By John O’Connor, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@thereal_JOC)
NXT: Level Up (Episode 17)
Taped June 7, 2022 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed June 10, 2022 on Peacock/WWE Network
Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon made their way to the ring as the broadcast team of Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness welcomed us to the show…
1. Valentina Feroz (w/Yulisa Leon) vs. Arianna Grace. Grace took Feroz down to the mat early as Feroz rolled through grabbing the arm of Grace. Grace would use her power to drop Feroz onto the top rope and applied a tight sleeper hold. Feroz rolled up Grace for a near fall to escape and hit a Lou Thesz press mounted with punches and a spear for the comeback. Grace kicked the arm of Feroz, attempted a scoop slam but was caught in a backslide by Feroz who picked up the pinfall victory.
Valentina Feroz defeated Arianna Grace via pinfall in 4:15.
The commentary team hyped Sloane Jacobs as ‘in action’ after the break…[c]
John’s Ramblings: Nice win for Feroz over Grace, both ladies looked smooth in there as their development continues.
2. Sloane Jacobs vs. Sierra St. Pierre. The commentary team put over Jacobs’ recent appearance in the NXT Breakout Tournament as she hit St. Pierre with a dropkick early followed by a side headlock. Jacobs hit a crossbody for a near fall before taking St. Pierre down once more with another headlock. St. Pierre responded with punches to the face of Jacobs and applied a chinlock. St. Pierre sent Jacobs into the corner and hit a forearm before Jacobs countered with a double arm suplex followed by a knee strike, clothesline and a flapjack for the win.
Sloane Jacobs defeated Sierra St. Pierre via pinfall in 4:54.
The commentary team hyped the main event…[c]
John’s Ramblings: A showcase win for Sloane Jacobs and for an originally unannounced opponent Sierra St. Pierre got in more offense than I expected that she would have. The crowd was into this one providing us with dueling chants.
3. Dante Chen vs. Ikemen Jiro. Tie up by both men as Chen took the early advantage before Jiro countered with a roll up for the near fall. Both men traded pinfall attempts to a stalemate. Chen hit a lungblower and followed up with a shoulder block on Jiro to take control. Chen continued to work on the upper body of Jiro driving him to the mat as Jiro attempted to escape. Jiro responded with a series of jacket punches and a springboard splash on Chen for a two count. Chen dropped Jiro onto his knee but Jiro fought through and hit the knee to the face of Chen to finish it.
Ikemen Jiro defeated Dante Chen via pinfall in 7:01.
John’s Ramblings: Another week, another loss for Chen but expected if they are rebuilding Ikemen Jiro after the departure of Kushida. Jiro doesn’t connect with me personally but he does have his fans out there as the audience was behind him for this contest. A passable edition of ‘Level Up’ this week, but despite the invested crowd, with no must watch matches this is an episode that could easily be skipped.
I was going to bring this up months ago before the show name change. I think the show should be 1 hour long and should be an all female show. With so many female talent available, it would give them some much needed ring time as well as more TV exposure. This might also grease the wheels for another all female PPV, excuse me, PLE. I was going to suggest this to Vince but not sure if he ever would have read it anyway.