WWE Network’s 205 Live is a nice little wrestling show. Weekly, it features good-to-great matches between established characters which happen either in pursuit of the Cruiserweight championship, because of personal issues between those characters, or both.
Judging by available metrics, however, most wrestling fans either don’t know or don’t care. On last night’s episode, the purple brand did something which might change that by booking a match between two Superstars currently being featured in salacious angles on Raw.
Issues between Drake Maverick and Mike Kanellis actually pre-date Maverick being unable to consummate his marriage and Kanellis being publicly emasculated by his wife. Mike’s been claiming he’s undervalued by 205 Live’s General Manager since he was sent to the cruiserweight show. And ever since the introduction of the 24/7 title - you know, the thing that in kayfabe has kept Drake from having sex with wife Renee Michelle - Maria’s possibly cuckolded husband has been pointing out how its been distracted the GM from his GM-ing.
It lead to this on July 16:
.@WWEMaverick has heard ENOUGH out of @RealMikeBennett! #205Live pic.twitter.com/nfJSgbl5Jv
— WWE (@WWE) July 17, 2019
Going all the way back to his time managing AOP, Maverick’s position has been that what happens when he’s on the main roster shows stays on the main roster shows. He hasn’t taken the bait when Kanellis taunted him about any of the shenanigans that go on on Raw, or in bathroom and bedroom scenes that air on Monday nights. But now Mike, in his quest to prove to his own wife that he’s a “real man” by winning the Cruiserweight title, personally attacked Michelle, and... it’s on!
EXCLUSIVE: If @RealMikeBennett wants a shot at the WWE #CruiserweightChampionship he's going to have to go through @WWEMaverick first! #205Live pic.twitter.com/UV7mkUouQ4
— WWE (@WWE) July 17, 2019
Mostly, I love that Drake apologizes for his unprofessional action of punching a guy on a wrestling show and not, say, walking the streets around Worcester, Massachusetts’ DCU Center in his underwear:
Rough.#WWE @WWE #SDLive #Maverick247 pic.twitter.com/jKZ67MZ9Ai
— Maverick 24:7 (@WWEMaverick) July 16, 2019
I also love that 205 Live is trying to make a real feud, and possibly attract new/lapsed viewers, by booking a match using two “hot” angles from the show with a bigger audience. And unlike their much criticized Enzo Amore experiment, it’s still a match which feels true to what the show’s regular audience likes about 205 Live - a match between established characters which is happening either in pursuit of the Cruiserweight championship, because of personal issues between those characters, or both.
Will it work? Nothing else really has, so unfortunately, I’m skeptical. But I think it’s a great idea, and know I and the dozens (dozens!) of other fans of the show will enjoy it.