(Note: editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of WWE Network News)

WWE 205 Live may be the best show some of you aren’t checking out. The program has excellent wrestling, simple characters and motivations but still established characters and motivations that make sense and make for interesting personal journeys. The production is slightly different, and the more sports-like presentation since February has helped the show feel like an alternative. Contrary to popular belief, the show is regularly watched on the WWE Network and it has a growing audience. Still, it’s clearly less popular than NXT and obviously RAW or Smackdown Live. The reality is not everybody is going to check out every show when so much content is produced, and that’s okay. Not every show can be seen by everybody and some people will pick and choose their favorites. The problem, however, is a bit deeper than that.

While the show isn’t perfect and has some flaws, by far the biggest issue with the program is the show’s identity. What is 205 Live? If you ask some, it’s the fifth brand within the WWE. If you ask others, it’s just WWE Main Event for small people. Some see it as a show and brand with a long term future that will hopefully make stars and tour, while others see it as a career death, of sorts. So what is it? That opinion varies from person to person, and this comes down to presentation and promotion.

There’s a portion of fans who are really optimistic about the show. They believe the purple brand has long term potential. It’s not just a TV show, but a brand in and of itself. Fans, journalists, and even the talent involved have pushed that narrative including Mustafa Ali, Tony Nese, Jack Gallagher, and Cedric Alexander both on screen and off. Triple H himself said prior to Wrestlemania that the goal was to make 205 not just a weekly TV show with Cruiserweights, but a touring brand that would be in the same vein as NXT. That would mean they’d have live events, separate TV tapings, merchandise, their own roster and championships, and potentially even specials ala NXT Takeover.

Some positive moves then took place, too. A new General Manager was appointed in Drake Maverick. New talent were signed exclusively to 205 Live such as Lio Rush and Buddy Murphy. The roster members were seemingly taken away from RAW to build their own identities and not struggle with being portrayed differently on separate programs, or facing the risk of appearing less important by being in meaningless RAW matches to fill time.

Of course, this isn’t all positive. Despite those moves, the brand still suffered with not having tapings with an invested audience who knows the characters and stories. Being filmed after two and a half hours of dark matches and Smackdown doesn’t help, but even if it was before Smackdown the crowd will only be so invested – they’re at the show for Smackdown, not for 205 Live. The quiet crowds doesn’t help the perception.

That brings us back to the biggest issue: the perception of the show. Those who don’t have positive opinions on the program are usually not influenced by the quality of the show itself, but more so the reputation of the show. There’s a contingency of fans who think the show is just “Main Event lite” or “Main Event for little people”. Essentially, they see the program as a dead end that has a few extra matches.

This goes against the narrative some of the talent pushed, and Triple H pushed, but how many people really get that message? Triple H hasn’t spoken about his plans for 205 Live much since he took over the brand and initially stated his goals. Management rarely if ever comments on the direction or long term plans for the brand which is in some weird limbo. To that point – WWE themselves still appear to be unclear what the show even is. They call it a brand sometimes, but a division at others. They have their own roster page, but they also can be found within RAW’s roster page. They weren’t on RAW TV anymore, but recently have been appearing in non-wrestling capacities.

As good as many find 205 Live to be, it’s never going to be truly taken seriously by doubters until it’s treated as being important. Triple H goes out of his way to talk about NXT, NXT UK, and his global localization plans whenever he gets the chance. He has conference calls just to further put over and promote his shows. Those who work at NXT behind the scenes or in front of the camera are vocal about the brand and their goals on social media, television, and in interviews. If the plans are indeed still to make 205 a touring brand and a serious long term investment, then everybody from Triple H to Adam Pearce to the talent themselves needs to push those talking points and aspects to the public, and then follow through with them.

205 Live is the best show many of you aren’t watching, and it’s up to WWE and everyone involved with 205 Live to make people feel like the show is important enough to be worth viewing.