Leighty’s WWE 205 Live Review: 12.17.21

-Sorry for the delay as the Holiday Season got the better of me last night and as I started this show late, the feed eventually went out which meant I had to wait until the replay dropped on Hulu this morning. The same thing will likely happen the next two weeks with Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve being on Friday. Look out for my latest Retro Review dropping later today as I continue my ran through 1996 with WWF In Your House: It’s Time. Now, off to what passes for the Purple Brand. Let’s get to it!

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

Lash Legend vs. Sarray

-Sarray with a go behind but gets mowed down with a shoulder. Another go and Sarray quickens the pace and gets a roll-up for two. She tries for a German Suplex, but that is blocked so Sarray just fires off forearms. Lash shrugs off the first few but gets rocked by the third one. She catches a charging Sarray and tosses her face first to the mat. Powerslam gets a two count for Lash. Nice! Another one is escaped but Sarray gets trying a crossbody, so Lash just tosses her with a fall-away slam. It happens again and this time it looks like a bearhug but turns into another throw that looked rough. Not sure what happened there. Sarray with a dropkick that puts Legend on her ass as that also looked rough. A missile dropkick gets two for Sarray. Roll-up for Legend, but Sarray rolls through with her and gets the pin at 3:44.

Winner: Sarray via pin at 3:44
-They weren’t even given 4 minutes and there were a few rough spots. Sarray winning is the right choice, but weird to beat Lash in her second match. 1/2*

-After the match Legend gets her heat back with a pump kick and then her modified facebuster finisher. Lash also gets to cut a promo after the match as the crowd tells her “you got beat.”

-WrestleMania Dallas is STUPENDOUS!

-Hulu commercials!

Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz vs. Erica Yan and Fallon Henley

-This is Henley’s in ring debut as she is a country girl. Yen and Feroz start with a lock-up and neither can gain an advantage. Another go and they trade headlock takeovers for a bit. Stalemate so Henley gets brought into the match. She gets a standing go behind and a takedown. Feroz lands a strike and then a kick. She climbs the ropes and makes a blind tag as Feroz and Leon double team for a pin attempt. Henley misses a punch and gets caught with a nice Northern Lights suplex for two. Tag back to Feroz as she works the arm. Henley breaks and gets a backbreaker into a clothesline. Tag made to Yan and they double team with a tandem shoulder block. Yen gets a two count off that. Yen throws Feroz into the corner a few times, but gets one reversed. She is in her own corner though so Henley makes the tag. She gets a modified Senton for a two count. She goes a read chinlock while burying a knee in the back, but Feroz fights out and breaks with a belly to back suplex. Both women down, but each makes the tag. Leon runs wild about and gets a slam for two as Henley makes the save. Feroz dropkicks Henley out of the ring and then we get an alley-oop into a crossbody as Leon gets the pin on Yan for the win at 6:08.

Winners: Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon via pin at 6:08
-Your basic tag match for a bunch of developmental talent. They need ring time and the crowd enjoyed this as they are behind Feroz especially. *1/2

-Hulu commercials!

-Since this is the Hulu vwe get the entire Lashley vs. Big E non-title match from RAW to pad the run time to 45 minutes. Rollins and Owens get involved, but MVP is the one that costs Big E the match and that puts Lashley in the WWE Title Match at Day 1.

-Hulu commercials!

-NXT New Year’s Evil: Jan 4 on USA!

Malik Blade and Ru Feng vs. Legado Del Fantasma (Wilde and Mendoza)

-Legado’s nWo inspired t-shirt is a nice touch which is also pays homage to the LWO. I appreciate that! Blade starts with Wilde and Blade starts quick with a bunch of hiptosses. He tags out to Feng and he gets a running shoulder. He works on the arm a bit, but gets caught with a knee. Tag to Mendoza and he fires off some forearms. Feng shrugs off a chop and hits another shoulder block and a slam gets a one count. Feng has an impressive look so I am curious to see how he develops. Mendoza gets in a cheap shot and works Feng over in his corner. Tag to Wilde and they tag in and out while taking turns hitting running clothesline followed by a kick to the chest and then a double suplex for two. Nice and the crowd appreciates what they are seeing. Wilde throws some more knees, but gets caught with an inside cradle for two. Tag back to Mendoza and they nearly blow a double spinebuster as Feng didn’t get up at all for them. Basement dropkicks follow as they keep Feng on the ground. Mendoza throws some more knees and locks in a version of the Cobra Clutch. Feng gets to his feet and gets a backdrop. Hot tag to Blade while Wilde also gets the tag. Blade runs wild for a bit which has the crowd into this one since he is the hometown boy. He hits a few dropkicks, but gets run into his partner on the apron. The running kick into a Side Russian Leg Sweep finishes at 6:11.

Winners: Legado Del Fantasma via pin at 6:11
-Basically a SQUASH here as LDF barely broke a sweat. They should be in the mix for the NXT Tag Titles as they have shown they can have some bangers when given the chance. SQUASH

-Thanks for reading!

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

This is a hard show to grade anymore because nothing is ever bad. It's a developmental show that gives their young talent a chance to work in front of a crowd. That makes it an easy watch as the show breezes by, but we rarely get anything that would count as a good match anymore. Tonight it was two short matches and a SQUASH Main Event which puts this on the lower end of things for this show as we generally get something a little more in the Main Event. For those who want to get a look at who could end up on the Main Roster many years down the road or end up in AEW this is the show for you. A name change still needs to happen though.