WWE NXT Level Up Review - April 7, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dante Chen def. Boa

As mentioned by Byron Saxton, we haven't seen Boa anywhere on WWE TV since he lost to Solo Sikoa on NXT back in January 2022. Yes, he was gone for almost 15 months. I don't believe he was hurt (it was alluded to on commentary but I don't remember reading that previously), so I have no idea why they decided to keep him under contract this entire time considering he isn't all that great. He's better than he was, but I don't see the point of giving him yet another push. The ship has sailed, at least in my opinion. What's funny is that he lost here, so how is he expected to build momentum? Ava was seen scouting him, so I hope the idea isn't for Schism to recruit him. The group already sucks as it is.

Sol Ruca and Dani Palmer def. Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend

Palmer has appeared on Level Up a handful of times in the past, so she's hardly a fresh face on this show. However, it was revealed on Tuesday's NXT that she'll be making her way to NXT TV soon, if not next week. She seems competent in the ring but needs something to help her connect with the audience (the promo she cut on last week's show was a nice start). This was a solid showcase for all four women but specifically Ruca who has so much potential and is quickly making waves (pun intended) in the women's division.

Joe Gacy def. Oro Mensah

Poor Mensah didn't stand a chance. As previously mentioned, the Schism stable is just terrible. I do not at all blame The Dyad (f.k.a. The Grizzled Young Veterans) for requesting their release. It was at one point reported that their releases were granted, but Dave Meltzer later said that isn't the case quite yet and here they were. Both of these guys are talented, so at least they were able to have a semi-energetic sprint in the five or six minutes they were allotted.

Overall Show

Level Up was back to its three-match format this week after featuring only two matches the last two weeks. I actually prefer two matches (a.k.a. the Main Event formula), but I understand featuring three matches allows more people to gain experience. As much as I hate Schism, them being on this episode gave Level Up a little more "star power" this week. We got three well-wrestled matches and a random return for Boa, so it was somewhat eventful by Level Up standards, even if none of said matches were anything special.

SEE MORE: NXT Level Up Reviews