We’re on a collision course towards another Cruiserweight Championship classic!

TakeOver 31 will have the NXT Cruiserweight Championship on the line! 205 Live will give you a major recap on this epic rematch!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• 4/29/20 – Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Group B: Isaiah “Swerve” Scott VS El Hijo del Fantasma; Swerve wins.
• 8/26/20 – NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Santos Escobar VS Isaiah “Swerve” Scott; Escobar wins and retains the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
• 9/1/20 – Six Man Tag Street Fight: El Legado del Fantasma VS Isaiah “Swerve” Scott & Breezango; Swerve & Breezango win.

PLAY BY PLAY

Vic Joseph welcomes us to this special edition of 205 Live!

This Sunday, live on the WWE Network, is TakeOver 31! The NXT North American Champion, Damian Priest, defends against Johnny Gargano! Mrs. Gargano, Candice LeRae, challenges for the NXT Women’s Championship! Will they go from Power Couple to a golden duo? Plus, Kushida and Velveteen Dream will settle the score in a grudge match, and Finn Balor defends THE NXT Championship against the undisputed dark horse, Kyle O’Reilly! But tonight, we’re going to talk about the Cruiserweight Championship joining the TakeOver card for the first time ever! Santos Escobar will again take on Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, but who knows if things stay fair and square. But let’s look back where this all began: The NXT Cruiserweight Championship round robin tournament!

Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Group B: Isaiah “Swerve” Scott VS El Hijo del Fantasma!

This was before Santos Escobar removed his mask and revealed his true colors, and the last time he played fair! Relive the match that sparked this fiery feud between Swerve and the Son of The Phantom!

The bell rings and Fantasma circles with Swerve. They approach and tie up to go around. Fantasma wheelbarrows to a takedown, cover, TWO! Fantasma says he was close but Swerve grits his teeth. The two go again, and Fantasma shoots in to waistlock and slam! He spins to La Magistrol, TWO! Swerve is frustrated already but Fantasma eggs him on. They go again, Fantasma sweeps and covers, ONE! Swerve sweeps and covers, ONE! Fantasma sweeps but Swerve is right up to headscissors! Fantasma comes back but gets a flurry of strikes! Swerve dropkicks Fantasma out and now he dares Fantasma to bring it. Fantasma stays out but Swerve goes to the apron. Swerve kicks but Fantasma gets clear. Fantasma avoids the moonsault and Swerve smirks.

Swerve runs at Fantasma but Fantasma blocks to enziguri! Fantasma gives a nod to the title belt before he puts Swerve in the ring. Fantasma kicks Swerve to a corner then CHOPS! He goes corner to corner but Swerve puts Fantasma up top. Swerve CHOPS Fantasma then hops up, to SUPER STEINER! Cover, TWO! Fantasma survives and Swerve is frustrated again. Swerve looms over Fantasma and drags him into some ground ‘n’ pound. Swerve works to get a half nelson but Fantasma resists the lift. Fantasma blocks by grabbing his own leg, but Swerve clubs him on the back. Fantasma fights free but Swerve shoves. Fantasma goes up and over and dodges to huricanrana back! Swerve bails out, but Fantasma slides. Swerve dodges, goes back to the apron and BOOTS Fantasma down!

The ref starts a ring count while NXT goes to break, but 205 Live skips that, and Swerve grinds Fantasma down with an armlock. Fantasma endures as Swerve stands over his head while cranking the hold. Swerve shifts around to have a hammerlock but Fantasma powers his way up. Fantasma grabs at hair but the two end up on the ropes. Fantasma throws Swerve out but Swerve goes up top fast. Swerve leaps for a super sunset flip! Fantasma slips out to basement dropkick! Both men go to opposite corners. Fantasma runs corner to corner and hits double knees! Then he CHOPS Swerve before he hoists Swerve up top. Fantasma throws hands then climbs up top. Fantasma hits a SUPER STEINER of his own!

But Fantasma doesn’t cover, he goes up top on his own. He leaps, for a FROG SPLASH! Cover, TWO!! Swerve survives and shocks Fantasma! Fantasma drags Swerve up but Swerve pushes him away. Swerve CHOPS but Fantasma CHOPS back! Both men brawl with CHOPS and forearms! Fantasma gets an edge but Swerve ROCKS him in return! Both men are down but Swerve drags Fantasma around by the leg. He rolls and dead lifts Fantasma to a GERMAN SUPLEX! Fantasma flops out of the ring but Swerve builds speed. Swerve FLIES, but has to land on his feet out of the Fosbury Flop. Swerve stands to get the HELL’S ARROW TOPE! Direct hit at the ramp!

Both men flounder back to the ring but Fantasma has Swerve’s wrist. He reels Swerve in for a fireman’s but Swerve slips out. Fantasma arm-drags but Swerve reverses and wrenches to a crucifix cover! Swerve wins!!

Winner: Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, by pinfall (moves up to 1-1; Fantasma falls to 1-1)

And with that, Swerve becomes the first and ONLY man to pin Fantasma/Escobar in not just NXT but in ALL of the WWE!

Of course, the one loss didn’t slow Fantasma down, and he still took the block to be in the finals. There would be controversy even then as his match with Drake Maverick was marred by the involvement of two masked luchadors we would later find out were Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde! El Legado would form, Escobar would become its leader between both NXT and 205 Live, and work to mold the Cruiserweight Division in his image.

But Swerve’s losses didn’t slow him down, either. Swerve would bounce back, build up momentum, and be back for a rematch in the heat of summer!

NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Santos Escobar VS Isaiah “Swerve” Scott!

The Leader of Leaders went back to Swerve’s House, but he was a much different man this time! Relive round two of this fiery feud!

Somewhat surprisingly, Escobar walks out with El Legado’s Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, but has them return to the back. We’ve also seen him do this before and they only returned later on to be an ace in the hole. Will Swerve be ready for that? The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and this battle for the top spot in the division begins!

Swerve and Escobar circle, tie up, and Escobar gets the arm for a wristlock and whip. Swerve goes up the ropes, hops to the apron, and reels Escobar in for a boot! Swerve then hops up, flips and arm-drags Escobar out of the ring! Escobar staggers around but Swerve goes up and out to the apron again. Escobar gets away and wags his finger but Swerve says it was that close. The two are in a stand-off as NXT goes to break. But again 205 Live skips that, and Escobar has a headlock on Swerve. Escobar holds on as Swerve tries to power out. Swerve tries again, and hits a back suplex! Cover, ONE, but Escobar still has the headlock. Swerve pushes Escobar to the ropes, powers out but Escobar runs him over.

Escobar snapmares but Swerve rolls away to avoid the cover, then goes Eddy Gordo to headscissor Escobar! Swerve dodges Escobar’s boot, throws Escobar down then gets the arm and rolls to a DEAD LIFT SUPLEX! Cover, TWO! The crowd fires up for Swerve but Swerve grits his teeth as he watches Escobar. Swerve drags Escobar up to the Gory Especial, and bends Escobar back! Backslide out of it, TWO! Swerve keeps his cool as he stalks Escobar to a corner. Escobar mule kicks, throws haymakers and whips Swerve to ropes. Swerve reverses, goes Gordo again to throw Escobar with an arm scissor! Escobar bails out again but Swerve follows on the apron. Swerve drags Escobar up but Escobar LAUNCHES Swerve into the boards!

Escobar grins as he drags Swerve up to fireman’s carry and snake eyes off the steps! Swerve clutches a wrist that hit the steps, too, but Escobar kicks him around. Escobar puts Swerve back in, stalks him and kicks him down! Cover, TWO! Escobar grins, perhaps amused. Escobar drags Swerve up, CHOPS and stomps him down, then stomps the bad arm. Escobar stomps and stomps, drags Swerve up and rams him into a corner. Escobar rolls back to run corner to corner for DOUBLE KNEES! Cover, TWO!! Escobar still grins and he stomps Swerve more. Escobar drags Swerve up by his hair, puts him in the corner with double knuckle locks and a headbutt! Swerve pushes back but Escobar knees low.

Escobar trips Swerve up but Swerve keeps Escobar away with his feet. They both hop up to the ropes and start brawling! Swerve jumps but the steiner is turned into a POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO!! Swerve survives and that shocks Escobar, 205 Live skips NXT’s break, and Escobar CHOPS Swerve on the ropes! Escobar taunts Swerve, whips him and pop-up atomic drops Swerve for a basement KNEE! Escobar keeps talking smack and SPITS on Swerve! Swerve grits his teeth as Escobar kicks him, and he catches the boot to grab Escobar by the jaw! Swerve pushes Escobar to the opposite ropes and fires off fast hands! Swerve has Escobar in the corner, fires off until the ref counts 4 and pushes Escobar out. He climbs up to leap and hit the flying uppercut on Escobar’s back!

Escobar bails out, Swerve follows and BOOTS Escobar down! The crowd fires up as Swerve builds speed to FLY! The Fosbury Flop takes Escobar out at the ramp! Swerve drags Escobar up and puts him in to slingshot, somersault and LEAPING COMPLETE SHOT! Cover, TWO!! Escobar survives and here comes El Legado! Wilde distracts from one end but Swerve swipes at Mendoza on the other. Escobar enziguris! Cover, TWO!?! Breezango even things with El Legado and they brawl up the ramp! Swerve and Escobar are in opposite corners now that they’re all alone. Escobar runs into a KNEE! Cover, TWO!! Escobar is on Swerve first but Swerve trips Escobar to roll and DEAD LIFT GERMAN! Bridging cover, TWO!

Swerve grits his teeth as he and Escobar rise. Swerve focuses, demands Escobar sit up, and then hits the HOUSE CALL!! Cover, TWO!?!? Escobar survives and Swerve can’t believe it! Swerve drags Escobar back up, fireman’s carries but Escobar slips out to shove Swerve away. Swerve is in the corner, Escobar runs in, but Swerve pops him up for the CONFIDENCE BOOST!! Cover, ROPEBREAKS! Swerve can’t believe it. Wait, there’s a mask? There’s something attached to the inside, too. Escobar puts it on, Swerve comes over, and Escobar HEADBUTTS him! That loaded mask takes Swerve down! Cover, Escobar wins!!

Winner: Santos Escobar, by pinfall (still NXT Cruiserweight Champion)

A loaded mask is definitely thinking outside the box, and that is how Escobar kept hold of the title! But the controversy didn’t go unseen, and that is why there is going to be the tiebreaker at TakeOver!

Escobar as El Legado, but Swerve has friends of his own.

Wilde and Mendoza back up Escobar everywhere he goes and in every match he has. However, the age old adage is “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Make that plural, as Tyler Breeze and Fandango are enemies of El Legado, and are now friends to Swerve! We saw that Breezango tried to stop El Legado from interfering, and Swerve bailed them out in a 3v2 mugging in return. But in an effort to settle the score, all six men threw down in a Six Man STREET FIGHT for Super Tuesday!

Six Man Tag Street Fight: El Legado del Fantasma VS Isaiah “Swerve” Scott & Breezango!

Animosity abounds as Escobar, Wilde and Mendoza face the three men they’ve beat down and screwed over! Watch the brutal consequences El Legado faced at the hands of Swerve and the NXT Tag Team Champions!

But the moment Breezango gets on the apron, Escobar gives Mendoza a boost to dropkick them both down! Swerve helps them back up but Wilde gets a boost to FLY! Direct hit on all three at the ramp! Mendoza gets a trash can while Escobar and Wilde stomp their opponents down. Wilde also fetches a table while Mendoza throws Fandango into barriers. Escobar pulls Swerve’s arm through ladder rungs while Wilde works to set up a table. Breeze goes after Wilde, Mendoza goes after Breeze. Swerve throws Escobar into the ladder but Wilde stomps Fandango. Mendoza goes after Swerve while Wilde whips Breeze into boards! Mendoza bounces Swerve off boards on the other side, but Fandango ROCKS Escobar!

The ladder is toppled over, Fandango uses it to atomic drop Escobar! Mendoza and Swerve are in the ring and Mendoza wedges a chair into a corner. Wilde keeps on Breeze while Mendoza CHOPS Swerve. Mendoza whips, Swerve reverses but Mendoza stops himself from crashing into the chair. So Swerve dropkicks him into it!! Mendoza topples out and the crowd fires up as Swerve pursues. Swerve talks trash to Mendoza while Breeze and Wilde are in the ring, SIDE BACKSTABBER! Breeze pursues Wilde and regroups with Swerve. Escobar has Fandango again and CHOPS him. Swerve CHOPS Mendoza, Breeze hotshots Wilde on railing! Fandango whips Escobar into the ladder!

Swerve SMACKS Mendoza with a trash can lid! Fandango is a ladder helicopter and he SMACKS each member of El Legado in turn! Full Sail is thunderous as Fandango stands tall! Breeze bounces Wilde off steel steps and Swerve punches Mendoza down. Breezango regroups, Mendoza hits Breeze first while Escobar is stuck in a Tree of Woe. Swerve kicks Escobar, Breeze sunset flips Mendoza but Mendoza stays up. Mendoza punches Breeze down, soaks up the heat, but Fandango catapults Breeze into the Mendoza line! Fandango tosses a trash can lid up, Swerve KICKS It into Mendoza’s face! Cover, TWO!

The rest of El Legado returns but Swerve boots and KNEES Escobar down! Fandango goes looking under the ring, and brings out a fire extinguisher! Breeze takes hold of it, and BLASTS El Legado! The crowd is thunderous as Swerve and Breezango stand tall as NXT goes to break, but 205 Live skips that to find Fandango has been WRECKED through a table! Replays show El Legado pulled off a TRIPLE Coast2Coast to crush Breeze inside a trash can, and that Mendoza’s missile dropkick sent Fandango crashing down. In the present, Swerve knocks Wilde out of the ring but Escobar tackles and enziguris him in the corner! Escobar goes corner to corner but Swerve goes up and over. Swerve ROCKS Mendoza and Escobar with right hands.

Mendoza blocks a kick but sends it into Escobar’s head! Swerve elbows Mendoza and runs, but Mendoza forearms back. Mendoza runs into a somersault COMPLETE SHOT! Swerve goes to the apron to BOOT Mendoza down! Escobar runs and DECKS Swerve off the apron! Escobar sees his target, builds up speed, and DIVES! Hell’s Arrow sends Swerve out of the area! The crowd rallies, “This is Awesome!” as Escobar laughs. Wilde and Mendoza mock Breeze and kick him down. They club him at the ramp, throw haymakers, then bring him around, but IMPERIUM attacks!

Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner want their pound of flesh after losing the titles, and they’re even working together with El Legado! They drag Breeze up and into the ring. The crowd boos but there’s nothing that can stop this when it’s No Disqualification. But wait, when did Swerve and Fandango get a fork lift?! They’re way up top, and they both FLY in to wipe out Imperium and El Legado! The crowd is thunderous as the grunts are tossed from the ring! Breeze gets his payback as he stomps Barthel. Fandango coordinates and both he and Breeze go to the top rope. Salute and FLY! Double crossbodies take out Imperium, Wilde and Mendoza! Swerve has Escobar all to himself, JML DRIVER!!! Cover, Swerve and Breezango win!!

Winners: Isaiah “Swerve” Scott & Breezango, by pinfall

And once again, Swerve pins the NXT Cruiserweight Champion! Even when things weren’t in their favor, Swerve, Prince Pretty and the Lord of the Dance found a way to win! Will all three keep on rolling with so much gold going around?

205 Live replays the NXT interview of champion and challenger.

To start, Tom Phillips asks Swerve about how he has Escobar’s number yet falls short in the matches. That’s true. Swerve has had his shots but it’s hard to believe there was fairness to those matches. Swerve is the better competitor, is still the only man to pin Escobar in NXT and all of WWE. So frankly, when they have their rematch, Swerve will come out on top.

Phillips asks Escobar if Swerve is right about things being fair this time around. Escobar laughs but tells Swerve he is a parasite that Escobar just can’t get rid of. It doesn’t matter, Swerve just lingers. And there’s nothing Escobar hates more in life than things that linger. Escobar vows Swerve will lose again and tie up loose ends. Swerve complains about what’s fair and what’s not. But Escobar promises this will be fair. Will it? Swerve can’t believe that. Every time they face off for the title, there’s always something or someone. El Legado del Fantasma interfering, a loaded lucha mask waiting under the ring, there’s always a bag of tricks. Escobar says those are excuses. When it counts, Swerve just can’t deliver.

What Escobar calls excuses are actually reality. And the reality here is that Swerve has adapted to everything in this business, and in life. Swerve is ready for whatever Escobar will throw at him. Good, Escobar is glad Swerve has prepared himself. Swerve isn’t just prepared. He is ready to show us all what he’s truly capable of. And he’ll show how the champion is just a fraud. But that’s the difference between them. Swerve makes things about himself. That is why he will fail.

Escobar has built the division back up in his image, and infused it with respect for lucha libre, from which Cruiserweight wrestling was born, a culture that Swerve has no respect for. All that “showcasing” will not be enough. What Swerve claims are a “bag of tricks” is actually a century of tradition. Escobar vows to bury Swerve with it, but Swerve says he can try. Will Escobar try and fail to fairly pin the only man in WWE to pin him?

My Thoughts:

A really good episode, but mostly because it was all content from NXT to hype up the Cruiserweight Championship match. Three matches, as well as the dual interview promo segment, for 47 minutes total. It’s been a long time since 205 Live’s been that long, so I appreciate this was how they did it. But with 205 Live being just a recap show this week, I almost feel like that’s a bad sign towards 205 Live’s future. I wish WWE would use 205 Live like they used to, but that seems like a distant dream now.

My Score: 8.1/10