Former Ring of Honor Star Reveals He Pitched Being WWE's 205 Live General Manager

By Liam Crowley

Once again, the WWE cruiserweight division is no more. WWE relaunched the weight class in 2016 with the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, a 32-man bracket-style tournament that featured wrestlers from both within the WWE system, like Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, and from promotions around the world, like New Japan's Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi. TJ Perkins emerged from the tournament victorious, defeating Gran Metalik in the finals to become the first WWE Cruiserweight Champion of the relaunch. Perkins would drop the title to veteran Brian Kendrick, who would then lose it to Rich Swann on the debut episode of 205 Live.

Named after the maximum weight wrestlers in the cruiserweight division could be, 205 Live ran for just over five years on the WWE Network before being cancelled this past February. The show regularly featured stars from the Cruiserweight Classic, but also brought talent from across WWE's roster into the division. Stars like Neville (AEW's Pac) and Enzo Amore eventually called 205 Live home, while NXT's Austin Aries and Drake Maverick fulfilled on-screen roles for the program.

Maverick served as 205 Live general manager for two years before William Regal took over the position when the cruiserweight division migrated to NXT. Maverick assumed the position in 2018, but there could have been another name that took on the role well before he led the division.

Speaking to AdFreeShows, former WWE writer and Ring of Honor star Jimmy Jacobs revealed he pitched becoming the 205 Live general manager in 2017.

"I shot a video in the pre-tape room to try and pitch me being the 205 Live general manager," Jacobs revealed (h/t Fightful). "I was ready to play a little bit and move a little bit."

Even though the video was shot, Jacobs said he lacked the confidence to bring pitches to then-boss Vince McMahon.

"By the end, I couldn't even speak in front of Vince," Jacobs continued. "I couldn't even pitch an idea in front of him. I felt so stupid every time I talked there."

Jacobs spent two years with WWE as a writer, with one of his most famous contributions coming in the form of Monday Night Raw's famous "Festival of Friendship" segment between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Jacobs was fired from WWE after posting a photo alongside then-Bullet Club members Hangman Page, Marty Scurll, and the Young Bucks, who were "invading" Raw at the time of the picture.

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