Leighty’s NXT Level Up Review 12.29.23

-Not sure what we are getting this week as I wasn’t even expecting a show. Usually it pops right up as running live on Peacock, but I had to search for it. Let’s get to it!

-Blake Howard welcomes us to the show from the studio and yep, it’s a review show. Well, time to copy and paste. I will have my countdown of every match from Level Up in 2023 by the end of the weekend.

Dani Palmer and Sol Ruca vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson
-April 7, 2023

Hey, it seems we are back to our three-match format for this show. Ruca and Legend start us out with a lockup, and nobody gains an advantage. Another go and Lash gets a take down and shows off the power as she lifts Sol off the mat with one arm. Ruca counters and works the arm with some elbows. Tag to Palmer and we got a cool spot as Ruca launches Palmer into the air where she gets a cross-body for two. That was pretty sweet and she got some good height on that. Jackson in and she takes Palmer down and works the arm. Palmer counters and gets a side headlock. She uses her gymnastics background to avoid and gets a head scissors take down. Jackson goes to the hair to gain the advantage and makes the tag to Lash. She grabs Palmer by the hair and spins her around the ring before letting go. Back to Jackson and she gets a Sling Blade for two. Palmer with a jackknife cover for two, but she can’t make the tag as Jackson pulls her back into the corner. Another try and this time Sol gets the hot tag to pop the crowd. She runs wild as she springs into the match. Front flip into a splash in the corner. Ruca gets a roll-up for two as Legend makes the save. All four women battle in a cool way to hit the move, Jackson tosses Palmer through the ropes, but is too close to the corner and Ruca snaps off the Sol Snatcher for the pin at 4:50. That move is still awesome and they are finding inventive ways to allow her to hit it and make sense.

Winners: Dani Palmer and Sol Ruca via pin at 4:50
-Another basic tag match, but I like the team of Palmer and Ruca as they are getting better each time I see them. They have something with Ruca as she is a freak athlete. Keep giving her more matches. **

-Tavion Heights talks his 2023 and a lesson he learned from Nathan Frazer in a match they had earlier in the year.

-NXT Shop commercial!

Nathan Frazer vs. Tavion Heights
-June 9, 2023

-Heights gets a waist-lock and just rag dolls Frazer up and down to the mat. Frazer gets to the ropes to break and then gets a roll-up for two. Heights backs him into the corner for some shoulders, but gets caught with a sunset flip for two. Frazer uses his speed and gets a headlock. He starts making Heights chase but tries to come off the top and gets caught with an overhead release suplex. Heights gets a submission as he cranks on the neck while having the arm tapped. Frazer gets separation and gets an arm-drag, but gets sent throat first into the middle rope. Another suplex from Heights and he gets a two count off a face first slam. Frazer uses the ropes to stall and then lands on his feet as he is being pulled up and hits an enziguiri. They stand in opposite corners and charge at each other, and Frazer lands a flying forearm. Frazer lands on his feet off another suplex and connects with a superkick. Frazer heads up top and hits The Phoenix Splash for the win at 4:38.

Winner: Nathan Frazier via pin at 4:38
-Fun little match here as they worked well together. It was power/mat game vs. speed/high flying and they clicked. **1/4

-Karmen Petrovic talks about her match with Jacy Jane and how she comes back from her mistakes every time. We will see a lot more from her in 2024.

-Next week it’s New Year’s Knockout Week for WWE as we have RAW: Day One, NXT New Year’s Evil, Best of The Bump 2023, The Best of WWE 2023, WWE Preview Special 2024, and SmackDown: New Year’s Revolution. I like the importance they are putting on the entire week.

Jacy Jayne vs. Karmen Petrovic
-Aug. 08, 2023

-This is our second look at Petrovic as she made her debut a few weeks back. Jayne buries a knee to the ribs early and stomps away in the corner. Side headlock from Jayne and she gets shoved off, but runs Karmen down with a shoulder. Karmen goes low as she attacks the leg and gets Jacy down to hook a side headlock. Petrovic gets a roll-up for two and then a jackknife cover for two. Jayne seems amused! Jayne lands a knee from the apron and a kick to the head gets two. She buries a knee in the back and uses the ropes to choke. Karmen throws some strikes, but Jayne maintains control and gets a splash in the corner which gets a two count. Headbutt from Jayne and she lands a Senton for two. Nice kick to the chest from Jayne and then she hooks a bow and arrow. Karmen is able to break and they fight over a backslide. Karmen lands a head kick to the back of the head and gets a running forearm. She misses a head kick and Jayne lands Rolling Encore for the pin at 5:10.

Winner: Jacy Jayne via pin at 5:10
-This was fine as Jayne dominated and Karmen got to show some flashes, but Jayne won without breaking too much of a sweat. *1/4

-Riley Osborne talks about his match with Axiom and how it had a controversial ending. They had a rematch that “slapped” according to Riley. He notes with those two matches, and joining Chase U, 2023 was a great one for him and in 2024, the sky is the limit.

-Of note, the tease for the match spells Osborne’s last name with a U, but his graphic during his promo didn’t have one.

-WWE Live commercial! I am still debating if I want to go to the show in Pittsburgh in April.

-WWE NFL Championship Belts! Go Niners!

Axiom vs. Riley Osborne
-Oct 13, 2023

-Lockup and nothing doing! Another lockup and Axiom gets wrist control. Backslide from Axiom gets two. Axiom gets another pin for two. Osborne rolls and cartwheels out of wrist control. He then offers a handshake to Axiom, who slaps away the hand. Osborne pins the shoulders down for a series of two counts. Axiom bridges out and then they start monkey flipping each other all over the ring while maintaining hand control. The crowd is digging it! Chop from Axiom and the crowd wants it one more time. Axiom obliges and then sends Osborne to the floor. Axiom is set to fly, but lets Osborne back in the ring. Osborne shoves Axiom and gets taken down for his disrespect. Osborne gets his own take down and hooks a side headlock. Axiom fights his way out and wraps Riley up in a submission, but that doesn’t last long. Riley back with a palm strike and then he kicks at Axiom’s head. Chops follow from Osborne and Axiom returns fire. Dropkick from Axiom and a sweet release German Suplex for two. Axiom heads up top but gets caught with a dropkick on the way down. OSBORNE ROLLS INTO A RANA FOR TWO! That was sick! We get a Level Up chant from the crowd. They start trading blows from their knees and the crowd cheers for both sides. Heavy clothesline from Axiom. They both end up spilling over the top to the floor as Axiom charges. This is Awesome chant! Osborne gets a dropkick, but gets caught coming off the apron with a superkick to the face. Obsorne beats the count at 9, but as he slides in he gets caught with a splash from the top for the pin at 8:20. I think something was screwed up there as either the ref counted when he kicked out or Osborne forgot to kick out in time.

Winner: Axiom via pin at 8:20
-They need a rematch after that ending as I think something was screwed up there. This was a lot of fun up to that point as you don’t get “This is Awesome” or “Level Up” chants on this show very often. Axiom has showed out several times, so that wasn’t anything knew, but I like what I saw from Osborne. Give me more of this please. ***

-Man, rewatching that last match and the ending really hurt what was a fun match. Even the crowd was annoyed as they started chanting “that was two.”

Axiom vs. Riley Osborne
-Oct 27, 2023

-These two had one of the best matches of the year for this show two weeks ago, so I have high hopes for this one. They work the arm to start and trade counters and flips out of that. Osborne controls with a head scissors, but Axiom does a head stand to slip out and gets a sick submission reversal. Osborne counters and flips out which leads to a test of strength. Axiom gets Riley down and gets several one counts. They keep knuckles locked as they flip around the ring. We get some wacky stuff with them tied up and standing on their heads staring at each other. No clue what I saw, but it looked cool and the crowd appreciated it. Osborne gets knocked to the floor, but blocks a suicide dive. He connects with a sling-shot shoulder block for two. Axiom with a nasty chop! Osborne tries a sunset flip, but Axiom rolls through and lands a kick for two. Axiom heads up, but Osborne rolls away and catches Axiom with a clothesline. Axiom back with a knee and a German Suplex followed by a punt to the chest for two. “Level Up,” chant! Heavy chop from Axiom and the crowd chants, “one more time.” Axiom doesn’t disappoint and then counters an Osborne head scissors attempt into a powerbomb. They fight on the floor and another nasty chop from Axiom. Osborne tries a back flip off the apron, but Axiom moves and hits a superkick that sends Obsorne into the announce table. Axiom waits up top for Osborne to roll back in, but Osborne is ready this time and blocks. Standing corkscrew splash from Osborne gets two. The crowd lets them know that what they are seeing is awesome! Inverted suplex from Osborne gets two! He heads up and Axiom lands a head kick. Both men up and Axiom hits a Spanish Fly from up there. Golden Ratio finishes at 7:47.

Winner: Axiom via pin at 7:47
-They played off the match from two weeks ago and gave us a more satisfying finish. I liked this one more than the match two weeks ago. Good stuff from these two and I want more! ***1/4

-Blake Howard wraps things up and that’s it for this week’s best of show. Thanks for reading!

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

This was a fun little show that ran just over 45 or so minutes. Including the Axiom/Osborne series was the highlight as you can watch the two matches back-to-back now. The Ruca match was there to make sure we remember how fast she was developing and to show off her finisher, which is still pretty awesome. As Best of The Year shows go, this was good as you got to see all five matches from bell to bell and not just clipped to fit a time constraint. Good stuff!