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Enzo Amore's illness was bound to put 205 Live in a weird spot this week. The result of the previous night's cruiserweight championship match was sure to be the main topic of this week's show. But, since that match was canceled, it was time for Plan B. Enter, Goldust? I've been advocating for more intertwining of the main roster and the cruiserweights, and if they're going to have segments on Monday Night Raw, separating the two weight classes implies the cruiserweights can't hang with the heavyweights. Recently, there was Hideo Itami making his Raw debut, teaming with Finn Balor before heading to 205 Live. But putting Goldust in a spot alongside Cedric Alexander seems an odd choice. Goldust was at the bottom of the Raw roster. His turn against R-Truth was completely forgotten about and moved past despite a promising start and a return to his mysterious, movie-quoting character. Except for the occasional cameo being sent to break up a brawl, Goldust was rarely seen over the past few months. So his introduction as Cedric Alexander's mystery partner lacked impact. There is potential for the move if done correctly. Still able to go in the ring despite nearing 50-years old, Goldust's oddball character could've fit if he had a delusionary aspiration of wrestling like a cruiserweight. But in a backstage segment Tuesday, Goldust told Alexander he knew he wasn't 205 pounds. And during the main event, just a recycling of the Alexander-Goludst versus Ariya Daviari and Drew Gulak tag match from the previous night, Goldust thought better of a top-rope dive, and later just held down the top rope while Alexander dove over it. It begged asking, "What was Goldust's purpose?" With space to fill due to Amore's illness, wouldn't have it been time better served to building up Tony Nese and his mixed emotions following his best friend and faction turning on him? But the "Premiere Athlete" was nowhere to be seen this week. Props go to Goldust for stepping up when 205 Live was down its champion, and with Amore already ruled out for the mixed tag team tournament starting in two weeks, it remains to be seen how WWE fills this hole. The basic ideas of being willing to mix established main roster stars into the cruiserweights division is admirable, but the execution is flawed when you just slide someone from the bottom of the roster over. It was just part of a night where the cruiserweight division was tossed and turned. Hits and misses TJ Perkins, or TJP as he is known now, returned from injury to pick up a victory over Akira Tozawa. Perkins continued where he left off with his abrasive, cocky, dabbing millennial character. His technical style was a tough ask to keep the crowd involved coming off a two-hour SmackDown. His match against Tozawa was thoughtful but slow, and tough for an audience coming off the SmackDown main event. With The Brian Kendrick out a couple months with a number of facial fractures suffered at the hands of Hideo Itami, Gentleman Jack Gallagher is suddenly on his own. He used a loaded umbrella to take down Itami before their match started. In the moment, I thought it was an odd choice to turn Gallagher heel, but his acting ability has sold the rogue gentleman character. Plus, how cool is his entrance music? And, he says he's here to "maim and disfigure." Akira Tozawa seems really over with the crowd with his chants. But now no longer with Titus Worldwide (reason still pending), and picking up a loss makes it seems like he's being wasted, given the amount of trouble the cruiserweights can have getting a crowd reaction. Goldust made a bad breath joke at Gulak. Twenty years ago, that would've killed with 13-year-olds. Itami injuring Kendrick was an unfortunate accident, but nothing could've built up Itami more as a feared in-ring competitor than breaking his face with a GTS. I'm not sure what looks more out of place: Goldust with spiked, longer hair, or Randy Orton with his hair now more grown out.
Superlatives of the night Move: TJP's working Tozawa's shoulder was punctuated with a snap takedown on the arm that packed a punch. Line: Alexander: "You startled me." Goldust: "Save your compliments." Match: TJP and Tozawa's match was slow-building, but re-established TJP's character.
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