WWE 205 Live


WWE NXT 205 Live, also shortened to NXT 205 Live, is a professional wrestling web television program produced by WWE, which features the promotion's cruiserweight division from the 205 Live, NXT, and NXT UK brands, wherein all participants are billed at a maximum weight of 205 lbs. The program is currently broadcast on Friday nights, immediately following the live Friday Night SmackDown from the same venue.
The show premiered on the WWE Network on November 29, 2016, and originally aired following SmackDown on Tuesday nights. Talking Smack, which previously held the 10 p.m. ET time slot, moved to 11 p.m. following the debut of 205 Live until Talking Smack's cancellation in July 2017. On October 11, 2019, 205 Live moved to Friday nights, concurrent with the move of SmackDown to Friday nights the previous week.

History

205 Live was established following the success of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, to feature those who competed in the tournament and others who have become full-time members of WWE's cruiserweight division. Triple H, WWE executive producer and wrestler, stated the program was designed to serve as a showcase for the division, with its own distinctive feel and style compared to other WWE programming.
The Raw brand was originally established as the exclusive home of the division during the 2016 brand extension, with all cruiserweights being drafted to Raw during the 2016 WWE draft. Following the premiere of 205 Live, the cruiserweight wrestlers appear on both Raw and 205 Live, as well as making occasional appearances on NXT.
The show premiered on November 29, 2016; the main event of the inaugural episode saw Rich Swann defeating The Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
In January 2018, Triple H took over the creative side of 205 Live. The first of the changes under Triple H was announced on January 23, with Daniel Bryan announcing that the first 205 Live general manager would be announced the following week. The GM was revealed to be Drake Maverick. He announced a 16-man tournament for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by Cedric Alexander. Once the tournament begun, WWE's cruiserweight division began to wrestle exclusively on 205 Live and ceased to appear on Raw.
In September 2018, due to the second season of WWE Mixed Match Challenge, 205 Live went from a live format airing post-SmackDown to a pre-taped format and airing before NXT on Wednesdays. On January 15, 2019, the show moved back to Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET and airing live again.
Just prior to NXT moving to USA Network, NXT head Triple H spoke with Newsweek in September 2019 and said that "You'll start to see 205 begin to" become part of NXT. He said that 205 Live's talent would start moving towards NXT, that 205 Live had "become lost in limbo", and that the Cruiserweight Championship would have more meaning on NXT where it could create more opportunities for the cruiserweight wrestlers. It was then reported that the NXT Creative Team would be in charge of 205 Live. The following month, the title began to be defended on NXT and was renamed to "NXT Cruiserweight Championship", becoming shared with the NXT brand. Former cruiserweight champion Buddy Murphy, talking about the lack of success of 205 Live, said that "We were the local band following AC/DC – so we went out there when the crowds have already seen all the stars that they wanted to".
Following SmackDowns move to Friday nights on October 4, 2019, 205 Live was also moved.
The integration of 205 Live with NXT took effect in-universe on October 18, 2019 following the 2019 WWE Draft, when Drake Maverick – who himself was drafted to SmackDown but remaining as the General Manager of 205 Live, announced that he had made a talent exchange agreement with NXT General Manager William Regal, whereby NXT cruiserweights could now appear on 205 Live. However, on April 12, 2020, Maverick announced that he was no longer 205 Live General Manager and that William Regal will instead be overseeing the Cruiserweight Division.
Due to both Raw and SmackDown recording shows in Manchester, England, the November 8, 2019 episode was recorded from the WWE NXT studio at Full Sail University.
On April 12, 2020, with the announcement that Drake Maverick would be competing in the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament, Maverick confirmed via Twitter that he had stepped down as the 205 Live General Manager so that he could return to in-ring competition. NXT General Manager William Regal was announced to take over the managerial duties of 205 Live in addition to NXT.

Champions

On September 14, 2016, Triple H announced that the winner of the Cruiserweight Classic would not only receive a trophy, but would also receive the new WWE Cruiserweight Championship for the cruiserweight division on the Raw brand. Originally, the title was defended exclusively on Monday Night Raw, but on November 29, 2016, 205 Live was launched for the cruiserweight division, and for a time, the title was defended on both Raw and 205 Live, until 2018, when it became exclusive to the latter show - which would eventually become its own brand. In October 2019, the title became shared with the NXT brand and renamed to NXT Cruiserweight Championship.

Champions

Note – The WWE 24/7 Championship can also be defended on 205 Live as it is shared among all brands
– Title shared with the NXT and NXT UK brands

Roster

Broadcast history

On-air personalities

Authority figures

Commentators