WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights from May 6

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT On May 6.

NXT Battleground is less than three weeks away on May 25, so the developmental brand has been hard at work setting up the card.

This week's show continued that buildup with a No. 1 Contender's match for the NXT Women's Championship between Jordynne Grace and Giulia.

We also saw Kelani Jordan vs. Zaria, while TNA champion Joe Hendry teamed up with Hank and Tank to battle three members of DarkState.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on Wednesday's episode of NXT.

Joe Hendry, Hank and Tank vs. DarkState

NXT opened with some shots of people arriving at the Performance Center before we went to the ring for Hendry, Hank and Tank's entrances.

Osiris Griffin, Dion Lennox and Cutler James were the members of DarkState chosen to compete, so Saquon Shugars offered support from ringside.

This match got started with everyone brawling, and the intensity never slowed down. It might not have always been pretty, but everyone brought a lot of energy to the ring.

Hank, Tank and Hendry had control for most of the first half before a break, but DarkState took over before we returned.

Trick Williams pulled Hendry out of the ring and fought him to the back, which left Hank and Tank to be taken out by DarkState with a huge powerbomb for the win.

Result: DarkState defeated Hank, Tank and Hendry

Grade: C

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Notable Moments and Observations

—Hendry is as over as anyone else in NXT.
—The Scot hit a nice delayed vertical suplex.
—WWE wisely edited around a botch when Tank tried to low-bridge James out of the ring.

Kelani Jordan vs. Zaria

Sol Ruca accompanied Zaria to the ring for her match against Parker. As soon as the bell rang, Parker hit a dropkick.

Zaria brushed it off and started pushing Jordan around. Once she realized going right at her was a mistake, Jordan began to use her speed and agility.

Both women unloaded on each other with some stiff chops to the back. Both women played to their strengths throughout the contest and seemed to already have a decent amount of chemistry built up.

This was an especially good performance for Jordan, who had to raise her usual level of aggression to match Zaria's.

Both women went crashing through the barricade when Zaria hit a Spear, and that paved the way for her finisher for the win.

Result: Zaria defeated Jordan

Grade: B

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Notable Moments and Observations

—Parker challenged Karmen Petrovic to a match during a backstage segment.
—Zaria's entrance is great and WWE shouldn't change it when she gets to the main roster.
—Catching Parker in an attempted hurricanrana from the top rope was an impressive show of strength for Zaria.
—Jordan's moonsault looked great.

Battle Royal

A shot at Oba Femi's NXT Championship was on the line as 25 men from across NXT, LFG, Evolve and TNA competed in a Battle Royal.

Trick Williams entered the ring first before a break, and Ethan Page joined the fray when we returned. The final entrant was Elijah, who was known as Elias in WWE.

This match included a lot of faces who might not be familiar to most WWE fans, but that was kind of the point. Most of those in the ring served as easy eliminations for the bigger stars.

Matches like this are even harder to follow than the Royal Rumble because everyone starts in the ring at once, so there were a few eliminations that went almost unnoticed.

While Battle Royals almost always have some level of fun to them, they tend to fall into two categories: They are either logical and easy to follow or complete chaos. This one was more of the latter, but in a good way. They still managed to address some stories and feuds, so it wasn't just mayhem thankfully.

Williams' actions earlier in the show came back to bite him when Hendry showed up and distracted him so Elijah could throw him out.

Myles Borne, Shawn Spears, Je'Von Evans and Page were the final four. In a shocking ending, Borne ended up getting the win for NQCC by eliminating Page and Spears.

Result: Borne won to earn a title shot

Grade: B+

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Notable Moments and Observations

—The pop for Elijah was great, but the crowd was chanting something that had to be censored, so the first few words of his song were cut off.
—Timothy Thatcher being in Evolve is weird.
—Wes Lee and Zach Wentz had a little reunion when they hit a double-team move, but it didn't last long.
—Brooks Jensen taking himself out is one of the dumbest self-eliminations we have ever seen.
—Four guys were supposed to skin the cat at the same time, but the timing was off.

Jaida Parker vs. Karmen Petrovic

Bradlee Rutledge/WWE via Getty Images

Following a backstage segment earlier in the show, Parker and Petrovic ended up in a singles match.

The crowd was chanting and having fun as they got started with a quick exchange. Petrovic seemed to have Parker's number early on and forced her to roll out of the ring to regroup.

Petrovic missed a rolling kick and that gave Parker the opening she needed to hit her finisher for the win. This was a quick match, but both women brought a lot of enthusiasm to the ring.

Result: Parker defeated Petrovic

Grade: C+

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Notable Moments and Observations

—Petrovic is an interesting talent because half of what she does looks perfect and the other half looks like it needs a lot of work.
—Thea Hail showing up at the end just to get knocked off the apron made sense in the context of the story, but it still made her look like a rookie.

Giulia vs. Jordynne Grace

Eric Johnson/WWE via Getty Images

The main event this week was a No. 1 Contender's match between Grace and Giulia to determine who gets to face Stephanie Vaquer for the NXT women's title at Battleground.

The Beautiful Madness backed The Juggernaut to the corner in their first exchange, but Grace turned the tables and unloaded on her rival with a series of forearms.

Despite being at a significant disadvantage in the strength department, Giulia never looked like an underdog. She used aggressive offense and taunts to not only keep up with Grace but also to control the action more often than not.

This started as a hard-fought match and only got more intense as it went. Grace secured the win by hitting her finisher for the pin, making her the No. 1 contender for Vaquer's title.

The champion came out to confront her challenger at the end of the show.

Result: Grace defeated Giulia

Grade: B+

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Notable Moments and Observations

—It's hard to tell if WWE actually thinks Chase U is a good gimmick or not.
—Grace has been showing more heel characteristics recently, especially in her backstage segment this week.
—There was a spot when Giulia looked like she landed right on top of her head and the ref rushed to check on her. Thankfully, she was fine and kept going immediately.

The Final Word

Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images

The majority of Tuesday’s NXT felt like business as usual, but the Battle Royal added some life to what would have otherwise been a typical episode. 

Borne winning the title shot against Femi was a genuinely surprising outcome. While few probably expect him to win, it’s always nice to see an up-and-coming talent get a big opportunity to shine. WWE management must be impressed to elevate him to this level.

The women's division was on full display this week with three matches, including a solid main event between Giulia and Grace.

The Battle Royal was the most entertaining thing on the show, but Giulia and Grace was arguably a better contest because it was solely focused on two competitors and one story, not 25 men and several different feuds. 

Seeing how popular Elijah was upon his return could lead to more appearances from the crooner on WWE TV again, which would be welcomed by most of the WWE Universe. 

Grade: B-