WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After No Mercy
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on September 30.
We are fresh off the No Mercy premium live event and TNA Victory Road, and both events saw NXT talent leave with new titles.
Kelani Jordan won the Knockouts Championship on Friday following Ash by Elegance's announcement that she would be relinquishing the title and stepping away from in-ring competition.
The following night, Ricky Saints dethroned Oba Femi to win the NXT Championship and begin his first reign with the title.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Tuesday's episode of NXT and how it dealt with the fallout from these events.
Click here to see the most recent NXT recap.
The New NXT Champion
1 of 6The show opened with a recap of No Mercy with a heavy focus on Blake Monroe vs. Jordynne Grace and the main event with Femi and Saints.
This led to Saints coming out for his first promo as the NXT champion.
He gave a passionate promo about winning the title and proving his doubters wrong by betting on himself. Jacy Jayne came out to congratulate him, but she said they have bigger things to worry about.
She said TNA is trying to take over NXT because they keep winning TNA's titles from them. This brought out NXT general manager Ava and said Ricky and Jacy were the captains of the brand, which means they had to decide who was on their teams.
Santino Marella came out to a very warm welcome from the NXT crowd. He introduced his captains, Mike Santana and Kelani Jordan. The announcers were shocked to see a member of the NXT roster chosen as a TNA captain, even though she is the new Knockouts champion.
The promo from Saints was the best part of all of this, but the segment also covered a lot of ground with naming all the leaders for the TNA and NXT teams.
This was a decent way to open the show and hype up the big showdown between brands.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Saints seemed genuinely emotional when the crowd was chanting "You deserve it."
- Jayne had great heat from the crowd.
- Marella got a pop just as big as Saints.
- Santana and Saints have only ever had one singles match, and the former came out on top.
Jaida Parker vs. Lash Legend
2 of 6Last time in action: Jaida Parker lost to Sol Ruca (NXT No Mercy), Lash Legend defeated Parker (NXT, Sept. 2)
As soon as Legend got to the ring, she went right after Parker. This feud has been building to a boiling point for weeks, so both women showed a lot of aggression right out of the gate.
They fought out of the ring, and the show went to a break with both on the ground after Legend hit a slam. We returned to see her kick out of a sunset flip and lock in a single-leg crab until Parker reached the ropes.
Both are physically imposing, and they have grown a lot since joining the developmental brand. This bout may not have been pretty, but it felt personal and competitive, which is always a good thing.
Parker ended up scoring the win with a running hip strike. It was a clean victory with no shenanigans or interference. This was a fun followup to their last bout.
Result: Parker defeated Legend
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Leon Slater and Je'Von Evans had a segment backstage that also involved The Culling. Slater and Evans were friendly despite having an upcoming match. They were willing to team up to take on The Culling later in the show.
- Lyra Valkyria also showed up and gave Tatum Paxley a Lyra doll.
- Legend oversold the sunset flip spot a bit, but it was kind of funny.
Myles Borne vs. Josh Briggs
3 of 6Last time in action: Myles Borne defeated Lexis King (NXT, Sept. 23), Josh Briggs lost to Evans (NXT No Mercy)
Ethan Page bragged about beating Tavion Heights, but when he called out Dr. Wagner Jr., Mustafa Ali showed up instead.
Ali reminded him that when he was released, he had already earned a North American title shot, and he still wants that title shot. He said he spoke to Ava and has one next week. They got into a fight, which Ali won to send All Ego packing.
The next match was between Borne and Briggs to determine who would join team NXT. Borne was giving up some size, but he didn't look intimidated and got right in Briggs' face before suplexing him.
This was a very physical match with great energy from both competitors. It was relatively paint-by-numbers in terms of what they did, but they made it look hard-fought.
They got two full segments for this bout, so they had enough time to make sure both guys came away from this looking good. Borne got the win to earn a spot on Team NXT.
Result: Borne defeated Briggs
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's great to see Ali back in a WWE ring and bringing up his history with the company instead of just ignoring it.
- The product placement for makeup during a backstage segment was terrible.
- The Hardys gave a quick promo directed at DarkState to hype their NXT vs. TNA tag title bout next week.
Lola Vice vs. Fallon Henley
4 of 6Last time in action: Lola Vice lost to Jayne (NXT No Mercy), Henley lost a six-woman tag (NXT Homecoming)
Despite being partners, Jayne made Henley earn a spot on Team NXT by taking on another woman who wanted to be on the team, Vice.
This was a back-and-forth contest until Henley hit a sliding German suplex to take control. She stayed on Vice and almost won with a neckbreaker.
Vice managed to make a comeback and get the win in the last 30 seconds, much to the surprise of Jayne at ringside.
This was a little on the short side, but it was genuinely hard to tell who would win, and unpredictability is something wrestling always needs.
Result: Vice defeated Henley
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's surprising Henley hasn't held more gold in NXT.
- Vice is good at making her knee strikes look convincing.
The Culling vs. Je'Von Evans and Leon Slater
5 of 6Last time in action: Evans defeated Briggs (NXT No Mercy), Slater defeated Myron Reed (TNA Victory Road), The Culling defeated Hank, Tank, Sol Ruca and Zaria (NXT, July 22)
TNA and NXT are building to a big showdown next week, but two of their youngest stars teamed up this week when Evans and Slater took on Shawn Spears and Niko Vance.
Slater took control of Spears immediately and cornered him for some mounted punches. He kept up the momentum against Vance with a tag to a fresh Evans. The high-flyers had the crowd cheering and chanting.
Izzi Dame was trying to get Tatum Paxley to help at ringside, but Paxley was too interested in playing with her new doll, so Dame sent her to the back.
Since the final segment was the NXT x TNA summit, it was smart to make this the final match of the night. The Culling was good, but Evans and Slater were the stars here. WWE knew putting them together would lead to a fun performance, and they did not disappoint.
Evans took out Vance at ringside while Slater hit a 450 swanton for the win.
Result: Slater and Evans defeated The Culling
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- DarkState's promos feel like early NWO stuff, but not in a good way. They gave a promo about the Hardys that felt too scripted.
- They kept calling Slater and Evans a dream team and a dream match. They are both great, but it's a little early to be saying stuff like that.
- Evans and Slater have similar qualities when it comes to their high-flying offense. Both men make it look way easier than it is.
The Final Word
6 of 6Several TNA stars were shown arriving in the NXT parking lot before the final break. They made their way into the arena along with several NXT Superstars.
The teams were revealed for both brands.
- Men's Team NXT: Ricky Saints, Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans and Myles Borne
- Men's Team TNA: Mike Santana, Frankie Kazarian, Moose and Leon Slater
- Women's Team NXT: Jacy Jayne, Sol Ruca, Lola Vice and Jaida Parker
- Women's Team TNA: Kelani Jordan, Cassie Lee, Jessie McKay and Mara Sade
The show ended with a big brawl breaking out between everyone from both shows. Ava and Santino were powerless to stop it.
This week's show was almost entirely devoted to building up next week's Showdown episode between the brands, which was not a bad thing. It made next week's event feel like a big deal.
The main event was easily the best thing on the show, but the closing segment was a good way to end the episode.
Grade: B-
