WWE NXT Level Up Review - August 18, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jacy Jayne def. Karmen Petrovic

I don't think we've seen Petrovic since her impressive debut several weeks ago, or at least until now. She certainly seems like she's got something about her and I hope they give her more opportunities to develop her skills on Level Up. Jane's stuck in a holding pattern at the moment, so having her work with the inexperienced talent is a fine use of her for now. This was decent while it lasted and I thought Petrovic again held her own.

Dani Palmer def. Brooklyn Barlow

It's been a bit since we last saw Barlow in action on Level Up, but she got some promo time beforehand backstage to refamiliarize viewers with her. So far, I'm not seeing anything special about her. She was okay in the ring, but personality-wise and athletically, she comes off like most generic newcomers. The problem is that Palmer does, too, so this was an extremely basic bout. Both need more seasoning and weren't ideal opponents for each other.

Oro Mensah def. Ikemen Jiro

The Meta-Four have been all over NXT TV lately, so there was no way Mensah was losing here. I'm not a big fan of the group myself, but I can't complain about how Mensah's been used lately because it's better than being relegated to Level Up. He and Jiro had a nice little match here. He's a natural in the heel role and Jiro was a good babyface foil for him. Mensah winning with help from Lash Legend put some more heat on the group.

Overall Show

It was cool that we got more women's matches than men's matches on the show this week. Palmer vs. Barlow was the worst of the bunch, but only because there was nothing that stood out about it. Jane vs. Petrovic was slightly better and the quality main event made the episode passable. Some editions of Level Up will be stronger than others and this one fell under "average" for me.

SEE MORE: NXT Level Up Reviews