WWE NXT Level Up Review - July 15, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ikemen Jiro def. Quincy Elliott

Was it last week or the week before that Elliott interfered in the main event? I can't remember and am too lazy to look it up. Regardless, he's trying out a new gimmick where he... grinds up against the ring post during his entrance. Yeah, we'll see if that sticks. Although he's improved this year, Jiro is still far better and was the correct choice to win. Jiro carried him to a competent contest.

Kiana James def. Sol Ruca

I know nothing about Ruca, but I've seen her name brought up on social media, so she might be one to watch. She's super impressive athletically, I'll give her that. She'll benefit most from being on the house shows NXT just brought back. I still loathe James' stupid gimmick, but at least she's getting a bit better in the ring. Keeping this basic and on the shorter side was smart because anything longer may have exposed their weaknesses.

Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward def. Myles Borne and Javier Bernal

Level Up is practically the Chase U show at this point. The group is very over in front of this crowd and it's where they have their majority of their matches. I don't care for them personally, but the audience's enthusiasm for the faction makes their matches more bearable. Borne and Bernal are as generic as they come, so this was a perfectly serviceable main event and an easy win for Chase U.

Overall Show

The first two matches are far from barn burners, but the best thing I can say about them is that they didn't last longer than they needed to and weren't awful. Yes, that's the new standard for the show at this point. The main event was the best bout of the night but isn't worth seeking out unless you're a big Chase U fan. Time will tell if we see any of these up-and-comers on NXT TV before long, but I'd recommend continuing to relegate them to Level Up until they're ready.

SEE MORE: NXT Level Up Reviews