Leighty’s NXT Level Up Review 12.23.22

-Merry Christmas Eve! Sorry for the delay, but I was up until 2 AM wrapping gifts and getting things ready for the big day tomorrow with my wife. Let’s get to it!

-Announce Team: Sudu Shah and Byron Saxton
-Taped: WWE PC, Orlando, FL

Charlie Dempsey vs. Myles Borne

-Lockup and nothing doing, so they can again. Borne shoots in and gets a take down, and they exchange on the mat. Hammerlock from Borne, but Dempsey counters, gets to his feet and gets an armbar. Borne counters which Dempsey escapes by bridging off his back. The pace picks up as Borne lands a dropkick, but Dempsey gets in a shot and takes a side headlock to the mat. Head scissors from Dempsey, but Borne kips out. Dempsey goes back to the hold and transitions to an armbar as the crowd starts a “This is Wrestling” chant. Sweet! Dempsey works the arm as Borne looks for another escape. He reverses into an top wristlock and they battle back and forth. Dempsey ties Borne up with a head scissors while keeping arm control. Borne escapes again and they start trading forearms from the mat. Hammerlock from Dempsey and he lands some elbows to the back on the head. He stretches Borne and throws some body blows. Cover by Dempsey gets two. Borne is able to quicken the pace, but gets caught with a hiptoss and Depmsey takes it right back to the mat. He works a keylock, but Borne fights off his back and is able to lift Dempsey onto his shoulders and drop backwards to break the hold. Nice! They start trading strikes again as the crowd is digging this one. Overhead belly to belly suplex from Borne. He sends Dempsey into the ropes and catches him with a powerslam (like Randy Orton naturally) for two. Borne up top, but a splash misses. Dempsey lands a strike to the back and finishes with a bridging head and shoulders suplex for the win at 8:13.

Winner: Charlie Dempsey via pin at 8:13
-This was fantastic and one of the best matches on this show all year. They just went out and wrestled and meshed well against each other. The crowd dug all the mat wrestling and they built things nicely. Borne tried the only high-risk spot of the match, missed, and Dempsey made him pay. More of this please! ***1/4

-Dani Palmer gets interviewed backstage as she has her second match tonight.

-Hulu commercials!

Sol Ruca vs. Dani Palmer

-Palmer has a gymnastics background and we are told these two are go friends who train together. Palmer escapes an armbar with a backflip and Ruca won’t be shown up as she flips across the ring as well. Springboard off the middle ropes into an armdrag from Palmer. They each try a dropkick and it’s a stalemate which gets applause from the crowd. Palmer gets an abdominal stretch, but Ruca powers out. Roll-up by Palmer gets two and they go round and round exchanging pin attempts for two. Dropkick from Ruca and as Palmer stumbles in the corner, Ruca hits THE SOUL SNATCHER FOR THE PIN AT 3:01.

Winner: Sol Ruca via pin at 3:01
-Yeah, that move is over like crazy right now. She found another way to hit it and make sense as well. Real short match, but it was energetic and they each showed off their athleticism. *

-Hulu commercials!

-Back to RAW for the entire Lumis/Miz Ladder Match. Again, for those unaware the Hulu version of the show always includes a match from RAW to pad the run time to 45 minutes. Miz gets the win thanks to returning Bronson Reed.

-Hulu commercials!

Hank Walker vs. Trick Williams

-Trick clowns Walker to start to try to get in his head. Walker gets annoyed and tries a slam, but Williams escapes. He gets mowed down with a clothesline though and tossed over the top to the floor. Williams misses an elbow on Walker as he faked getting back in the ring. Slam from Walker as Sudu tells us this a battle of North and South Carolina. Trick floats over in the corner and brings Walker down on the back of his head. He gets a two count off a dropkick in the corner. He throws some chops in the corner and some more in the other corner as he makes sure to expose Walker’s chest. That fires Walker up and he lays into Williams with chops. A second one misses, and Williams gets a leaping clothesline for two. Trick grabs a submission hold and talks trash, but Walker breaks with country strength. He unloads on Williams with rights and lefts. Williams tries the same float over move as earlier, but Walker catches him this time. The shirt is off as he runs wild on Williams and gets a two count by dropping Trick on his face. He misses a splash in the corner and Williams gets a spinning neckbreaker for two. Trick Kick finishes at 6:13.

Winner: Trick Williams via pin at 6:13
-Solid, simple hoss fight that was different than the other two matches on the show. **

-Thanks for reading!

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

The opener made this a good show and is worth checking out. Ruca/Palmer was short, but we all came for THE SOUL SNATCHER and they delivered. A fun show this week!