The dream is dead, long live the dream

205 Live cannot be saved.

Or, at least, that’s the conclusion that Drew Gulak has come to. After nearly two years of campaigning for a better 205 Live, with losses mounting and the title seemingly beyond his grasp, something snapped inside of the Legal Eagle.

Seeing his former friend and all-around second banana Tony Nese with the WWE Cruiserweight Championship strapped around his waist must have taken its toll, but whatever the reason, the Campaign for a Better 205 Live is suspended, and in its place comes only pain and punishment.

The thing is, he might be right

Ever since the WWE 24/7 Championship was introduced, 205 Live has become a bit of a lawless frontier.

General Manager Drake Maverick has spent so much time chasing that title that he’s left his duties to the cruiserweight brand lie fallow. Indeed, it seemed all but guaranteed after Akira Tozawa won a five-way meant to establish a new contender that the Stamina Monster would get a one-on-one shot against Nese.

But Maverick didn’t make the match. Instead, he ended up making an actual #1 contender’s match, a four-way featuring Gulak, Tozawa, Humberto Carrillo, and Oney Lorcan. A four-way that ended with no clear winner after Akira and Drew ended up in a small package that had both men’s shoulders to the mat.

Whoops

Fortunately, this is pro wrestling, so once Drake had his beloved green belt in hand, he was able to forge an easy peace by making it a three-way for the title.

So, how’s it break down in the ring?

Tony Nese, the defending champion, has no champion’s advantage in a three-way, but statistically that doesn’t make as much of a difference as you might intuit, and his hard-hitting, high-flying style is well-suited to scraping wins out in this kind of environment.

Of course, Tony can fly as high as he likes, but Tozawa hits even harder. Bringing the hybrid Dragon Gate style to 205 Live, Akira is a former Cruiserweight Champion eager to prove that he can hold the title again, and given that he’s one of the only men in the company that can say that he beat Neville, the King of the Cruiserweights himself, well, are you going to tell him he can’t?

And last, but certainly not least, the new and improved Drew Gulak. We haven’t seen the new Gulak in a WWE ring yet, but let me take you back into the Evolve archives for a minute, folks. Watch this footage of his Squared Circle of Survival match against Timothy Thatcher at Evolve 72.

Do you see? Do you see what Drew Gulak looks like when he’s focused on making people hurt?

Can the Premier Athlete hold onto the purple brand’s title in the face of an unhinged Drew Gulak and a primed Akira Tozawa?