Leighty’s WWE 205 Live Review 09.03.21

-You can find my Royal Rumble 2014 review here. Now let’s get to what is left of 205 Live. Let’s get to it!

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

Cora Jade vs. Amari Miller

-Cora is from Chicago and rides a skateboard to the ring. I mean, they both qualify under the 205 weight limit, so this is fair game I guess. Lockup to start and Miller gets an arm, but Jade reverses which then gets reversed back to Miller. Jade switches to a standing headlock and then takes Miller to the ground. Miller breaks and we have a stalemate. Another go and Jade goes back to the arm. That goes on for a but and it turns into a test of strength. Miller wins that battle and gets a take down. Miller gets a standing switch, but Jade escapes and lands a kick followed by a dropkick for one. Jade misses a knee in the corner which puts Miller back in control as she delivers double knees to the midsection. A kick gets a two count. Miller throws some forearms, but a backdrop gets turned into a sunset flip for two. They exchange forearms in the middle of the ring and Jade wins the exchange. She connects with a clothesline and gets a knee to the face. She hits a jumping knee to the face for two. That kind of knee looked a little familiar as someone else from Chicago did things like that. Miller escapes a Fireman’s Carry and had Jade landed a GTS I would have given this match 5 stars. Instead Miller hits a version of a stunner, but with Jade’s face bouncing off her knee for the win at 5:25.

Winner: Amari Miller via pin at 5:25
-Just a very basic match that didn’t overstay it’s welcome. The final minute or so started to pick up before the sudden ending. *1/2

Josh Briggs vs. Joe Gacy

-These two definitely top the 205 weight limit, though they are become regulars on this show more than the current CW Champion. HOSS FIGHT TIME! Lockup to start and they collide in the middle of the ring. Gacy gets a side headlock, but Briggs backs him into the ropes. No clean break as they wrestle around the ring and into the nearest corner. Gacy goes crazy with fists, but gets dropped with a back elbow and now Briggs goes stomp crazy. Briggs lands some clubbing blows to the back and hits a release sidewalk slam followed by a splash for two. Another back elbow and then again. And why not a third time? That gets another two count. Briggs goes to a chinlock and that lets the crowd try to rally Gacy as I guess he is the face in this match. Another clubbing blow sends Gacy back to the match as this one is starting to drag a bit. This needs to just be a HOSS FIGHT with them exchanging bombs and instead it looks like they are trying to stretch things. Gacy breaks the hold and lands a headbutt. He tries a belly to back, but Briggs rains down elbows to stop that. Gacy gets sent to the floor and Briggs gives chase. Back in the ring he misses an elbow and gets caught with a boot to the face. He goes back to the well and again, empty as the elbow misses. Gacy finally lands a heavy shot and starts to unload with right hands. Shot to the small of the back sets up a belly to back suplex. He hits two heavy clotheslines and repeats that as Briggs is stuck against the ropes. A belly to belly suplex gets two, so Gacy goes to a crossface, but Briggs gets his foot on the bottom rope. Gacy stomps away, but gets caught with a sweet big boot to the face which only gets two. Now we are getting somewhere! Briggs finally lands the elbow drop and hits a second one. He misses a clothesline which lets Gacy hit the handspring lariat for the pin at 8:56.

Winner: Joe Gacy via pin at 8:56
-They are now 1-1 against each other on 205 Live and I suspect we get a rubber match. The first half of this match was kind of a drag and they they started unloading on each other before the finish. **

Andre Chase vs. Xyon Quinn

-Quinn is an Aussie and former rugby player and this is his 205 Live debut. He is also outside the weight limit.
This is also a rare 3 match show for this brand as they are giving us a little bit of everything. Chase controls the arm early as has been a theme tonight. Quinn reverses, but Chase spins out on the mat and gets a side headlock. Chase gets a shoulder which Quinn uses to get momentum and deliver one of his own that sends Chase head over heels. That was a fun spot! Chase gets dropped on his face and that’s followed by Quinn hitting Snake Eyes. He misses a charge in the corner as he connects with the post. A neckbreaker gets two for Chase. He pounds away on the mat and goes to a chinlock, but Quinn powers out. Chase gets a forearm in the corner and goes old school alas Mr Perfect with a snapmare followed by a neck snap. Sweet! Chase works a submission, but Quinn is up and we get a striking contest which favors Quinn. He hits a Samoan Drop and then a a Torture Rack into a neckbreaker for the win at 4:36.

Winner: Xyon Quinn via pin at 4:36
-They obviously see something in Quinn compared to other newbies that have been popping up on this show. I knew this was going to be short since they went with a 3 match format which is a shame because of the three, this had the best chance to turn into something good. The plan though was to put Quinn over strong and that’s what happened here. We will see where they go with him. **

-Thanks for reading!

5.5

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

The three match format has never worked for this show and that holds true this week as well. The order of matches seemed off too as Gacy/Briggs was the hyped match and went twice as long as anything else, but was sandwiched between two 5 minute matches. Not a fan of this new direction of this show and hopefully they go back to the two match format.