Leighty’s NXT Level Up Review 2.9.24

-Big weekend! Go Niners!

-Announce Team: Blake Howard and Byron Saxton
-Taped: WWE Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, FL

Kelani Jordan vs. Stevie Turner

-Lockup to start as the crowd chants for Kelani. They jockey for position and Stevie lands the first blow. She gets a side headlock, but Jordan escapes and gets a basement crossbody. She mocks Stevie and they start shoving each other. Jordan grabs the arm and works on that. Turner counters, but Jordan flips her way out. Arm-drag from Jordan, but a dropkick misses the mark. Turner sends Jordan into the corner and gets a clothesline from behind. Turner with a running boot. She hooks a headlock, but Turner escapes and gets a backslide for two. Turner misses a running boot and Jordan starts rolling. She lands some strikes and gets a sweet looking heel kick. That was solid! Jordan gets a two count, but then gets caught with a knee to the face. Jordan back with a modified stomp and then a split legged moonsault from the top rope for the pin at 4:38. Howard even referred to Jordan as One of a Kind. I see what he did there.

Winner: Kelani Jordan via pin at 4:38
-This was decent and I have enjoyed seeing Jordan improve. The crowd is getting behind her, and I am curious to see where she goes from here. Little clunky in spots, but it’s Level Up. *3/4

-Javier Bernal gets promo time!

-Elimination Chamber! Perth, Australia!

-WWE2K24! I think I will be buying that.

Javier Bernal vs. Keanu Carver

-Carver tosses Bernal on his ass to start which isn’t shocking. Bernal gets tossed again and he hasn’t lost his confidence. He tries to run Carver down, and that’s not smart. He tries again and bounces off. Carver runs through Bernal and mauls him in the corner. Carver missing a running boot, and Javier gets a dropkick in the corner. Basement dropkick gets a two count. Lightning Legdrop from Bernal. He tries a suplex, which again, is dumb. He opts to kick the knee and gets a Flatliner for two. Bernal buries a knee in the back and hooks a chinlock. Carver gets to his feet and throws some heavy forearms. SOS Slam with ease! POUNCE! I am so happy to see that move back. Bernal gets his feet up in the corner to block and charge. He gets a roll-up and uses the ropes for leverage to steal the win at 3:59. Hey, the ref didn’t see it, so all good.

Winner: Javier Bernal via pin at 3:59
-Solid little match. I am intrigued by Carver as we always need BIG MEATY MEN! I was thinking Bernal winning was an upset, but this is Level Up where the newbies tend to eat losses early in their careers. **

-WrestleMania XL! Philadelphia! Still not sure if I am making the trip across PA yet.

-WWE Live commercial!

Tavion Heights vs. Myles Borne

-Catch Clause invoked as Heights doesn’t know who he is facing until right before the match. In this case The No Quarter Catch Crew selects: Myles Borne! Lockup to start and they jockey for position with neither man gaining an advantage. Another go and Heights gets a waist-lock into a take down. Borne to his feet and he pie faces Heights. He responds with another take down, but Borne counters with an armbar. Heights counters and gets a side headlock. Borne pulls the hair to regain the advantage. Heights back with a slam and then a gut-wrench suplex. Borne regroups with his Crew on the floor. Back in the ring, Borne lands some elbows in the corner and gets a weird looking neckbreaker. That looked a little wonky. Borne stomps away in the corner and gets a whip to the opposite corner. Suplex gets a two count and Borne goes to a chinlock from there. They seem a little off again as Heights escapes and gets a sunset flip for two. Borne back with a dropkick and then into another chinlock. Oh boy, more ugliness as Borne kind of misses a dropkick and Heights kind of catches him with a slam into a suplex. Heights just decides to start throwing heavy clotheslines and gets a throw over his head. Slingblade from Heights! The Crew distracts Heights for a split second which allows Borne to hit the snap powerslam for the pin at 5:16.

Winner: Myles Borne via pin at 5:16
-Not sure what happened here as they had a few places where things didn’t go right and they just seemed out of sync. Sometimes that can be covered for to make it look like a fight, but not here. The finish was okay as the Crew didn’t interfere as much as they made Heights over think what he wanted to do next and he got caught. *1/2

-Thanks for reading!

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Was looking like just your ordinarily average episode of Level Up, but that Main Event was disappointing. I know they have more to offer than that and just seemed like a bad day at the office. Just got to move on, and tear it up the next time. As always, an easy watch as long as you know what to expect from this show.