Leighty’s NXT Level Up Review: 11.19.22

-My wife was at a work function late last night which meant I was taking care of both my boys and couldn’t catch the 10 PM airing of the WWE NXT Level Up show. That means I have to wait until today when Hulu gets to air it. Let’s get to it!

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

Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Duke Hudson) vs. Dani Palmer

-This is Palmer’s debut. She is from Baylor University where she won a bunch of National Titles in Acrobatics and Tumbling. Someone keep her away from Braun Strowman. Dani shakes hands with Andre and Duke before the match in a nice touch. Palmer controls the arm, but Hail uses the ropes to flip out. The Chase U Student Section is into this one as you would expect. Hails gets an armdrag and uses the middle ropes to get another one before getting a two-count-off advice from Chase and Hudson. Palmer shows off some of her background as he gets a few kip-ups and we get a sign of respect as they shake hands. They start again and we get a double down as they each go for a crossbody. Palmer fights to get Hail into an abdominal stretch, but Hail is able to hiptoss Palmer to break. Exploder suplex from Hail and she starts shaking the top rope like Warrior. She springs off the bottom rope and gets a senton backsplash. She plants Palmer with a swinging neckbreaker into a face plant for the win at 4:41.

Winner: Thea Hail via pin at 4:51
-The effort was strong as both women seemed pumped up to be out there. Congrats to Palmer for getting her first match out of the way. Not what you would a good match, but that’s not the point here. It was a chance to see what she had and give Thea a win. Now just give her more matches. 3/4*

-Oba Femi gets a backstage interview and he will be making his debut tonight. He was born in Nigeria and came to the US to throw the shot put (I did that in Jr High so I am more than qualified to discuss). Now he is here to throw men around the wrestling ring.

-Hulu commercials!

Dante Chen vs. Oba Femi

-Femi is a big dude with a good luck so he should get a solid chance if he has anything in the ring to offer. Lockup and Femi swats Chen across the ring. Chen gets a side headlock and uses the middle ropes to maintain the hold. Femi tries a clothesline, but Chen ducks and goes back to the side headlock. Femi breaks and lands a hard back elbow. He tosses Chen into the corner and then the opposite corner. He gets a one-armed backbreaker for two. Femi goes to a bear-hug and releases to get another backbreaker, but Chen flips out to escape. Chen back to the headlock, but Femi breaks with an atomic drop and hits a heavy forearm to get a two count. Back to the bear hug which goes for a bit before Chen breaks. He tries a sleeper, but Femi tosses him off and then misses an elbow. Chen unloads with strikes and throws clotheslines and running boots but can’t drop the big man. Chen comes off the top with a chop and finally gets Femi off his feet. He throws two double chops to get a two-count and gets a running version to get the pin at 5:34.

Winner: Dante Chen via pin at 5:34
-Femi looked okay as he played to his strength which is his size and strength. Chen bumped off him well and the ending was solid with Chen just unloading all he had to finally drop the big man and get the win. Much like earlier, congrats to Femi for getting this first match under his belt. *1/4

-Handshake after the match between the two.

-Hulu commercials!

-As always, this show gets something from RAW added to pad the run time. In this case, we get the entire Rollins/Balor US Title Match. Fun match but I’m just here for Level Up. Theory unleashing his new, serious, and aggressive side is a welcomed change.

-Hulu commercials!

Oro Mensah vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/ Tony D’Angelo)

-Tony sits in on commentary and bonds with Saxton. In the ring, they fight over arm control and Mensah backs Stacks into the corner. He flips off him and gets an armdrag that sends Stacks to the floor. Back in Stacks gets a hammerlock, but Mensah breaks and lands a kick. Stacks fires Mensah into the buckle and then shoulder-first into the post. He works the shoulder by dropping some knees and goes to an armbar. Mensah gets a quick roll-up, but Stacks is out and two and goes back to the arm submission. They start exchanging blows and Mensah gets the nod and hits a running clothesline. He follows with some forearms and gets a springboard moonsault press from the middle rope. Sweet springboard dropkick which gets Tony D away from commentary. Tony tries to distract, but it doesn’t matter as Mensah hits a flipping head kick for two. He goes back to the middle rope, but Tony catches him in the ribs with his crutch and Stacks takes advantage as he plants Mensah on his face with a knee to the back of the head for the win at 5:40.

Winner: Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo via pin at 5:40
-This was okay as Mensah looked good again. He has some flashy offense which will pop the crowd. Much like everyone else on this show it is all about getting more matches under their belt. Lorenzo cheating to win is fine as for the most part this show is consistent with the “veterans” getting wins over the newbies. **

-Thanks for reading!

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

-This show seems to be really embracing the idea of being the developmental show for developmental and that is what it should be doing. Give me all the debuts as it will at least be interesting to see these men and women develop and if some don't then it was worth a shot. Tonight was all about getting some new faces out there in front of fans and working to a TV audience. Perhaps we will get lucky and the next mega-star will come from this show and I can say I was there from the start.