WWE NXT Gold Rush Week 2 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

WWE NXT has a new audience tuning in after the much-hyped the first week of Gold Rush. And Week 2 had a bigger card across the board, thanks to multiple important championship matches.

Carmelo Hayes defended his title against Baron Corbin, a former United States champion. Could The A Champion prove his worth against a main roster mainstay?

Thea Hail faced the toughest challenge of her career, hoping to capture the NXT Women's Championship from Tiffany Stratton. Could the 19-year-old pull off the ultimate upset and become the brand's youngest women's champion in history?

Malik Blade and Edris Enofé hoped to pull off their own upset by dethroning Gallus as NXT tag team champions. Would Tuesday be their night?

Nathan Frazer promised the first shot at his Heritage Cup to his good friend, Dragon Lee. Who would win this competitive battle of allies? Would Noam Dar and Meta-Four play a role?

These were the big matches on a night that could change the course of the gold brand.

NXT Women's Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Thea Hail

After a hard-fought battle, arguments between Duke Hudson, Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey caused a full-blown scene at ringside. Because of the distraction, Tiffany Stratton rolled up Thea Hail to survive a surprisingly tough fight.

Afterward, Gulak and Dempsey attacked Hudson, but Andre Chase made his return and saved the day over his team.

This was so much better than it had any right to be. The two women fought hard and kept the crowd invested throughout. Hail kept up with the top woman in NXT to the point that she looked like she could genuinely win and carry the gold.

In the end, it was too soon for the upset, but the match set up an exciting Chase U reunion. The group is so much better with The Professor at its head.

Hopefully, Hudson and Chase can get back to tag team title contention while Hail can go from a breakout performance to a serious long-term push in NXT.

Result

Stratton def. Hail by pinfall to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Hail pulled out the Chase U stomps, but she committed to them with extra anger.
• The challenger had Stratton in the Kimura Lock, and Dempsey pulled the rope away from the champion. Hail did not want to win that way and let go of the hold.
  
• Hail visibly made Stratton tap out to the Kimura Lock, but Gulak was arguing with the referee who did not see it.
  
• Kelani Jordan talked up Dana Brooke in the trainer's room, and they agreed to work together once the veteran healed up.
  

NXT Tag Team Championships: Gallus (c) vs. Edris Enofé and Malik Blade

Edris Enofé and Malik Blade had Mark Coffey and Wolfgang on the ropes throughout this battle.

However, when Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo got involved, he took out Enofé, setting up the titleholders to hit the Gallus Gate for the win.

These two tag teams have solid chemistry, though a couple of miscues kept this from the top gear. It did look like Enofé and Blade were poised to win.

It was not surprising that they lost. The feud of The Family vs. Gallus remains the big story of the tag team division. Until Tony D'Angelo is out of jail and Stacks' motivations are clear, Gallus will keep the gold.

Result

Gallus def. Enofé and Blade by pinfall to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Joe Coffey was nowhere to be seen for the match. Later, he met The Don in jail and played a recording for him where The Underboss said he was the new Don.
  
• The challengers looked great early, almost getting a quick win after a Blade frog splash to Mark.
  
• Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo appeared on the stage to watch.
• Enofé went for a leap but slipped, landing hard on a rough botch.

Diamond Mine Interrupt Schism Family Meeting

Jagger Reid was the first to speak up followed quickly by Rip Fowler. Both blamed Joe Gacy for holding them down rather than elevating them.

Diamond Mine arrived, setting up The Creed Brothers vs. The Dyad next week. The losers had to leave NXT.

It is time for a change. In April, Reid said (h/t Alistair McGeorge of Metro) that The Dyad's contracts with WWE will expire on October 14, so their final match for the company is likely to be next week.

Given the chemistry between The Creed Brothers and The Dyad, it should be a show-stealer. It will also be a perfect way to push Schism to evolve.

Gacy and Ava work well together, but this stable cannot be just two members. Hopefully, NXT has a plan to bring in fresh talent to make Schism a threat finally.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• While the rest of Schism wore all black, Reid came out in a colorful flannel.
• While Gacy was open to dialogue, none of The Dyad's words sat well with Ava.
  
• The Dyad were not happy about the stipulation, putting their NXT careers at risk. Later, they voiced this to Ava. She promised Gacy had a plan.
  
• Ilja Dragunov explained what "unbesiegbar" means to him.
• Bronco Nima and Lucien Prince talked up their dynamic. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger, as well as Axiom and Scrypts, watched the promo video closely.
• In a surprise appearance, Rhea Ripley warned Carmelo Hayes about getting involved with The Judgment Day's business.
  

NXT Heritage Cup: Nathan Frazer (c) vs. Axiom

Nathan Frazer stole the first pinfall off a sunset flip in the second round. Early in Round 4, Dragon pulled out a definitive fall off the Dragon Bomb.

The NXT Heritage Cup champion survived with a last-second roll-up for the deciding fall in the fifth round.

If the first defense is anything to go by, Frazer is going to make the NXT Heritage Cup must-watch television for months to come. It's so good to see him go in long matches regularly.

This was pure energy from the opening bell. The two sold the stipulation well in a pay-per-view-quality encounter that was almost too good for NXT TV.

Even with a pair of roll-ups as deciding falls and limited selling from both competitors, this was exactly what Gold Rush needed. This is the one match fans need to watch from this show.

Result

Frazer def. Dragon to retain the NXT Heritage Cup.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• In an interview with McKenzie Mitchell, Meta-Four tried to get Noam Dar to move on from the Heritage Cup, but losing "his baby" clearly affected him.
• Axiom wished Frazer luck for his Heritage Cup defense. He came out to watch this match closer, but Scrypts convinced him to head to the back.
  
• Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon stood in the respective corners of Dragon and Feroz.
• The challenger tripped Frazer on the top rope and caught him with a double foot stomp. The champion responded with an exploder corner suplex and then a superplex. Dragon countered into a powerbomb near-fall. It was an incredible sequence.
  

Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James

Kiana James got frustrated with the resilience of Gigi Dolin. James grabbed her bag and tried to hit Dolin with it, but her rival ducked and hit a crucifix bomb to win.

Afterward, James laid out Dolin and dumped paint onto her.

This was not bad and was given more time than expected. The two told the complete story of James' inability to outmatch Dolin, but it clearly showed the limitations of both women.

Dolin needs to step up her pace in the ring. She moves too slow, telegraphing her own offense. James has improved, but her move set remains frustratingly generic.

This was better than Dolin's first two matches with Jacy Jayne, but that is an unfortunately low bar. Given this rivalry is going to continue, these two need to spend time in the Performance Center building up chemistry.

Result

Dolin def. James by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Gable Steveson helped train up Eddy Thorpe for his match with Damon Kemp in NXT Underground. The Olympic gold medalist promised to also be in his corner. This is likely setting up Steveson to align with his brother.
• Mustafa Ali and Tyler Bate both wanted an NXT North American Championship match. As they argued, Wes Lee just walked away. Ali vs. Bate was announced for next week.
  
• Mr. Stone found Von Wagner struggling with his childhood trauma backstage.
• Blair Davenport attacked Roxanne Perez during NXT Level Up earlier in the week. It was then announced they would fight next week.
• Jacy Jayne talked a big game, but she was not ready for Lyra Valkyrie who caught her with a forearm. Rhea Ripley was impressed with The Valkyrie.
  

NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) (w/ Trick Williams) vs. Baron Corbin

Carmelo Hayes was outmatched by Baron Corbin often in this match, but when it mattered, he did not miss. He caught The Lone Wolf with a DDT on the apron and then Nothing But Net in the ring to win.

After a couple uneven performances, Corbin had by far his best performance of 2023. This started as an athletic exchange but slowly evolved into a David vs. Goliath battle in which Melo fought for openings against his much larger opponent.

While The A Champion's talent has never been in question, he just gave a main roster star the boost he has been missing from the supposed top guys in WWE. That is proof of his lasting value.

Corbin will likely now head back to SmackDown, but hopefully he keeps his Lone Wolf edge. This brief NXT run made him look more like a threat again. He needed that.

Result

Melo def. Corbin by pinfall to retain the NXT Championship.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• Corbin came out to one of his old themes in black gear that was reminiscent of his Lone Wolf gimmick. It is a shame he couldn't use "I Bring the Darkness."
• The Lone Wolf dominated the early stretch, but Melo fired back and nearly took the win with a frog splash. He followed up with the rebound leg drop and (a messy) rebound DDT for another near-fall.
• Corbin got close to victory with a fireman's carry slam into a backbreaker.
• The A Champion ducked The Lone Wolf, sending him into the steel steps. Corbin responded by slamming him into the announce table and battering him with strikes.
• The closest near-fall of the match was after a pretty Deep Six from Corbin with an extra rotation.
• The show ended with Bron Breakker yelling at Shawn Michaels in his office and then throwing down a cameraman, promising answers next week.
  

Overall Show

This is about as good as NXT can possibly get. It may still not quite compare to SmackDown or Raw at their peaks, but this was an easy watch from start to finish that elevated multiple stars.

Carmelo Hayes and Baron Corbin absolutely delivered in the main event, but they still didn't win the the match-of-the-night award.

That honor goes to Nathan Frazer vs. Dragon Lee for a contest that truly sold the Heritage Cup format to a fresh audience. Both men proved their value while also likely turning heads on the main roster.

Tiffany Stratton and Thea Hail also overdelivered, making the most of a rushed build while setting the stage for a rematch that could be even better.

There were no duds throughout the night, and the pacing of the night allowed every bout the time it needed.

The stories continued to move forward across the roster, but the gold brand avoided the usually overwhelming number of backstage segments that highlight a typical NXT.

This was a special event and likely not the standard for every week. However, NXT can deliver shows like this every week. It is all up to keeping a slower pace while giving time to the key matches.

Overall Grade: A