Leighty’s WWE NXT Level Up Review 9.29.23

– WWE NXT Announcers: Blake Howard and Byron Saxton
-Taped: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, FL

Arianna Grace vs. Fallon Henley

-Grace is doing a beauty queen gimmick now with a crown and sash. She knows we all had to endure the pain of not having her around. She would like to be known as Miss NXT now. Lockup to start and Grace wants Henley to kiss her hand. Henley sends Grace across the ring and now she offers her hand to be kissed. Side kick to the head from Henley and then she slides out of the ring to deliver a punch to the face. Grace slides off the shoulders and uses the hair to gain an advantage. She prances around the ring to continue getting the new gimmick over and the crowd is receptive so far. Grace hooks a chinlock and that goes on for a bit. The announcers let us know that during her rehab, Grace competed in Miss Universe Canada, so I guess the gimmick didn’t just come out of nowhere. They get to a standing position and Henley can break and then lands an elbow. She runs Grace down and catches her with a knee to the face. Clothesline from Henley but she misses a splash in the corner. Grace gets a roll-up with her feet on the ropes, but the ref catches it. That lets Henley get her own roll-up for the pin at 4:19.

Winner: Fallon Henley via pin at 4:19
-This was all about getting Grace’s new gimmick over and then she lost. *

-Riley Osborne gets promo time backstage. He lets us know what we see in the ring is what he is like outside the ring. HE IS FULL OF ENERGY! He gets Myles Borne tonight!

-WWE Fastlane! Indianapolis! Next Saturday!

-NFL and WWE have partnered for NFL Team Belts. GO NINERS!

Myles Borne (w/ Gulak, Kemp, and Dempsey) vs. Riley Osborne

-Miles is now a heel since joining Drew Gulak and company which is something for him. Borne vs. Osborne seems sloppy by name-generator standards. OSBORNE IS FULLY OF ENERGY AND LIVES IN THE MOMENT as he knocks Myles on his ass. Saxton jumps on the similar last names as he notes this is the NXT version of The Borne Identity. My two-year-old decided to climb up my lap because his tablet was off, so I’m sorry if I missed anything. Borne with a knee to the ribs followed by a suplex and the another. Osborne gets a backslide for two but gets caught with a powerslam that gets Myles a two-count. I like the new aggression from Myles. Shoulder breaker (which is a move not used enough) and then into a headlock. Osborne can escape and lands a leg lariat that sends Myles to the floor. Osborne flies over the top with a sick dive that takes out Myles. DOPE! Osborne heads up top and misses The Shooting Star, but is able to roll with it. Unfortunately, he rolls right into a heavy lariat and Myles gets the tap-out with a Dragon Sleeper at 5:00.

Winner: Myles Borne via tap-out at 5:00
-Not much to this one, but I like the new edge to Borne and I want to see more from Osbourne as he showed some flashes here. **

-Heights vs. Mensah is our Main Event this week!

-WWE and Connor’s Cure have partnered together for nearly 10 years! The top fundraisers can meet Bianca or Cody!

-NXT No Mercy! Tomorrow!

Oro Mensah (w. MetaFour) vs. Tavion Heights

-Lockup to start and Heights gets back control and takes Mensah to the mat. He rides him for a bit, but Mensah is able to grab the arm. That is easily reversed by Heights so Mensah lands an up-kick from his back. Mensah grabs a side headlock and throws a punch to the face behind the ref’s back. Mensah uses the hair to send Height’s throat first into the middle rope. Heavy kick to the back and a double axe from Mensah. He drops some knees and gets some two counts off those strikes. Heights gets pissed and throws some heavy blows but Mensah uses leverage to send him into the ropes again. Mensah comes off the top with a kick that gets a two-count. More elbows from Mensah and he hooks a chinlock. Kick to the head as Heights is just getting mauled here. Heights gets his arms locked around Mensah and fights off a hair pull to get an overhead release suplex. Mensah back with a headbutt and he looks to spring from the middle ropes, but Heights grabs him and hits a suplex. Another suplex gets a two-count. Gut-wrench, but Mensah elbows out and delivers another elbow. Superkick finishes at 6:00.

Oro Mensah via pin at 6:00
-This was nearly a Mensah SQUASH outside of a few suplexes from Heights. This match was solid when Heights was tossing Mensah around. I appreciate MetaFour didn’t get involved as Mensah winning clean means more. **

-Thanks for reading!

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

This was an episode of Level Up that happened. Which means it's an easy watch with basic matches that are easy to digest. Osborune intrigues me and Grace's new gimmick seemed to catch on with the crowd, so those are the pluses this week.