By John O’Connor, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@thereal_JOC)
NXT: Level Up (Episode 89)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed October 27, 2023 on Peacock/WWE Network
Jacy Jayne made her way to the ring accompanied by Thea Hail as the broadcast team of Blake Howard and Byron Saxton welcomed us to the show…
1. Jacy Jayne (w/Thea Hail) vs. Izzi Dame. Jayne outsmarted Dame in the early stages of the match before wearing her down with a side headlock. Dame looked for a headlock of her own but Jayne grabbed the hair and took Dame down to the mat. Jayne looked for a sleeper but Dame escaped and hit Jayne with a pump kick after draping Jayne throat first across the top rope. Dame charged at Jayne but Jayne countered with a rollup for a near fall. Dame applied a chinlock but Jayne rallied and hit multiple kicks on Dame dropping the newcomer. Jayne followed up with the rolling clothesline for the win.
Jacy Jayne defeated Izzi Dame via pinfall in 5:05.
The commentary team hyped the main event as Axiom vs. Riley Osborne for after the break…[c]
2. Axiom vs. Riley Osborne. Axiom took Osborne down to the mat as the match started. Osborne attempted a kip up but Axiom remained in control driving Osborne’s shoulders to the mat for a series of near falls. Axiom hit Osborne with an arm drag which sent Osborne to the outside. Axiom looked to fly but Osborne countered and hit Axiom with the springboard shoulder block. Back in the ring, Osborne hit Axiom with a dropkick but Axiom hit straight back with a snap release German suplex.
Osborne looked for a rolling hurricarana but Axiom hit a powerbomb for a two count. Both men took the fight to by the announcers table. Osborne looked for a moonsault from the ring apron but Axiom caught Osborne coming down with a superkick. As the referee almost counted Osborne out, Osborne stopped the count at 9. As he slid back in the ring, Axiom looked to finish in the same way as the last match between the two ended but Osborne got his feet up on this occasion.
Osborne gained a near fall with a twisting standing moonsault and both men traded chops. Osborne took Axiom down once more but could not put the masked man away. Osborne looked for high risk from the top rope but Axiom met him hit the Spanish fly followed up by the golden ratio kick for the victory.
Axiom defeated Riley Osborne via pinfall in 7:48.
John’s Ramblings: An episode all about the rematch between between Axiom and Riley Osborne. It would have been interesting to see if WWE would have booked this match again so soon after their first encounter had it not been for the supposed botched finish in the first match between the two. Match number two was an enjoyable return, but not as good as the first in my opinion but the match was still a lot better than what you may usually see from others with similar lucha in-ring styles. Axiom picked up another win, but I think putting these two in a best of five series that can be played out over Level Up could be a tremendous idea, as there is much more that can be done between the two who have clear in-ring chemistry.
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