Drew Gulak vs. Kalisto vs. Mustafa Ali vs. TJP vs. Tony Nese

[8.0] "This was a great match. 205 Live in 2018 was so good, mostly because Triple H was given the reigns to book the show. Like NXT, 205 Live would be a one match show every now and then, taking advantage of the 1 hour length of these shows. This was a Gauntlet match to determine the #1 Contender to Cedric Alexander's Cruiserweight Championship at The Greatest Royal Rumble. Initially it was supposed to be Buddy Murphy, but he failed a weight test in storyline so there had to be a replacement. I think they wanted to save the match for TV because they knew that they weren't getting 20 minutes to work a match like they did later on TV. Anyway, it started out with Mustafa Ali and TJP, with Ali winning though he suffered a knee injury during the bout. Then came Drew Gulak, who immediately went to work on that knee and while Ali fought valiantly, Gulak managed to fling him from the top turnbuckle head first into the ring steps. Gulak quickly won with the Dragon Sleeper right after. Then came my favorite part of the match, with Gulak's former friend Tony Nese coming out with fire and dominating Gulak. He eventually hit the Running Nese on Gulak, but wanted him to suffer and went for another Running Nese, this time with the knee pad pulled down. That would cost him as after Gulak moved out of the way, he caught Nese by surprise and submitted him with the Dragon Sleeper. After that, Kalisto was the final entrant and would be the victim of Gulak frustrating him, then later side stepping a dive that saw Kalisto land into the barricade. After a few minutes Kalisto fought back and even though he got locked into the Dragon Sleeper, he managed to knock Gulak head first into the middle turnbuckle and used the ropes to hit a Salida Del Sol for the win. ****"

[9.0] "It's such a shame that so many of these terrific 205 Live matches were held in front of crowds that didn't know or care who any of the wrestlers were, because this is another match that deserved a more invested audience. The match is structured incredibly well, with Gulak in particular having a masterful performance. I love how diverse his skillset is. He begins by dominating Ali, then takes a beating against the explosive Tony Nese, followed by a match with Kalisto where he is exhausted and looking to create openings through strategy and resourcefulness. The story beats in this match are all perfect, and Gulak is the consistent presence who anchors nearly the entire match. And credit where it's due - Ali and Nese were both very good in their roles here as well. I am often pretty indifferent to Nese, but he was fired up here and did a good job bringing the fight to Gulak. The quiet crowd unfortunately does take a lot of the life away, but this is another brilliant match from 205 Live that is well worth checking out for anybody who appreciates a more thoughtful approach to wrestling."

[8.0] "I love the Gauntlet Match. And this one was very good. And what makes me laugh is that, aside from TJP being fired, all the wrestlers in this Gauntlet have become jobbers now: Mustafa Ali is poorly used since he came back with RETRIBUTION, Tony Nese loses more than he wins at 205 Live, and Gulak and Kalisto are off the screens. A bit of a shame."

[8.0] "It is a very good telled gauntlet match with a technical clash in the first part and a Gulak's dominance in the second part. I like a lot how the feud Nese-Gulak is citated in the match. Also the Kalisto's victory doesn't destroy the improving Gulak's status. ****"