Leighty’s NXT Level Up Review 02.17.23

-I ranked all the matches from 205 Live/Level Up from 2022 and you can find that here. Congrats to Dempsey and Borne for having what I felt was the best match from this show in 2022. Now we continue with this year. Let’s get to it!

-Announcers: Blake Howard and Byron Saxton
-Taped: WWE PC, Orlando, FL

Dante Chen vs. Eddy Thorpe

-Here we go as the former Karl Fredricks (Thorpe) makes his NXT debut! Lockup to start and Thorpe gets a takedown, but gets caught with a head scissors. He kips out and we get a stalemate. Knuckle lock and Chen gets another takedown and goes to work on the arm. Thorpe flips out and gets a waist-lock. Chen counters and gets a roll-up for two. Chen gets an arm-drag into another armbar. Thorpe gets knocked down off a shoulder, but catches Chen with a crossbody. He gets a one count and then ties Chen up as he goes to work on the shoulder and ribs. He transitions to an abdominal stretch and then misses a clothesline. Chen lands strikes, but Eddy responds. They trade strikes and Chen hits a nice looking clothesline. He misses a pump kick and Thorpe lands an elbow to the jaw. Running boot in the corner from Thorpe, but Chen comes back with the pump kick. Chen tries a suplex, but Thorpe counters and gets a Saito Suplex. Impaler DDT finishes at 4:33.

Winner: Eddy Thorpe via pin at 4:33
-This was fine though I expected more of a SQUASH. What Thorpe did looked good and it was nice to see a newbie actually get the win on this show. *1/2

-Valentina Feroz cuts a promo backstage.

-WWE and A&E bring back Legends and Rivals this Sunday with nWo and Hogan vs. Andre!

-Elimination Chamber tomorrow night!

Xyon Quinn vs. Oba Femi

-Lockup and they jockey for position to test each other’s power. Femi wins that and Quinn shoves him in frustration. Quinn slaps Femi in the back of the head to continue the mind games. Quinn tries to grab an arm, but gets knocked down. He tries again and gets a side headlock. Femi shoves off and mows Quinn down with a shoulder. Quinn bails to the floor and Femi gives chase. Back in the ring Quinn misses a right hand and Femi gets a waist-lock takedown. Femi catches a boot and knocks Quinn down on his face. Femi blocks a trip into the corner, but Quinn lands a dropkick to the back. He buries knees in the corner and drapes Femi over the apron to deliver some forearms. Body punches from Quinn followed by right hands to the jaw. He strikes Femi down for a one count. Xyon gets a mount and throws more strikes before hooking a chinlock. Nerve hold from Quinn and he transitions to a sleeper as he makes Femi carry his weight. Femi runs Quinn into the corner to break and gets a spinebuster. He lands a running uppercut in the corner and gets a slam. Quinn swings wildly and misses, but uses the tights to pull Femi into the buckle. He lands the flying forearm for the pin at 5:13.

Winner: Xyon Quinn via pin at 5:13
-Solid HOSS fight. Nice to see Quinn get a win. **

-WWE Celebrates Black History Month with Kofi talking about his historic WWE Title Win over Daniel Bryan.

-Roman vs. Sami tomorrow! Montreal is going to be on fire!

Ivy Nile (w/ Tatum Paxley) vs. Valentina Feroz

-Nile gets a quick takedown and gets some riding time as the crowd chants for Ivy. They grapple and Feroz gets a choke and the mount position. She transitions into a short arm scissors and Nile counters into a Dragon Sleeper that is countered by Feroz. Cool! Feroz grabs a leg and cranks on the ankle. Nile gets the other leg free and is able to kick off. Feroz is relentless though and sling shots Nile throat first into the middle rope. Spinning head scissors gets Feroz a two count and she works another submission. This is longest I have ever seen someone have an advantage on Nile. Feroz gets a crossbody, but Nile rolls through and stands up to hit the Scott Hall SOS Slam for two. Deadlift German Suplex from Nile gets two. She hooks a chinlock and covers the mouth for good measure. Feroz tries to flip Nile off, but Ivy just hangs on to the hold. Feroz just powers up and gets a lift to break the hold. She hits a spear and gets a judo throw. Nile counters into a suplex, that Nile counters into a roll-up for two. Nile lands a running kick in the corner and carries Feroz around the ring before hitting a running powerslam. Feroz comes back with a Meteora for two and Elektra Lopez is here. Feroz gets distracted briefly, but is able to get a roll-up that Nile rolls through with and hooks the Diamond Chain Lock for the tap at 6:34.

Winner: Ivy Nile via pin at 6:34
-Cool little match as I dug the MMA and it was interesting to see Nile face a challenge. Nile continuing to win is the right call though. Feroz continues to improve as well. **1/4

-Thanks for reading!

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

Just your average edition of NXT Level Up. The Main Event was solid and the other two matches were okay for 5 minutes. As always, an easy show to watch and I will be curious to see how Thorpe looks going forward.