live many times and this is just a sample of his skill. The pair are visually and stylistically different, already making this one intriguing. The match they provide proves that they deserve your attention every week.

WWE 205 Live is available exclusively on the WWE Network.