By Anish Vishwakoti, ProWrestling.net Staffer, (@AVX_9001)
WWE 205 Live (Episode 253)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed October 15, 2021 on WWE Network
Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuiness were on commentary, but the show opened cold with the entrance of Jeet Rama the renowned cruiserweight (I joke but actually Rama has had some matches before on WWE TV and he wasn’t all bad so we open the show with some optimism)…
1. Jeet Rama vs. Boa (w/Mei Ying). A strong lockup to start the match which saw Rama take Boa over and use a wrist lock before Boa broke it with a high kick and a leg kick. Rama then used a double leg back trip to try and roll Boa up but Boa was able to get to the ropes. Rama then used a quick Belly to Belly for a one count before locking in an armbar.
Boa reached for the ropes and got there, forcing the break before booting Rama in the face and whipping him to the turnbuckle. Boa then targeted the arm, pulling back on it and slotting Rama with some kicks before stomping on the elbow of Rama. Boa continued to stomp on Rama much to the delight of the crowd.
Rama tried to whip Boa to the ropes but Boa came running in with an armbreaker and locked in an armbar of his own to up the assault on Rama’s arm. Boa then transitioned to a modified Cobra Clutch, but this allowed Rama to get to his feet and shove Boa into the corner. Rama followed up with a pair of front facelock suplexes and a German suplex to end the sequence.
Rama couldn’t follow up however as Boa went back to the leg and chopped him to his knees with a quick kick before following up with a big head kick to get the pinfall victory…
Boa defeated Jeet Rama
Anish’s Thoughts: The point of this was obviously to continue building Boa and Mei Ying and they did so, making Boa looked pretty dominant and resilient. I liked Boa’s offense and the fact that he was matched up with Rama whose ground based style gave Boa something to think about even if he was ultimately beaten without much struggle. I don’t know how I feel about Boa’s finisher being a simple head kick. Part of me likes the straightforwardness of it, but I also kind of wish he had something with a little more pizazz. I’ll let it slide for now.
2. Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs vs. Taylor Garland and Keagan Scott. Jensen started in the ring with Garland and immediately hit a big boot and some strong chops followed by a powerslam. Briggs entered the ring and hit a double shoulder block with Jensen before rocking Garland with a big Lariat. Scott had made the blind tag and tried to catch Briggs off guard but was met with a Sidewalk Slam and a standing splash. Jensen then tagged in and with Briggs hit a chokeslam and powerbomb combo to get the pinfall victory…
Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen defeated Taylor Garland and Keagan Scott.
Anish’s Thoughts: A standard tag team squash match with the only stand out feature being the cowboy/farmworker garb of Briggs and Jensen, as they seemingly perpetually bobbed their heads to the sound of their banjo plucked entrance theme. I guess they have some sort of a country boy gimmick now, but I don’t know exactly what that means, I don’t see them lasting on first sight.
3. NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong (w/Malcolm Bivens) vs. Odyssey Jones in a non-title match. Strong immediately went for a single leg but was shucked off by Jones. Strong then tried for a back take and an arm lock but Jones tossed him off all the way across the ring. Strong gingerly went in for a lock up which saw him elbow and chop Jones before grabbing a headlock. Jones shot him off and Strong hit a jumping shoulder block but Jones came off better with his mass just forcing Strong to the mat and to the outside.
Strong was urged back into the ring by the rest of Diamond Mine before Jones hip tossed him and shoved him into the corner before following up with some knee thrusts. Jones then pushed Strong into the corner and walked him down before whipping him all the way across the ring. Jones then shoved Strong’s head into each corner buckle and tossed him out of the ring again. Jones looked to follow him out there but Strong hooked his knee and dropped him to the mat. Strong used the grounded Jones’ leg to hit a foot DDT and target the base.
Strong followed up with some stomps before rolling Jones into the bottom rope and kicking his head in there. Strong then locked in an abdominal stretch and tried to wear down Jones, but Jones muscled his way to his feet and rolled Strong off. Strong bounced back with a pair of jumping knees but barely got a two count as Jones pushed Strong off the cover. Strong continued to kick at Jones before trying for a Straightjacket Camel Clutch submission, really making Jones sweat.
Jones got to his feet with Strong on his back for a second, but Strong kicked his knee out from under him and started peppering him with strikes while yelling ‘stay down.’ Jones didn’t take to that kindly and tossed Strong into the air like a pancake before hitting a pair of scoop slams and a rolling senton. Jones tried to run at Strong in the corner but was met by an elbow to the throat. Strong bought some space for himself and hit another knee before hitting a pair of high kicks and a flurry of running elbows capped off with another knee.
Strong went for the cover and barely able to roll Jones over was able to get the pinfall victory…
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong defeated Odyssey Jones in a non-title match.
Anish’s Thoughts: Odyssey Jones looked great here, selling beautifully and oozing charisma, however this match really made Roderick Strong look as great as he has since the end of the Undisputed Era. Malcolm Bivens looks like a genius as well, somehow willing his client and Diamond Mine to a very impressive victory here. And I’m so happy to see the NXT Cruiserweight Title on the show that I don’t even care that Jones is over 305 pounds. I’m glad Strong has the title, I’m glad Diamond Mine is on 205 Live and I hope this leads to a lot of great matches on the show from the group.
A fun show that was carried by that main event, I have to say I think Diamond Mine will be carrying this show for the near future at least, and I don’t mind that at all.
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