205 Live is (somehow) still with us, but it’s not its own brand any more. It started when NXT moved to a live Wednesday night television broadcast that featured cruiserweights more prominently, and rechristened the division’s top prize the NXT Cruiserweight championship.
Triple H took another big step tonight (Sat., Jan. 25) on the Worlds Collide pre-show when he and William Regal retired the purple belt and handed Angel Garza his new strap:
Ahead of #WorldsCollide, @TripleH and #NXT GM William Regal present @AngelGarzaWwe with the newly redesigned #NXTCruiserweightChampionship! pic.twitter.com/ukY3ZLLN3U
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2020
Here’s a much better look:
Pretty much just darkened up the strap (there are still hints of purple to my eyes, but it may just be the purple accents on the plate) and replaced the central logo. Looks good, and fits the title’s current position in the product.
The other change was reported earlier this week, but it was made crystal clear during the pre-show match in Houston’s Toyota Center when Tom Phillips & Nigel McGuinness repeatedly referred to Kay Lee Ray as the NXT UK champ, not the NXT UK Women’s champ.
A graphic for Rhea Ripley’s title defense on the main card further proved the new gender-agnostic approach was in full effect:
This match can't come soon enough.@RheaRipley_WWE @tonistorm_ #WorldsCollide pic.twitter.com/dBlKBLKkem
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) January 25, 2020
Thoughts?
Get full results from Worlds Collide here.