NXT LVL Up – February 16, 2024: Short And Well
NXT LVL Up
Date: February 16, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton
I’m not sure what to think of with this show these days but unfortunately things haven’t been going well in recent weeks. We’re back to the pretty lame shows where the lower level wrestlers are frequenting this show again and the shows have been weaker as a result. Hopefully it picks up again here so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Brooks Jensen vs. Je’Von Evans
Jensen shoves the 19 year old (and debuting) Evans down before grabbing a failed headlock attempt. A shoulder drops Evans but he’s back up with an armdrag into a headlock takeover, with the fans approving. Jensen fights up and gets in a hard whip to the corner, followed by a basement clothesline for two.
The chinlock goes on and the fans are booing Jensen out of the building. Evans fights to his feet and strikes away, setting up a springboard high crossbody for two. Another dive is powerslammed out of the air though and the top rope knee is enough to finish Evans off for good at 6:22.
Rating: B-. Evans got to showcase some high flying and the fans certainly responded to him, which is a great sign for his future. At the same time, the Jensen stuff was rather interesting as the fans are flat out rejecting him. I’m not sure if that is due to Evans or just because of Jensen, but this certainly did not go well for Jensen and that might not bode well for his future. Evans is off to a good start, but he has quite a ways to go.
Izzi Dame, with Kiana James, isn’t worried about Gigi Dolin.
Izzi Dame vs. Gigi Dolin
Kiana James is here with Dame. Dolin gets powered down to start and then pushed into the corner as Dame shows off the power. Back up and a headscissors takes Dame down, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes for two. Dame kicks her in the face to take over again and the stomping in the corner ensues.
Dolin’s forearms are cut off and a slam gives Dame two. The chinlock is broken up and Dolin strikes away, setting up something like a middle rope neckbreaker. James offers a distraction though and Dame grabs the Z Quill (fireman’s carry flapjack) to put Dolin away at 5:45.
Rating: C. I’m not sure if it is just a lack of anything to do or something else, but this James/Dame tandem has felt lame from the start and isn’t getting any better. They just feel like the latest evil duo and that isn’t exactly much to go on. At the same time, Dolin has fallen almost to the floor and I’m really not sure why. She might not be the next big thing, but she feels like she should be better than this.
Overall Rating: C+. This show worked better due to a pair of reasons and we’ll start with the opener. That was one of the better matches I’ve seen on LVL Up in a good bit and that makes the show feel that much more important. At the same time, cutting this down to two matches (due to the following week’s NXT being taped in advance) helped a lot, as three matches with lower level talent involved starts to wear a bit thin. Not a great or even good show, but it came and went with a solid match and that’s not bad for about twenty minutes.
Results
Brooks Jensen b. Je’Von Evans – Top rope knee
Izzi Dame b. Gigi Dolin – Z Quill
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