Former friends and tag team partners Tony Nese and Drew Gulak collide in the semifinals of the 2019 WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament.

Drew Gulak kicked off WWE 205 Live by making a prediction that Tony Nese would collapse under the pressure of the tournament semifinals – claiming that’s what he always does. The history between Nese and Gulak is certainly rich – they are former tag team partners turned rivals – but Gulak has historically defeated The Premier Athlete.

Knowing the stakes of the bout, Nese fought through tremendous pain, but Gulak’s masterful strategy of targeting specific body parts allowed him to apply another submission hold and demand Nese tap out. The Premier Athlete’s incredible conditioning was on full display, as he showed off his incredible athleticism to dominate Gulak with an incredible sequence culminating with a near-fall following a split-legged moonsault.

Desperate, Gulak took down Nese with a rare dropkick before executing a double powerbomb but was still unable to secure the pinfall. Gulak looked primed to attempt another powerbomb, but Nese struck back and had victory in his grasp until Gulak rolled away from a 450 splash. Gulak continued to turn up the pressure but was unable to lock in the Gulock. After breaking free from Gulak’s grasp, Nese drove his opponent into the corner with a German suplex but was unable to hit the Running Nese.

Leveling The Premier Athlete with a clothesline, Gulak finally applied his patented submission hold. Fighting for his WrestleMania opportunity, Nese refused to tap out and somehow rolled on top of Gulak to score a shocking pinfall victory and advance to the finals against Cedric Alexander.