Former WWE Superstar Tony Nese on the difficulties that 205 live posed
Recently released WWE Superstar Tony Nese has spoken of the difficulties he and his fellow 205 Live performers faced while wrestling on the program.
Nese signed for WWE in 2016 after a successful stint on the independent wrestling circuit. During his time in WWE, Nese won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship and was one of the main staples of the 205 Live Brand.
However, the main problem that Nese, his fellow wrestlers and fans had with 205 Live was not the performers' ability in the ring, but the placement and timing of the show itself. 205 Live was shown to live crowds immediately after an episode of SmackDown, therefore the audience's enthusiasm was justifiably limited for the Cruiserweight division. .
In a recent interview with Joey G of Wrestling Headlines, Tony Nese spoke about how almost everybody in the back thought that 205 Live should have been taped before SmackDown.
"Yep. Listen, you are preaching to the choir, we literally and I would say 99.9999% of everyone backstage felt the same way. It really just came down to one man saying, “It says live in the title. It’s got to be live.” And I mean, you could just guess who the hell I’m talking about." H/T Wrestling Headlines
#PremierAthlete. Premier #WrestleMania. Premier #Cruiserweight Championship reign.
Congrats, @TonyNese! #205Live https://t.co/Ikd21joyug
Tony Nese found success in 205 Live as the WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
With 205 Live now canceled, many are wondering why a show that hosted a roster of incredibly talented performers failed to live up to its potential.
Tony Nese on Triple H's vision for 205 Live
thanks boys. #205live https://t.co/2bMdSue6K2
Despite the eventual failure of 205 Live, the program originally had a lot of excitement behind it. Majority of the roster possessed high-flying abilities, much to the awe of the WWE Universe.
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet in October 2021, Tony Nese spoke of Triple H's unique vision for 205 Live and how that was later shut down by Vince McMahon when the Cruiserweight division moved to Monday Night RAW.
"It seemed like they had an idea for the show. It was Triple H’s idea, it was his baby. He wanted the show to have a yearly tournament, win/loss records, all that stuff. He wanted it to have a different feel. As soon as it was announced that the cruiserweights would be a part of RAW, that was where Vince was like, ‘No, it’s my show now.’ All that other stuff went out the window." H/T Wrestling News.co
Given the control that Vince McMahon has over the creative aspect of WWE, it is no surprise that he wanted to 205 Live to be seen on television through his vision as opposed to anyone else's.
Are you going to miss 205 Live? What changes would you have put in place for it to stay relevant in the WWE? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.