205 Live – February 11, 2022: The Balancing Act

205 Live
Date: February 11, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to this show and last week actually gave me a bit of hope. There are a lot of NXT stars who have nothing going on at the moment so give some more of them some time instead of these lower level prospects. I know they need ring time, but if you are going for the entertaining, get some better stars out here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Ikemen Jiro vs. Trick Williams

Kushida and Carmelo Hayes are here too. Williams spins out of a wristlock to start but Jiro takes him down, meaning it’s time for some showboating. A cravate has Jiro in some more trouble and a dropkick to the back of the head makes it even worse. The crossarm choke goes on but Jiro slips through the legs and flips him over for the escape. Jiro runs him over and hits a double springboard moonsault for two but Williams drops him face first onto the top. A running neckbreaker finishes Jiro at 5:13.

Rating: C-. This was mostly a Williams squash and that is quite the surprise. Williams almost never gets in the ring and he beat a popular star here. The key word there is star, as Jiro might not be a big name, but he is a bigger deal than some of the people who are usually around here. I’ll take what I can get and somehow, Jiro is that kind of a positive right now.

Erica Yan vs. Lash Legend

The fans are split here as Yan can’t manage to take her down early. Legend powers her up and forearms Yan out to the floor instead, setting up a running splash in the corner back inside. An elbow gives Legend two (Nigel: “Really lashing out.”) and we hit the chinlock. Yan fights up and strikes away but dives into that over the back torture rack for the tap at 3:21.

Rating: D+. Another case where there wasn’t much to see here as legend is only going to be able to do a few things in the ring. That makes the short time a lot better, but Legend still has a long way to go. The problem is WWE seems to want to push her a lot sooner than that, so we could be seeing a good bit more of Legend in the time being.

Black History Month video on Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Xyon Quin vs. Joe Gacy

Harland is here with Gacy, who talks about how the idea of 205 Live is exclusionary. More change is coming, because this show is open to everyone who wants to level up. I’m glad he pointed that out three months after the change was made. The bell rings and Gacy wants a hug but gets has to settle for grabbing a headlock instead.

Quin powers out and grabs a wristlock, earning himself a right hand to the face. A suplex gives Quin one but Gacy hits a belly to back version for the same. Gacy grabs a neck crank for a bit before having to escape a Samoan drop. Some forearms to the back put Quin down and a DDT is good for two. We hit the neck crank again with Quin fighting up again, only to get distracted by Harland. Gacy’s handspring clothesline finishes at 6:00.

Rating: C. There’s another win for Gacy, who continues to stick around over and over. I can go with one of the few more over the top personalities getting somewhere, though I also could have gone with Quin winning instead. He’s more interesting and stands out a bit more, but does losing on 205 Live really matter anyway?

Overall Rating: C-. This was the right formula, with more wrestlers who need some exposure and a few wrestlers who need experience. The show is only going to get so far with thirty minutes a week and about five of those being spent on videos, but at least they’re increasing the star power around here a bit. Not their best show, but they had a better idea here.

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