Leighty’s WWE NXT Level Up Review 03.11.22

-It should be noted the intro to this show is solid as they flash video of various WWE stars when they were in NXT and where they are now. Let’s get to it!

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

Trick Williams (w/ Carmelo Hayes) vs. Guru Raaj

-Carmelo joins Sudu and Nigel on commentary for this one. Williams controls with a side headlock as Hayes informs us he is the A Champ that puts on BANGERS after BANGERS every week. Raaj with a hip-toss and then again, but walks into a spinning kick that hit flush. Nice! Hayes takes over play by play duty and even works in a “vintage Trick Williams.” Again, nice! Trick works to get s standing armbar that looked a little awkward getting to. The crowd rallies Guru as he escapes and lands a forearm. He connects with a bulldog but again runs into a kick to the head. Modified swinging neckbreaker finishes at 4:08. I believe it’s being called The Slam Dunk.

Winner: Trick Williams via pin at 4:08
-Well, there were a couple nice head kicks and Trick winning is the right call. *

-WWE2K22 commercial! This weekend I will have my copy. Hopefully, tomorrow depending on the snow coming to SW PA.

-Roman/Brock hype commercial! It’s no Hogan/Andre Mania III.

Ivy Nile (w/ Malcolm Bivens) vs. Brooklyn Barlow

-I could see Kevin Dunn becoming a fan of Barlow. This is her Level Up debut. Nile throws a leg kick and gets a quick takedown. Barlow rolls out of another attempt and grabs an arm. Nile tries to counter, but Barlow powers her back down. Nile looks for another escape, but Barlow maintains the hold. She ends up getting a sunset flip for two, so Nile just punches her in the face. Effective! Snap suplex from Nile and she follows with a running kick for two. Nile works the neck as the crowd chants for Ivy. Barlow avoids a charge in the corner and hots a shoulder tackle. Another and then a dropkick to the ribs for two. They are giving Barlow a lot here. Roll-up gets another two for Barlow, but Nile has had enough as she punches Barlow in the face again and finishes with The Dragon sleeper at 3:50.

Winner: Ivy Nile via tap-out at 3:50
-Not as energetic as previous Ivy matches as it seemed they wanted to give Barlow a little shine to show some things before Nile finished her off. Nile continues to roll. *

-WrestleMania commercial!

-Corey and Carmella now on YouTube!

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen

-Jensen gets distracted by a woman in the crowd, but Briggs gets him to refocus on the match. Gibson and Jensen start us out and Gibson gets a quick roll-up for two. Jensen gets a hammerlock, but eats an elbow for it. Blind tag to Briggs and he mows Gibson down after an atomic drop. Briggs works the arm and gets sent into the corner, but his partner sacrifices himself to let Gibson bounce back and land a shot. Tag made to Drake and he gets punched in the face. Tag back to Jensen and he works in the old Road Dogg punch sequence. Gibson gets a blind tag and buries a knee in the back sending Jensen throat first into the middle rope. Clothesline from Gibson and he talks some trash to get the crowd going. Tag to Drake and he comes off the top with a blow to the back which gets two. Drake hooks a side headlock, but Jensen breaks with his strength and then hits a belly to back suplex. Tag to Gibson and he cuts off Jensen. He throws some elbows and takes off his belt to create more space to make the tag to Jensen. He runs wild a bit and hits Gibson with a release side suplex and then a splash. Backbreaker gets a two count as Drake makes the save. Briggs turns his attention to Drake and Gibson attacks from behind. Gibson hits a dropkick from the top which sends Briggs into a Flatliner from Drake and that gets two. Drake misses a dropkick in the corner and now the hot tag to Jensen. He hits Drake with a running clothesline on the apron, but then turns his attention to the woman in the crowd. That distraction lets Drake regroup as he counters a suplex back in the ring into a pin. Drake grabs the leg from the floor for good measure and that gets the win at around 6:00 as my timer stopped for some reason.

Winners: The Grizzled Young Veterans via pin at somewhere around the 6:00 mark
-Solid tag match as they worked the tag formula and kept it simple. This was fine. **1/2

-Fallon Henley distracts The GYV which lets Brooks and Jensen attack from behind. Sore losers! Drake gets clotheslined and chopped blocked as we go off the air. Nigel calls them sore losers and he’s not lying!

-Thanks for reading!

5.5

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

The opening two matches were similar in structure and really, we only need one SQUASH or semi-SQUASH a week. The Main Event was solid, but not enough to get this to even average territory.