WWE NXT Results: Top champ betrayed; Former champ attacked after match - Winners, Recap, Grades & Highlights (May 16, 2023)

NXT kicked off tonight with a Women’s Championship Tournament Match between Cora Jade and Fallon Henley.

With just 12 DAYS to go until #NXTBattleground, what else will go down on the road to Lowell?

Don't miss a pivotal night of action TONIGHT on #WWENXT!

📺 8/7c on @USANetwork https://t.co/dSsGeKx0DI

WWE NXT Results (May 16, 2023): Cora Jade vs. Fallon Henley - NXT Women’s Championship Tournament Match

Henley got a shoulder block and a big slam early on before taking Cora down with a heel kick. Jade was in the corner and sidestepped a tackle before getting a big knee drop on Fallon.

Cora tried for a modified Figure Four Leglock before Henley broke out and hit an uppercut. Jade took a shining wizard before Cora rolled outside. Back in the ring, Jade hit a sudden DDT and picked up the win.

Result: Cora Jade def. Fallon Henley

.@CoraJadeWWE had a game plan, and she executed.

Jade beats @FallonHenleyWWE to advance in the NXT Women's Championship Tournament!

#WWENXT https://t.co/pVxuIEHx9U

Lyra Valkyra came out after the match and had a staredown with Cora as NXT continued.

Grade: B

Tyler Bate and Wes Lee were in the locker room when The Dyad attacked them before Joe Gacy came in to tell them that their friendship was based on lies.

#Schism just took out @WesLee_WWE and #TylerBate 😬😬😬

#WWENXT https://t.co/XJMCMo8pBP

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were out next, and after they called out Bron Breakker, Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak showed up instead. The two teams bickered for a bit before setting up a tag match for later tonight.

.@DrewGulak & #CharlieDempsey wanted a fight, and looks like @Carmelo_WWE & @_trickwilliams were game 🤷‍♂️

#WWENXT https://t.co/pOAA3x8Oju

Ilja Dragunov interrupted Donovan Dijak during a promo and told him he could not be broken because he could withstand immense pain. Dijak confessed that he liked inflicting pain, and Ilja liked receiving it, but there’s no man alive he can’t break.

Creed Brothers vs. The Dyad on NXT

😱😱😱

Anything you can do, I can do better!

#WWENXT https://t.co/kgQfMMuNSL

Fowler and Julius kicked off the match, and the Creeds were in control early on with some quick tags in and out. The Creeds hit some big suplexes before Reid got a Koji clutch, and Rip came in for some stomps on Julius.

Julius broke out of the hold and got a Snapmare before tags were made. We got some 450 Splashes from Julius and Reid as the match went on. Ivy Nile took out Ava Raine at ringside, and the distraction allowed the Creeds to hit the Brutus Bomb and pick up the win.

Result: Creed Brothers def. the Dyad

EVERYTHING coming up #DiamondMine 💎

#WWENXT https://t.co/7WgQUTa2Vh

Grade: B-

Tony D'Angelo was at a restaurant with Stacks, and they got a call from Paulie, causing Stacks to walk away for a bit. Some clearly fake cops came in and arrested Tony in the meantime and said that there was a criminal investigation.

Noam Dar was hosting his talk show Supernova Sessions, and his guest was Dragon Lee. After a sad attempt at trying to speak Spanish, Dar made fun of Dragon's start in Mexico, and Lee told him to put his cup on the line if he was so confident.

Dar tried to back out of the challenge by talking about some made-up rules before Nathan Frazer came out to expose Dar as the fraud he is. The two argued for a bit before Dar accepted a non-title match against Frazer and will also take on Lee at Battleground.

.@NoamDar vs. @dragonlee95 for the NXT Heritage Cup at #NXTBattleground?!

LET'S GO!!!!

@WWEFrazer #WWENXT https://t.co/BMX6MEDcn2

Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams vs. Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey on NXT

.@Carmelo_WWE and @_trickwilliams are rolling 🔥🔥🔥

#WWENXT https://t.co/ea6sySdxo0

Dempsey and Williams kicked off the match, and Trick got some big strikes in early on before Hayes came and hit a big sequence of moves leading up to a sunset flip and a near fall.

Drew came in and tried for some holds before tagging Dempsey back in and getting a cheap shot on Trick from the apron. Melo came back in and got some big forearms and a spinebuster before getting the Nothin' But Net on Charlie for the win.

Result: Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams def. Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey

Bron Breakker showed up on the Titantron, and he was at Melo's favorite barbershop as he vaguely threatened Melo and everyone around him before walking out and heading to the arena.

WOW 😡😡😡

@bronbreakkerwwe took a trip to @Carmelo_WWE and @_trickwilliams' barbershop...

#WWENXT https://t.co/gX4yCzyuWW

Grade: B

Kiana James vs. Thea Hail on NXT

Hail took the fight outside the ring and took down Kiana before trying for a big dive, but James rolled out of the way. James got in control and hit some big strikes in the corner before getting a near fall while Hudson was scoring test papers at ringside.

After a break on NXT, Hail came back with a snap suplex and a senton before trying for a huge crossbody off the top. James countered the dive from Hail before hitting the 401K (a Flatliner) for the win.

Result: Kiana James def. Thea Hail

Grade: C

Hank and Tank were backstage when Briggs and Jensen congratulated them on a great match last week. The former NXT UK tag champs said that they got better by fighting each other inspiring Tank to challenge Hank to a match.

Wes Lee and Tyler Bate were backstage, and Lee said that he had something to say, but he'll do it out in the ring.

Wes came out next, and so did Joe Gacy and Ava Raine. The Schism tried to convince Wes that Tyler was after him and his title. Wes and Joe were talking about a match, and Tyler wanted it to be a Triple Threat for the NXT North American Title.

Wes was shocked that Tyler would go after his title, but Bate assured him that the title wouldn't get in the way of their friendship. The Schism got back to trash-talking before Wes said that he thought he could trust Bate and walked out.

Looks like we may be getting a Triple Threat Match for the North American Championship at #NXTBattleground...

...but @WesLee_WWE may have more questions than answers 😬

#WWENXT https://t.co/rRiUjy0Wo0

Jacy Jayne vs. Roxanne Perez - NXT Women’s Championship Tournament Match

Jayne got some big strikes early on before Perez took her down and got a near fall. Jayne took her into the corner and hit some big spears before trying for the cartwheel splash, but Perez sidestepped.

WHO WANTS IT MORE?!

@jacyjaynewwe and @roxanne_wwe are putting it all on the line tonight!

#WWENXT https://t.co/wzKXttR9JP

Perez sent Jayne outside with a dropkick before getting a big dive to the outside. Jayne was taken down with the leg sweep and a splash in the ring before Perez got another near fall.

Jayne hit a superkick off a counter for a near fall of her own. Perez dodged another big kick before getting the sudden Pop Rox for the win.

Result: Roxanne Perez def. Jacy Jayne

Gigi Dolin attacked Jayne after the match, and a huge brawl broke out, and officials had to flood to ringside and stop them.

#GigiDolin is not done with @jacyjaynewwe quite yet! 🔥🔥🔥

#WWENXT https://t.co/u3weVCSQSc

Grade: B

Melo and Trick were back out and called out Bron Breakker once more. We got a strange continuation for the Dijak-Dragunov promo before heading back to the ring. Bron came out with a large number of security guys and said that they were there for Trick and Melo's protection.

They spent the next few minutes trash-talking and establishing the fact that they were both at the top of their game. Bron brought up some sports teams before saying that he will end Trick's Dynasty at Battleground.

Trick and Melo attacked the security guys and took them out before Bron came into the ring. Melo took some hits but managed to take Bron out with the title belt before NXT went off the air.

These two can't stand each other!

It's going to be an absolute war at #NXTBattleground! 👊👊👊

@Carmelo_WWE @bronbreakkerwwe #WWENXT https://t.co/BLT4CWnnU9

Episode rating: B

We got some great matches tonight on NXT as well as a big showdown between Bron and Melo to close the show.