Tonight’s episode of Level Up will feature the debuts of Oba Femi (real name Isaac Odugbesan) and Dani Palmer (AJ Amrhein). Femi is facing Dante Chen on the show, while Palmer is facing Thea Hail.
Femi and Palmer were both part of the class of recruits who joined the WWE Performance Center this August. Before officially signing with WWE, Femi was a member of the inaugural class of WWE’s NIL (Next in Line) program.
WWE.com wrote:
A 2021-22 WWE NIL Athlete, Isaac Odugbesan is a three-time SEC shot put champion. The Lagos, Nigeria native currently holds both the indoor and outdoor distance records for Alabama.
AJ Amrhein is a well-renowned fitness instructor from Scottsburg, Ind., and a former tumbler on the prestigious Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling team. Amrhein is a three-time national champion with The Bears and was named the 2020 Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
NXT Level Up airs on Peacock/WWE Network at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Fridays. Here’s the full lineup for tonight’s episode:
This week’s WWE NXT Level Up was taped this past Tuesday prior to NXT with Sudu Shah and Byron Saxton on the call. This was your average edition of the show with one debut: Jakara Jackson.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/ Tony D’Angelo) defeated Tank Ledger
This was Ledger’s first singles match. I must say he has quite the ring entrance and quite the gear. D’Angelo sat in on commentary and took umbrage with Shah for not asking him about how his knee was doing. Honestly, the focus of the match was on D’Angelo’s commentary.
This was Stacks’ first match since his loss to Shinsuke Nakamura which D’Angelo set up to make a man out of him. Shah said Ledger was a local legend in Chicago for his playing time at Northwestern University which D’Angelo wasn’t fully prepared to have a retort to.
Ledger got distracted by D’Angelo which swung things in Stacks’ favor. Ledger later fired up and used his power to drop Stacks with some clotheslines and a standing splash for a two count. Character-wise, Ledger feels like a wrestling descendant of Mojo Rawley.
In the end, some earlier stomping on Ledger’s fingers came back to help Stacks as Ledger failed to get him up for a move. He hit a European uppercut, a boot, and a clothesline to a seated Ledger for the win. The finish looked awkward as Ledger was already laying down before the clothesline was actually hit. Oh well.
– Kelly Kincaid was with Trick Williams who was on the phone with his girl on vacation, saying he would take out Brooks Jensen in two minutes or less. Kincaid said Carmelo Hayes would not be in his corner tonight, but Briggs would be in Jensen’s corner. Williams didn’t care and eventually did some dancing with Kincaid. If you haven’t heard Williams on the mic, he’s as good as advertised.
Thea Hail defeated Jakara Jackson
This was Jackson’s NXT debut and we were told, among other things, that she is a former model, a multi-sport athlete, and also competed in the Titan Games. New Chase U member Duke Hudson was on hand to watch, but Bodhi Hayward apparently wasn’t which commentary said Andre Chase was a bit frustrated with.
As you might expect, Jackson is green. She was working Hail’s left arm for a good few minutes that was first-day BJJ white belt level at best. Also, Hail yells. A lot.
Hudson came out into the entryway to wave the Chase U flag to fire up Hail who worked out of the multi-minute armor with a throw. Hail eventually picked up the win by slamming Jackson to the mat and pinning her. I like the Chase U act, but this match wasn’t good. I assume we’re getting a Hudson-led power struggle within the group by year’s end.
Brooks Jensen (w/ Josh Briggs) defeated Trick Williams
Jensen is half of the former NXT UK Tag Team Champions with Briggs while Williams is aligned with the aforementioned Carmelo Hayes. Jensen was rolling early until Williams got him caught up in the ring skirt, stomping on him for some real heel heat.
Williams is going to be given every chance to succeed with his physique, presence and verbal skills. He’s going to need a few years down in NXT to get it down which likely means he’ll be called up way too early.
Jensen regained control with a powerslam and later avoided getting caught in the ring skirt again by outsmarting Williams by running around the ring and hitting him with a punch. Jensen got popped with an uppercut as he jumped in off the top rope, followed by a spinning neckbreaker that got a close near fall. In the end, Jensen got the win off a Fameasser, snapping a two-match losing streak.
Given all the wrestling that’s on TV in a given week, you can skip this.
Jakara Jackson is set to make her WWE television debut on this week’s NXT Level Up against Thea Hail.
Jackson, real name Jamara Garrett, was part of the SummerSlam weekend tryouts in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2021. Jackson suffered a concussion during the in-ring portion of her tryout, but was later offered a WWE contract by Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
Prior to her WWE tryout, Jackson was a contestant on NBC’s Titan Games, hosted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She detailed her journey to WWE in a video posted to Dr. Beau Hightower’s YouTube channel.
Jackson had her first WWE match on August 5 this year at an NXT house show in Florida, teaming with Lash Legend against NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter.
NXT Level Up airs on Peacock and WWE Network at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Fridays. Here is the full lineup for this week’s episode:
This week’s episode of WWE NXT Level Up was taped before this past week’s edition of NXT. Byron Saxton and Sudu Shah were on the call.
Myles Borne defeated Ikemen Jiro
Jiro started with a superfluous cartwheel before frustrating Borne with his athleticism, kipping up out of a pair of shoulderblocks. They did some chain wrestling before Borne hurt his knee on an up-and-over. After some hesitation, Jiro took advantage and went after it with a half crab. Borne fought through and turned the half crab into a pinning predicament for a nearfall.
Borne strung some offense together, hitting a dropkick and a series of suplexes for another nearfall. Jiro went back to the knee, hitting a few kicks and a Jacket Punch before going for his big kick. Borne ducked and ensnared Jiro with a La Magistral cradle to score the win and continue his Level Up winning streak.
– Kelly Kincaid interviewed Javier Bernal, who insisted she called him “Big Body Javi.” He trashed Chase U, saying he got his big body from the school of hard knocks. He finished by saying that he would beat Chase in front of all of his students.
Duke Hudson defeated Bryson Montana
Not since the Bolsheviks have we seen a tag team explode as this one has. Last week, Hudson walked out on Montana in their tag team loss to Ikemen Jiro and Tank Ledger, and Montana wanted payback here. After he hid in the ropes, Hudson took advantage with some big strikes.
Montana made Hudson pay for showboating with some hammering shots and a Michinoku Driver for two. Hudson rolled to the floor, chopping Montana in the throat when he came after him. Hudson hit an outside-in German suplex and a big boot to get the win. I guess that makes him Nikolai Volkoff and makes Montana the Boris Zhukov of this affair.
Andre Chase defeated Javier Bernal
Thea Hail was so great in Chase’s corner here. Her energy is so infectious. After Chase hit a big back body drop, Bernal sent him out of the ring and dropped him in the ropes with a neckbreaker. Bernal took control for a while, landing a big bulldog for a nearfall.
Bernal talked trash to the Chase U student section, which fired Chase up. Chase strung some big strikes together before hitting the Chase U Garvin stomp. The top rope crossbody scored the win for Chase.
This week’s edition of WWE NXT Level Up was taped before last Tuesday’s NXT. Byron Saxton joined Sudu Shah for the call.
Ikemen Jiro & Tank Ledger defeated Duke Hudson & Bryson Montana
Ledger and Jiro scored the win in a quick opener.
This was Ledger’s debut on Level Up. The former Northwestern defensive lineman was a part of the first WWE NIL class, and came out with matching hats for himself and Jiro. Hudson and Montana came to the ring with an overwhelming anti-charisma, especially in comparison to Jiro and Ledger — just two guys sluggishly sauntering to the ring like generic characters in a wrestling game.
After overpowering Jiro, Hudson had a harder time taking down Ledge before dropping him with a knee. Montana and Hudson worked him over, keeping him on their side of the ring for a good amount of time. Ledger dodged a corner attack before getting the tag to Jiro. Jiro ran wild, hitting an impressive triangle moonsault out of the corner before hitting a big kick on Montana to score the win.
– Kelly Kincaid interviewed Myles Borne, asking him how he plans to continue his momentum after getting his first win last week. Borne thanked his fans for their support and said he will keep it going as long as they are behind him.
Myles Borne defeated Dante Chen
Borne picks up another win here in a fine little match.
The crowd had some fun with Chen and the buildup to his big pose in the ring. These two did some grappling with Borne sprinkling in flashes of his athleticism with a backflip and a dropkick. Borne tried to pick up the pace, but Chen dodged a corner attack and landed a big boot. Borne would get the match moving with a belly-to-belly suplex and another dropkick before scoring the win with a lifting flatliner.
Ivy Nile defeated Lash Legend
This was an impressive win for Nile as she continued her winning streak on Level Up.
Legend used her size advantage to take control early on, picking Nile up from a sunset flip attempt and throwing her around with ease. Nile used some kicks to bring Legend down and hook her for an armbar. Nile picked up the pace and hit a crossbody, but Legend took control back with a double underhook suplex for a nearfall.
A big pump kick from Legend sent Nile down, but Nile hooked Legend’s legs and almost got the win with a rollup.
Legend took Nile down with a big clothesline, but Nile dodged an elbow drop and rocked Legend with an enzuigiri. Nile hit a big running kick in the corner, but Legend tossed her up and bounced her off the mat. Legend had Nile in position for a scorpion death drop, but Nile jumped up to reverse the position and scored a quick tapout with a dragon sleeper.
A former college football player is set to have his first televised match on this week’s edition of NXT Level Up.
WWE has announced that Tank Ledger (real name Joe Spivak) will debut on NXT Level Up this Friday. He’ll team with Ikeman Jiro to take on Duke Hudson & Bryson Montana in tag team action.
Ledger is a former Defensive Lineman for Northwestern University. In March, he was invited to workout with the Chicago Bears but ultimately went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Ledger spoke with SI.com in December after signing a NIL deal with WWE.
“I am approaching this as any other NU grad would approach their first big gig at a massive, global company,” he said.
“I’m excited to learn from everyone as much as I can so when I get an opportunity to tryout I’m ready to turn heads and let them know they have something special,” Ledger continued.
“I want to make it big and I know it is going to take a ton of work. But I will do it. That I know.”
NXT Level Up airs on Peacock/WWE Network at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Fridays. Here’s the full lineup for this week’s episode:
Ikeman Jiro & Tank Ledger vs. Duke Hudson & Bryson Montana
Friday’s edition of WWE NXT Level Up was taped before this past Tuesday’s edition of NXT. Matt Camp and the now departed Nigel McGuinness were on the call.
Indi Hartwell defeated Sloane Jacobs
The announcers talked up the people around her life, bringing up Dexter Lumis’ repeated attacks on The Miz as well as Johnny Gargano’s success on the main roster. Jacobs tried to chop down the taller Hartwell with kicks for an advantage, but Hartwell cut her off with a spinebuster for a quick win in an otherwise nondescript match.
– Kelly Kincaid interviewed Kiana James and Arianna Grace in the back. They talked themselves up with Grace saying that beauty and brains are hard to come by in this world. James pointed out that only two of every thirty women have both, so with thirty women in the NXT locker room, they stand out. I’d like to see her sourcing on those statistics.
Myles Borne defeated Guru Raaj
These two kept the match grounded early with both looking for an advantage. Raaj earned it with a dropkick to the shoulder before hitting a standing dropkick to take control. He hit a double axe handle off the top, clearly inspired by Randy Savage.
Raaj landed some stiff strikes before Borne cut him off with a big standing dropkick to turn the tide. Raaj came back with a big kick to the chest and a Yakuza kick, but Borne cut off another double axe handle and hit a flatliner to score his first win on Level Up. Live by the double axe handle, die by the double axe handle. He did a standing backflip in celebration of getting his hand raised for the first time.
Fallon Henley & Sol Ruca defeated Kiana James & Arianna Grace
The first-time team of Henley & Ruca scored the win over the burgeoning team of James and Grace in this main event.
I adore James and her monogrammed computer bag. Henley started out by getting the advantage over Grace. Ruca then tagged in and hit an impressive Rolling Thunder on Grace before taking both of her opponents out with a double shoulder block. James got Ruca in her team’s corner so they could work her over.
They hit a unique tag team move, similar to the old World’s Greatest Tag Team finisher, for a near fall. They went for it again, but Henley dumped James to the floor so Ruca could tag her in. Ruca kicked James off the apron, and Henley hit a shining wizard on Grace to score the win.
Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness were on the call for this past week’s edition of WWE NXT Level Up, taped two weeks ago prior to NXT.
Javier Bernal defeated Ru Feng
“Big Body Javi” recovered from an embarrassing loss on NXT with a win here.
Feng is still early in his career which you can tell by watching him wrestle. He’s not bad, but his movement and the way he interacted with the crowd is a tell that he isn’t comfortable in front of a crowd yet. Luckily for him, that is why Level Up exists.
The last time we saw Bernal, he lost to security guard turned wrestler Hank Walker. He upped the intensity of his attacks on Feng, showing a lot of fire with his strikes. After surviving a short flurry of offense from Feng, Bernal scored the win with Paydirt.
– Kelly Kincaid was backstage with Guru Raaj and Ikemen Jiro. She asked if the language barrier between them would affect their ability to team. With the help of subtitles, they said they will win with the universal language of wrestling.
Thea Hail defeated Valentina Feroz
Chase U scored another Level Up win with the energetic Hail getting the victory.
Hail has a great fiery babyface energy about her. Her work isn’t crisp yet, but she gave everything she did in this match her all, and I can see people really getting behind her as she improves.
Hail hit a standing moonsault early on, but Feroz hooked the ropes to avoid a dropkick. After Feroz slowed the pace down, Hail picked it up again with some corner splashes and a neckbreaker. Feroz cut her down with a spear and locked in a sleeper hold, but Hail rolled back into a pinning predicament to score the win.
Edris Enofe & Malik Blade defeated Ikemen Jiro & Guru Raaj
Enofe and Blade scored the win in an exceptional Level Up main event.
Blade and his sweater vest started against Jiro and his jacket. I wondered why Blade wore a sweater vest while wrestling a match, but Shah promptly informed us that he wears it in honor of his father.
Raaj tagged in and laid in some good looking strikes before Blade sent him to the floor. Enofe distracted Raaj long enough for Blade to hit an impressive plancha to the floor before following it up with a soaring springboard armdrag. Blade and Enofe then tried to outdo each other with Stinger splashes in the corner, but Enofe got too greedy and hit the buckles as Raaj tagged in Jiro.
Jiro knocked Enofe loopy with some jacket punches and a dropkick in the ropes. A swanton from Jiro got a near fall, but Enofe avoided a big move and hit the Climax with Blade to score the win. This was by far the best match I have reviewed for Level Up so far in my tenure.
This week’s NXT Level Up was taped this past Tuesday prior to NXT with Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness joined on the call by Matt Camp, co-host of The Bump.
Dante Chen defeated Bryson Montana
This was both a solid showing from the young Montana and a solid win for Chen.
Montana is a well-built man who, according to commentary, has a club where shady dealings go down. If that’s the case, then maybe Tony D’Angelo has frequented Montana’s club a time or two.
Montana displayed his power early, throwing Chen around with relative ease. Chen showed off his relative experience advantage by outmaneuvering Montana, but Montana cut him off with a big clothesline. Montana put the squeeze on Chen with a bearhug before dropping him with a Michinoku driver.
Chen finally put some offense together, flipping Montana out of a power bomb before firing up with some big strikes. Chen finished off Montana with a Ricky Steamboat-like double chop to the chest for the win.
– Kelly Kincaid interviewed Myles Borne. He gave a generic babyface promo, saying that since tonight is his seventh match on Level Up, this will be lucky number seven.
Indi Hartwell defeated Valentina Feroz
This was another win for Hartwell on Level Up as Feroz continues to get used to working in singles competition.
The announcers talked about Feroz having to work on her cardio since her tag team partner (Yulisa Leon) will be out of action for an extended period of time with a knee injury.
Neither wrestler could get a clear advantage early as they went back and forth for control. The announcers brought up Hartwell being inspired by Bayley and openly wondered if Hartwell would start using the same tactics as Bayley did to get ahead.
I wrote a few weeks ago about Hartwell possibly being a good heel if she could use her size and aggression effectively. She did use her size very well in this match, cutting off Feroz’s comeback with a spinebuster for the win.
Andre Chase defeated Myles Borne
The Chase U student section was red hot for this one as Chase scored the win.
The announcers put Borne over strong, talking up the massive amount of potential the coaches in the Performance Center see in him. He showed good athleticism here, hitting a pinpoint dropkick to Chase at one point. But this was an Chase showcase as he used his technical ability to take advantage of the rookie. Chase hit the Chase U Garvin stomp and a high crossbody for the win in the main event.
This week’s NXT Level Up matches were taped last Tuesday at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness on the call.
Diamond Mine (Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley) defeated Sloane Jacobs & Erica Yan
This was a solid squash match putting over the Diamond Mine duo as a technically sound unit compared to their opponents.
Paxley was wearing a LeBron James-esque black face mask, protecting an injury attributed to a rough training session with Nile. Paxley started with Yan and used her Diamond Mine training to employ a technical advantage.
Nile tagged in and kept the advantage with the crowd firmly behind her. Yan drove Nile into the corner and tagged in Jacobs, but Nile did a very cool punch-kick combination to cut them off as they went for a double-team.
Paxley tagged back in but took a facebuster from Jacobs as they took advantage of Paxley’s injury. Nile quickly got a hot tag and cleaned house. A Nile high kick and an assisted twisting senton with Paxley scored the win for the Diamond Mine.
– Bronco Nima and Lucien Price were backstage with Kelly Kincaid. Nima had on a Protect Ya Neck Records t-shirt on, which endeared him to me. They talked about how they have been friends since childhood which will make them ready for anything in NXT.
Duke Hudson entered the frame and told them that their friendship won’t last in NXT. Price challenged Hudson to a tag match, but Hudson declined and countered with a singles match against either one of them. Nima accepted.
Duke Hudson defeated Bronco Nima
This was a solid veteran (Hudson) leading the rookie (Nima) through one of his first singles matches. What we got was a spirited effort and a solid match.
Nima has a great name and I could picture him being an NWA Southern States Champion in 1987-era NWA. Hudson isn’t a bad name either.
So, these two tall guys with great names locked horns on NXT Level Up. Hudson had trouble fighting a guy his own size as the Bronco chants from the crowd got under his skin. Hudson pulled his hair early on, so Nima pulled on Hudson’s hair to get a bit of comeuppance. Nima dropped Hudson with a clothesline and a big Samoan drop for a nearfall, but Hudson took control and slapped on a headlock to try and keep the big man contained.
Nima turned the headlock into a back suplex and went on a frenzy of offense, but a missed fist drop allowed for Hudson to hit an inside-out German suplex and a big boot for the win.
Indi Hartwell defeated Amari Miller
This main event was inoffensive, but completely unmemorable.
The bubbles from Miller’s entrance were still hanging in the air as the bell sounded to start the match. Miller continually kept control of Hartwell’s arm until Hartwell used her size to repeatedly bodyslam Miller.
A hotshot into the middle ropes gave Hartwell further control, but Miller fought back with a sunset flip. Miller fired up and went for a sidekick, but Hartwell ducked and hit a spinebuster for the win. Hartwell worked with some intensity here. I think if she leaned into that more, she could become an effective heel on the NXT roster.
This week’s NXT Level Up matches were taped last Tuesday at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The team of Edris Enofe & Malik Blade, who were on a five-match win streak, came out to a big pop to start the show. Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness are on the call and were joined by Raw Talk and The Bump host, Matt Camp.
Edris Enofe & Malik Blade defeated Bronco Nima & Lucien Price
I really like how WWE has returned to advertising the next big WWE event (Clash at the Castle) on Level Up even if it has nothing to do with NXT.
It was a good ol’ fashioned power vs. agility display to start between Nima and Enofe. This was very back and forth with each team getting their share of double team moves and hidden tags. Blade hit a jumping clothesline for a two count only for Nima to get a blind tag and pull Price out of the way into a split that looked awesome.
Nima took over the match with a big boot, He ripped off Blade’s sweater vest that the commentators likened to a ripped off lucha mask due to the family history. Nima and Price each took their turn with Blade who eventually fought out of a cravate for the Enofe hot tag. This was great as Enofe hit an elbow drop for the two count followed a sling blade. Enofe and Blade followed up with the Climax for the win.
– Nathan Frazer was backstage with Kelly Kincaid. It’s his first appearance on NXT Level Up, and she asked if he was ready for tonight. All he really talked about was how Jiro’s style is better than his, how he made the move to the US because of soccer, but they threw him a basketball instead. He then talked about how soccer taught him to have a strong right foot and he kicked the basketball into some poor guy backstage.
Kiana James defeated Amari Miller
It doesn’t get more heel vs. face than this. James was taunting and trash talking while Miller had the biggest smile on her face the entire match.
Miller actually used this to her advantage, but James took back control very quickly. She used every heel move in the book using the turnbuckles and the ropes, even choking Miller with her boot at one point. Miller fought out of a rear chin lock with a headbutt and a roll-up for a two count. She then hit a flatliner for a near fall that almost got me. But of course, James reverted to her heel ways and used the ropes to hit a back elbow and twisting flatliner for the win.
Nathan Frazer defeated Ikemen Jiro
Given both Frazer’s and Jiro’s prowess in the air, I was really expecting this to be a good main event. I was mostly right on that assumption.
Jiro kept a wristlock on to start, but they creatively fought out of it after some exchanges. Frazer drove Jiro into the ropes with a running dropkick that Jiro sold really well. Jiro had to fight out of an armbar to get his own offense in. Frazer fought back in with a double leg into a boston crab, transitioning into an STF.
I liked every second of the competitive nature of the match. Jiro fought out with a roll-up and hit his patented jacket punches. Frazer almost avoided an Irish whip, but he actually moved out of the way of an arabian moonsault. He went to the top and hit a springboard missile dropkick, and then they went back and forth again with big strikes in the middle of the ring.
Frazer finally knocked Jiro out of midair with a superkick and hit the phoenix splash for the win. The two closed out the show with a hug.
Both men were coming off losses in this match as Borne lost two weeks ago to Javier Bernal due to a dirty pin.
It was back and forth to start with Jiro showing off his “ultimate showman” antics. Borne was hitting Jiro with everything, but Jiro kept popping back up in his pineapple jacket, which got a chant of “pineapples.” Borne was on the offensive for most of the match, whipping Jiro into the corner and wrapping his body around the ring post. Jiro actually started tapping out, but it didn’t count because he was outside of the ring.
Borne got way too cocky, however, and Jiro fought back with a spinning heel kick and a dragon screw leg whip. He then hit Borne with the jacket punches and connected with the Ikemen Slash for the win.
– Kelly Kincaid was backstage with Sol Ruca and asked about her match with Elektra Lopez tonight. Ruca said everyone works hard in NXT, but she’s different and Lopez is not ready for how she prepared. Ruca declared that she was going to turn Lopez’s world upside down and then did a handstand and walked off the set while on her hands.
Elektra Lopez defeated Sol Ruca
Neither of these women has won a match in a while as Lopez has not won since May and Ruca has not won on television at all.
It was power vs. agility in this matchup. Lopez was throwing Ruca all over the ring with headlock takeovers and different tie-ups, but Ruca kept doing handstands and rolls to get out of everything. Ruca fought out of a cravate and got some heat, but Lopez countered a standing moonsault with her knees and hit a blue thunder bomb for the win.
Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward (w/ Thea Hail) defeated Bronco Nima & Lucien Price
Chase U was taking on the debuting team of Nima (Nnamdi Oguayo) and Price (Edwin Grande), two former college football players.
Chase and Nima started things off. Both these new guys are absolutely huge and showed it off quickly as Nima was throwing Chase around. Chase moved out of the way of a right hand and started sloppily grappling around Nima, leading Niguel McGuinness to say “smooth as silk” which made me laugh.
Chase U was keeping Nima in their corner with double teams. Price made his way into the ring, but Chase tagged in the red hot Hayward. It seemed whenever somebody got the upper hand in this match, it immediately changed.
The football players were dominating Hayward until Hayward hit some elbows and a belly-to-back suplex to get Chase into the match. Chase was striking Lima and then knocked Price off the ring apron. He hit the Chase U stomp and tagged in Hayward to hit their assisted flatliner to win the match.
Final Thoughts:
The first match felt kinda pointless, but Jiro is always fun to watch. Ruca still needs some promo work, but her in-ring work has some promise and she definitely has the look. I hope she gets a win soon.
The main event featured Chase U against two newcomers that were very green, but have a lot of potential. I hope they do more with Chase U also. They seem to get a big reaction on this show.
This was the first time Chen and Raaj, but you wouldn’t be able to tell at the start of the match. They were working well together with a hip toss followed by an assisted double axe handle strike.
Montana and Griffin were billed as a solid and unstoppable team, even though they’ve never won a match on TV. Montana went on the offensive with a pounce and choke bomb for a two count. Both Chen and Griffin went on to get a hot tag and Chen went nuts on both of his opponents.
The pin after a punt kick was broken up by Montana who was quickly ridden off by Raaj. Griffin went for a move off the middle rope only for Chen to move out of the way and hit the double-handed chop for the win.
– Kelly Kincaid was backstage with Arianna Grace before her match against Chase U’s Thea Hail. Kincaid brought up Grace’s loss to Hail in June and Grace responded by saying that we shouldn’t dwell on the past and went on this whole pageant spell on how it’s her duty to look forward for the good of the world or something like that. Kincaid looked about as confused as me.
Hail made a very extravagant entrance with the rest of Chase U. They seem really over in the CWC, but I’m not sure how that translates to the rest of the world.
Hail started with a side headlock and got a lot of offense out of it. She showed off her gymnastics and cheerleading background but Grace quickly countered with her power, using a back suplex. The commentators were sure to point out how her heel style is the complete opposite of her babyface promo personality. Hail had a little burst of offense, but Grace threw her back first into the turnbuckle and then rolled her up with help from the second rope for the win.
Xyon Quinn promo
They came back from a commercial with an opponent already in the ring for Quinn. They never stated his name or anything. Quinn just told him he had then seconds to get out of the ring. Of course, he obliged and just left.
Quinn said he was at NXT Level Up to see who has the x-factor and who was gonna step up to him. Quincy Elliott’s music hit and he came out on a moped and rode around the ring. Shah said he’s been driving it around the parking lot.
Quincy Elliott defeated Xyon Quinn
Talk about someone having an x-factor in one of my personal favorite Level Up regulars: Quincy Elliott. He did start out slow though until he turned things around with a hip toss and shoulder tackle. Quinn mauled Elliott in the corner after, showing off his attitude and striking.
Elliott fired up and got right back into it with a few right hands, but Quinn stayed on Elliott and hit a death valley driver for a near fall that got a huge reaction. He locked in the cobra clutch and Elliott fought out with some shoulder tackles and a Claudio Castagnoli-like running uppercut. He followed that up with a sort of second rope splash that actually got the three count. This was a huge win for Elliott.
Final Thoughts:
I never really go into Level Up with any expectations, but they never really cease to entertain me. It’s always a fun and short show where they can showcase some new talent. The only thing I wish is that it would lead to more sometimes. I do think Elliott’s win over Quinn will indeed lead to something more, but Hail hadn’t lost a match since May and now she lost to Grace who hasn’t won a single match since April. I would rather them use this show to get people over instead of telling some long-term story.
This week’s WWE NXT Level Up featured three matches.
Javier Bernal defeated Myles Borne
The last time we saw these two in action on NXT TV was two weeks ago when they were teaming together and it did not go very well. There were no hard feelings though as they started with a handshake.
Borne was throwing around Bernal to start the match, using his amateur wrestling background. Bernal used dirty tactics to take advantage of Borne and get the upper hand. Borne had a brief opening for some offense, but Bernal rolled him up and used the ropes for some leverage and the win.
This felt like a heel turn for Bernal in his first win since May while Borne is still winless.
– Backstage, Kelly Kincaid was with Quincy Elliot, one-quarter of tonight’s main event. His teammate Ikemen Jiro was not with them. Elliot told Kincaid about how similar they are and how they can both “walk off the set straight onto the page of a glossy magazine.” Jiro then ran in, told Elliot he looked great, and they ran away.
Henley made her way to the ring with her “two best friends” aka NXT UK Tag Team Champions Briggs & Jensen. This was Ruca’s second match on NXT television.
They had some great back and forth to start with some tie-ups and headlock takeovers. Ruca showed off some great athleticism with a sunset flip off the middle rope for a two-count. It’s very early in her career, but she really seems like a natural. After Henley escaped from an armbar, she hit a shining wizard for the win.
Okay, I know Enofe and Blade are the established tag team in this match, but the team of Jiro and Elliot makes too much sense.
Enofe and Elliot began with Elliot using his gyrating hips in more ways than one to start off. They double-teamed Enofe and started dancing with each other in the middle of the ring. It doesn’t get more pro wrestling than this. They each took turns hitting their respective double-team maneuvers. Blade and Enofe dominated Jiro for a good chunk of the match, leading to the crowd starting a “We Want Quincy” chant that I almost joined in with.
Jiro finally got the hot tag after a quick counter in the corner. Elliot used his size with some shoulder tackles and a running splash onto Blade for a two count. He followed this with a double clothesline.
Enofe got back into the match by countering a bodyslam and hitting a nasty chop block onto Elliot and knocking Jiro off the ring apron. Enofe followed that with a running knee onto Elliot, setting up Enofe and Blade’s samoan drop/blockbuster combo for the win.
Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward) defeated Brooklyn Barlow
Thea Hail was accompanied to the ring by the rest of Chase U. This was Barlow’s fourth-ever match on Level Up.
They traded some headlocks and pinning combos. The commentators, Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness, kept ensuring that we knew Barlow was a former strongman competitor.
Barlow showed off her strength for most of the match. Hail turned around an abdominal stretch into a side slam. This led to Hail hitting a standing moonsault and the Hail Yeah for the victory.
– After the match, Kelly Kincaid was backstage with Hank Walker. They discussed Walker’s upcoming main event match with Duke Hudson. Walker put Hudson over until he said Hudson was cocky and looked down on people. Walker quoted his grandpa, “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.”
Bryson Montana defeated Ru Feng
Montana and Feng were each looking for their first victory as part of the NXT roster. In the promo art for the match, Montana looked cool wearing a Shield-type vest. He came to the ring in a suit and gloves and no shirt. I guess he felt he needed to dress up for this edition of Level Up.
Feng started out hot with some side headlocks. The crowd started a “Mortal Kombat” chant. Feng hit a body slam and a spinning heel kick for a two count.
Montana got the heat back with some stomps to Feng’s chest and some rest holds. Feng got back up and tried striking, but Montana hit a variation of the spinebuster called the Sky High to pick up the win.
Duke Hudson defeated Hank Walker
Walker made his way to the ring in the most basic country boy clothes of all time. McGuinness made a really funny joke about Walker’s appearance, comparing this match to seeing Bad Bunny or Logan Paul because we were seeing Seth Rogen in the ring.
They exchanged shoulder tackles to start the match. Walker eventually went for a body slam, but Hudson proved to be too heavy. Walker didn’t let up though, throwing Hudson into the corner and hitting a sidewalk slam for a two count.
Hudson got the heat with a missed elbow drop by Walker. He put the boots into Walker and hit a big elbow for another two count.
Hudson started using the farm boy’s hair to throw him around the ring. Walker responded by tugging on Hudson’s hair and driving him into the top turnbuckle. Walker hit a cool-looking body slam where he dragged Hudson up from the ground and sent him face-first into the mat. Walker tried to get the win with a vertical suplex, but Hudson landed on his feet and hit a big boot for the victory.
Final Thoughts —
This was an okay episode of NXT Level Up. The opener was solid. Thea Hail and Chase U continue their push as a faction while Brooklyn Barlow got some much-needed TV time.
The second matchup was mostly skippable, while the main event saw Hank Walker face off against his biggest opponent yet, Duke Hudson. Walker was over with the crowd, but he came out in the most basic outfit and had the most basic moves. It was only his second match on TV, so he’ll have a chance at more to come. Duke Hudson is also great at just being a heel.
