| WWE 205 Live | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Vince McMahon Paul "Triple H" Levesque |
| Written by | Dewey Foley(Lead writer) See list of205 Live creative writers |
| Opening theme | "Hail the Crown" byCFO$ featuringFrom Ashes to New[1] "Legend" by CFO$ featuringMoosh and Twist(Bumper)[2] "Take a Stand" by CFO$(Bumper) |
| Composer | CFO$ |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 270 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multicamera setup |
| Running time | 30-60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | WWE Network andPeacock |
| Release | November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) – February 11, 2022 (2022-02-11) |
| Related | |
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WWE 205 Live[3] is an Americanprofessional wrestlingstreaming television program that was produced byWWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, as a replacement forWWE Superstars, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on theWWE Network until March 2021 when the American version of the WWE Network merged underPeacock, after which, it was available on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in international markets.
The show was originally centered aroundcruiserweights, male competitors billed at a maximum weight of 205 lbs from the namesake205 Live brand.[4] With some exceptions, the show originally airedlive (as its name implied) at 10 p.m.Eastern Time (ET), and was usually presented from the same venue as that night's episode ofWWE SmackDown.[5] By 2020,205 Live episodes werepre-taped on the Tuesday before its airing.[6]
In October 2019,205 Live was integrated with theNXT brand with cruiserweights from both NXT andNXT UK appearing on the show. By August 2021, the show included female competitors as well as male competitors above the weight limit.[7] The final episode of the series aired on February 11, 2022, and it was replaced byNXT Level Up the following week on February 18.[8]
205 Live was established following the success of theCruiserweight 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.[9]
TheRaw brand was originally established as the exclusive home of the division during the 2016brand extension, with all cruiserweights being drafted to Raw during the2016 WWE draft. Following the premiere of205 Live, the cruiserweight wrestlers appear on bothRaw and205 Live, as well as making occasional appearances onNXT.
The show premiered on November 29, 2016; the main event of the inaugural episode sawRich Swann defeatingThe Brian Kendrick for theWWE Cruiserweight Championship.[10] The show would replaceWWE Superstars, a show focused on the superstars ofRaw, andTalking Smack, which previously held the post-Smackdown 10 p.m.ET time slot before moving to 11 p.m. after the debut of205 Live.[11][12]
In January 2018, Triple H took over the creative side of205 Live.[13] The first of the changes under Triple H wasDrake Maverick as the brand on-screen general Manager. He announced a16-man tournament for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which was won byCedric Alexander on theWrestleMania 34 kickoff. Once the tournament begun, WWE's cruiserweight division began to wrestle exclusively on205 Live and ceased to appear onRaw.[14]
In September 2018, due to the second season ofWWE Mixed Match Challenge,205 Live went from a live format airing post-SmackDown to a pre-taped format (being taped beforeSmackDown goes live) and airing beforeNXT on Wednesdays.[15]
On January 15, 2019, the show moved back to Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET and began airing live again.[16]
Just prior toWWE NXT moving toUSA Network,NXT head Triple H spoke withNewsweek 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.[17] It was then reported that theNXT Creative Team would be in charge of205 Live.[18] The following month, the title began to be defended onNXT and was renamed to "NXT Cruiserweight Championship", becoming a part of the NXT brand.[19]
FollowingSmackDown's move to Friday nights on October 4, 2019,205 Live was also moved.[20]
The integration of 205 Live with NXT took effect in-universe on October 18, 2019, following the2019 WWE Draft, when Drake Maverick – who himself was drafted toSmackDown but remaining as the general manager of 205 Live, announced that he had made a talent exchange agreement with NXT General ManagerWilliam Regal, whereby NXT cruiserweights could now appear on205 Live.[21][22] 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.[23]
Due to bothRaw andSmackDown recording shows inManchester, England, the November 8, 2019 episode was recorded from the NXT "Full Sail Live" studio atFull Sail University.[24]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States,205 Live moved to theWWE Performance Center indefinitely in March 2020, as with most other WWE programming. In August 2020, it briefly moved toAmway Center via WWE's "ThunderDome"residency, before moving back to the Performance Center to join NXT in its new "Capitol Wrestling Center" studio.[25][26]
In 2021, first-round tournament matches for theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were held on205 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 on205 Live; the first match specifically sawThe Way (Candice LeRae andIndi Hartwell) defeat the team ofCora Jade andGigi Dolin on the January 22 episode.[27]
By Summer 2021, as a result of significant roster cuts,[28][29] the show's format would change to lift the restriction on weight limits starting with the August 13 episode.[30] On February 15, 2022,PWInsider reported that WWE was ceasing the production of205 Live episodes, replacing the series withNXT Level Up.205 Live aired its final episode on February 11, withLevel Up premiering on February 18.[8]
| Authority figure | Position | Date started | Date finished | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 of205 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 | Date started | Date finished |
|---|---|---|
| Mauro Ranallo,Corey Graves andAustin 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 andNigel 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 andByron Saxton[1] | September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26) | |
August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28) | ||
| Vic Joseph andPercy Watson[2] | 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[3] | June 19, 2018 (2018-06-19) | |
| Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson andWale[31] | August 21, 2018 (2018-08-21) (During the first 30 minutes) | |
| Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness andAiden 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 andDavid Otunga[4] | 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[5] | 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 andDio 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 andMansoor | 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 andDrew 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) |
| Ring announcers | Date started | Date finished | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Hamilton | November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) | May 28, 2019 (2019-05-28) | Ring announcer forFriday 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 forNXT |
| 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) |
And with the announcement that 205 Live may now feature competitors above the 205-pound threshold...
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.
