WWE NXT Battleground 2023

WWE NXT Battleground 2023 event is an NXT PLE which took place on May 28, 2023, at Tsonga Center in Lowell, MA.

New NXT Women’s Champion was crowned at the show in a tournament final where Tiffany Stratton defeated Lyra Valkyrie. A rematch for NXT Championship between Carmelo Hayes and Bron Breakker headlined the show.

EVENT INFO

• This was the sixth event in the “Battleground” series, but the first one under the NXT banner. It is also the first Battleground event to take place since 2017.
• This was the third NXT PLE show in the year 2023 and the sixth special show for NXT overall in 2023.
• The event was announced on March 30, 2023, by NXT Head Shawn Michaels during Stand & Deliver event press conference.
• The event went head-to-head against AEW Double or Nothing 2023 event, making them the first AEW and WWE PPV/PLE to go head-to-head.
• As per a report from WrestleTix, 3482 out of 3738 tickets were sold for the event.

MATCH CARD

Wes Lee(c) vs Tyler Bate vs Joe Gacy – NXT North American Championship

Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak started a rivalry with Wes Lee over the North American Championship. Lee successfully managed to retain the title against them with Tyler Bate blocking outside interference from Dempsey during Lee’s title defense against Gulak. Tyler and Lee were booked for a tag team match against Gulak and Dempsey on May 16 NXT episode, but Gulak and Dempsey attacked the duo backstage, leaving Bate injured. Lee then went to the ring to address the attack from Dempsey and Gulak, only for Joe Gacy to interrupt him and claim that Bate was not his real friend and had his eyes on the title. Bate came out and claimed that although he wanted a title shot, he was indeed a friend to Lee. Lee felt betrayed by Bate and announced that he would defend the title against both Bate and Gacy at Battleground.

Winner – Wes Lee

Noam Dar vs Dragon Lee – British Rounds Rules Match for NXT Heritage Cup

After Noam Dar made his NXT return with Heritage Cup, Dragon Lee started targeting a match for the championship. Lee was the guest on Supernova Sessions with Noam Dar on May 16 NXT episode where Lee once again insisted Dar defend the championship against him. Dar mockingly praised Lee but did not agree for the title match. Nathan Frazer came out and taunted Dar into accepting a match against Lee for the Heritage Cup at Battleground. The match took place under British Round Rules.

Winner – Noam Dar

Dijak vs Ilja Dragunov – Last Man Standing Match

After weeks of promos against each other and backstage brawls, Ilja Dragunov defeated Dijak via disqualification in their match at NXT May 9 episode. After more taunting, Dragunov went to Dijak’s liar on May 16 episode where he asked Dijak to inflict as much pain as possible. However, Dragunov refused to relent despite all the torture. The next day WWE announced that Dijak and Dragunov would clash in Last Man Standing match.

Winner: Ilja Dragunov

Gallus(Mark Coffey & Wolfgang)(c) vs The Creed Brothers(Brutus Creed & Julius Creed) – NXT Tag Team Championship

The Creed Brothers were part of a fatal 4-way tag team match at Stand & Deliver but Gallus retained the title. They were once again part of a three-way tag title match on NXT along with The Dyad, but Gallus pinned Julius to retain the title once again. The Creed Brothers stopped Schism from interfering in a tag title match between Gallus and The Dyad. Later, they defeated The Dyad in a tag team match themselves and then challenged Gallus for another title shot at Battleground. Gallus accepted the challenge the following week.

Winner: Gallus

Laya Valkyrie vs Tiffany Stratton – Tournament Final for NXT Women’s Championship

Indi Hartwell won the NXT Women’s Championship at Stand and Deliver event. She was drafted to RAW at WWE Draft 2023. On May 2 episode of NXT, Indi announced that she is relinquishing the title due to move to RAW and a tournament would take place to crown the new champion. The final of this tournament would take place at NXT Battleground. The tournament bracket is as follows:

• Round 1
  • Tiffany Stratton defeated Gigi Dolin
  • Lyra Valkyrie defeated Kiana James
  • Cora Jade defeated Fallon Henley
  • Roxanne Perez defeated Jacy Jayne
• Semifinals
  • Lyra Valkyrie defeated Cora Jade
  • Tiffany Stratton defeated Roxanne Perez

Winner: Tiffany Stratton

Carmelo Hayes(c) vs Bron Breakker – NXT Championship

Carmelo Hayes won the NXT Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver event. Breakker came in to complement Hayes for his win on NXT April 4 episode, but later turned heel and attacked Hayes and Trick Williams. Hayes challenged Bron Breakker for a rematch at Battleground after he retained the title over Grayson Waller at NXT Spring Breakin’. Breakker answered this by hitting a spear on Hayes to take him through a board. Trick Williams challenged Breakker for a match on NXT May 10 episode. Breakker got the win by putting Williams in Steiner Recliner. When Breakker did not let Williams go after the bell, Hayes attacked Breakker. Breakker caught Hayes mid-air with a spear and then claimed that he would win the NXT title back at Battleground.

Winner – Carmelo Hayes