WWE NXT Spring Breakin' 2023 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

WWE NXT delivered an early spring gift to fans with its Spring Breakin' special on Tuesday. As the last show before the WWE draft, it could also see several stars wrestling on the gold brand for the final time.

Carmelo Hayes had a tough first challenge as NXT champion against the opportunistic Grayson Waller.

Indi Hartwell needed to prove herself as NXT women's champion against two great challengers in Roxanne Perez and Tiffany Stratton.

In the first-ever Trunk match, Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo hoped to put Pretty Deadly behind them by throwing them in their car trunk.

Andre Chase looked for revenge against Bron Breakker, who had destroyed the Chase U flag. Lyra Valkyria promised to put down Cora Jade, while Brooks Jensen and Kiana James fought former friends Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley.

Spring Breakin' looked like one of the biggest shows of the year for NXT...and a final farewell to many of its key stars.

Trunk Match: Pretty Deadly vs. The Family

Tony D'Angelo sent Kit Wilson into the trunk with a crowbar and then hurled Elton Prince through a table with Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo.

Finally, The Family tossed Prince in the trunk and closed the door. They then drove away with Pretty Deadly locked away.

This was a fun Street Fight-style match that only got to its stipulation in the last couple minutes. It could have been more involved or longer, but the weapons were the focus during in-ring action.

This is almost certainly the end of Pretty Deadly in NXT. They made the brand better and will be greatly missed. Wilson and Prince will easily fit in on the main roster.

Result

D'Angelo and Stacks def. Pretty Deadly by trapping both in the car trunk.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• The show started with a party in a nearby park, talking about the matches to come. Javier Bernal was thrown in a fountain by Dabba-Kato.
• Pretty Deadly carried a table off the ramp, refusing to use it.
• Wilson and Prince isolated The Underboss and carried him to the car. He found a fire extinguisher in the trunk to set up the finish.
• The night ended with The Family sending Pretty Deadly to the bottom of a nearby river and focusing back on the NXT Tag Team Championship.
  

Bron Breakker vs. Andre Chase (w/ Duke Hudson)

Andre Chase came out firing against Bron Breakker, using the ropes and turnbuckle to wear down the former NXT champion.

However, once Breakker regained control, he dominated and forced The Professor to tap out to the Steiner Recliner.

This was a fun squash match in which Chase got in his usual spots before falling hard. Breakker was always going to be too much for anyone in Chase U.

With this win, he stays near NXT Championsip contention, setting up a big rematch for Battleground on May 28. But it might be smart to take Breakker to the main roster soon, or he is going to outstay his welcome.

Result

Breakker def. Chase by submission.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Hudson talked up Chase before telling him that he would be the only one in his corner.
• Breakker caught the boot of Chase during the Chase U stomps and began his dominant streak to take the win.
  

Cora Jade vs. Lyra Valkyria

Cora Jade brought a kendo stick into the match to distract the referee before catching Lyra Valkyria with a chop black and DDT to win.

This was anticlimactic end to a rivalry that seemed to be finally getting off the ground. The two struggled to find their chemistry throughout, especially in the home stretch of this match.

NXT is fully behind Jade, who does not quite look ready for the main roster. She would be an obvious next challenger to the NXT Women's Championship, perhaps even the next titleholder.

It would have been interesting for Valkyria to pull off the upset. She now falls behind in the pecking order, but hopefully she can recover with strong wins against other women in NXT.

Result

Jade def. Valkyria by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Valkyria battled back against Jade's early dominance with a series of kicks, a pair of bridging suplexes and a high-angle baseball slide.
  
• Dijak attacked Ilja Dragunov on his way into the arena, trapping him under a rolling metal door until officials intervened.

NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) (w/ Trick Williams) vs. Grayson Waller

Grayson Waller had Carmelo Hayes on the ropes in this intense battle, but the challenger could not hit his return rolling cutter when it mattered.

The Australian took a superkick and then Nothing But Net, which sealed the win for the NXT champion.

Afterward, Melo called out Bron Breakker, who speared Trick and locked him in the Steiner Recliner. Finally, he speared Him through the stage.

This was a fantastic championship match that could have easily closed the show. The chemistry between the two was unbelievable, setting up impressive sequences left and right.

Given how poorly Melo vs. Breakker went the first time, the company may be missing out on magic by not playing out more of Hayes vs. Waller.

The post-match action between Melo and Breakker was very good, selling the heat between the two men. Hopefully, they can deliver big the second time around.

Result

Melo def. Waller by pinfall.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• Ahead of the match, Trick talked up Carmelo Hayes as NXT champion.
• While Melo and the referee were arguing, Waller blasted Trick with a steel chair.
• Him pulled off an unreal springboard reverse DDT for a near-fall.
• Melo countered the return rolling cutter into a double knee facebuster attempt, but Waller used his strength to keep him up and plant him with a powerbomb.
• The challenger nearly won with his return rolling cutter, but the challenger rolled outside to escape the pin. Waller then elbowed him through the announce table.

Brooks Jensen and Kiana James vs. Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley

Josh Briggs was reluctant to fight Brooks Jensen at first, while Fallon Henley enjoyed attacking Kiana James at every turn.

However, after Jensen accidentally knocked James off the apron, he turned into a lariat from Briggs, which sealed the win for him and Henley.

Afterward, James tried to slap Jensen, who caught her hand. She then told him she "never loved him" and walked out. Briggs consoled Jensen.

This was shockingly good. While the wrestlers involved have steadily improved through a flat story, it was still hard to get excited about this one, but Briggs and Jensen carried their tag team chemistry forward into a battle against one another.

Henley also was on fire, putting on her strongest sequence in the ring to date. The crowd chanted "We want Fallon" early in this match and cheered her as the biggest star in the match when she was in control.

It looks like this story is over, and it was a genuinely good ending. Jensen finally saw through James, and Briggs forgave his young friend.

Jensen, Briggs and Henley should get a big push after this.

Result

Briggs and Henley def. Jensen and James by pinfall.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• NXT showed a video package on the story that led to this match.
• Jensen looked to be trying to make amends to Henley, but he got blasted with a running shoulder block from Briggs.
• Henley tripped James off the apron and threw her into the steel steps. The distraction allowed Jensen to hit Briggs with a running spinning heel kick.
  
• Joe Gacy and Ava Raine found Joe Coffey backstage and challenged him. If Gacy won, The Dyad would get a match against Gallus; if Coffey won, The Dyad would never challenge Gallus while they were champions.
  

Oba Femi vs. Oro Mensah

While Oro Mensah pushed Oba Femi with his speed and veteran instincts, he was unable to keep the big man down.

Femi put his opponent away with a pop-up powerbomb.

Femi is an imposing figure who looks like he can move in the ring, which will serve him well in the long term. He didn't get to show a lot of his move set as Mensah controlled the action, but he showed flashes of potential.

Poor Mensah has fallen a long way. While he got to look competitive here, this was never about him. He got the jobber entrance and could not even get a true near-fall over the rookie heavyweight.

Result

Femi def. Mensah by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• During his entrance, NXT showed the strength stats of Femi.
• After the match, Gigi Dolin grabbed a commentary mic and challenged Jacy Jayne to a match next week with her baby brother at ringside.
  
• Dragon Lee showed respect to Noam Dar in a backstage interview before the screen behind McKenzie Mitchell aired a challenge from Scrypts to Axiom.
• NXT Anonymous caught video of someone attacking Sol Ruca in the parking lot.
• Drew Gulak challenged Wes Lee for an NXT North American Championship match after he and Charlie Dempsey mocked the champion's reckless attitude. Tyler Bate found Lee backstage and offered to stand in his corner next week.
  

NXT Women's Title: Indi Hartwell (c) vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Tiffany Stratton

Indi Hartwell injured her knee in this competitive Triple Threat match and was nearly taken out of it, but she came back in time to save her title.

She pulled Tiffany Stratton off Roxanne Perez after a moonsault and then hit a running forearm on The Prodigy to win.

This bout started strong, but it got a bit sloppy down the stretch. It is possible that the champion legitimately hurt her ankle, which forced Stratton and Perez to improvise. If so, they did their best in a tough situation.

However, Hartwell gutted it out and came back for a big title victory. She has continued to build a solid legacy as champion, more than this writer expected when she first won the gold.

The result would heavily imply Perez is headed to the main roster, doing the honors on her way out. The 21-year-old was invaluable to NXT but could have been used better as champion and challenger before getting the call-up.

Result

Hartwell def. Perez and Stratton by pinfall to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Each competitor talked about what they fight for ahead of the match. Hartwell tried to talk herself up in the mirror but seemed uncertain.
• Stratton nearly stole the win with a running double foot stomp to Perez and then took out both women outside with a moonsault to the floor.
• Hartwell hurt her knee on the floor, leaving The Prodigy and The Center of the Universe alone in the ring. Perez nearly took it with a Frankensteiner.