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Join 411’s Live NXT No Mercy Coverage
Image Credit: WWE
Dig-diggity-dog! Hello everyone – it’s Theo Sambus checking in for your live coverage of No Mercy, right here on 411. Apart from the PLEs, I haven’t caught up with NXT in a little while, so it’ll be quite a treat to go in blind and assess the lay of the land. We’re following the recent trend of just 6 matches scheduled, which should give everything a chance to breathe.
Our two premier matches of the night are Ethan Page vs Joe Hendry (with Trick Williams serving a special guest referee) and Rozanne Perez defending against Jaida Parker. Parker has been racking up some great performances recently, so all eyes will be on how she does in this high-profile spot. I’m also pretty stoked for Wes Lee vs Zachary Wentz, which would be a great matchup in and of itself, but now with added heat and momentum behind it. Plus, Wentz just won TNA’s X-division title the other night in an Ultimate X match, throwing another spanner in the works. Should be good. NXT! NXT! NXT!
Location: Denver, Colorado
Venue: Ball Arena
Commentary: Vic Joseph & Booker T
We are LIVE as Axiom & Nathan Frazer make their way out for our opening contest.
[NXT Tag Team Championships] Chase U (c) vs Nathan Frazer & Axiom
Axiom and Andre lockup as the bell rings, with Chase getting the upper hand via a kitchen sink. Dropkick from Axiom in response. Axiom locks in an abdominal stretch as Frazer takes a run up and hits a running kick. Holland in, launches Frazer and takes him for a cravate spin. Double underhook suplex connects for 2. Chase back in, dropkick to the face while Holland holds Frazer back, gets a 2 count. Axiom back in, combination offense and a short DDT from Frazer allows Axiom to get a 2 count.
Half and half suplex on Chase, Frazer with a running SSP gets 2. Axiom goes for an ankle lock on Andre, Chase counters out of it, but runs into a clothesline. Tags on both sides, belly to belly suplex from Ridge and a splash in the corner. Faceplant DDT gets 2 for Holland, and he muscles Axiom up for a nice powerslam. Holland up top, diving headbutt. 1, 2, Frazer breaks it up.
Springboard axe handle from Frazer, Axiom follows up with a diving dropkick for 2. Tag to Chase, Frazer sits him on the buckles, tags in Axiom, he is poised but Holland shoves Frazer into the ropes to crotch him. ANDRE CHASE WITH A SPANISH FLY! Double underhook sitout powerbomb from Chase, 1, 2, NO. Axiom takes on both men now, but Ridge chops him down. Axiom fires back with slaps and a thrust kick, suicide dive to Chase on the outside. Frazer dives onto Holland, but Ridge catches him. Axiom dives too, Ridge catches him as well and sends them both backwards over the railing. But they come back with stereo dropkicks.
Axiom nails a frog splash in the ring, dives with a kick to Holland, Frazer in with a 450 on Chase! 1, 2, no. Enziguri from Frazer, Chase tags in Holland…Doomsday Device! 1, 2, Frazer kicks out. Buckle Bomb with the kick from Chase, and a reverse DDT connects but Axiom pushes Holland into the pinfall to break it up. Enziguri from Frazer, takes Andre up onto the top rope, but Chase fights out of it, superplex from Frazer and the brainbuster/kick combo connects, 1, 2, NO.
Golden Ratio misses, Axiom kicks Frazer by accident! Holland is poised, lariat! Powerbomb backstabber, 1, 2, NO, Axiom kicks out again! Springboard dropkick from Frazer followed by a tope con hilo to the outside. Inside cradle from Axiom gets 2. Neckbreaker by Chase, and he heads up top but receives an enziguri. Spanish Fly, Frazer is legal with the Phoenix Splash, 1, 2, 3.
Winners and NEW NXT Tag Team Champions: Nathan Frazer & Axiom
Time: 13:32
Rating: ***1/2 – Exciting opener for sure, although there were a few issues with legality along the way, and they absolutely burnt through each teams’ offense, kicking out of pretty much everything. Shame for Chase U to lose the titles so early as well. Still, the crowd was into this big time, and there’s no denying that these four put on a show.
Post-match, Ridge Holland explodes, beating up all of Chase U! Duke Hudson and Riley Osborne get taken out on the outside, tossed into the steps. Holland lariats Andre Chase, then presses him above his head and tosses him to the floor. Ridge pulls off the announce table cover and stands on top of it with Andre. Holland with the Redeemer (capture DDT) on top of the table! Thea Hail cries as Holland looks on, seemingly pretty pleased with his path of destruction.
We get a video package for Trick Williams vs Pete Dunne this coming Tuesday on NXT. Made it seem like a pretty big deal, that was good stuff.
Next, we recap Ridge Holland going nuts on Chase U, and we see Andre Chase being stretchered out.
Wes Lee vs Zachary Wentz
Wentz is indeed carrying the X-division championship, and gets announced as such, which is still crazy to think for WWE programming. Lee takes a swing first, they both flip around each other with no one getting the upper hand. Lee grounds Wentz, they block kicks from each other and avoid leg sweeps and come to a stalemate. Wentz gets a leg sweep and dropkick Lee in the face before nailing a tornillo off the middle buckle for 2. Lee to the floor, Wentz joins him, but Lee with knee block on the apron to take control. Lee kicks Wentz against the ring apron, until Wentz comes back with some right hands. Lee with a back suplex across the apron, gets a 2 count.
Lee sends Wentz shoulder and head first into the buckles, and dropkicks him in the back of the head. Lee starts to work over the arm now with an arm trap submission hold, Wentz tries to escape but Lee has wrist control. They trade forearms, handspring kick from Wentz creates some space. Back elbows connect, Wentz catches the leg and grounds Lee, snap German suplex follows. Knee in the corner, rolling snapmare and a kick to the chest. Lee to the floor, Wentz to the apron and nails a big kick as Lee takes the Paul London bump. Whisper in the Wind from Wentz to the floor! Flipping senton back into the ring gets 2 for Wentz.
Meteora from Lee, but Wentz rolls through into a Boston crab! Lee reaches for the ropes but Wentz drags him to the center of the ring. Lee manages to turn it over and kicks him away, but Wentz comes back with a superkick. Enziguri in the corner, Wentz heads up top, Lee answers with an enziguri and a hurracanarana, followed by a Phoenix splash for 2. Cardiac Kick connects, 1, 2, no. Canadian Destroyer DDT connects for Wentz, Lee somehow comes back with a Meteora and rolls to the outside with both men down. Lee removes the cover of the announce table, but Wentz fights back. Lee tosses him into the steel steps…Meteora against the steps, but Wentz avoids it, and Lee goes head over heels over the steps.
Spin kick pushes Wentz back into the table, he leans back on it, and the table collapses under him. I WAS the table?! Lee goes to the top anyway, Meteora onto Wentz on the floor! Wes Lee grabs the X Division title and tosses it to the floor, and grabs a chair instead. TREY MIGUEL IS HERE. Miguel grabs the chair away from Lee, and Wentz with a CANADIAN DESTROYER FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR. In the ring, UFO! 1, 2, 3!
Winner: Zachary Wentz
Time: 13:37
Rating: ***1/2 – The early portion of the match wasn’t as heated as the feud had called for, which maybe took the crowd out of it. They definitely got into it by the end, by the table botch took the wind out of things slightly. Regardless, how MAD is it that a TNA champion just beat a ‘WWE’ guy cleanly on PLE? This partnership is fun as hell! Lee and Wentz obviously match up well, so I’d be down for a rematch under some kind of hardcore rules.
Joe Hendry is warming up backstage, and Trick Williams appears to say he will be calling it down the middle. Hendry says when he wins, Williams will be the first in line for a shot.
[NXT Women’s North American Championship] Kelani Jordan (c) vs Wendy Choo
Jordan with a dropkick to take down Choo and a quick rollup. Choo plants the hand on the mat and stomps on it, then gets the better of a test of strength. Hurracanrana from Kelani, dropkicks Choo to the floor and follows with a tornillo. She tosses Choo back in the ring, looks for the split-legged moonsault but sees Choo rolling away so thinks better of it. Another dropkick and a roundhouse kick, handspring moonsault gets 2 for the champion. Jordan goes up top but Choo catches her and climbs up with her. Choo clotheslines Jordan so she’s hanging back on the apron in a tree of woe, and then Choo charges in with a dropkick.
Both women roll back into the ring, neck crank from Choo. A running boot connects in the corner, and she covers Jordan for 2. She whips Jordan face-first into the middle buckles, and follows up with a short flatliner. Jordan to her feet though, gets met with a double throat thrust. Crescent kick to the spine from Choo, handspring clothesline in the corner, but Jordan rolls into a pinning combination for 2. Jumping Sleepy Time gets 2. Jordan sits up in the corner to avoid some offense, and both women have the same idea, charging in for a clothesline, taking each other out.
Choo with a German suplex, Jordan comes right back with a handspring back elbow. Leg lariat connects from the champ, and she gets Choo on her shoulders, but Choo avoids it. Tornado DDT by Jordan, and a faceplant (almost an X-factor) connects for 2. Choo sits up! Crossbody from Jordan, Choo again sits up, possessed. Kelani stomps the head and neck of Choo and heads up top. Nice Frog splash, 1, 2, no. Choo brings Jordan to the floor and suplexes her on the outside, bringing her back inside for a Full Nelson, but Jordan counters. Choo catches Jordan in the corner and hits a powerbomb, picking her back up for a uranage. Kelani to the apron, stunner/jawbreaker over the ropes, and she climbs back up to the top. Choo goes up with her, looking for a superplex, oh damn Choo went for a quick suplex but fell back, and Jordan just falls forward off the top through momentum.
Choo has the clutch applied, Jordan is fading but stays in it. Single leg stomp from the corner as Jordan gets back into it. Handspring into a hooked DDT, not sure shy she needed the handspring there. 450 splash, but she can’t make the cover. Split-legged moonsault connects and Jordan gets the 1, 2, 3.
Winner and STILL NXT Women’s North American Champion: Kelani Jordan
Time: 13:19
Rating: **1/2 – This was a more subdued affair, and broke down on a couple of occasions, with that botch on the ropes looking particularly unfortunate. Choo’s character is more interesting, but Jordan probably needs more high-pressure matches like this to build confidence and experience.
Choo sits up after the match and Tatum Paxley attacks her from behind! Paxley places a doll (a voodoo doll?) next to Choo.
Sarah Schreiber catches up with Holland, wondering why he did what he did to Chase. But Ridge doesn’t respond and simply walks off.
[NXT North American Championship] Oba Femi (c) vs Tony D’Angelo
D’Angelo tries to grapple Femi but it doesn’t go well. Shoulder block, Tony goes down. D’Angelo with a takedown, and he mounts him for some punches, before nailing a Cactus clothesline over the top, with both men spilling to the floor. They work back into the ring, D’Angelo catching Femi with a flying forearm and a German suplex. He clothesline Femi back to the floor, and D’Angelo is looking fantastic here. D’Angelo makes the mistake of jumping at Femi, so the champ drives him back first into the buckles. Femi looks for a uranage, but Tony drops to the mat, and Femi backs up, he might be legit injured here. Maybe not, Femi with a vertical suplex for 2.
Slow-mo replay shows Femi accidentally stood on the foot of Tony as he was running, twisting it back, yikes that could have been BAD! D’Angelo fights back with an overhead suplex, charges in the corner but Femi catches him and tosses him overhead. Running uppercut, 1, 2, no. Clothesline to the back of the neck as Femi maintains control. Femi looks for a stomp but D’Angelo avoids it and gets a rollup for 2. MASSIVE shoulder breaker by Femi!! 1, 2, no.
Back body drop by D’Angelo as he fires up with some right hands. Cauliflower ears by Femi, but D’Angelo climbs the buckles, jumps and gets caught for a chokeslam attempt. D’Angelo to the apron, both men there now…they trade right hands, and D’Angelo hits a desperation DDT onto the apron. Kick to the face from Femi, overhead biel by D’Angelo back in the ring. They trade strikes now, and Tony builds steam, belly to back suplex. Fisherman’s suplex, 1, 2, NO.
Femi goes for a chokeslam, D’Angelo avoids it. Powerslam by the challenger! Tony lifts Femi up on his shoulders, Electric Chair drop! 1, 2, no. Femi gets in the business of the Family at ringside, but D’Angelo dodges and Femi gets sent into the steel steps. In the ring, Femi is met with a spear! 1, 2, no. Femi up, tosses Tony but can’t get the powerbomb. Sky High Powerbomb connects, 1, 2, NO, D’Angelo kicks out. Right hands from Femi now, misses another powerbomb, but D’Angelo comes back with a one-handed spinebuster. He can’t make the cover though.
Running uppercut in the corner from Femi, and he delivers another powerbomb. One more, sitout powerbomb this time. 1, 2, 3.
Winner and STILL NXT North American Champion: Oba Femi
Time: 13:45
Rating: ***1/4 – More good stuff here, with strong performances from both guys. It was feeling like they weren’t building to an appropriate climax, but then Femi stepped it up a notch for those multiple powerbombs to seal the deal. Better than many would have expected, I’d imagine.
Ethan Page is backstage staring at his championship, when Trick Williams enters. Page says the idea of Trick calling it down the middle is a bigger joke than Trick’s NXT title run. Williams says it’s about Page abiding by his rules, and if he doesn’t, he’ll whoop that Trick.
Next, we hear from Zachary Wentz. He won the match, but he lost a best friend. He says true friends show up no matter what, and he’s so grateful for Trey Miguel. The new tag champs haven’t faced The Rascalz before, so they lay out the challenge to Axiom & Nathan Frazer.
[NXT Women’s Championship] Roxanne Perez (c) vs Jaida Parker
Perez with a go-behind, Parker flails the arms to try and catch her with a back elbow, but Perez dodges. Side headlock takedown by the champion, Parker reverses into a head scissors but Perez escapes and bows to her opponent. Parker whips Perez into the buckles and similarly bows. Perez jumps into the arms of Parker, who places her across the middle ropes and goes for a knee but Perez avoids it. Shoulder block by Parker followed by a butterfly suplex. Perez tries a dive to the floor but Parker catches her on her shoulders, and simply walks her back to the ring. Nope, Perez drops behind her on the steps and pulls Parker down. Perez curb stomps Parker into the steel steps!
Back in the ring, a boot to the midsection is followed by a double stomp as Perez covers for 2. Dueling chants from the crowd now who are into this from the get-go. Parker kicks her away, gets a rollup for 2, but Perez comes right back with a dropkick. Jaida gets sent into the ringpost, and Perez keeps the pressure on. Abdominal stretch applied by the Women’s champion, Parker fights out and tries an arm drag but Perez blocks it. They trade strikes, and Perez hits an uppercut in the corner, before placing Parker across the middle ropes. Elevated hip attack!
Parker catches a kick attempt, lifts Perez up and powerbombs her down again, 1, 2, no. Spinebuster by Parker for 2. Suplex attempt is thwarted as Perez climbs the ropes, jumps into the arms of Parker though. She plants Perez in the corner and again drapes her over the middle rope, before ascending the buckles…top rope Tear Drop! 1, 2, no. Parker tries to suplex Perez but drops her as her midsection has been worked over…and Perez sees the opening, looking for the crossface. Reverse suplex by Parker connects, misses the hip attack though. Crossface from Perez! Transitions into the Rings of Saturn!! And she elbows away at Parker, but Parker gets to her knees….back to her feet! Samoan Drop from the challenger! Vader bomb misses though. Perez with a mahistral cradle for 2, spin kick to the midsection. Pop Rox didn’t connect, but Parker sends her to the floor with a hip attack. Parker goes for a hip attack against the barricade, but Perez dodges and Parker sends herself through the barricade! Pop Rox on the floor!!
Both women make it back into the ring at 9, but Perez instantly meets her challenger with the Pop Rox!! 1, 2, 3.
Winner and STILL NXT Women’s Champion: Roxanne Perez
Time: 14:50
Rating: **** – That was so damn good! How in God’s name has Parker only been wrestling for less than a year? Great nearfalls, smart technical work, and high spots strategically placed to actually mean something; yeah, there was an awful lot to love about this.
The lights dim…AND IT’S GIULIA! GIULIA HAS ARRIVED! She walks to the ring and goes face to face with Perez, who holds the title aloft. Giulia simply smiles as we fade to commercial.
Sarah Schreiber catches up with Ava, looking for an update on Andre Chase. He’s being kept in overnight, and they’ll get an update on him whenever they can. Sarah also asks about the Tag Team division, which is heating up. Ava agrees and says this Tuesday, it’ll be a triple threat tag with Gallus vs Rascalz vs Hank & Tank, and the winners face the tag team champs on the NXT CW debut show.
[NXT Championship – Special Guest Ref: Trick Williams]: Ethan Page (c) vs Joe Hendry
Page immediately starts jaw-jacking with Williams, but Trick reminds him he’s the ref. Page backs Hendry into the corner, doesn’t break, so Williams is forced to get between them, and Page is not happy about Trick putting his hands on him. Hendry backs Page into the corner now, and again Trick has to get involved. Shoulder block attempts from Page but Hendry shrugs it off. Kick to the knee instead, but Hendry comes right back with a clothesline and a biiiig stalling suplex for 2.
Sunset flip from Hendry gets 2, and Page turns the tables with a boot to the face. Page whips Hendry into the corner, but Hendry fires out of the corner with another clothesline. A back elbow takes Hendry off his feet again. Guillotine applied, but Hendry reverses into a suplex to escape it. Roundhouse kick from All Ego and he sends Hendry into the buckles, following up with a suplex of his own for a 2 count. He sits Hendry on the top rope and climbs up with him to deliver a superplex, but Hendry is looking for a chokeslam! Page avoids that and sets Hendry up for a powerslam off the ropes, nailing it for a 2 count.
Page repositions Hendry and climbs the ropes again, but Hendry meets him up there for a fallaway slam off the ropes. Hendry runs and dives over the ropes to take out Page on the floor. Page manages to send him into the steel steps though and hits the Ego’s Edge on the ring apron. Williams starts the count, but Hendry makes it back into the ring just after the 9 count. Page pounces, looks for another Ego’s Edge, but Hendry reverses and gets one of his own! 1, 2, no.
They trade strikes as the crowd give it the ‘yay boo’ deal, and Hendry wins the exchange with a series of clotheslines and a fallaway slam. Hendry kips up and gets the crowd to clap along. Standing Ovation connects, 1, 2…but Williams notices the foot is under the ropes, and stops the count. Page is up and shoves Hendry into Williams. Page with a Standing Ovation, another official comes down, 1, 2, NO. Page brings in the NXT title, the ref grabs it from him but Hendry rolls Page up! 1, 2, no. DDT on the belt, 1, 2, Williams slides back in the ring and grabs the referee’s arm to prevent the final count. Page goes to hit Trick, Trick ducks and he hits the other referee. Low blow to Hendry while Trick isn’t looking. Ego’s Edge connects, and Williams makes a slow count, 1, 2…3!
Winner and STILL NXT Champion: Ethan Page
Time: 15:06
Rating: *** – Perfectly fine, and the ref spots were all well-timed, plus they didn’t go crazy with the teases between Williams and Page so it never felt overplayed. That said, it was ‘just a match’. I never bought Hendry winning, and it didn’t ever hit anything more than being ‘decent’, which is somewhat of a letdown for a main event.
Trick has to raise the hand of Page in victory, and Page gives him a cheeky thumbs up to rub it in. Pete Dunne arrives and grabs Trick Williams, hitting a Bitter End on the floor. Ethan Page laughs at the fallen body of Trick Williams as No Mercy goes off the air.
