By John O’Connor, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@thereal_JOC)
NXT: Level Up (Episode 96)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed December 15, 2023 on Peacock/WWE Network
Scrypts, accompanied by Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, made his way to the ring as the broadcast team of Blake Howard and Byron Saxton welcomed us to the show…
1. Scrypts (w/Bronco Nima, Lucien Price) vs. Javier Bernal. Once the bell rang, both men trash talked each other before locking up. Scrypts hit a dropkick which sent Bernal to ringside. Back in the ring, Scrypts sent Bernal into the middle rope with a drop toe hold and followed up with a sliding dropkick for a near fall.
Scrypts worked on Bernal with stomps out of the corner and cut off an attempted comeback from Bernal with a neckbreaker for another near fall. Scrypts worked on the neck but Bernal made his way back to his feet and rocked Scrypts with a kick and a dropkick of his own. Bernal hit a running bulldog and a facebuster and attempted to snatch a victory with assistance from the ropes but Nima knocked Bernal’s feet from the ropes. Distracted, Bernal turned right into Scrypts’ floating cutter for the dub.
Scrypts defeated Javier Bernal via pinfall in 6:11.
The commentary team hyped Amari Miller vs. Valentina Feroz for after the break… [c]
2. Amari Miller vs. Valentina Feroz. Fans chanted welcome back to Amari Miller as the match got underway. Feroz took Miller to the mat but Miller responded with an arm drag which took Feroz down. Miller hit an elbow drop to get an early two count but Feroz hit a modified x-factor to regain control.
Feroz worked on the arm as fans attempted to bring Miller back into contest. Feroz charged in but Miller rocked Feroz with a reverse elbow and dropped Feroz with a strong knee to the face. Miller looked to finish but Feroz grabbed onto the knee brace and dropped Miller with a cartwheel kick. Feroz went to the top and nailed Miller with the meateora for the victory.
Valentina Feroz defeated Amari Miller via pinfall in 3:55.
The commentary team hyped the main event…[c]
3. NXT Tag Team Champions Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo vs. Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey in a non-title match. Dempsey dropped Stacks as the bell rang with a dropkick and a scoop slam and tagged in Gulak. D’Angelo entered and elevated Stacks in the air to drop him on Gulak for a near fall. Gulak rolled away and tagged in Dempsey who continued to wear down Stacks. Gulak assisted Dempsey with a wrist clutch suplex on Stacks and Dempsey tagged Gulak back in. Stacks made the hot tag to D’Angelo and D’Angelo hit a fisherman’s suplex on Gulak for a two count.
Dempsey checked back in hit a butterfly suplex on D’Angelo before Gulak went to the top rope only to be met by D’Angelo. D’Angelo taunted Dempsey and hit him with a high back body drop. Both Stacks and D’Angelo clotheslined Gulak and Dempsey to ringside and D’Angelo used Stacks as a weapon to take out Gulak and Dempsey. Back in the ring, Stacks and D’Angelo nailed Gulak with the Bada, Bing, Bada, Boom double team finish for the win.
Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo defeated Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey via pinfall in 6:20.
John’s Ramblings: An appearance from the NXT Tag Team Champions made this episode stand out from many other recent Level Up episodes as we near the holiday season. The main event is the match you need to seek out if you are short on time, but all of the matches on this edition were entertaining enough to be able to recommend the whole show.
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