WWE
Matt Willis, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

205 Live: Austin Aries gets the last laugh on Neville on the eve of title rematch at Payback

WWE

This Sunday at Payback, we'll get a rematch of the match that kicked off this year's WrestleMania festivities, as WWE cruiserweight champion Neville once again defends against Austin Aries.

The two will try to live up to the high bar they set at WrestleMania, but they'll have more than just the high expectations for this particular match as it seems likely that it will dictate a lot of what happens in the future of the division.

A Neville win will likely take Aries, at least temporarily, out of the title picture after two unsuccessful challenges. Aries' move from the commentary table to the most-over face in the cruiserweight division has been remarkable, if only for the speed of its rise. Meanwhile, Neville's role as the unbeatable champion (as Tom Phillips pointed out Tuesday night, Neville hasn't lost a 1-on-1 match since October) would continue, and the battle to find a formidable opponent would begin anew.

On the flip side, if Aries is to take the title off of Neville, it means that this feud will continue, as Neville will be due his contractually-obligated rematch. How the match is won or lost will be critical for Neville, as it'll determine how much damage will be done to his current standing.

But before we got there we still had a "go-home" episode of 205 Live to address. We got to revisit a fun title feud from a couple months ago as Neville took on "Gentleman" Jack Gallagher in the main event.

Behind the dapper suits, umbrella dives and handlebar mustache, Gallagher is stout in the ring, and putting him against Neville showcased the strengths of each man. The tone was set early as Neville threw William III (Gallagher's umbrella sidekick) up the ramp. That signified that this match was not going to be built around comedy spots, and was all the better for it. A high-impact top-rope front dropkick and a high-velocity snap suplex highlighted Neville's impressive early offense.

Neville's character in the division is something along the lines of half-cyborg, half genetically-bred ideal cruiserweight. Perhaps the most memorable spot of the match came when Gallagher hit Neville with a dropkick, but Neville instantly kipped up, screaming "Not today!" Gallagher, showing his mettle, answered without hesitation with a headbutt, getting a near-fall in the process.

The match ended after Neville brutally kicked Gallagher's head into the middle turnbuckle repeatedly, and locked on the Rings of Saturn for a near-instant tap-out victory.

It seemed like the show would end there, as the closing graphic popped up, but Neville circled back and attacked Gallagher. Aries, who had not been heard from to this point, made the save and locked in the Last Chancery on Neville on the entrance ramp. It gave Aries a 2-for-2 week, as he also pinned TJ Perkins in a tag team match on Monday Night Raw.

Usually, that doesn't bode well going into a pay-per-view (as a challenger is typically built up heavily when they're set to lose in the final match), but we'll just have to wait and see if Aries' second title opportunity goes better than his first.

Hits and Misses

- Neville's in-ring performances have been outstanding, but so have his backstage interviews since his heel turn. Although they mostly hit on the same points -- nobody can challenge him -- his cadence, facial expressions and tone are all first-rate and have established him as the star of 205 Live. But, saying that "I cannot be stopped" and "I have crushed every challenger who dares step to the king", seems to point that he might have to eat his words.

- Drew Gulak seems to be getting more comfortable with his character -- an anti-high flying, 'conservative' insincere politician. Gulak has been costing Ali matches, but I think the angle would be more effective if he expanded his interest to other high-flyers, maybe Rich Swann. Time shall tell.

When Gulak eventually takes his anti-high flying character into the ring, nothing would get him more over as a heel than to thwart high flying moves through cowardly retreat, or by locking a series of chin locks and hammer locks to slow matches to a snail's pace.

- Two innovative, eye-popping moves. Did you prefer Mustafa Ali's somersault over the ringpost to the outside, or Swann's somersault kick?

- Akira Tozawa pinned Noam Dar to win a tag match, but more importantly, taught The Brian Kendrick another lesson. Corey Graves said he'll be more educated than David Otunga after all the lessons he's learned in this back-and-forth between Tozawa and Kendrick. I love this pairing, but I'm ready to see the two square off. Perhaps a spot on the Payback kick-off show?

- Tony Nese counted his abs before his match (spoiler, there were eight). He's only seven ahead of me.

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