205 Live (WWE brand)

WWE 205 Live (pronounced as "two-o-five live") is a brand of the U.S. based professional wrestling promotion WWE. Unlike other WWE brands, 205 Live is specifically centered on male wrestlers that are promoted as weighing 205 lbs. and under – designated by WWE as cruiserweights.

NXT 205 Live
Logo for the brand and the 205 Live television program
Product typeProfessional wrestling
Sports entertainment
OwnerWWE
Produced byVince McMahon
Paul "Triple H" Levesque
CountryUnited States
Related brandsWWE Raw
WWE SmackDown
WWE NXT
WWE NXT UK
TaglineThe Most Exciting Hour on Television[1]
General Manager:
Drake Maverick
(January 30, 2018 – April 12, 2020)
William Regal
(April 12, 2020 – present)

History

WWE 205 Live was established following the success of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament to feature those who competed in the tournament and others who became full-time members of WWE's cruiserweight division. Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE executive producer and wrestler, stated the brand was designed to serve as a showcase for the division, with its own distinctive feel and style compared to WWE's other brands.[2]

The Raw brand was originally established as the exclusive home of the division during the 2016 brand extension, with all cruiserweights being assigned to Raw following the 2016 WWE draft. While still under the Raw brand, a show dedicated to the cruiserweights premiered on November 29, 2016; the main event of the inaugural episode saw Rich Swann defeat The Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[3] Cruiserweights would appear on both Monday Night Raw and 205 Live the for the next year and a half. However, following WrestleMania 34 in 2018, cruiserweight wrestlers ceased to appear on Raw, becoming exclusive to 205 Live and thus separating the 205 Live brand from Raw.[4][5]

In January 2018, Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over the creative side of 205 Live.[6] On January 30, 2018, Drake Maverick was announced as the inaugural 205 Live general manager.[7] Maverick would announce a 16-man tournament for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by Cedric Alexander. Once the tournament begun, WWE's cruiserweight division began to wrestle exclusively on 205 Live and ceased to appear on Raw with select exceptions. Namely, Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik, and Lince Dorado) began competing in Raw's tag team division while Lio Rush and Drake Maverick began managing Raw superstars Bobby Lashley and AOP (Akam and Rezar), respectively, and occasionally competing in matches on Raw. Even though Maverick portrayed a heel while managing AOP on Raw, he was a face general manager on 205 Live.[6]

Just prior to NXT moving to the USA Network in September 2019, NXT head Triple H spoke with Newsweek and said that "You'll start to see 205 [Live] begin to" become part of NXT. He said that 205 Live's talent would start moving towards NXT, that 205 Live had "become lost in [the] limbo", and that the Cruiserweight Championship would have more meaning on NXT where it could create more opportunities for the cruiserweight wrestlers.[8] It was then reported that the NXT Creative Team would be in charge of 205 Live.[9] The following month, the title began being defended on NXT and was renamed to NXT Cruiserweight Championship, becoming part of the NXT brand.[10]

On October 18, 2019, Drake Maverick – who himself was drafted to SmackDown but remaining as the General Manager of 205 Live – announced that following the 2019 WWE Draft, he had made a talent exchange agreement with NXT General Manager William Regal, whereby NXT's cruiserweight wrestlers could also wrestle on 205 Live.[11][12]

On April 12, 2020, with the announcement that Drake Maverick would be competing in the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament, Maverick confirmed via Twitter that he had stepped down as the 205 Live General Manager so that he could return to in-ring competition (though Maverick was released from WWE on April 15[13]). NXT's General Manager William Regal was announced to take over the managerial duties of 205 Live in addition to NXT.[14]

Champions
205 Live
ChampionshipCurrent champion(s)ReignDate wonDays heldLocationNotes
NXT Cruiserweight Championship* Jordan Devlin 1 January 25, 2020 153 Houston, Texas Defeated previous champion Angel Garza, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, and Travis Banks in a Fatal Four-Way match at Worlds Collide.

Note – The WWE 24/7 Championship can also be defended on 205 Live as it is shared among all brands[15]

(*) – Title shared with the NXT and NXT UK brands

Personnel
Main article: List of WWE personnel § 205 Live

References
  1. WWE.com staff (September 30, 2019). "WWE 205 Live moving to Fridays". WWE.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019. Beginning this Friday, Oct. 4, The Most Exciting Hour on Television is moving to Friday nights.
  2. Cole, Evan (2017-08-08). "WWE Continues to Boast Strong Lineup of Alternative Programming". Rumble Ramble. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  3. "Rich Swann def. The Brian Kendrick to become the new and third WWE Cruiserweight Champion". WWE.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  4. "WWE 205 Live results, Oct. 10, 2018: Mike Kanellis delivers a statement". WWE.com. October 10, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  5. "10 best WWE 205 Live brand matches". WWE.com. October 24, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  6. "WHY 205 LIVE STARS DISAPPEARED OFF RAW, WHY IMPACT CONTRACTED TALENTS CAN WRESTLE ANYWHERE AND MORE". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  7. "205 Live results: A GM to be announced next week". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
  8. Martinez, Phillip (September 10, 2019). "TRIPLE H DISCUSSES NXT'S MOVE TO USA AND THE BRAND'S CONTINUED EVOLUTION". Newsweek. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  9. https://pwinsider.com/article/129829/the-future-of-205-live-revealed.html?p=1
  10. Johnson, Mike (October 3, 2019). "CHANGE TO WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE & MORE NXT NEWS". PWInsider. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  11. Csonka's 205 Live Review 10-18-19 - 411 Mania.com
  12. Vishwakoti, Anish (October 18, 2019). "10/18 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Tony Nese vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Ariya Daivari in a Triple Threat, Jack Gallagher vs. Brian Kendrick, The Singh Brothers vs. Justin Alexander and Justin Morris". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  13. WWE.com Staff (April 15, 2020). "Kurt Angle, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and other Superstars released". WWE. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  14. Harris, Jeffrey (April 12, 2020). "Drake Maverick: 'I'm Gonna Be the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion'". 411mania. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  15. Satin, Ryan (May 20, 2019). "WATCH: Mick Foley Unveils New WWE 24/7 Title, First Champion Crowned". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
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