Everyone knows that 205 Live is not the success WWE officials predicted it would be. While it certainly has a lack of following, I watch the show every week myself. However, the lack of a loyal following is a serious problem that WWE officials must address.
Of course, it takes a high flyer to determine what the problem is with 205 Live and who better than SmackDown Live GM Daniel Bryan?
Interview on E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness
During an interview on Edge & Christian’s podcast, Daniel Bryan spoke out about the crisis currently hanging over 205 Live. He had the following the say, which I think is pretty much on the mark:
“I think one of the things that they have a hard time with with 205 Live and the cruiserweights, is they do some incredible stuff, but do you know who else is doing incredible stuff? AJ Styles doing springboard 450º splashes, right? So to somebody who really knows, okay, the degree of difficulty, they may see Mustafa Ali do this incredible, I don’t even know what you call it, an inverted 450º splash or something, I don’t know, [but] it’s incredible. But to the casual fan, is that any more impressive than AJ Styles doing a springboard 450º splash? And he’s a main event guy who gets promo time and all this kind of stuff.”
I honestly believe Daniel Bryan is 100% right. Unless you are a wrestler – or someone with extensive knowledge about high flying moves – 205 Live does not stand out from the SmackDown Live at all.
No Real Story-Lines
An additional problem with 205 Live is the distinct lack of storylines. Aside from the story-lines involving Akira Tozawa with Titus Worldwide and Noam Dar with Alicia Fox, there is nothing to draw fans to 205 Live.
Even though a pure wrestling show is not bad for die-hard wrestling fans, it is not enough to pull the majority of WWE fans to this brand. Therefore, 205 Live is in dire need of some stories to draw fans.
Could Budget Cuts Mean the End for 205 Live?
With budget cuts rampant for every other superstar besides Jinder Mahal – just remember his extensive entrance with Indian dancers before Summerslam – it could mean the end for 205 Live!
If 205 Live should end, the WWE could lose out on some amazing talent. Of the top of my head, they could be losing Mustafa Ali, Akira Tozawa, Bryan Kendrick, TJP, Jack Gallagher, Noam Dar and many others who do amazing things on 205 Live.
The budget cuts have been a point of personal annoyance for myself, because it seems like every wrestler is getting their budget cut for entrances (which was quite clear during Summerslam), except for Jinder Mahal. If you are cutting the budget that heavily? Why does he get all the Indian dancers? And why should cruiserweights have to suffer to conquer the Indian market with one wrestler? Just saying!
What do you think about Daniel Byran’s statements? Would you be interested in the cruiserweight show if it had interesting stories? Let us know your unsalted opinions below! We look forward to reading them!