Kickoff Show: Blair Davenport VS Kelani Jordan
During the Kickoff Show for NXT No Mercy, Kelani Jordan took part in the biggest match of her young career as she took on Blair Davenport in singles action. Whilst there wasn’t much to this match, there was nothing wrong with it and it was a good way to see if Jordan could cope with being in front of a much larger audience than normal. Personally, I feel like she did a solid job and it definitely helped that she was in the ring with someone as experienced as Blair Davenport. After about 5 or 6 minutes of action, BD delivered the Davenport Driver (I don’t actually know what it’s called) to get the victory. After the match, Gigi Dolin arrived and attacked Davenport before officials came in to break it up.
Grade: C+
Baron Corbin VS Bron Breakker
After a cool opening video hyping up people for NXT No Mercy, the show kicked off with Baron Corbin taking on Bron Breakker. Both guys got special entrances and both guys decided that they didn’t want to start the match as they brawled in the crowd. This ended up resulting in Baron Corbin jumping onto the announce table, but Bron was able to get out of the way. When the match did get underway, it was actually quite good and both men did what they needed to do. Corbin kicked out of the Military Press Powerslam whilst Breakker kicked out of the Deep Six. Outside of the ring, Baron put Bron through the announce table before the former 2-time NXT Champion got straight back up (Taker style) and Speared his opponent in half. However, before Breakker could finish Corbin off, Mr. Stone arrived and his (sort of) distraction allowed Baron Corbin to nail “Badass” Bron Breakker with the End of Days to get the victory. I was actually quite surprised to see Corbin pin Breakker, but that’s not at all a bad thing. I’m intrigued to see where both guys go next, especially Baron.
Grade: B-
NXT North American Championship: Dominik Mysterio VS Trick Williams
The NXT North American Championship was the first Title to be on the line at NXT No Mercy as Dominik Mysterio looked to keep hold of his gold against Trick Williams. Dragon Lee was the Special Guest Referee for this match, but that quickly changed when the boot of Dominik Mysterio nailed him right in the face. This potentially cost Trick Williams the win as a new referee ran down, but clearly not fast enough. There were quite a lot of shenanigans in this match and it continued when Dominik just ran straight through the second referee. However, this backfired for “Dirty” Dom as he failed to hit Williams with his North American Championship before Trick kneed the belt into the face of Mysterio and that was enough for Trick Willy to pin Dom as Dragon Lee rolled back in the ring to make the 3 count. I’m happy for Trick Williams as he is very good and whilst it’s a slight shame that not every member of The Judgment Day has gold, this was clearly always the plan (to have Dom lose that is).
Grade: B-
NXT Tag Team Championships: The Family VS Angel and Humberto VS OTM VS The Creed Brothers
It was then time for a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team match as The Family put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against Angel and Humberto, OTM, and The Creed Brothers. Early in the match, Tony D’Angelo was taken to the back after he hurt his knee and this allowed Bronco Nima and Lucien Price to beat up Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo quite a bit. Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo also joined in before The Creed Brothers took out the Heels and ran wild. It’s fair to say that this was a pretty chaotic Tag Team match and it was very hard to keep track of who was legal at times. In the end, Tony D returned and him and Stacks delivered Bada Bing, Bada Boom onto Price to get the victory. I think it’s now quite important that we give The Don and The Underboss a proper feud rather than just making a Tag Title match for the sake of it.
Grade: B-
NXT Heritage Cup: Noam Dar VS Butch
After we saw Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams embrace backstage, it was time for the NXT Heritage Cup to be on the line as Noam Dar took on the winner of the NXT Global Heritage Invitational, Butch. Whilst not much happened in Round 1, Noam Dar did do his typical “elbow after the bell” move that the referees always let go for whatever reason. In Round 2, Oro Mensah kicked Butch right in the face and this allowed Dar to hit the Nova Roller to make it 1-0. However, it wasn’t 1-0 for long as Butch fired back and delivered the Bitter End to make it 1-1 after 3 rounds. Rounds 4 and 5 saw both guys come close to winning, but not quite close enough. It is worth mentioning that Butch then decided to stomp on Dar’s arm after the bell rang at the end of Round 5 and once again, the referee let it slide. Heading into Round 6, The Bruiserweight needed a fall and he nearly got one when he delivered the Tyler Driver 97 to Dar. However, that wasn’t the closest near fall as Noam kicking out of the Bitter End was definitely more surprising. Gallus then arrived and took out Tyler Bate before Joe Coffey nailed Butch with “All the Best for the Bells” and this allowed Supernova 11 to crawl into the cover to get the win and retain his precious NXT Heritage Cup. I thought this was another good match and fair play to Noam Dar as he continues to deliver in these British Rounds matches.
Grade: B-
NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes VS Ilja Dragunov
The NXT Championship was the next Title on the line as Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov went to war in a heavily anticipated rematch from The Great American Bash. Ilja Dragunov started this match hot as he ran straight at Carmelo Hayes and continually kicked him in the head. Ilja continued to do this for the rest of the match, but Carmelo Hayes was able to get right back into the contest using his quick and agile ability. Carmelo even showed his resilience by kicking out of Dragunov’s H-Bomb before Dragunov went to the middle rope and delivered a second H-Bomb, only for Melo to kick out again. Hayes then came back at Dragunov with a ridiculous cutter to the outside, but the A-Champion never had the proper opportunity to hit Nothin’ but Net, and in the end, Ilja Dragunov went to the top rope and hit a Super H-Bomb which was finally enough for The Czar to become the new NXT Champion. After the match, Hayes and Dragunov embraced one another in a great sign of sportsmanship. This match absolutely ruled and was one of the best matches I’ve seen in a long time. I think the world of Carmelo Hayes and this was another sign that Melo has the potential to be one of the greatest of all time when his career comes to an end. As for Ilja Dragunov, he has continued to deliver since coming over to NXT, and he fully deserves to be the new face of the brand.
Grade: A
NXT Women’s Championship Extreme Rules Match: Becky Lynch VS Tiffany Stratton
The Main Event of NXT No Mercy saw Becky Lynch and Tiffany Stratton collide in an Extreme Rules Match for the NXT Women’s Championship. The match started off mad as Becky brought a shopping trolley with a bunch of weapons down the aisle before her and Tiffany started to brawl through the crowd. At one point, Lynch was given a gold chain and she hit Stratton so hard that Tiffany's face was bleeding a lot. We then saw the likes of Barbie Dolls (yes that did happen) and Barbed Wired objects (yes that also happened) being used in this match that was action-packed, to say the least. Tiffany Stratton then ran wild as she put Becky Lynch through two (different) sides of the barricade before she nailed Lynch with a Swanton Bomb through a table (which only half broke). In the end, though, The Center of the Universe failed to connect with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and instead landed on a pile of steel chairs before Big Time Becks planted Stratton with the Manhandle Slam (onto the pile of chairs) to get the victory. This was a great match that showed why Extreme Rules matches are so much fun when done right. Also, Becky Lynch looked like the star she is whilst Tiffany Stratton once again proved why she is the future of the Women’s Division in WWE. After Becky nodded at Tegan Nox who was watching from ringside, the show went off the air with Carmelo Hayes apologising to Trick Williams for failing to keep hold of his Championship gold. If this is Melo’s last appearance as an NXT Talent, I think it’s only fair that we put him in the conversation to be on the “Mount Rushmore of NXT”.
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