On Sunday, August 1st, WWE NXT held its big show, No Mercy. The show came to us live from the Ball Arena in Denver, CO. It was headlined by a big match that saw Ethan Page put his NXT Championship on the line against TNA’s own, Joe Hendry, with Trick Williams as the special guest referee.
However, the action didn’t start, or stop, there. We also saw Roxanne Perez put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Jaida Parker, Chase U put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against Nathan Frazer and Axiom, Wes Lee goes one-on-one with his former best friend TNA’s own, Zachary Wentz, and so much more. So, what were the top three moments of the night?
3. Ridge Holland shows “No Mercy”
In the opening contest of the evening, we saw Chase U’s own Andre Chase and Ridge Holland put the NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against the former champions, the Supersonic Duo, Nathan Frazer, and Axiom. This was a very fun opening match, and Chase U looked great in the early going.
Andre Chase dug down deep in this match and hit a lot of cool and fun moves that we’ve rarely see him do before. This was a hard fought tag team match right up until the very end. Ultimately, the match ended when Frazer pinned Andre Chase of Chase U after hitting a Phoenix splash, following Axiom’s Spanish fly onto Chase.
However, the bigger story came after the match. As Chase U was consoling each other after a rough loss, Ridge Holland decided to show his true colors. Holland attacked Riley Osborne and Duke Hudson from behind, and decimated the Chase U leader, Andre Chase. Holland turned heel in the process.
Going forward, Holland is likely to have a little program with Chase U. Truthfully, Holland is much better as a heel, and I don’t think many fans brought in on him as a babyface. Holland does his best work as a heel, and it should be interesting to see how this heel run goes for him in the upcoming Chase U program, and beyond. One thing we know for sure, is Ridge Holland is BACK.
2. TNA’s Zachary Wentz defeats NXT’s Wes Lee
Following Holland’s betrayal of Chase U, we set the stage for the next match on tap at No Mercy, Zachary Wentz vs. Wes Lee in a grudge match at No Mercy. This was about as personal as it got. Seeing Wentz back in an NXT ring is beyond special. The TNA star represented his company in his entrance, donning his newly won TNA X-Division Championship.
TNA and NXT have been in quite the partnership lately, and it shows no signs of slowing down. From Joe Hendry, to Jordynne Grace, to Rosemary, TNA has taken over NXT. Now, the stage is set for the former Rascalz partners to do battle. It looked like we may see something big happen here tonight, and we were stoked when it did.
Just as it looked like Lee was going to use a chair on Wentz, Wentz current Rascalz running mate, Trey Miguel, made the save. After what was an absolutely terrific match, the match concluded when Wentz landed his finishing move on his former best friend, and pinned him for the three-count.
It looks like The Rascalz will be staying around too for a little while. Following the match in an exclusive backstage interview, Miguel and Wentz made it known that they wanted to get the NXT Tag Team Championships around their waist. FrAxiom and The Rascalz look to be on a collision course in what is sure to be a fantastic match.
1. Giulia arrives in style
Before Ethan Page met Joe Hendry for the top prize in the sport, it was the women’s turn to shine. Roxanne Perez put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Jaida Parker. This marked Parker’s first title shot and this was an absolutely star-making performance for the young upstart.
Perez and Parker tore the house down in this match. Looking at the gauntlet match to decided who faced Perez next, you knew it was going to be a young gun. Parker got the nod, went over, and had a fantastic showing at No Mercy. However, unfortunately for Parker, the bigger story came after the match.
As Perez was celebrating, the lights went out and smoke filled the entrance ramp. Giulia made her long-awaited, and very anticipated NXT debut, showing up live and in person. Giulia immediately got in the face of Perez and made her intentions very clear. She wants the NXT Women’s Championship.
Perez and Giulia are going to do battle for the top prize in the women’s division on NXT very soon. However, hopefully Giulia will get a chance to get a few matches under her belt before they give her the highly-anticipated match with Perez. This was a star-making debut, and Giulia looked like a million dollars here. No Mercy 2024 will forever be known as the show where Giulia debuted for the WWE.
