WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After No Mercy

No Mercy was an important night for WWE NXT, crowning new champions and bringing heated rivalries to a close. The October 3 edition of the gold brand would deal with the aftermath.

Trick Williams faced a motivated "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, who needed to regain the North American Championship after an ultimatum from Rhea Ripley. Was Trick ready for the role of fighting champion?

Becky Lynch addressed the bevvy of intriguing challengers left for her after defending the NXT Women's Championship against Tiffany Stratton. Who would step up?

Ilja Dragunov was certain to appear following his impressive NXT Championship victory, but former titleholder Carmelo Hayes would not be far behind.

The 2023 Women's Breakout Tournament commenced, featuring Lola Vice, Kelani Jordan and Jakara Jackson. Who would break out and earn a future title opportunity?

Butch and Tyler Bate worked together once again to make Gallus pay after the group cost The Bruiserweight the Heritage Cup. Was British Strong Style coming back together?

This was sure to be an exciting night of action as the future of NXT stepped up.

Becky Lynch Meets 3 Future Challengers

Becky Lynch focused on the future, particularly wanting to fight someone for her NXT Women's Championship on Night 1 of Halloween Havoc.

Lyra Valkyria came out to state her intentions followed by a returning Indi Hartwell and Roxanne Perez. The Man booked a Triple Threat to decide her challenger.

This was an over-long promo segment, but it served its purpose well enough to highlight new challengers.

Lining up Lynch vs. Hartwell, Valkyria and Perez is smart for the future of the NXT women's division. They each present unique challenges to The Man and can compete near her level.

Lynch appearing in NXT every week highlights her commitment to highlighting the women's division. She has done well in elevating the aura of the championship, and hopefully this experiment will last.

Whoever defeats The Man in the end must look like a future megastar.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Lynch confirmed she is still not medically cleared to compete before putting over Stratton as giving her everything.
• Valkyria talked up how much The Man's career has meant to her, pushing her to become a professional wrestler.
• Usually, the NXT crowd is an easy one to work with, but this audience gave Valkyria "What?" chants and booed Perez.
  

Butch and Tyler Bate vs. Gallus (w/ Joe Coffey)

Butch and Tyler Bate looked unstoppable working together, and Mark Coffey and Wolfgang could not match up.

The former British Strong Style members sealed the win with an assisted double underhook suplex to Mark.

Right at the bell, Joe attacked Bate, and Mark and Wolfgang refocused to beat down The Bruiserweight. Ridge Holland arrived to even the odds and send all of Gallus running.

This was a good-but-not-great match between four men who know each other pretty well. It felt shorter than it was, but it never quite reached its peak over 10 minutes.

It's fun to see British Strong Style reunited, though. The Big Strong Boi would be a perfect addition to The Brawling Brutes if they need a fourth member and he is willing to join the main roster.

Holland will benefit from extra time in NXT alongside Butch and Bate, but Gallus are going to struggle to stay relevant if they continue to lose to them.

Result

Butch and Bate def. Gallus by pinfall.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Butch and Bate snapped Mark's fingers together and then both caught Wolfgang with Bop and Bang.
  

Trick Williams Agrees to Fight Dirty Dom Alone Despite Carmelo Hayes' Warning

Ilja Dragunov talked up his NXT Championship win, and Trick Williams arrived to thank The Mad Dragon for helping him find his confidence.

Carmelo Hayes then questioned why Trick was thanking everyone but Him.

Dominik Mysterio emerged and taunted Trick into agreeing to fight him on his own, even after Melo explained that he wanted to keep The Judgment Day out of the action.

Everyone in this angle was on point, even if it was disappointing that Dragunov was immediately overshadowed as champion. He had delivered a solid promo before Trick took over.

Melo is teasing some heel instincts returning. While he may be trying to help his friend, some of his words show that he is less than confident in his friend's ability.

It could be interesting if it is Hayes and not Trick that breaks up their dynamic. They could go far together or apart in WWE. It's all a matter of their goals.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Dragunov was genuinely offended by Melo questioning Trick's focus. Their organic friendship is delightful.
• The NXT Universe was as loud as ever in booing Dirty Dom.
• Backstage, Bron Breakker told Melo that they were the only two men in NXT who could understand each other.
• Baron Corbin warned Dragunov later that he was coming for the NXT Championship.
  

No. 1 Contender: Indi Hartwell vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez

After a competitive battle, Roxanne Perez caught Indi Hartwell with Pop Rox, but Kiana James pulled The Prodigy out of the ring.

Becky Lynch laid out James while Lyra Valkyria hit Indi Wrestling with a diving splash to win.

Since her call-up to the main roster, Hartwell has been given no opportunities. It was nice to see her work a lengthy match again, especially with top talent who could push her like The Valkyrie and Perez.

It's a shame she was brought in just to take the fall, though. While Lynch vs. Valkyria is probably the biggest money match of the three options, it's a story that could have been told at any time.

Perez and James continue their feud that will likely go into Deadline in December when both can compete in the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Result

Valkyria def. Perez and Hartwell by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Lynch joined commentary and explained why she wanted to fight everyone in this match.
  
• Perez rolled into a leg sweep position on Hartwell, but Valkyrie caught them both with a missile dropkick. She then blasted them both with a series of kicks.
• The Prodigy sent The Valkyrie to the floor with a Frankensteiner, but Indi Wrestling took her down with a low forearm.
• After the match, Tegan Nox appeared to remind Lynch that she has to go through her first.
• James said she wanted to be seen as a bigger star than Perez. She also revealed that she had made a deal where The Prodigy would face Asuka next week.
  

Blair Davenport vs. Gigi Dolin

In a physical battle that started fast, Blair Davenport wanted to hurt Gigi Dolin more than winning.

She introduced a steel chair to the match. When the referee took that away, Dolin stole a pinfall on Davenport with a roll-up.

This was fine. Davenport and Dolin don't have much chemistry, but they worked hard to sell their heat. However, a roll-up win does not help that focus, as nothing was settled in a match with no stakes.

Hopefully, the two can do more in a rematch with a clear stipulation. Let them brawl rather than just wrestle.

Dolin's win could push her forward, but it undermines the attempt to build Davenport. Neither looks like a serious title contender at the moment.

Result

Dolin def. Davenport by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Dolin attacked Davenport during her entrance and laid into her outside.
• The smoke machine used in NXT is getting to be too much, especially when the women are fighting through the haze in back-to-back matches.
  

Breakout Tournament: Kelani Jordan vs. Izzi Dame

Izzi Dame dominated Kelani Jordan with her strength-focused offense. However, once Jordan saw an opening, she rolled through her competition. She won with a split-legged moonsault.

Dame got all the offense in this match, even though it was obvious that Jordan would advance. The relatively unknown competitor had a fairly basic offensive arsenal, but she showed enough to get more TV time.

Jordan is clearly the outright favorite in this tournament. She has already competed at a premium live event and had plenty of television time. Even without Dana Brooke, she is over with the fans.

Hopefully, NXT can throw in some surprises to make this tournament a little more unpredictable.

Result

Jordan def. Dame to advance to the semifinals in the Women's Breakout Tournament.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• NXT showed off the eight women in the tournament: Lola Vice, Dani Palmer, Arianna Grace, Jaida Parker, Jakara Jackson, Karmen Petrovic, Jordan and Dame.
• Vic Joseph said there were two favorites in this tournament, only naming Jordan. Assumedly, number two is Vice. If there is no upset, that is the final two.
  

Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice vs. Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne

After Thea Hail took an early beating, Jacy Jayne laid out Elektra Lopez with a discus forearm.

Hail tagged in and forced Lopez to tap out to the Kimura Lock.

NXT had done a good job of protecting Lopez and Lola Vice up to this point, so it is surprising that they lost, especially during the Women's Breakout Tournament.

Vice did not take the loss herself at least, but she will have more to prove on her own after a recent loss to Roxanne Perez as well.

Hail and Jayne are working decently together in the ring, but they still need to find cohesion as a unit. They are working as individuals so far.

That can come, especially given Jayne's best run was with Gigi Dolin, though NXT will need to give them more than four minutes in the future.

Result

Hail and Jayne def. Lopez and Vice by submission.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Jayne agreed to let Andre Chase and Duke Hudson support her and Hail in their corner.
• Jayne got the hot tag and rolled over Vice, hitting her with a neckbreaker for the closest near-fall of the match.
  
• NXT showed the No Mercy vignette for Brian Pillman Jr. again.

North American Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio (w/ Rhea Ripley)

Rhea Ripley arrived to back-up Dominik Mysterio, while Finn Bálor and Damian Priest also arrived during the match.

While Dirty Dom looked dangerous throughout, Trick Williams would not stay down. Even JD McDonagh had to distract Trick. Bálor blasted the titleholder with a championship, setting up Mysterio for a frog splash to win.

While it took Dirty Dom controlling the action much more, this was significantly better than their No Mercy battle in terms of pure in-ring action. The two looked much smoother working together Tuesday.

That does come with the caveat that this match had way too many people involved at the end. It took the full Judgment Day effort to save Dirty Dom and help him reclaim the gold.

It feels wrong to move away from Trick this fast. The Judgment Day has enough going on at the moment, and Mysterio could have gone after the United States title or backed up The Prince and The Punishment in tag team action for a while.

Whatever the plan is going forward, the goal must be to keep Trick hot because he may be the most over wrestler in NXT.

Result

Mysterio def. Trick by pinfall to reclaim the North American Championship.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Before the main event, Carmelo Hayes announced he would face Bron Breakker next week and John Cena would be in his corner.
• Vic Joseph also confirmed Cody Rhodes would make a major announcement on the show. These back-to-back announcements obviously are to challenge AEW Dynamite, which is moving to Tuesday next week to accommodate coverage of the MLB playoffs.
• The crowd was completely committed to the "Whoop That Trick" chant throughout this match.
• Trick pulled Mysterio off the mat right into a Book End. In response, Ripley threw her title into the ring to allow Dirty Dom to hit a DDT.
• The night ended with Paul Heyman announcing he would be in Bron Breakker's corner to counteract Bloodline rival Cena next week.
  

Overall Show

NXT was decidedly ordinary this week after overdelivering with No Mercy. The matches were solid but not standouts, and the promos kept momentum focused on the future but were mostly forgettable.

With big names hurting, NXT had a chance to highlight other stars, but it was one of the lightest weeks in terms of overall roster representation. It almost felt more like an episode of SmackDown.

This may be intentional as WWE was trying to hook a particular audience for next week's show, going head-to-head with All Elite Wrestling's Dynamite. Rather than establishing big matches for NXT stars, the company focused on outside names from Raw and SmackDown.

This may win the week, but it is not the sustainable focus that has made NXT a better product as of late. The goal should still be to highlight the bevvy of rising stars in WWE's developmental program.

On the positive side, this show was packed with female stars. The division took up a good half of the show. As Becky Lynch stands at the head of the division, NXT is making a more concerted effort to highlight the many names who can challenge her.

The drama of Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams is also exciting. They are the most charismatic acts on the roster, and whether they go together or against each other, it will be a highlight of the program.

Overall Grade: C+