WWE’s 205 Live show will no longer be around in the near future.
The company’s developmental system is going through a revamp. NXT was rebranded to NXT 2.0 on Sep. 14, 2021. NXT 2.0 has featured newer talent from the developmental system to build them to be the next company star. While introducing new talent like NXT Champion Bron Breakker, the company has released or let go several veterans from the NXT era like Samoa Joe on Jan.6.
While NXT 2.0 features new talent, not every wrestler can compete on the show weekly. The WWE decided to have the fresh talent from developmental to compete on 205 Live. Wrestlers like Draco Anthony have competed on the 205 Live last year before his NXT 2.0 debut on Feb. 1. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reports that 205 Live will be ending and that the WWE will rebrand it to NXT: Level Up. The taping of the new show starts on Feb. 15 and will be 60 minutes episode.
“…Instead of 205 Live, WWE are slated to tape the first episode of NXT: Level Up prior to tonight’s NXT Vengeance Day live broadcast in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. We are told the episode is slated to be 60 minutes long, said the report(h/t Mike Johnson).
Problems With 205 Live
While 205 Live will end, fans can hope that the company will pay more attention to NXT: Level Up. 205 Live started as a show for the WWE cruiserweight division and had great talents like Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali, and Tony Nese. While the show had cruiserweights putting on incredible matches, the WWE failed to promote the shows. Former 205 Live talent Tony Nese shared his experience being on the show with Chris Van Vliet on Oct. 27, 2021.
“We would always say that we were in this wrestling purgatory. Even though I was there, when it comes to the company’s decisions, I’m on the outside looking in too. This is all speculation, but 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 be 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,” said Nese(Fernando Quiles Jr.).
It’s unclear what WWE has planned for the first NXT: Level Up episode.
