Leighty’s WWE 205 Live Review: 06.18.21

Leighty’s WWE 205 Live Review: 06.18.21

-Announce Team: Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuiness
-Taped: WWE Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, FL

-Welcome to your weekly 205 Live Review. Sorry again for the delay, but I got home a bit late last night. Thankfully, Hulu is there for me when I can’t get to Peacock’s live stream in time. We have fans in the CWC for this week’s show. Let’s get to it!

Asher Hale vs. Grayson Waller

-I still get Eminem, “Killer” vibes every time I hear the opening to Waller’s theme. Slow to start though Waller gets a take down and tries to slap Hale around a bit which pisses him off. Now Hale goes for a take down and we get a cool MMA scramble on the mat. Hale takes a seat as he challenges Waller to another go on the mat. Waller yells that is disrespectful and tries a running kick but misses. They end on the the floor as the crowd lets Waller know he sucks. Hale gets a running kick off the apron and sends Waller back in the ring. Hale heads up, but Waller uses the ref as a shield before running into the ropes to knock Hale to the mat. Nigel yells to Waller that Joseph called him a liar and Waller tells Joseph to watch his mouth. Waller gets a top rope elbow drop for two and hangs Hale in the Tree of Woe. He chokes away with his boot and then hooks a choke while landing some knees. He lands the kick that separated Singh’s shoulder last week for two. Hale is tired of the trash talk and just unloads with kicks and then a running knee. Overhead suplex follow and then a leaping forearm from the middle rope. An axe kick gets two. Waller gets a triangle on the ropes which he has to break. He runs in and gets caught with a sleeper and flops around the ring until he can use the ropes to clothesline Hale to break. He rolls back into the ring and hits a Stunner and then the leapfrog Curb Stomp finishes at 7:51.

Winner: Grayson Waller via pin at 7:51
-Solid match between these two though it was a little choppy in places. Waller being a clearly defined heel is nice to see. The best part is I want to see more from both of these guys. **1/2

-Waller offers a hand after the match, but then changes his mind as he continues to be a dick which is good to see.

-August Grey gets promo time backstage as he rails against spending 8 months fighting with Daivari. He beat him 2 weeks ago and wants to move on to bigger things. Daivari interrupts and says this is over when he says it’s over. He mentions his friend Tony Nese will beat Ikemen Jiro tonight and he is going to get an up close look. Grey tricks him into agreeing to stay in the back to see if Nese can do something on his own.

-Since this is the Hulu version we get the full match between New Day and RK-Bro from RAW. RK-Bro is great and get the win, but I’ll just stick to reviewing 205 Live. I still think RK-Bro gets tag title match with AJ and Omos at SummerSlam as they are holding off until fans are back.

-One of the Hulu commercials is for Heartgard Plus which gives me a chance to remind everyone to make sure their dog is on year round flea, tick, and heartworm prevention. I’ve worked in the veterinary field for 24 years, so I feel it’s kind of my duty to mention that.

-Back to NXT as KUSHIDA continues his Open Challenge and continues his reign as Cruiserweight Champion.

Tony Nese vs. Ikemen Jiro

-Jiro does some cartwheels and his act is immediately over with the few hundred fans in attendance. Nese isn’t impressed though! Jiro gets a take down and works the leg as again, just the few hundred fans in the building has helped the atmosphere greatly. Nese gets a shoulder tackle and uses the hair to get an advantage. Jiro fights back, but eats a kick to the midsection. Jiro continues to bounce back and shows off his jacket which continues to fluster Nese. Jiro gets wrist control and gets a crucifix pin for two. A hip toss followed by a jacket assisted palm strike lays Nese out. Nese tries to dump Jiro, but he lands on the apron so Nese lands a shot to the throat. Effective! They fight on the floor where Nese grabs his jacket to mock Jiro. He does the pocket assisted palm strike to literally throw it back in Jiro’s face. Jiro is pissed and goes for a mount, but Nese rolls through and lands right hands of his own. He locks in an Argentine Backbreaker, but Jiro breaks by going to the eyes. He pulls the jacket over Nese’s head to blind him and hits a spin wheel kick for two. Atomic Drop followed by a clothesline. Nese gets a sunset flip for two, but Jiro rolls into a unique submission hold while Nese has to fight off his back to avoid getting pinned. Shin to the jaw and Jiro hits a Swanton for two. Jiro up top again, but takes too long and ends up eating a knee to the face. Nese looks for a superplex, but Jiro slugs him down. He misses a move off the top and Nese catches him with a roundhouse kick for two. Jiro bails to the floor and catches Nese with a headscissors that sends Nese into the ring apron. Jiro up top, but Nese cuts him off again and gets a rana for two. He hangs Jiro throat first off the top rope like Randy Savage, but can’t follow up as he misses the springboard moonsault. He does connect with a superkick, but Jiro gets a kick of his own. He then goes nuts with kicks and The Ikemen Slash (as called by Nigel) finishes at 11:08.

Winner: Ikemen Jiro via pin at 11:08
-Another one that took a bit to get going and never hit that next gear. It’s great to have fans back, but they lost them a bit as this match went on and it was noticeable now without the heat machine in effect. I was expecting a bit more in this one actually thought still solid. **3/4

-Thanks for reading!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Solid show this week as is the norm for 205 Live. Both matches were good though neither kicked into a higher gear. This show continues to be a fun and easy watch. I appreciated the thrown in interview from Grey to continue his issues with Daivari and it lead to a Main Event without any shenanigans. The new blood injected into the show is nice to see, but it would be nice if they would throw us a bone and book the CW Champion on the show every now and then.