Battleground (2023) | Results & Grades

The following are the RESULTS and my GRADES for NXT Battleground 2023.

North American Championship

(Triple threat match)

Tyler Bate

vs

Joe Gacy

(w/ Ava)

vs

WES LEE (c)

WINNER: Wes Lee (c)

(via pinfall)

Comments: A really solid opener. All three guys looked great throughout, Wes Lee retained in good fashion. Lee has been real good as NA Champion, he seems to be getting a good run out of it, which is the right call. Gacy proving more he should be in more high profile title matches. Tyler Bate is Tyler Bate, he's fantastic and has been doing well as a babyface overall. Good start to the PLE.

GRADE: B+

NXT Heritage Cup

(British Rounds Rules match)

Dragon Lee

(w/ Nathan Frazer)

vs

NOAM DAR (c)

(w/ Oro Mensah)

WINNER: Noam Dar (c)

(2-1)

Comments: Another solid match to continue the show. Dar has been excellent since returning to NXT within the last few weeks. He's a great heel and now has a nice faction with him to ravish on with his heel work. Great stuff from him. Dragon Lee didn't really need the win here, he's on a proving ground right now for WWE - he's killing it. Both guys looked great and it was a creative match overall.

GRADE: B

Last Man Standing

Dijak

vs

Ilja Dragunov

WINNER: Ilja Dragunov

Comments: The best match of the night. Both men really went all out and it was a very violent and brutal match, with great storytelling. Dijak looked like a complete monster. Dragunov looked like a real madman. Both told a great story and the match exceeded a lot of expectations. Really fun and entertaining. Match of the Night. Maybe even a top competitor for 'Match of the Year' at this stage.

GRADE: A+

NXT Tag Team Championships

(Normal tag team match)

Julius Creed

Brutus Creed

(w/ Ivy Nile)

(The Creed Brothers)

vs

MARK COFFEY

WOLFGANG

(w/ Joe Coffey)

(GALLUS) (c)

WINNER: Gallus (c)

(via pinfall)

Comments: The match was close to ten minutes long. Overall, another solid match to keep the pace going. We got some interference from Ava towards the end to start her feud with Nile. Good match.

GRADE: B

NXT Women's Championship

(Tournament finals)

Lyra Valkyria

vs

Tiffany Stratton

WINNER: Tiffany Stratton

(via pinfall)

Comments: A great women's match to co-main event the night. Tiffany looked real good, Lyra looked great. Both told a good story. Tiffany looked like an absolute star in this match, nothing new there. Lyra looked like a strong babyface for most of it. There were a few sluggish parts, but it was a well paced match and was made for Tiffany to look real strong. Stratton hit her moonsault in the end to pick up the victory. She's the new champion.

GRADE: A-

NXT Championship

(Singles match)

Bron Breakker

vs

CARMELO HAYES (c)

(w/ Trick Williams)

WINNER: Carmelo Hayes (c)

(via pinfall)

Comments: A good main event all in all. Bron makes for a great villain. Melo got a nice hometown welcome and entrance. He is HIM for a reason. The future is bright for Melo, he's really good. This Bron/Melo feud should be over now, no idea where Bron goes from here. I'm assuming he gets called up soon, maybe before MITB? Seems fair to predict that. Bron is a great heel and should do very well on the main roster when he goes up. Nothing but good things for him in the future.

GRADE: A

SHOW GRADE: A