NXT LVL Up – November 22, 2024: It Is A Step
NXT LVL Up
Date: November 22, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton
I’m getting more curious about what this show is going to be doing as they’ve been making some nice adjustments over the last few months. The show is still nothing exactly worth seeing but I’ll take a bit more effort over the same stuff week after week. Hopefully they can keep something going this time so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Joe Coffey vs. Harlem Lewis
Coffey grabs a headlock to start and takes Lewis down for some grinding. That’s broken up and Lewis runs him over but Coffey is back up with some whips into the corner. Some kicks to the chest have Lewis in more trouble and we hit something like a seated abdominal stretch. Lewis fights out and pulls Coffey out of the air (dang) for a Jackhammer and a near fall. That’s enough for Coffey, who hits the Glasgow Sendoff into All The Best For The Bells and the pin at 4:31.
Rating: C+. Lewis pulling Coffey out of the air like that was worth at least something of an upgrade as that is impressive for anyone. Coffey actually needed the win after losing that six man a few weeks ago and this got him back on track. Odds are this story isn’t over though and for once, I can go for something like that.
Lainey Reid isn’t happy with being asked if she can beat Tyra Mae Steele. She also seems a bit nervous about Layla Diggs.
Lainey Reid vs. Tyra Mae Steele
Reid spins out of a foot grab to start but Steele takes her down by the leg without much effort. An armbar keeps Reid down but she sends Steele into the corner for a running elbow. A seated abdominal stretch is broken up in a hurry and Reid misses a charge into the post. Steele’s bridging German suplex gets two and she pulls Reid out of the air. After pausing for a second (that was weir), Steele rolls backwards into a Snake Eyes attempt but gets sent into the buckle. Reid rolls her up and grabs the trunks for the pin at 4:25.
Rating: C. Steel’s very early learning curve continues as there is only so much you can get out of these four minute matches. That being said, she’s getting her feet wet at this point and that should do her some good, though putting her in there with someone with some more experience might help. This wasn’t a particularly impressive match, but Steele is certainly a long term project.
Post match Layla Diggs chases Reid back into the ring for a Pounce from Steele.
Post break Diggs says she is tired of playing Reid’s games and revenge is coming.
Shiloh Hill vs. Dante Chen
They fight over wrist control to start as commentary talks about Chen’s desire to help rookies because people helped him when he got here. Hill’s cravate has Chen in some trouble but he avoids a charge to send Hill into the post. Chen stays on the arm with a DDT into an armbar, followed by an armdrag into another armbar. Hill fights up and they trade near falls until the Gentle Touch finishes Hill off at 6:03.
Rating: C. As usual, Chen is treated as nothing short of a superhero around here and it’s still a weird thing to see. I still don’t known if I get the appeal, but the fans around here seem to like him enough. Other than that, Hill goes from a promising star to losing to Chen, which tends to be the opposite of how things work. Kind of a weird way to go, but who am I to question Chen?
Overall Rating: C. The interesting thing here is the Reid/Diggs story, which is getting some time and actually building. It’s not exactly something I want to see, but I’ll take an attempt at something around here rather than just doing the same thing over and over. We’ll call this show a fairly boring step in the right direction, but a step nonetheless.
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