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Leighty’s NXT Level Up Review 05.20.22

May 20, 2022 | Posted by Robert Leighty Jr.
WWE NXT Level Up - 5-20-2022, Josh Briggs vs. Quincy Elliott Image Credit: WWE
6.5
The 411 Rating
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Leighty’s NXT Level Up Review 05.20.22  

-Announce Team: Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuiness
-Taped: WWE PC, Orlando, FL

Javier Bernal vs. Bryson Montana

-This is Montana’s in ring debut. He gets a side headlock to start which is the norm around these parts. Bernal gets caught with a wristlock but rolls around the ring to escape. Another go and this time Bernal gets the arm wringer and Montana cartwheels out and it’s a stalemate. Shoulder block from Montana and then another lockup. You can see Montana clearly “working” to each spot as he is not so subtly feeding his arm to Bernal. Obviously small things like that will get better. Reason we have this show. Bernal drops a leg on the arm, but gets caught with a sidewalk slam. Montana tosses Bernal across the ring and then hooks a body vice. He shows some good power by holding Bernal on his shoulder for so long, but Bernal breaks the hands. He runs wild with dropkicks and gets a Codebreaker for the win at 4:13.

Javier Bernal via pin at 4:13
-Not much here as it was a chance to get Montana out in front of a crowd and on TV to work a 4 minute match. *

-Miz and Mrs commercial!

-WWE Live commercial!

Ivy Nile vs. Yulisa Leon (w/ Valentina Feroz)

-Leon gets to dance a bit before the match and then we get serious. The crowd lets Leon know that “Ivy’s gonna kill you.” Yep! Test of Strength and Nile uses leverage to get the take down. They continue to work off that and Nile gets a sweet suplex while maintaining the knuckle lock. Head scissors from Nile while also working on the arm and the crowd chants for Leon to tap. Leon squirms into a pin for two and lands a kick. Nile lands a kick and they take turns trading blows which is nice to see someone stand up to Nile. Leon gets a two count off a slam and goes for another and again a two count. Roll-up for two! Another for two! Nile fights her way into a swinging neckbreaker that took it’s toll on both women. They punch each other from a seated to standing position which is cool. Nile wins that exchange and hits a Super Woman punch in the corner. Running one legged dropkick gets a two count. Nile fights back with strikes and gets another slam for two as Nile rolls into a Dragon Sleeper and Leon taps at 5:16.

Winner: Ivy Nile via tap-out at 5:16
-I like these two, so I enjoyed this. Nile is always a bright spot on this show and I enjoyed that Leon knew who she was in their with and showed a more aggressive side. Not enough though as Nile continues to roll. **

-NXT is back on the road this summer!

-WWE and Special Olympics commercial!

Quincy Elliot vs. Josh Briggs (w/ Brooks Jensen)

-Elliot twerks on the ring post as he makes his entrance which the crowd enjoys. Elliot backs Briggs into the corner and dances. Another go and Elliot grinds on Briggs in the corner, which lets Elliot land an elbow to the head. He send Elliot to the ropes with a shoulder and slides outside to hit the punch like Dustin Rhodes. Elliot back with a snapmare and then more dancing. Running elbow in the corner from Elliot and he follows with a snap suplex for two. Another cover and again two. Shoulder from Elliot drops Briggs and he hits the splash. Reverse bearhug as he continues the work on the midsection. Briggs elbows his way out but gets drilled with a sick looking elbow. That looked snug! Briggs returns fire as I am all for them just laying into each other. Give me a HOSS fight! Abdominal stretch from Elliot though he doesn’t hook the leg which would irritate Gorilla Monsoon if he were calling this match. Elliot sends Briggs from one corner to the other and then heads up for a Banzai Drop, but Briggs rolls out of the way. They trade blows in the middle of the ring which the crowd eats up. Briggs wins with a boot to the face. Sidewalk Slam and splash from Briggs. Running clothesline in the corner and Elliot fires back with a splash. A clothesline is missed and Briggs hits his lariat for the pin at 7:16.

Winner: Josh Briggs via pin at 7:16
-Started slow but got decent when they started unloading on each other with big man offense. This was solid. **1/2

-Thanks for reading!

6.5
The final score: review Average
The 411
This was a decent episode of this show and the kind of show I would like to see each week. The opener got someone new on TV, Ivy got to look like a star again and the Main Event was fun. Not anything Earth shattering here, but that's not the point. For Level Up this was a solid show with a hot crowd. More of this please!
legend

article topics :

NXT Level Up, Robert Leighty Jr.