Drake Maverick reminded us he’s a great pro wrestler, then said ‘absolutely not’ to doing it regularly

It’s been a common refrain for more than a year now, but 205 Live delivered a great main event last night (July 30). It paid off a story that’s been building for a long-time with a thrilling match which left the clearly defined characters who took part in it in different places than they’d been in before the episode - aka, pretty much everything you want from pro wrestling.

This one (highlights embedded above) was a little different than the standard “great 205 Live main event” though, for a couple reasons. One, it had a lot of crossover with Monday Night Raw, since it featured 24/7 champion Maria Kanellis and her possibly-cuckolded, definitely-chastened husband Mike. Two, it was the first non-comedy match of Drake Maverick’s WWE career.

Maverick’s risen to new heights as part of WWE’s 24/7 title scene these past couple months. Before that, the purple brand’s authority figure was involved in a few matches as AOP’s weak-bladdered manager. But as folks who followed his career as Rockstar Spud back in TNA know, while Drake is really, really good at being funny and playing the fool to make others look great, he’s also an amazing babyface wrestler in traditional, dramatic matches.

The “unsanctioned” stipulation here allowed both Maverick and Kanellis to pour a ton of emotion into the bout, with Mike doing whatever he could to earn a Cruiserweight title shot (and also take out his frustrations about being mocked by his wife and others) and Drake selling like crazy, but never giving up on a comeback. A comeback which eventually came via this sick hurricanrana counter:

Is Maverick gonna give you workrate classics every time out like 205’s current and former standouts Drew Gulak, Buddy Murphy, Cedric Alexander & Ali? No. But will he get your heart-racing and leave you pumping your fist as you watch him “Hulk up” and deliver a heel his comeuppance? You betcha.

Unfortunately, according to Renee Michelle’s husband, it’s back to GM-ing (and scheming a way to get his precious green-and-gold strap off Mama Maria’s shoulder) from here on out:

Ah well. Thanks for the reminder, DM.