WWE NXT No Mercy 2023

WWE NXT No Mercy 2023 is a WWE PLE which took place on September 30, 2023, at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, CA. Becky Lynch faced Tiffany Stratton in an Extreme Rules match over NXT Women’s Championship. Carmelo Hayes defended NXT Championship at the event in a rematch against Ilja Dragunov.

MATCH CARD

• Pre-show: Blair Davenport vs Kelani Jordan
  • Winner – Blair Davenport
• Bron Breakker vs Baron Corbin
  • Winner – Baron Corbin
• Dominik Mysterio(c) vs Trick Williams – NXT North American Championship
  • Winner – Trick Williams(title change)
• D’Angelo Family(Tony D’Angelo & Stacks)(c) vs Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo vs The Creed Brothers(Julius Creed & Brutus Creed) vs Bronco Lima & Lucien Price – 4-Way Tag Team Match for NXT Tag Team Championship
  • Winners – The D’Angelo Family
• Noam Dar(c) vs Butch – British Round Rules match for NXT Heritage Cup Match
  • Winner – Noam Dar(by 2 to 1 falls)
• Carmelo Hayes(c) vs Ilja Dragunov – NXT Championship
  • Winner – Ilja Dragunov(title change)
• Becky Lynch(c) vs Tiffany Stratton – Extreme Rules Match for NXT Women’s Championship
  • Winner – Becky Lynch

NOTES & STORYLINES

This is the 14th event in No Mercy series from WWE, but the first one under NXT banner. The event was announced on July 27 by Shawn Michaels to take place on September 30, 2023. This was the fifth PLE event from NXT in the year 2023.

Shawn Michaels announced a match between Blair Davenport and Kelani Jordan on the pre-show.

Noam Dar(c) vs Butch – British Round Rules match for NXT Heritage Cup Match

Noam Dar won NXT Heritage Cup back from Nathan Frazer at NXT Heatwave event. As he was celebrating his win backstage with Meta-Four, he received a letter from The Heritage Cup committee informing him about a Global Heritage Invitational Tournament, the winner of which will get a shot at Dar’s Heritage Cup at No Mercy.

Butch, Axiom, Tyler Bate, Nathan Frazer, Duke Hudson, Akira Tozawa, Joe Coffey and Charlie Dempsey were announced for the tournament, which started with two groups in round robin manner. The winner of each is supposed to face off in the final match which is set up for NXT September 26 episode. Butch reached the final by topping group A. Group B had a 3-way tie between Duke Hudson, Nathan Frazer and Joe Coffey. Coffey then won a tie breaker triple threat match to advance to the final. Butch defeated Coffey in the final to get the title shot.

Carmelo Hayes(c) vs Ilja Dragunov – NXT Championship

Carmelo Hayes retained NXT Championship against Ilja Dragunov at NXT The Great American Bash event. But, it required some motivation from Trick Williams from outside to pump him up to get the win. Wes Lee targeted NXT Championship but failed to beat Hayes at NXT Heatwave. After Dragunov defeated Williams at Heatwave, he turned his focus back towards Hayes. But, Lee once again staked the claim for next in line for a title shot. Hayes then announced a #1 contender match between Dragunov and Lee, with the winner getting a title shot at No Mercy. Dragunov won this match to set up a rematch against Hayes.

Dominik Mysterio(c) vs Trick Williams – NXT North American Championship

After winning the title from Wes Lee, Dominik Mysterio retained it in a triple-threat match at The Great American Bash by pinning Lee which also involved Mustafa Ali. Ali stacked the claim for the title once again, but Dominik ignored him. Dominik retained the title successfully against Dragon Lee on August 8 NXT episode. Lee pinned Dominik in a mixed tag team match at NXT Heatwave. Lee asked for another title shot, but Ali also claimed a title shot.

Dominik then announced a #1 contender match between Lee and Ali where he would also be the special guest referee. Dominik did a fast count to allow a victory for Ali to set up a match at No Mercy. Mustafa Ali was later released from WWE. WWE then announced a triple threat match between Tyler Bate, Axiom and Dragon Lee to find the #1 contender for the title. Later, Trick Williams was added to the match, and ended up winning it to set up a match against Dominik. Dragon Lee attacked Dominik backstage. He was added to the match as the special guest referee.

Bron Breakker vs Baron Corbin

Bron Breakker smashed a steel step on Von Wagner’s head on NXT September 5 episode. Baron Corbin came out the following week and complemented Bron Breakker for this act. Breakker called Corbin an idiot to think that he did that to Wagner to get Corbin’s approval, but it happened because Wagner put him through the table. Corbin listed his accomplishments and said Breakker should seek his respect. Breakker challenged him for a match at No Mercy. Corbin slapped Breakker in response to start a brawl. NXT later announced the match at No Mercy.

Becky Lynch(c) vs Tiffany Stratton – Extreme Rules Match for NXT Women’s Championship

Tiffany Stratton mistakenly named Becky Lynch as the former NXT Women’s Champion during one of her promo on NXT. She also appeared in the crowd during one of Becky’s matches on RAW. After Becky beat Trish Stratus, Tiffany met Becky backstage at Payback. Becky appeared via a video on NXT September 5 episode and announced the title match for the following week. Becky dethroned Tiffany as the NXT Women’s Champion on September 12 episode. Tiffany then called for a rematch at No Mercy.

After the match was decided, Becky and Tiffany continued trash talk which led to a brawl. Kiana James came in to help Tiffany but Becky was able to force them to retreat before calling for a 2-on-1 handicapped match. Tiffany and Kiana attacked Becky before the match. Lyra Valkyrie helped Becky and the match was turned into a tag team match. Becky and Lyra won the match, but Tiffany attacked once again after the match with a steel chair. After Tiffany retreated, Becky said that their match at No Mercy will be Extreme Rules match.

D’Angelo Family vs Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo vs The Creed Brothers vs OTM – 4-Way Tag Team Match for NXT Tag Team Championship

Ever since the Creed Brothers were reinstated in NXT, every team in the tag team division is trying to stake their claim for the tag titles. Tony D’Angelo sat down with Angel Garza, Humberto Carrillo and The Creed Brothers for dinner. They were also interrupted by Over the Mud’s Lucien Price and Bronco Lima. After an argument between these teams, Tony said they would defend the titles in a 4-way match.