Ahh, kayfabe suspensions. Next to trips to the “local medical facility”, they’re one of WWE and pro wrestling’s most reliable attention grabbers.
205 Live, a brand which has struggled since its inception to break out and now has had its most popular Superstar moved to SmackDown and a couple veterans reportedly ask for their release rather than be consigned to the cruiserweight division, is giving the suspension angle a shot. It’ll grab a headline. Will it get you to tune in next Tuesday?
We’ll see. They’re using it on one of their midcard programs (Tony Nese vs. Noam Dar), which aren’t names that will move the dial for casual fans. But it does reinforce that 205 Live actually has midcard programs, which might get folks looking for storytelling depth to tune in. And, as the video related to the angle which the company posted to their YouTube points out, Nese is linked to the purple brand’s biggest star, Cruiserweight champ Buddy Murphy. So if the suspension piques your interest enough to click play, you’ll get a good overview of what 205 is currently offering:
The story itself? It’s okay. Nese wanted a rubber match with Dar, General Manager Drake Maverick took his request under consideration rather than book it as soon as Murphy’s training partner demanded it, so Tony jumped the Scottish Supernova in the parking lot.
You don’t need to be Tony Romo to know Dar will now demand an opportunity to get back at Nese, DM the GM will make the match (maybe with a stipulation) and the babyface will prevail. But is should be a good match, with a story that makes it easy to get invested in.
The ‘indefinite suspension’ headline might be cheap, but you can’t blame 205 Live for trying.