• 2 months ago
Transcript
00:00Hey, Kendall, you excited for tonight?
00:04Yeah, of course.
00:05All right, no, I'm not buying that.
00:07Girl, what's up?
00:08Look, Carly, I'm not gonna lie to you.
00:10I've been down on myself, and now I have to face Tyra Mae Steele.
00:13She's an Olympic gold medalist.
00:15And you're Kendall Gray.
00:16Hello.
00:17You competed on back-to-back nights of the Great American Bash.
00:19You threw Miles Morton around like he's a waste of space.
00:22And you held your own in that gauntlet eliminator.
00:24And girl, you're undefeated in college.
00:26You're right.
00:27I just gotta figure out if I'm gonna use my amateur wrestling skills
00:30or use what I've been learning here in WWE.
00:32But either way, I'm gonna be in my gray area, and I need that win tonight.
00:36Exactly.
00:37You, you got this.
00:44Well, Kendall Gray will have her hands full
00:46when it comes to her opponent, Tyra Mae Steele.
00:49It will be the collegiate standout versus the Olympic gold medalist
00:52in what is sure to be a technical masterpiece.
00:54That is next on Level Up.
01:00Welcome back to Level Up.
01:10The following contest is scheduled for one fall.
01:13Introducing first, Kendall Gray!
01:18Set for more action here as we're fresh off of a massive opportunity
01:21to get in the championship's attention a few weeks back on NXT.
01:24The former undefeated amateur standout re-enters her gray area.
01:29I appreciate what you did there, Blake.
01:31Kendall Gray had a little pep talk a little earlier on tonight
01:34from her on-and-off-against tag team partner, Carly Bright.
01:38Hopefully, her confidence is where it needs to be
01:41for this highly anticipated match.
01:43That's an understatement.
01:45And her opponent, Tyra Mae Steele!
01:52Well, the Olympic gold medalist is back.
01:54And after a couple of humbling outings,
01:56went back to the drawing board to find her way.
01:58And Byron, it also looks like she brought some more hardware with her.
02:01In case you forgot how accomplished Tyra Mae Steele is
02:04sporting the gold medal she won at the Tokyo Olympics.
02:08Two titles she's carrying from the United World Wrestling Championships
02:132019, 2022.
02:15She says, it's important to carry these past accomplishments with me
02:19to remind me of where I want to go in this career.
02:22And that's to the top with more gold.
02:24A dominant freestyle wrestler is Tyra Mae Steele.
02:27And now Kendall Gray, the undefeated amateur,
02:29something has to give here, Byron,
02:31in what is a highly anticipated matchup.
02:33I said it, you said it.
02:34I'm going to tell you why we're both saying it.
02:36Because you talk to the coaches at the performance center,
02:39you talk to other competitors,
02:41you talk to some of the fans here.
02:43There's so much anticipation between these two athletes
02:46because of their similar backgrounds.
02:48We already mentioned Tyra Mae Steele, former Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo.
02:52Kendall Gray had an undefeated collegiate amateur wrestling career.
02:57Two women with very similar pedigrees,
02:59and we're seeing that display already from Tyra Mae.
03:02Tyra Mae having her way early on here with Kendall Gray
03:05in her comfort zone right on the canvas.
03:08Is Tyra Mae really looking to control the pace right now?
03:10And, Byron, do you think that Kendall's amateur background
03:12intimidates Steele at all?
03:14I think it intimidates a lot of competitors, Steele. No.
03:17I mean, have I mentioned she's a gold medalist?
03:19Like, this is what she did.
03:21This is what she lived and breathed, much like Kendall Gray.
03:23But there's not going to be any intimidation here.
03:25You've got two very proud athletes
03:27who want to outdo each other in this match.
03:29We talked about how big of an opportunity it was
03:31for Kendall Gray a couple of weeks back.
03:33Getting an opportunity at the Women's Championship Gauntlet Eliminator.
03:36That's some early opportunity there in her career there, Byron.
03:38Byron gives you a taste, a little appetizer of what it could mean
03:42as opposed to a championship opportunity here at NXT.
03:45And look at Kendall Gray landing on her feet.
03:47They're coming right back the other way with the Fireman's Carry Takeover.
03:49From Kendall Gray, I love this challenge
03:52of taking on an Olympic gold medalist,
03:54of silencing any critics out there that might think
03:56maybe I'm not on the level of a Tyra Mae Steele.
03:59Whoa, whoa, whoa.
04:01Look at that counter now, trying to flatten out Tyra Mae Steele.
04:04Looking for that cross arm breaker.
04:06The confidence issues that Kendall Gray might have been having before this match,
04:09I think they're all gone right now.
04:11I think Kendall Gray has settled in to what she wants to do in this match.
04:14Is Kendall Gray finally believing
04:16that she can be a successful WWE Superstar?
04:19A win against Tyra Mae will be one huge step
04:22in the right direction for Kendall Gray.
04:24As Tyra Mae looking to power out right here.
04:26Since we last saw Kendall Gray,
04:28opportunities against Ren Sinclair, Jada Parker.
04:30Whoa.
04:32As in a very compromising position right here.
04:34Oh, look at the power of Tyra Mae.
04:36That could be a huge difference maker in this match.
04:39USA! USA! USA!
04:42As the NXT Universe supporting Tyra Mae Steele here.
04:45Look at that immature ability on full display early on.
04:48But then the power game up in the ante a bit.
04:50I love about Tyra Mae.
04:52If you've been around her, I know you have, like, the locker room area.
04:55She's just super peppy, in a great mood, smiling all the time.
04:58But I love watching her flip that switch inside the ring.
05:02Sometimes called the karaoke queen in the locker room.
05:05Seen a lot of Whitney Houston at times.
05:07Whitney Houston, Reykon Benjamin.
05:09Maybe a little cool in the gang after this match.
05:11A little celebration, assuming she wins.
05:13But right now, it's all business inside the ring
05:15as Tyra Mae coming back the other way with the suplex.
05:18Floats over, hooks the outside leg.
05:20Kendall Gray able to hang on.
05:22Did have the opportunity to talk to Tyra Mae earlier today,
05:25and she said she's really upped her training in recent weeks.
05:27Her in-ring acumen's on a completely different level.
05:29She's now remembering who she is.
05:31Well, there's always a transitional period for any athlete,
05:34especially when you come from the amateur wrestling ring.
05:36No matter how successful you were,
05:38you can always take elements of what you did in that world,
05:41but there's some hurdles you have to overcome.
05:43Body's certainly not meant to bend in this direction,
05:45as Tyra Mae Steele may be looking to tap out Kendall Gray.
05:48A new addition to the offensive repertoire of Tyra Mae Steele.
05:52She said Kendall Gray's style was very squirrely,
05:55very difficult to get a hold of her.
05:57Right now, Tyra Mae Steele in full control.
05:59Kendall's not going anywhere right now.
06:01Right in the center of the ring here,
06:03looking to Jackie for position.
06:05As you said, Byron, Tyra Mae Steele adding new layers
06:07to her offense here in her third time around on Level Up.
06:10This is great for Tyra Mae.
06:11She doesn't have to expend a whole lot of energy,
06:13but you can see the look on Kendall Gray's face.
06:15She is in agonizing pain.
06:18Talked about Tyra Mae Steele facing a lot of adversity
06:21in her adaptation to the ring.
06:23Trying to ride through that right here against Kendall Gray.
06:27Of course, Kendall Gray here, reverse.
06:28Oh, to the cover.
06:31On the doorstep right there.
06:32Throughout her amateur career,
06:33did receive a lot of support from her former Duke University standout
06:36and now Raw superstar, Julius Creed.
06:38Julius Creed very instrumental in helping Kendall Gray
06:41get an opportunity to come to NXT.
06:43And speaking of which, man,
06:44what a brutal street fight that was on Monday night.
06:47The Wyatt Six.
06:48Very instrumental in getting everything started this past Monday.
06:52The Wyatt Six, American made, but right now,
06:54Kendall Gray looking to find a victory here.
06:57And TMS hangs on.
06:59You see momentum shifts in the favor of Kendall.
07:01Momentum shifts in the favor of Tyra Mae.
07:04Kendall favoring her lower back as she's trying to up the ante.
07:08Talked about Kendall Gray being undefeated as an amateur.
07:10Never faced an Olympic gold medalist in front of her.
07:12But Tyra Mae Steele looking for that mix of technique
07:16and power right here.
07:17Oh, could be snake eyes for Kendall Gray.
07:21And now TMS looking to load up and boom!
07:25Oh my gosh!
07:26What a launch!
07:27Holy moly!
07:28Into the cover!
07:30And Kendall!
07:31Oh!
07:32That was not it.
07:33That was not it.
07:35Looked like three.
07:36Let's take another look here, Byron.
07:37Look at this power.
07:39Oh, a sickening strength from Tyra Mae Steele.
07:42Seemingly out of nowhere, but surprisingly,
07:45not enough to put Kendall Gray away.
07:48We knew how sharp her ground game was
07:49when we seen that her first couple of times out.
07:51We knew it would be a handful against Kendall Gray.
07:53And right now, that dragon sleeper lock did Kendall
07:56nowhere to go.
07:58Kendall Gray in the middle of the ring.
08:00She may not have much choice, Blake, but to start fading.
08:03And Kendall trying to escape!
08:06Into the cover!
08:07Link is hooked!
08:08Shoulders are down!
08:09And Gray does it!
08:10Oh!
08:12Here is your winner, Kendall Gray!
08:19Byron, you see her grasping for air right there,
08:21right on the cusp of defeat.
08:23But Kendall Gray keeps on moving.
08:25I think Kendall Gray is a little shocked that she found
08:27a way out of that dragon sleeper hold
08:30to counter it to a pinfall victory.
08:33And you see her interlock those fingers right there,
08:35taking her right back to the amateur days.
08:37Not quite an Olympic gold medalist,
08:39but Kendall Gray picks up a huge win here on Level Up.
08:44I'd love to see this match again.
08:47Well, Byron, you're going to have to wait.
08:49As I'm being told, we're heading backstage.