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WWE 205 Live

WWE 205 Live[3] is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, as a replacement for WWE Superstars, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March 2021 when the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock, after which, it was available on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in international markets.

The show was originally centered around cruiserweights, male competitors billed at a maximum weight of 205 lbs. from the namesake 205 Live brand. With some exceptions, the show originally aired live (as its name implied) at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) following WWE's primary television program, SmackDown, and was broadcast from the same venue.[4] By 2020, 205 Live episodes were pre-taped on the Tuesday before its airing.[5]

In October 2019, 205 Live was integrated with the NXT brand with cruiserweights from both NXT and NXT UK appearing on the show. By August 2021, the show included female competitors as well as male competitors above the weight limit.[6] The final episode of the series aired on February 11, 2022, and it was replaced by NXT Level Up the following week on February 18.[7]

History

2016–2018

205 Live was established following the success of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, to feature those who competed in the tournament and others who have become full-time members of WWE's cruiserweight division. Triple H, WWE executive producer and wrestler, stated the program was designed to serve as a showcase for the division, with its own distinctive feel and style compared to other WWE programming.[8]

The Raw brand was originally established as the exclusive home of the division during the 2016 brand extension, with all cruiserweights being drafted to Raw during the 2016 WWE draft. Following the premiere of 205 Live, the cruiserweight wrestlers appear on both Raw and 205 Live, as well as making occasional appearances on NXT.

The show premiered on November 29, 2016; the main event of the inaugural episode saw Rich Swann defeating The Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[9] The show would replace WWE Superstars, a show focused on the superstars of Raw, and Talking Smack, which previously held the post-Smackdown 10 p.m. ET time slot before moving to 11 p.m. after the debut of 205 Live.[10][11]

In January 2018, Triple H took over the creative side of 205 Live.[12] The first of the changes under Triple H was Drake Maverick as the brand on-screen general Manager. He announced a 16-man tournament for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by Cedric Alexander on the WrestleMania 34 kickoff. Once the tournament begun, WWE's cruiserweight division began to wrestle exclusively on 205 Live and ceased to appear on Raw.[13]

In September 2018, due to the second season of WWE Mixed Match Challenge, 205 Live went from a live format airing post-SmackDown to a pre-taped format (being taped before SmackDown goes live) and airing before NXT on Wednesdays.[14]

2019–2022

205 Live at Amway Center on April 4, 2017

On January 15, 2019, the show moved back to Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET and began airing live again.[15]

Just prior to WWE NXT moving to USA Network, NXT head Triple H spoke with Newsweek in September 2019 and said that "You'll start to see 205 [Live] begin to" become part of NXT. He said that 205 Live's talent would start moving towards NXT, that 205 Live had "become lost in [the] limbo", and that the Cruiserweight Championship would have more meaning on NXT where it could create more opportunities for the cruiserweight wrestlers.[16] It was then reported that the NXT Creative Team would be in charge of 205 Live.[17] The following month, the title began to be defended on NXT and was renamed to "NXT Cruiserweight Championship", becoming a part of the NXT brand.[18]

Following SmackDown's move to Friday nights on October 4, 2019, 205 Live was also moved.[19]

The integration of 205 Live with NXT took effect in-universe on October 18, 2019, following the 2019 WWE Draft, when Drake Maverick – who himself was drafted to SmackDown but remaining as the general manager of 205 Live, announced that he had made a talent exchange agreement with NXT General Manager William Regal, whereby NXT cruiserweights could now appear on 205 Live.[20][21] However, on April 12, 2020, Maverick announced that he was no longer 205 Live general manager and that William Regal will instead be overseeing the Cruiserweight Division.[22]

Due to both Raw and SmackDown recording shows in Manchester, England, the November 8, 2019 episode was recorded from the NXT "Full Sail Live" studio at Full Sail University.[23]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, 205 Live moved to the WWE Performance Center indefinitely in March 2020, as with most other WWE programming. In August 2020, it briefly moved to Amway Center via WWE's "ThunderDome" residency, before moving back to the Performance Center to join NXT in its new "Capitol Wrestling Center" studio.[24][25]

In 2021, first-round tournament matches for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were held on 205 Live, as tag teams from the 205 Live brand also took part. A women's version of the tournament was also introduced in 2021, and as part of the inaugural Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, women's matches were held for the first time on 205 Live; the first match specifically saw The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) defeat the team of Cora Jade and Gigi Dolin on the January 22 episode.[26]

By Summer 2021, as a result of significant roster cuts,[27][28] the show's format would change to lift the restriction on weight limits starting with the August 13 episode.[29] On February 15, 2022, PWInsider reported that WWE was ceasing the production of 205 Live episodes, replacing the series with NXT Level Up. 205 Live aired its final episode on February 11, with Level Up premiering on February 18.[7]

On-air personalities

Authority figures

Commentators

Ring announcers

References

  1. ^ "Hail the Crown". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  2. ^ "Legend". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  3. ^ Staff, WWE.com. "205 Live premieres Nov. 29 on WWE Network". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  4. ^ Rueter, Sean (2019-09-30). "WWE makes 205 Live's new night official". Cageside Seats. Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  5. ^ "** SPOILERS ** WWE 205 Live Tapings For This Week". Cageside Seats. 2021-11-23. Archived from the original on 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  6. ^ "Gacy to battle Briggs, Jiro to take on Waller on 205 Live". WWE. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Johnson, Mike (February 15, 2022). "SAY GOODBYE TO 205 LIVE, NEW NXT SERIES TO BEGIN TAPING TONIGHT". PWInsider. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  8. ^ Csonka, Larry. "Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More". 411Mania.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016. He was asked how tough it will be to make a new show in 205 stands out. H said that the talent and style will make it distinctive. He said that you will get to see them showcase their talent there. He referenced the Cruiserweight Classic and he said he would try and give it the feel that it had. He said that WWE does have a lot of programming, for sure.
  9. ^ "Rich Swann def. The Brian Kendrick to become the new and third WWE Cruiserweight Champion". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  10. ^ Schwartz, Nick. "WWE is launching a weekly cruiserweight division show called '205 Live'". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  11. ^ Namako, Jason (2 November 2016). "WWE announces new "205 Live" weekly Cruiserweight show on WWE Network beginning on November 29". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  12. ^ "Vince McMahon Steps Aside And Puts Triple H In Charge Of 'WWE 205 Live' - WrestlingInc.com". 7 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. ^ "WHY 205 LIVE STARS DISAPPEARED OFF RAW, WHY IMPACT CONTRACTED TALENTS CAN WRESTLE ANYWHERE AND MORE". Pro Wrestling Insider. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  14. ^ "205 Live moving to Wednesday nights on WWE Network". 15 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  15. ^ "WWE 205 Live returns to Tuesday nights at 10/9 C". wwe.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  16. ^ Martinez, Phillip (September 10, 2019). "TRIPLE H DISCUSSES NXT'S MOVE TO USA AND THE BRAND'S CONTINUED EVOLUTION". Newsweek. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  17. ^ "THE FUTURE OF 205 LIVE REVEALED | PWInsider.com". pwinsider.com. Archived from the original on 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  18. ^ Johnson, Mike (October 3, 2019). "CHANGE TO WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE & MORE NXT NEWS". PWInsider. Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  19. ^ Casey, Connor (September 30, 2019). "WWE Confirms 205 Live Moving to Friday Nights". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  20. ^ "411MANIA". Csonka’s WWE 205 Live Review 10.18.19. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  21. ^ Vishwakoti, Anish (October 18, 2019). "10/18 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Tony Nese vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Ariya Daivari in a Triple Threat, Jack Gallagher vs. Brian Kendrick, The Singh Brothers vs. Justin Alexander and Justin Morris". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  22. ^ "Group A for Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title Tournament revealed". WWE. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Triple H Brings Dayton Club Bouncer To WWE NXT, Santana Garrett's TV Debut, Mansoor On WWE 205 Live". Wrestling Inc. 2019-11-06. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  24. ^ "FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY SHUTS DOWN, NXT TAPINGS HEADING TO WWE PC | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-12. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  25. ^ Pollock, John (2020-10-02). "NXT moving to the Performance Center beginning with TakeOver". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  26. ^ Vishwakoti, Anish (January 22, 2021). "1/22 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher vs. Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari, and Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell vs. Gigi Dolin and Cora Jade in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  27. ^ Nason, Josh (June 25, 2021). "WWE releases 14 wrestlers". f4wonline.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  28. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 6, 2021). "Jake Atlas Released By WWE". Fightful. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
    Faria, Colby (August 6, 2021). "Asher Hale Released By WWE". Fightful. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
    Lambert, Jeremy (August 6, 2021). "Ari Sterling Released By WWE". Fightful. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  29. ^ "Gacy to battle Briggs, Jiro to take on Waller on 205 Live". WWE. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  30. ^ "WWE 205 Live preview, Aug. 21, 2018 : Noam Dar and TJP look to settle the score". WWE. Archived from the original on 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2018-08-21.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to WWE 205 Live.