WWE 205 Live Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from January 3

WWE 205 Live ended 2016 with Neville in the main event, and it kicked off 2017 with Neville in the exact same position.

One month ago, Neville was an afterthought in the minds of most WWE fans. He was barely ever featured on television, and when he was, it was usually in a losing effort against a heel who needed an easy win.

Turning heel and moving to the cruiserweight division has given his career a complete 180. Now, he is seen as the most dangerous man on the show.

205 Live—and the division as a whole—is still a fresh concept. It has only been a few months since TJ Perkins won the Cruiserweight Classic, but in that short time, WWE has built some intriguing characters.

The Brian Kendrick, Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, Jack Gallagher and Perkins have all connected with the WWE Universe in different ways.

Let's take a look at what happened on this week's episode of 205 Live.

Tajiri vs. Sean Maluta

Having Tajiri back in WWE as a dangerous veteran is great to see. He took on Sean Maluta in what was the 205 Live debut for each man.

Maluta impressed a lot of people during the opening round of the Cruiserweight Classic, but it was Tajiri who put on a couple of five-star matches.

There was almost no high-risk offense in this match. It was all about the stiff strikes for The Japanese Buzzsaw. Maluta got in a few good shots, but he eventually fell to a roundhouse to the head.

Tajiri is awesome, but this bout was too short for him to tell a good story. Let's hope WWE gives him more opportunities to show off his skills in the future.

As he celebrated his win, The Brian Kendrick came out on the stage to sarcastically welcome him back to WWE. The green mist made its triumphant return when Tajiri spit it in Kendrick's face.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• The video package for Neville at the top of the show was great. It sold his heel turn better than any promo could have by itself.
• This is not the setup to a joke. Why did Austin Aries have a banana in his pocket? Seriously. He had a banana in the pocket of his suit jacket.
• Hopefully Kendrick knew that mist was coming and had the chance to close his eyes. It was a close-proximity hit.

Tony Nese vs. Jack Gallagher

Drew Gulak accompanied The Premier Athlete, Tony Nese, to the ring for his match against The Extraordinary Gentleman, Jack Gallagher.

Both men played to their strengths. Gallagher did all the entertaining tricks the fans love, and Nese used his power and speed to keep the pace up.

The announcers did a great job making both of these competitors seem like huge stars, which is going to be key to building them up quickly.

Ariya Daivari caused a disqualification when he attacked Gallagher. Daivari has a poor record so far, but this helped him look like a dangerous heel who won't put up with being embarrassed.

This match also suffered from a lack of time, but it gets extra points for advancing a storyline in a good way.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Nese was the subject of another great video package. This guy has everything it takes to be a big star in this division. Gallagher's video package was more about getting laughs.
• I love how Corey Graves is a heel announcer, but he loves Gallagher, a babyface. Even a bad guy has to respect The Extraordinary Gentleman.
• I wouldn't mind seeing Gulak and Nese in the NXT tag team division, too. They could have some great matches with DIY.

Noam Dar vs. Mustafa Ali

Credit: WWE.com

Mustafa Ali during the CWC.

Newcomer Mustafa Ali took on the lovesick Noam Dar in the third match of the night. Despite having a size disadvantage, Dar was the more aggressive competitor.

Ali used his high-flying offense to get a few pops from the crowd, but it didn't take long for Dar to start focusing on his left arm and grounding him with submissions.

Eventually, Ali made a comeback and hit some exciting moves before finishing off his opponent with an impressive inverted 450.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• Ali will be a great role model going forward. He is from Pakistan, but he doesn't play to any of the stereotypes we often see with wrestlers. His theme is a hip-hop song, and he wears a leather jacket to the ring. He is a cool character for fans of his ethnicity to admire. He is also a lot of fun to watch in the ring.
• I like Ali's somersault into a neckbreaker, but his inverted 450 finisher is truly something to behold.
• It's surprising Dar lost this match clean since he is in a storyline with Cedric Alexander. You would think Alicia Fox or Alexander would have cost him the win with a distraction.

Neville vs. TJ Perkins

TJ Perkins refused to shake Neville's hand before the match, which showed how angry the former cruiserweight champion was.

Perkins had the slight speed advantage, but Neville's power and equally impressive quickness gave him the advantage everywhere else.

A huge superplex from the top rope secured the win for Neville, but Perkins put up a good fight in what turned out to be the match of the night.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• WWE killed it with the video packages this week. The one for Akira Tozawa was especially good because Cesaro was the one talking about how good he was.
• The remix of Neville's entrance music is great. It just sounds more evil.
• Perkins would be so much better as a heel. Nobody likes a cocky young upstart who tells everyone they are the best, and he could pull off that character perfectly.

What did you think of this week's episode of 205 Live?

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