WWE NXT Level Up 12/9/2022

WWE NXT Level Up 12/9/2022

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/wwe-nxt-level-up-1222022.html

Damon Kemp vs Odyssey Jones

Kemp is thrown into the buckles but goes over and rolls in the ring. OJ shoulders him and Kemp goes for a leapfrog but is lariated. OJ lifts him up by the arm then does a small splash on the arm. Kemp bangs OJ's head off the buckle then pulls the arm down over the top. OJ armdrags him and Kemp goes back to working on the arm.

Kemp puts his leg over OJ's arm as he is bent over and pulls on it. OJ makes a comeback with lariats then pops him up and drops him. Kemp takes a big slam and OJ rolls on him. OJ hits a corner splash then pulls him into a boss man slam for the win.

There were some sloppy moments here and I thought Kemp should have gotten more in here as it would have made the match a little better. The arm work was kind of weak with both guys looking concerned about hurting the other.

Valentina Feroz is interviewed. they have her talk to her fans in Portuguese, but at least they put subtitles up. She said she's happy to be on Level Up and says Sol Ruca is very good. She says something that doesn't make sense and says this her jungle, baby. 

Valentina Feroz vs Sol Ruca

Feroz uses the ropes to headlock takedown her. Feroz is put in a headscissors and flips out of it on the mat. Sol does a cool pull into a powerslam then hits a nice dropkick. Feroz holds the ropes on the apron and is flipped in. Sol handsprings out of an arm throw then Feroz hip throws her for 2.

 

The announcers openly said that there's been mumblings that Sol is the next big thing, which is high praise. Sol does a nice leapfrog then rolls backwards and trips her with her inner leg. Sol cravates her then Feroz hits a rolling spear. Feroz does a short hurricanrana on the mat then meteoras her for 2. Sol goes up on the 2nd buckle and hits an insane imploding flip into a cutter and wins the match off of it.

Sol's imploding flip cutter got a ton of coverage online and was a really cool move out of nowhere. This was a fun little match with Sol rolling and handspringing around and then hitting her cool finish.

What else can you really say about Sol? She may be the best female athlete ever in wrestling, she has a cool look and she has a built in gimmick. She's one of the best prospects I've seen and she really should be the female face of WWE along with Tiffany Stratton.

Trick Williams vs Ikemen Jiro

We haven't seen a lot of Trick....ever. Trick tells Jiro to take his jacket off but he refuses. Jiro poses then Trick headlocks him. Trick shoulders him over and the poses then Jiro kips up and poses. Jiro does it again and armdrags him. Jiro kicks him in the ribs and Trick backs off on the jacket punch attempt.

Trick goes up and over in the corner and grabs Jiro's jacket on the way down to pull him down. Trick then poses. Trick puts Jiro's jacket into his tights and Jiro can't move his arms. Trick hits punches then is rolled up. Trick hits a Mcgillicutter for 2. Trick hits some bad mounted punches and they trade shots.

Trick tries to pull his jacket off the up and over but Jiro avoids it. Jiro hits some jacket punches and superkicks him in the face as he is down. Jiro 2nd buckle moonsaults for 2. Jiro enzugiri's him then Trick hits a corkscrew face kick (called the trick kick) to win it.

Jiro carried this and Trick did fine as a heel against him. Trick has a good look and is great on the mic, but he's just awkward in the ring. He's stuck because he's not good enough to get more matches on televised shows, but because he doesn't get those matches, he doesn't get a chance to get better. He can always be a manager or do some other talking role, but if he got the in-ring stuff down, he could be a top guy.

Overall thoughts: Sol's new move really has to be seen but it's Level Up and it's nothing must see otherwise. The women's match was the best match on the show and the other matches were okay but not must see.