WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights Before No Mercy 2025

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on September 23.

This was the final show before this weekend's No Mercy PLE, so WWE brought in some TNA stars to hype the event.

Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Tuesday's show:

• Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams (Title for Title)
• Lainey Reid vs. Candice LeRae (Speed Tournament)
• Myles Borne vs. Lexis King (Lights Out match)

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

Lexis King vs. Myles Borne

Last time in action: King defeated Borne (NXT, August 26)

This week's show opened with a recap of last week's Homecoming episode. When we finally went live in the arena, King was making his entrance when Borne shut off the lights in the Performance Center to attack him.

King fought back but once they got to the ring, Borne regained control. King hit a running knee to send Borne into a steel chair to get the first two-count of the match.

He kept using the chair to inflict damage, but he couldn't seem to keep Borne down for the three-count.

This feud has been going for a couple of months, but it took a bit of a backseat for a few weeks while WWE had to build some other stories, so it felt like this follow-up took too long to happen. That being said, they brought the right level of aggression to sell the feud.

The match itself wasn't bad, but the lighting being so dark actually hurt the presentation, especially when they were at ringside where the few lights that faced the ring couldn't illuminate them. They may have taken the Lights Out gimmick a little too seriously.

Borne got the win by putting King through a Slim Jim table with a jumping takedown.

Result: Borne defeated King

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• They teased Triple H and Shawn Michaels fighting over NXT, but it doesn't seem like anything will actually happen.
• King was wearing tights that looked like jeans, so they looked like the tightest jeans every made.
• Borne shutting off the entire building's lights with a switch that is seemingly next to the entrance area was hilarious.

Tavion Heights vs. Ethan Page

Last time in action: Page defeated Tyler Breeze (NXT Homecoming), Height's defeated Page (NXT, September 9)

Ethan Page came to the ring after the break, and Dr. Wagner Jr. was shown watching from the crowd. Page welcomed him to NXT before complaining about the outcome to their match at Worlds Collide.

Page challenged Wagner to a match and called for an official, and they fought in their street clothes. Wagner made him tap out in less than a minute and then took off his mask to reveal it was actually Tavion Heights.

Calling this a match would be generous, but the bell rang and a decision was made, so it counts. Seeing a champion get squashed is definitely unique, but not in a good way.

Result: Heights defeated Page

Grade: Incomplete

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Arianna Grace and Jordynne Grace had a funny exchange backstage.

Candice LeRae vs. Faby Apache

Last time in action: LeRae defeated Xia Brookside (NXT, September 2), Reid defeated Faby Apache (NXT, September 9)

The women's Speed tournament continued this week with LeRae taking on Reid. The winner of this match would move onto the final round to take on Sol Ruca for the title.

These matches have a three-minute time limit, so even though it can be impressive to see these Superstars pack a lot into a short time, there is never enough time for them to sell anything properly.

LeRae looked like she had the rookie beat with the Gargano Escape, but Reid managed to counter out of it. She nailed LeRae with a running knee to get the pin with about 20 seconds left on the clock.

Result: Reid defeated LeRae

Grade: C

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Ruca and Zaria were in the crow's next holding up signs to mock the competitors.
• It was weird how LeRae was acting more like a babyface during her entrance. DIY did the same thing when they visited.
• Reid's finisher looked great.

Jordynne Grace vs. Arianna Grace

Last time in action: Arianna lost to Kali Armstrong (NXT, July 29), Jordynne defeated Armstrong (NXT, September 2)

The two Graces did battle this week when Jordynne battled Arianna. Unfortunately, they were not fighting over the rights to their last name.

Arianna surprised Jordynne by attacking her before the bell rang, but once the ref called for it, the Juggernaut took control. The daughter of Santino Marella got in more offense than expected by using some dirty tactics.

Jordynne won a short match with her spinning powerbomb she calls the Direct Effect. This was the third incredibly short match in a row, so it was starting to drag the show down.

Stacks appeared at ringside to comfort Arianna while Blake Monroe showed up with a kendo stick looking for a fight. Jordynne hit her with a chair a few times before Monroe got the best of her. Several officials pulled them apart.

Robert Stone and Stevie Turner showed up and booked them in a Weaponized Steel Cage match for no Mercy.

Result: Jordynne defeated Arianna

Grade: C

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Andre Chase had a very fake looking black eye during a backstage segment with some NASCAR drivers. Joe Hendry showed up and it led to DarkState wanting a six-man tag match.
• There was a very weird moment when Arianna just sort of knocked Jordynne over so she could hit a splash. It was like Jordynne forgot what she was supposed to be doing, or Arianna went for the wrong move. It was hard to tell.
• Arianna has good comic timing, but she still needs some work in the ring.

DarkState vs. Joe Hendry and Chase U

Last time in action: DarkState defeated Hank and Tank (NXT, September 9), Hendry defeated Travis Williams (Impact, Sept. 4), Chase U lost to Hank and Tank (NXT, August 5)

Jacy Jayne came out and gave a promo about defying all the expectations the fans put on her. She laughed at the idea of Lola Vice beating her for the title. Vice came out and gave a babyface promo to get the crowd on her side. She laid Jayne out with a backfist to end the segment.

The next match saw Hendry team up with Uriah Connors and Kale Dixon to take on Osiris Griffin, Saquon Shugars and Dion Lennox.

After DarkState attacked them during their entrance, Connors spent some time taking punishment. This was a fast-paced and somewhat chaotic match. The action was easy to follow, but there was a lot going on.

With so many short matches on the show before this, it was nice to see one last long enough to need a commercial break in the middle. All six guys brought a lot of energy to the ring and made this a solid performance. DarkState got the win by pinning Connors.

Result: DarkState defeated Hendry and Chase U

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• It's telling when one of the biggest reactions on the show was Vice talking about her backside.
• WWE is really leaning hard into the Hendry meme.
• Dixon has a good foundation. He's quick and seems to have a good sense of what to do, but this gimmick is not going to help him get far.
• The way Shugars pinned Connors was so awkward.

Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams

Last time in action: Femi, Hank, Tank and Saints defeated DarkState (NXT, Sept. 2), Williams and Carmelo Hayes defeated DIY (NXT Homecoming)

The main event of this week's show was a Title vs. Title match between Femi and Williams for the TNA and NXT Championships. A few TNA stars like Mike Santana and Moose were shown watching from the crowd.

As soon as the bell rang, both men were throwing hands. They had less than 15 minutes before the end of the show, so they knew they didn't have time to play it slow.

Williams got a little too confident with his taunting and Femi made him pay for it by running him over with several shoulder tackles.

Matt Cardona showed up in the crowd and got a big pop. Femi and Williams know each other well enough to put on a decent match, so it wasn't surprising to see them steal the show.

Sadly, the match ended without a clean decision. Williams goaded Santana into attacking him, which caused a DQ and kickstarted a huge brawl with TNA and NXT stars.

Result: No Contest

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• The video package for Ricky Saints was great.
• Femi feels like he has outgrown NXT. It's time to move him up.
• Williams needs a little more speed on his kicks.

The Final Word

Tuesday's episode of NXT did one thing well, and that is hype the upcoming No Mercy event. Most of the actual wrestling failed to offer any excitement. 

Three of the matches we saw were so short that the main event was longer than all of them combined. The one Speed tournament bout made sense to be short by design, and the one with Page and Heights barely even counts as a match. 

The six-man tag bout was decent, but the main event was the thing everyone tuned in for this week. Seeing two champions fight with the prospect of one of them leaving with both belts is always an exciting concept.

Unfortunately, the show ended with an interference angle, which means we did not get a double champion at the end. The match was good up until that point, but it was a copout way to end a mediocre show.

Grade: C