WWE NXT Battleground Review – May 28, 2023
North American Title Triple Threat Match
Wes Lee (c) vs. Tyler Bate vs. Joe Gacy
Match starts off with all 3 men go for pin attempts before having a standstill then circling each other. Wes Lee & Tyler Bate make a pact to double team Joe Gacy but Lee questions him when Bate doesn’t join in. Gacy tries telling Lee he was right about Bate before Lee tosses Gacy to the outside and starts to go at it with Bate.
Gacy taunts them both, so instead, they follow him outside and bring him back in. Lee & Bate start fighting each other as they get in the ring and finally go to blows before Gacy takes them out with a dive. Lee breaks up Gacy & Bate by sunset flipping Gacy into a two count. Lee follows with a hurricanrana into a pin on Bate for another two count.
Bate goes after Gacy by hitting a suplex before hitting one to Lee followed by a standing shooting star press that Gacy breaks up the pin attempt for. Bate puts Gacy on his shoulders and spins him around before catching Lee and continuing the pin while having Lee in a Giant Swing before dropping Gacy onto Lee.
Lee & Bate start exchanging punches before Gacy grabs Lee into a powerbomb then picks him up and powerbombs him onto Bate. Bate heads to the top rope but Gacy grabs him and Bate and takes them both down. Gacy starts stretching out Lee with the Rings of Saturn, but Bate ends up breaking up the submission.
Bate misses a shooting star press and Gacy puts the Rings Of Saturn on him next that Lee breaks up. Gacy & Bate start double teaming Lee but he is able to dodge them as they crash into each other then follows this with a double Kardiak Kick and gets two counts on both Gacy & Bate.
Lee goes after them both in the corners then Lee puts a sleeper on Gacy but he breaks it up by cannonballing in the corner as it gets a two count on Lee as Bate breaks it up. Bate hits a Tyler Driver 97 on Gacy which Lee breaks up followed by a Meteora on Bate that Gacy breaks up & with Gacy on the top rope Lee hops over him and dives onto Bate on the outside.
Back inside Gacy & Lee go back & forth before Lee dodges Gacy’s The Upside Down with a Kardiak Kick to get the win.
Winner & Still North American Champion: Wes Lee (11:59) (STILL CHAMPION!!!!)
Rate: 8 (Recommend)
Heritage Cup Title Match
Noam Dar (c) vs. Dragon Lee
Round 1
Dragon Lee goes after Noam Dar with kicks before they take it to the mat. Dar starts messing with Lee’s mask while attacking his hands. Dar starts working on Lee’s knee but gets kicked off. Dar is able to dodge a big kick from Lee then Lee punches Dar to the outside and kicks him off the apron as the 1st round ends.
Round 2
Lee goes right after Dar by taking him down with headscissors then a kick in the corner, and diving kick, springboarding from the apron. Lee hits another dropkick in the corner for a two count then Dar goes right after Lee and rolls him up to get the 1st fall.
Dar (1-0)
Round 3
Dar goes right after Lee then Dar gets on the ropes and taunts the crowd before Lee hits a high knee to Dar followed by a kick and a hurricanrana to Dar off the apron to the floor. Lee hits a suicide dive to Dar to the outside and sends him back in hitting another knee for a two count. Lee keeps kicking and punching at Dar as round 3 comes to an end but not before Dar knocks out Lee with a spinning back elbow.
Round 4
Dar stays on top of the dazed Lee during round 4 until Lee rolls up Dar for a close two count. Dar tries to put an arm bar on Lee but Lee turns it into a pin attempt. Lee follows with a crescent kick and puts on a Texas Cloverleaf.
Dar asks for some help as Oro Mensah pushes the rope for Dar to grab but Nathan Frazer gets in Mensah’s face & Mensah pushes him into the steel steps then Lee takes advantage and goes after Dar by hitting a headscissor driver to get the win.
Lee (1-1)
Round 5
Lee tries another hurricanrana off the apron but gets powerbombed to the outside with a nasty fall. Dar stays on top of Lee by hitting another spinning back elbow but Lee kicks out at two.
Dar starts kicking away at Lee but Lee comes back with a snapping German Suplex, a high knee and a sit-out powerbomb for a two count.
Jakara Jackson runs into the ring distracting the referee as Lash Legend runs out and attacks Lee with the bucket. Dar hits the Nova Roller on Lee to get the win.
Winner & Still Heritage Cup Champion: Noam Dar (11:51) (Round 5) (2-1) (STILL CHAMPION!!!!)
Rate: 5
Last Man Standing Match
Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak
Match starts off with Ilja Dragunov & Dijak go right after each other then Dragunov tries the Constantine Special, just to get booted to the outside. Dijak brings steel steps inside the ring but ends up suplexing Dragunov onto another set of steps on the outside after kicking Dragunov in the jaw as he was flying off the top rope.
Dijak grabs a table from under the ring but Dragunov flies right through it as Dijak crashed into the barricade. The referee starts counting them out by they are able to get up at 8 as Dijak rolls into the ring. Dragunov follows him back inside and tries a German suplex but Dijak prevents it by holding onto the rope as Dragunov ends up crashing back first into the steel steps that are still placed inside.
Dijak tries to chokeslam Dragunov onto the steps, but he counters that with a DDT to the steps. Dragunov picks up the steel steps and rams it into Dijak who is in the corner. Dragunov places the steps on Dijak in the corner, heads to the top rope and hits a Coast 2 Coast as Dijak looks knocks out. The referee starts counting Dijak but he’s able to get up by holding the ropes at 9.
Dragunov starts chopping away at Dijak but he comes right back with a big chop and a kick. Dragunov starts hitting machine gun chops with the last one knocking them both down. Dragunov gets up and continues the chops at a seated position. Dragunov hits a release German on Dijak but he gets back up while screaming as Dragunov.
Dijak brings Dragunov to the apron and chokeslams right onto it by sending him bouncing to the outside. Dragunov gets right up at 9 holding on to the apron and going face 2 face with Dijak. Dijak grabs him and hits Feast Your Eyes but Dragunov bounces into the ropes and is able to hold himself up which only angers Dijak even more.
Dijak grabs a kendo stick from under the ring and starts attacking Dragunov with it, while he’s in the corner asking him if he feels alive with each kendo shot, Dragunov shows more and more pain.
Dijak wipes the blood off of Dragunov with the stick and shows Dragunov asking him to not let him do this as he keeps attacking Dragunov with it until the stick is destroyed then Dijak now grabs a chair and starts choking Dragunov with it.
Dragunov tries to chop his way out, but Dijak attacks him with the chair. Dragunov comes right back with the Torpedo Moscow and a jumping punch then Dragunov stands on top of the steel steps and hits a diving forearm to the back of Dijak then the referee starts counting them both out as Dragunov gets up at 9 and Dijak does not.
Winner: Ilja Dragunov (15:54)
Rate: 8 (Recommend)
We see a Chase U segment where Duke Hudson tells the class they all did very well except Ricky, who sucks. Hudson says being a substitute teacher here has been consuming so he brought in 2 special guests to teach the art of catch wrestling in Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey as Thea Hail doesn’t look too pleased. Gulak says today they will focus on what not to do when the bell rings, as Dempsey cuts to footage of Hail losing to Kiana James. Gulak says not all Chase U students have to fail like Hail does as she storms off. Hudson gets upset at how they had Hail crying and leaving and says nobody does that to any of his students and tells them they better have a better lesson planned for next week.
We see Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson celebrating as Dar says they made history by defending the Heritage Cup in American soil for the 1st time. Dar says they are now at the top as they walk away to the party.
They announce that The Great American Bash returns Sunday July 30th from Cedar Park, Texas.
NXT Tag Team Title Match
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) (c) vs. Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus)
Wolfgang & Julius Creed starts the match but Mark Coffey & Brutus Creed quickly both tag into the match then both teams have a face off as the referee tells the illegal men to go the apron which they do but not before Julius knocks Wolfgang to the outside. Julius tags in as he & Brutus go after Coffey with knees and a belly 2 back suplex for a two count.
Brutus hits a double axe handle on Coffey and starts Brutus smashing him until Wolfgang distracts him to stop the onslaught. Gallus stays in control, double teaming Brutus. Julius is able to distract Wolfgang before tagging in and taking out Gallus with a flurry of suplexes then hitting 3 belly 2 back suplexes on Gallus.
Julius follows with one more on Wolfgang, and one more on Coffey for a total of 8 back to back suplexes before hitting a shooting star press as Brutus hits a moonsault on Coffey for a two count. Gallus starts double teaming on Julius as Brutus hits the Brutus Bomb taking out Gallus.
Creed Brothers start telling each other they love each other and say it’s time to get the NXT Tag Team Titles back as they face off with Gallus who claims they are on top. Both teams start brawling until it’s just Coffey & Julius as Julius takes Coffey down.
Joe Coffey tries to interfere but Ivy Nile trips him followed by Julius clotheslining Joe over the top rope as Nile has her back turn Ava runs out and attacks her distracting Julius. Gallus comes back and hits TKO/Running Boot combo on Julius for the win.
Winners & Still NXT Tag Team Champions: Gallus (9:33) (STILL CHAMPIONS!!!!!)
Rate: 7
We see a video of the mysterious attacker watching footage of her attacks with a distorted voice saying that this Tuesday she’ll be revealing herself.
Finals Of The Women’s Title Tournament
Tiffany Stratton vs. Lyra Valkyria
Match starts off with a lock up then they started pushing each other until Lyra Valkyria takes Tiffany Stratton down with a headlock takeover. Valkyria keeps Stratton down with wrist control until putting on a crucifix pin for a two count. They go back & forth with roll up attempts before they go back to locking up then they run the ropes as Valkyria trips up due to the brace on her left knee during a leapfrog.
They go at it again until Valkyria sends Stratton to the outside and teases jumping onto her but possibly stops short due to her injury. Valkyria tries a dropkick to the outside but Stratton catches her and drops her on the apron. Stratton starts targeting Valkyria’s knee by ramming it into the ring post twice. Stratton rips off Valkyria’s brace and sends her back inside and continues attacking the knee with whips.
Stratton starts stretching Valkyria’s knee back while clutching Valkyria’s neck back but she’s able to break out of it as Stratton covers for a two count then they start smacking each other before Stratton slams Lyra’s knee down then Stratton applies Stretch Muffler but Valkyria kicks her off.
They fight in the corner where Valkyria hits a missile dropkick then Valkyria continues the attack by hitting two back 2 back northern lights suplex. Stratton stops a 3rd attempt but Valkyria knocks her to the outside with an enziguri. Valkyria follows her with a crossbody off the apron then sends Stratton back inside the ring and heads to the top rope.
Stratton holds on from a crossbody attempt and puts Valkyria on her shoulders just for Valkyria to hold on to a crucifix bomb for a two count. Valkyria heads to the top rope but Stratton kicks her down and hits her twisting elbow drop for a two count.
They go back & forth with offense and pin attempts but Valkyria catches Stratton into a release German then Valkyria tries a roundhouse kick but her knee buckles and she crashes down. Stratton slams her down but misses the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.
Valkyria hits the spinning kick then goes for the cover but Stratton is able to put her foot on the bottom rope. Valkyria heads to the top rope but Stratton meets her up there. Lyra tries a powerbomb but Stratton hits her with a hurricanrana then slams her down then hits Prettiest Moonsault Ever to get the win
Winner & New Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton (16:01) (NEW CHAMPION!!!!)
Rate: 7
NXT Title Match
Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Bron Breakker
Carmelo Hayes goes right after Bron Breakker as the bell rings by kicking away at Breakker’s legs. Hayes knocks Breakker loopy by sending him to the outside with a pump kick before diving onto him. Hayes starts chopping Breakker against the barricade but Breakker rams Hayes into the apron then rhey run the ropes but Breakker stops Hayes’ momentum with a spinebuster.
Breakker continues to stay in control while taunting the crowd. Trick Williams causes a bit of a distraction as Hayes attacks Breakker on the ropes by hitting Fadeaway. Hayes continues attacking Breakker’s left knee by putting on a half crab that Breakker is able to kick his way out of. Breakker regains control clotheslining Hayes down and yelling Boston sucks.
Breakker takes Hayes down with a belly 2 back suplex but instead of going for the pin decides to do push ups to a chant of You suck then they head to the top rope where Breakker hits a Frankensteiner for a two count. Hayes is able to mount a comeback with chops and punches but Breakker stops him with a release German suplex.
Breakker goes to apply the Steiner Recliner but Hayes kicks his way off then reverses a suplex into a DDT. Hayes comes back with a crescent kick, pump kick and a springboard forearm but Breakker kicks out before the referee can even count to one.
They go back & forth a bit until Hayes heads to the top rope but Breakker dodges the Nothing But Net attempt. Hayes tries to springboard off the ropes again but Breakker stops him with a spear for a two count then a bit more of back and forth with Hayes hitting a flurry of kicks and springboard DDT, before heading back to the top rope where he hits Nothing But Net to get the victory.
Winner & Still NXT Champion: Carmelo Hayes (14:14) (STILL CHAMPION!!!!!)
Rate: 7
