WWE 205 Live

WWE 205 Live[3] is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016 as a replacement for WWE Superstars, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March 2021 when the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock, after which, it was available on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in international markets.

WWE 205 Live
Created byVince McMahon
Paul "Triple H" Levesque
Written byDewey Foley (Lead writer)
See list of 205 Live creative writers
StarringNXT roster
Opening theme"Hail the Crown" by CFO$ featuring From Ashes to New[1]
"Legend" by CFO$ featuring Moosh and Twist (Bumper)[2]
"Take a Stand" by CFO$ (Bumper)
ComposerCFO$
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes270
Production
Camera setupMulticamera setup
Running time30-60 minutes
Release
Original networkWWE Network and Peacock
Original releaseNovember 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) –
February 11, 2022 (2022-02-11)
Related

The show was originally centered around cruiserweights, male competitors billed at a maximum weight of 205 lbs. from the namesake 205 Live brand. With some exceptions, the show originally aired live (as its name implied) at 10pm Eastern Time following WWE's primary television program, SmackDown, and was broadcast from the same venue.[4] By 2020, 205 Live episodes were pre-taped on the Tuesday before its airing.[5]

In October 2019, 205 Live was integrated with the NXT brand with cruiserweights from both NXT and NXT UK appearing on the show. By August 2021, the show included female competitors as well as male competitors above the weight limit.[6]

The final episode of the series aired on February 11, 2022. On February 18, it was replaced by NXT Level Up.[7]

History

2016–2018

205 Live was established following the success of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, to feature those who competed in the tournament and others who have become full-time members of WWE's cruiserweight division. Triple H, WWE executive producer and wrestler, stated the program was designed to serve as a showcase for the division, with its own distinctive feel and style compared to other WWE programming.[8]

The Raw brand was originally established as the exclusive home of the division during the 2016 brand extension, with all cruiserweights being drafted to Raw during the 2016 WWE draft. Following the premiere of 205 Live, the cruiserweight wrestlers appear on both Raw and 205 Live, as well as making occasional appearances on NXT.

The show premiered on November 29, 2016; the main event of the inaugural episode saw Rich Swann defeating The Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[9] The show would replace WWE Superstars, a show focused on the superstars of Raw, and Talking Smack, which previously held the post-Smackdown 10 p.m. ET time slot before moving to 11 p.m. after the debut of 205 Live.[10][11]

In January 2018, Triple H took over the creative side of 205 Live.[12] The first of the changes under Triple H was Drake Maverick as the brand on-screen general Manager. He announced a 16-man tournament for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by Cedric Alexander on the WrestleMania 34 kickoff. Once the tournament begun, WWE's cruiserweight division began to wrestle exclusively on 205 Live and ceased to appear on Raw.[13]

In September 2018, due to the second season of WWE Mixed Match Challenge, 205 Live went from a live format airing post-SmackDown to a pre-taped format (being taped before SmackDown goes live) and airing before NXT on Wednesdays.[14]

2019–2022
205 Live at Amway Center on April 4, 2017

On January 15, 2019, the show moved back to Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET and began airing live again.[15]

Just prior to WWE NXT moving to USA Network, NXT head Triple H spoke with Newsweek in September 2019 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.[16] It was then reported that the NXT Creative Team would be in charge of 205 Live.[17] The following month, the title began to be defended on NXT and was renamed to "NXT Cruiserweight Championship", becoming a part of the NXT brand.[18]

Following SmackDown's move to Friday nights on October 4, 2019, 205 Live was also moved.[19]

The integration of 205 Live with NXT took effect in-universe on October 18, 2019, following the 2019 WWE Draft, when Drake Maverick – who himself was drafted to SmackDown but remaining as the general manager of 205 Live, announced that he had made a talent exchange agreement with NXT General Manager William Regal, whereby NXT cruiserweights could now appear on 205 Live.[20][21] However, on April 12, 2020, Maverick announced that he was no longer 205 Live general manager and that William Regal will instead be overseeing the Cruiserweight Division.[22]

Due to both Raw and SmackDown recording shows in Manchester, England, the November 8, 2019 episode was recorded from the NXT "Full Sail Live" studio at Full Sail University.[23]

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[24]). NXT General Manager William Regal was announced to take over the managerial duties of 205 Live in addition to NXT.[25]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, 205 Live moved to the WWE Performance Center indefinitely in March 2020, as with most other WWE programming. In August 2020, it briefly moved to Amway Center via WWE's "ThunderDome" residency, before moving back to the Performance Center to join NXT in its new "Capitol Wrestling Center" studio.[26][27]

In 2021, first-round tournament matches for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were held on 205 Live, as tag teams from the 205 Live brand also took part. A women's version of the tournament was also introduced in 2021, and as part of the inaugural Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, women's matches were held for the first time on 205 Live; the first match specifically saw The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) defeat the team of Cora Jade and Gigi Dolin on the January 22 episode.[28]

By Summer 2021, as a result of significant roster cuts,[29][30] the show's format would change to lift the restriction on weight limits starting with the August 13 episode.[31] On February 15, 2022, PWInsider reported that WWE was ceasing the production of 205 Live episodes, replacing the series with NXT Level Up. 205 Live aired its final episode on February 11, with Level Up premiering on February 18.[7]

Broadcast history
Channel Timeslot Years
WWE Network Tuesday 10 p.m. ET November 29, 2016 – September 11, 2018
Wednesday 7 p.m. ET September 19, 2018 – January 9, 2019
Tuesday 10 p.m. ET January 15, 2019 – September 24, 2019
Friday 10 p.m. ET October 11, 2019 – February 11, 2022

On-air personalities

Authority figures
Authority figurePositionDate startedDate finishedNotes
Drake Maverick General Manager January 30, 2018 (2018-01-30) April 12, 2020 (2020-04-12) Daniel Bryan announced Maverick as the new general manager of the cruiserweight division on the January 30, 2018 episode of 205 Live
William Regal General Manager April 12, 2020 (2020-04-12) January 5, 2022 (2022-01-05) Drake Maverick stepped down as 205 Live General Manager to return to in-ring competition. NXT General Manager William Regal was announced to take his place in addition to NXT.

Commentators
CommentatorsDate startedDate finished
Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves and Austin Aries November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) February 28, 2017 (2017-02-28)
Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves
March 7, 2017 (2017-03-07)
Tom Phillips and Corey Graves March 14, 2017 (2017-03-14) June 6, 2017 (2017-06-06)
Vic Joseph and Corey Graves June 13, 2017 (2017-06-13) August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29)
August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28)
Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness September 5, 2017 (2017-09-05) September 19, 2017 (2017-09-19)
October 3, 2017 (2017-10-03) April 3, 2018 (2018-04-03)
September 18, 2020 (2020-09-18) April 16, 2021 (2021-04-16)
June 4, 2021 (2021-06-04) January 21, 2022 (2022-01-21)
Vic Joseph and Byron Saxton
September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26)
August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28)
Vic Joseph and Percy Watson April 10, 2018 (2018-04-10) April 23, 2018 (2018-04-23)
January 15, 2019 (2019-01-15) January 21, 2019 (2019-01-21)
Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson April 24, 2018 (2018-04-24) June 12, 2018 (2018-06-12)
June 26, 2018 (2018-06-26) January 22, 2019 (2019-01-22)
Tom Phillips and Percy Watson
June 19, 2018 (2018-06-19)
Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson and Wale[32]
August 21, 2018 (2018-08-21) (During the first 30 minutes)
Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Aiden English January 22, 2019 (2019-01-22) April 16, 2019 (2019-04-16)
May 7, 2019 (2019-05-07)
May 21, 2019 (2019-05-21) June 11, 2019 (2019-06-11)
June 25, 2019 (2019-06-25) July 16, 2019 (2019-07-16)
July 30, 2019 (2019-07-30) August 20, 2019 (2019-08-20)
September 3, 2019 (2019-09-03)
Vic Joseph, Aiden English and David Otunga
April 23, 2019 (2019-04-23)
Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Aiden English and David Otunga
April 30, 2019 (2019-04-30)
Byron Saxton, Nigel McGuinness and Aiden English
May 14, 2019 (2019-05-14)
Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness and Aiden English
June 18, 2019 (2019-06-18)
August 27, 2019 (2019-08-27)
Vic Joseph and Aiden English
July 23, 2019 (2019-07-23)
Vic Joseph, Aiden English and Dio Maddin September 10, 2019 (2019-09-10) September 24, 2019 (2019-09-24)
Tom Phillips and Aiden English October 11, 2019 (2019-10-11) January 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Jon Quasto and Aiden English
November 15, 2019 (2019-11-15)
January 24, 2020 (2020-01-24) April 3, 2020 (2020-04-03)
Jon Quasto and Mansoor
January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
Jon Quasto and Byron Saxton
April 10, 2020 (2020-04-10)
Byron Saxton and Corey Graves May 15, 2020 (2020-05-15) July 10, 2020 (2020-07-10)
Byron Saxton and Drew Gulak June 26, 2020 (2020-06-26) July 3, 2020 (2020-07-03)
Vic Joseph and Drew Gulak July 17, 2020 (2020-07-17) September 11, 2020 (2020-09-11)
Byron Saxton and Nigel McGuinness September 25, 2020 (2020-09-25) October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)
Tom Phillips and Nigel McGuinness April 23, 2021 (2021-04-23) May 28, 2021 (2021-05-28)
Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28) February 11, 2022 (2022-02-11)
  • ^ When McGuinness was absent at the time, he was filled in by SmackDown Live's Byron Saxton.
  • ^ When McGuinness was absent for the birth of his daughter, he was filled in by his colleague from NXT Percy Watson for two weeks.
  • ^ When Joseph and McGuinness were absent for the UK Championship Tournament, so both men were replaced by SmackDown Live's Tom Phillips.
  • ^ When McGuinness was absent at the time, he was filled in by one of the pre-show panelists David Otunga.
  • ^ When Joseph has been traded recently for Main Event, SmackDown Live's Byron Saxton fills in for him as play-by-play.

Ring announcers
Ring announcersDate startedDate finishedNotes
Greg Hamilton November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) May 28, 2019 (2019-05-28) Ring announcer for Friday Night SmackDown
June 11, 2019 (2019-06-11) October 2, 2020 (2020-10-02)
Kayla Braxton June 4, 2019 (2019-06-04) November 11, 2019 (2019-11-11)
Alicia Taylor October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) April 16, 2021 (2021-04-16) Ring announcer for NXT
January 14, 2022 (2022-01-14) February 11, 2022 (2022-02-11)
Samantha Irvin April 23, 2021 (2021-04-23) January 7, 2022 (2022-01-07)

References
  1. "Hail the Crown". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  2. "Legend". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  3. Staff, WWE.com. "205 Live premieres Nov. 29 on WWE Network". WWE.com. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  4. Rueter, Sean (2019-09-30). "WWE makes 205 Live's new night official". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  5. "** SPOILERS ** WWE 205 Live Tapings For This Week". Cageside Seats. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  6. "Gacy to battle Briggs, Jiro to take on Waller on 205 Live". WWE. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  7. Johnson, Mike (February 15, 2022). "SAY GOODBYE TO 205 LIVE, NEW NXT SERIES TO BEGIN TAPING TONIGHT". PWInsider. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  8. Csonka, Larry. "Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More". 411Mania.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016. He was asked how tough it will be to make a new show in 205 stands out. H said that the talent and style will make it distinctive. He said that you will get to see them showcase their talent there. He referenced the Cruiserweight Classic and he said he would try and give it the feel that it had. He said that WWE does have a lot of programming, for sure.
  9. "Rich Swann def. The Brian Kendrick to become the new and third WWE Cruiserweight Champion". WWE.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  10. Schwartz, Nick. "WWE is launching a weekly cruiserweight division show called '205 Live'". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  11. Namako, Jason (2 November 2016). "WWE announces new "205 Live" weekly Cruiserweight show on WWE Network beginning on November 29". Wrestleview. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  12. "Vince McMahon Steps Aside And Puts Triple H In Charge Of 'WWE 205 Live' - WrestlingInc.com". 7 February 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. "WHY 205 LIVE STARS DISAPPEARED OFF RAW, WHY IMPACT CONTRACTED TALENTS CAN WRESTLE ANYWHERE AND MORE". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  14. "205 Live moving to Wednesday nights on WWE Network". 15 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  15. "WWE 205 Live returns to Tuesday nights at 10/9 C". wwe.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  16. Martinez, Phillip (September 10, 2019). "TRIPLE H DISCUSSES NXT'S MOVE TO USA AND THE BRAND'S CONTINUED EVOLUTION". Newsweek. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  17. "THE FUTURE OF 205 LIVE REVEALED | PWInsider.com". pwinsider.com.
  18. Johnson, Mike (October 3, 2019). "CHANGE TO WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE & MORE NXT NEWS". PWInsider. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  19. Casey, Connor (September 30, 2019). "WWE Confirms 205 Live Moving to Friday Nights". ComicBook.com. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  20. "411MANIA". Csonka’s WWE 205 Live Review 10.18.19.
  21. 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.
  22. "Group A for Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title Tournament revealed". WWE. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  23. "Triple H Brings Dayton Club Bouncer To WWE NXT, Santana Garrett's TV Debut, Mansoor On WWE 205 Live". Wrestling Inc. 2019-11-06. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  24. WWE.com Staff (April 15, 2020). "Kurt Angle, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and other Superstars released". WWE. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  25. Harris, Jeffrey (April 12, 2020). "Drake Maverick: 'I'm Gonna Be the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion'". 411mania. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  26. "FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY SHUTS DOWN, NXT TAPINGS HEADING TO WWE PC | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  27. Pollock, John (2020-10-02). "NXT moving to the Performance Center beginning with TakeOver". POST Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  28. Vishwakoti, Anish (January 22, 2021). "1/22 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher vs. Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari, and Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell vs. Gigi Dolin and Cora Jade in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  29. Nason, Josh (June 25, 2021). "WWE releases 14 wrestlers". f4wonline.com. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  30. Lambert, Jeremy (August 6, 2021). "Jake Atlas Released By WWE". Fightful. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
    Faria, Colby (August 6, 2021). "Asher Hale Released By WWE". Fightful. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
    Lambert, Jeremy (August 6, 2021). "Ari Sterling Released By WWE". Fightful. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
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  32. "WWE 205 Live preview, Aug. 21, 2018 : Noam Dar and TJP look to settle the score". WWE. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
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