WWE BIG 3: Gulak, Gallagher, & Lorcan, 6/23 - 6/29

Drew Gulak vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Tony Nese Stomping Grounds 6/23

ER: This definitely starts out as Gulak and Tozawa working a Tony Nese match, which I understand that's how this was likely to go. Nese is the champ, you work the champ's stupid match. I'd much rather see them just running a Tozawa/Gulak match, or Nese vs. Gulak, or Nese vs. Tozawa, but we get the worst option and it's fine. Gulak and Tozawa are GOOD at working a Tony Nese match, so it works. Nese even wears 205 Live colored gear which...feels like I hate Tony Nese. But after they got the early dance party out of their system, this settled into a really exciting 3 way. Pretty much from the moment Tozawa hit his great high impact cannonball off the apron into Gulak, I was on board. It was very "I hit this guy into that guy and that guy winds up suplexing me into the first guy" but I thought they were mostly good at avoiding dumb waiting around set-ups. This got into some pure fire territory when Gulak sunk in a nasty dragon sleeper on Nese, with his ankles locked tight in a rough body vice. Nese kept breaking out in various ways forcing Gulak to adjust the hold as his own limbs would break free, totally great way to advance drama throughout one submission. And then, with the absolutely best exclamation point, Tozawa flew from out of nowhere with a heavy as hell senton off the top, right into Nese, with Gulak underneath. Great involvement of all three guys. Tozawa was really fun here, and really he always is. He's a guy I hope lingers under the radar on the roster for a decade, like Funaki. He's already almost 3 years in! His solo stuff with Gulak is fun, loved his exchange with Nese that ended with him popping Nese in the jaw with a right, he took a cool backwards bump falling off the apron, just a great guy to put in matches like this. I wish they let Gulak tee off on Nese a little more, but I'm too genuinely excited for Drew Gulak: Cruiserweight Champion to much care. Gulak has been nothing but great during his WWE run, and I'm so happy that it will presumably start paying off with more feature matches. This match got better the longer it went, I thought, as we started feeling like a 6 minute rush job and we instead got a fun 12 minute fireworks show.

PAS: This was really fun stuff, and considering we have this feature now I hope Gulak has a long reign. Nese is what he is, not my favorite guy for sure, but at least he hits hard, those running knees are really brutal looking. Loved all of the chucking of guys into other guys; if you are going to have a three way, you might as well throw people into each other. The out of nowhere Tozawa senton was one of my favorite spots of the year, great camera angle, love when people fly in out of nowhere like that. I did think the finish was a bit abrupt, but Gulak winning is such a crowd pleasing moment for the one man crowd in my living room. Hope we get to see Gulak defend against the other two of the Big 3.

Jack Gallagher vs. Mike Kanellis 205 Live 6/25

ER: This is not going to stand out at the end of the year as one of the better Gallagher matches, but it was a fun TV match against an opponent who I hadn't thought about him matching up with. I mean,  really, I hadn't thought about Kanellis at all, let alone as a Gallagher opponent, and I'm not sure I even  remember the last time I saw a Mike Kanellis match (and it's probably been upwards of two years). But at this point I'm convinced Gallagher can have a fun match with anyone, and I still think Kanellis's music is hilarious and I enjoy his and Maria's act. He's not going to work the mat with Gallagher, but they work some decent mat comedy with Gallagher eventually running a race on Kanellis's chin while Kanellis is trying to stretch his arms. Gallagher is great at setting things up for him, and he might be one of the few guys able to convincingly leap off the top rope and eat boots, really flying into Kanellis's feet far more convincingly than you usually see that spot. We got some cool stuff on the floor, with Gallagher turning to throw Kanellis into the barricade but stopping when Maria gets in the way, allowing Kanellis to smack the back of Gallagher's head into the ringpost and then hit a nasty almost-brainbuster on the floor. I was also pleasantly surprised by a great Kanellis right hand during a punch exchange. He wouldn't strike me as someone with a nice punch in his repertoire, but it's a good one. The finish was a little too cute, with Kanellis arguing for way too long about the ref stopping a count due to some held tights, but I'm never going to complain about Gallagher finishing a match with his headbutt.

PAS: This was pretty nifty, I had completely forgotten Mike Kanellis existed and if you had told me yesterday he was in the WWE I would have called you a liar. He is pretty basic, but his basic stuff looks OK, he had a nice straight punch, and the suplex on the floor was nasty. I enjoyed the Gallagher World of Sport comedy stuff at the beginning, and he sold all of Kanellis's offense well. I do think the finish was a bit OTT and I am not invested in the Kanellis vs. Drake Maverick feud at all, but Gallagher has got to have one of the highest floors of anyone in wrestling.