The NXT Women's Championship Tournament continued on the May 16 edition of WWE NXT along with more build toward Battleground on May 28.

Last week, Tiffany Stratton and Lyra Valkyria advanced to the semifinals; this week, Roxanne Perez fought Jacy Jayne while Fallon Henley challenged Cora Jade for a place in the last four.

The Creed Brothers faced longtime rivals The Dyad in a tag team match to settle the score, and Dragon Lee appeared on the return of "The Supernova Sessions" hosted by Noam Dar.

Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes are still on a collision course for Battleground, while Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo wanted the NXT Tag Team Championships that Gallus hold.

Tuesday's show was sure to deliver big surprises on the way to the gold brand's next big pay-per-view.

NXT Women's Championship Tournament: Cora Jade vs. Fallon Henley

Cora Jade found a target in the left leg of Fallon Henley and left her opponent limping. Henley was too slow to capitalize on her physical offense and fell to a DDT.

The Generation of Jade continues to struggle to get off the ground. While her booking would indicate she is a top act in the women's division, her resume of matches cannot live up to that booking.

This should have been an easy contest to sell to the fans, but she and Henley could not get on the same page. The pacing was awkward as Henley had to sell a knee injury but still run to her spots.

It might have helped if they had more time, but they did not seem to have chemistry.

Jade was always going to win, but Henley was protected despite the awkward performance from both.

Result

Jade def. Henley by pinfall to advance in the NXT Women's Championship Tournament.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• Both Cora Jade and Fallon sold their opportunity in pretaped interviews on their way to the ring.
• Henley hit a big Shining Wizard, but Jade rolled outside while her opponent struggled to cover her due to a left knee injury.
• Lyra Valkyria came out to stare down Jade after her win.
  
• Backstage, Thea Hail and Kiana James got into an argument about the tournament and ended up agreeing to a match.
  

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams Draw the Ire of Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams charged to the ring past Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey after the latter tandem's original opponents, Wes Lee and Tyler Bate, were unable to fight after a backstage attack by Schism.

Melo and Trick called out Bron Breakker, but Gulak and Dempsey challenged them instead. The NXT champion and his friend sent them out of the ring.

This was a solid way to set up an impromptu match, selling the chaotic nature of NXT. It may not look great for Shawn Michaels that he cannot keep any order, though.

Melo was supposedly not cleared to compete last week when he took a Spear from Bron Breakker, so it was surprising that NXT decided to have him wrestle on Tuesday.

But this match at least set up Gulak and Dempsey to compete with top names.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• The crowd chanted "Willy Wonka" at Dempsey in his dark-purple robe.
• Ilja Dragunov confronted Dijak in Hard Justice's fortress to show he was not afraid. Dijak tortured Dragunov throughout the night, but The Czar would not back down.
  

The Creed Brothers vs. The Dyad

Brutus and Julius Creed took their best shots at Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid and just kept swinging. Julius finally sealed the win with a running low-angle lariat on Reid.

NXT is getting its money's worth from The Dyad before Fowler and Reid's contracts expire in October. They are putting on strong performances against a variety of teams in defeat.

This was a phenomenal showcase of two of the best tag teams in NXT that allowed The Dyad to show more personality than they have in months.

The Creeds look set to recapture the NXT Tag Team Championships against Gallus. If they do, this is the time to give them a compete reign to solidify their standing in WWE.

Result

The Creed Brothers def. Dyad by pinfall.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• The Creed Brothers traded Fowler back and forth in position for a delayed vertical suplex. While impressive, this was also clunky.
• After Brutus and Fowler collided in the center of the ring, Julius and Reid hit 450 splashes on their respective opponents.
• Ava Raine tried to sneak-attack Ivy Nile but got choked out for it with a dragon sleeper.
• NXT showed footage of The Family at dinner. Tony D'Angelo was taken in for questioning by the police after Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo stepped out for a call.
  
• After it was clear The Family was out of the picture, Julius grabbed a commentary headset and called out Gallus for Battleground.
  

Nathan Frazer Gets Dragon Lee a Shot at Heritage Cup

Noam Dar mocked Dragon Lee on his "Supernova Sessions" show and refused to give him a shot at the Heritage Cup, but Nathan Frazer interrupted to make clear that the Scot needed to defend the trophy.

The three men agreed that Dar would defend his title against Dragon at Battleground, but he would first face Frazer in a normal match next week.

This was an odd and poorly conceived segment. Frazer's involvement was entirely unnecessary. Dragon can speak for himself and was selling his case for a Heritage Cup shot on his own.

Frazer came in like he was the NXT general manager, pushing future matches. It marginalized the luchador in his own segment after he had to endure some base heel diatribe from The Scottish Supernova.

Grade

F

Notable Moments

• Dar brought out a Level 1 Spanish guide to speak to Dragon, who made it clear he could speak for himself in English.
  
• NXT showed footage from a live event where a masked figure attacked Dani Palmer.
• Dar talked to Lash Legend and Miss Jackson backstage. Legend was motivated to bring back "Lashing Out."
  

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams vs. Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams looked like a well-oiled machine against the dangerous alliance of Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey.

Trick hit Dempsey with a discus big boot followed by Nothing But Net from Melo to win.

NXT has done well to consistently set up talent with alliances and make a match like this possible. Neither is an active team in the tag division, but both have credibility due to their established chemistry.

Gulak and Dempsey are not yet on the same level as Melo and Trick but gained credibility by challenging them for a solid portion of this match.

While it lacked drama, it was good, strong action throughout.

Result

Melo and Trick def. Gulak and Dempsey by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• After the match, Melo and Trick again called out Bron Breakker, who appeared on the titantron to reveal he was in their signature barber shop.
  

Kiana James vs. Thea Hail (w/ Duke Hudson)

Thea Hail wanted to prove herself against Kiana James, but with only a distracted Duke Hudson in her corner, she lacked the hype she needed.

James put her away with the 401K.

This was a fairly standard match. James picked up some momentum and Hail worked hard to make the most of her minutes, but neither competitor has a strong offensive repertoire.

While Andre Chase is out, Chase U has lost some steam. It should return for the confrontation to come between Chase and Hudson, but it's a shame this recently hot angle is barely registering.

Result

James def. Hail by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Hudson did not remember he had agreed to let Hail fight James on Tuesday night. During the match, he was more focused on grading tests than hyping his student.
• After encouragement from Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, Tank Ledger challenged Hank Ledger to a match next week to help them bond.
  

Joe Gacy, Tyler Bate Challenge Wes Lee for NXT North American Title

Wes Lee marched to the ring in an angry mood and called out Schism. Joe Gacy and Ava Raine demanded a title shot, which brought out an injured Tyler Bate.

Bate wanted the title shot as well, so the champion proposed a Triple Threat at Battleground.

NXT committed to this angle throughout the night, selling both Gacy and Bate as justifiable challengers for the NXT North American Championship.

The Schism leader has always been good at talking his way into big spots, but he has rarely succeeded when it mattered. This may be the perfect time to finally give him something, though it would be a shame for Lee to lose while at his hottest.

This does leave Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey out of the ring, which is a waste of recent build. But both got their shot recently, so it's better to avoid overbooking the angle.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Interviewer McKenzie Mitchell tried to get a word from Wes Lee following the attack earlier. Instead, the NXT North American champion marched to the ring.
• Dabba-Kato warned the rest of the roster that he would dominate. Watching the video backstage, Edris Enofé was not looking for a fight, but Axiom was.
  

NXT Women's Championship Tournament: Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne

Jacy Jayne fought with a confidence that verged on arrogance, but Roxanne Perez made her pay for it when she ducked the discus boot and planted her opponent with Pop Rox to win.

Perez is consistently reliable as the babyface fighting from underneath. She sold this as easily the most competitive battle in the tournament to date, and it was laid out well to avoid clunky transitions as in the opener.

However, this never really hit top gear. That may be because Jayne is still not quite seen as an equal to The Prodigy. She fought hard but never had a real chance to win.

The expected final four is set. Hopefully, some surprises are in store next week because this tournament is lacking drama or true moments as things stand.

Result

Perez def. Jayne by pinfall to advance to the semifinals of the NXT Women's Championship Tournament.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Jayne spoke with confidence in an interview about her coming match, while Perez reviewed her own impressive past year and vowed to do more in 2023.
• Perez finally came back in this bout with an emphatic suicide dive to the floor.
• Tiffany Stratton and Perez faced off afterward. Meanwhile, Jayne and Gigi Dolin brawled until officials broke them up.
  
• After chatting up a woman backstage, Von Wagner stuck up for Mr. Stone against the same man who mocked him last week. Stone still could not get him to open up, though.
  

Bron Breakker Makes Another Statement at Hayes and Williams' Expense

After the main event, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams hit the ring and once more called out Bron Breakker.

The former NXT champion walked out with security "to protect Melo and Trick."

After exchanging words, Breakker and Melo met in the squared circle. The A Champion low-blowed his challenger, leaving both on the floor dazed to end the night.

NXT "pulled a Raw" this week by making the main event angle more important than anything else. This story took up a quarter of the runtime over three segments to set up a final spot that could have been done in five minutes.

This isn't all that bad if the two step out of the way next week to highlight the rest of the Battleground build, but more should have been done with this time.

Melo vs. Breakker II is looking a lot better in build than its predecessor, but the real test will be in the ring at Battleground. No more build is going to make that match any better or worse. They just have to deliver this time.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Breakker ran down the Boston sports teams Melo liked in an awkward reference that the crowd did not understand.
  

Overall Show

After a couple solid weeks of NXT shows, this was a letdown. The Creed Brothers vs. The Dyad was the only outstanding match of the night by a lengthy margin.

The rest of this edition was rushed, and several in-ring promo segments were just bad. The primary culprit was the overbooked series of segments for Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker.

NXT took the minimalist approach in the build to their first match, but it didn't pay off. This time around, the product entirely revolves around them, and that worked until Tuesday's show. Melo and Trick Williams calling out Breakker three times was just too much.

The card for Battleground is shaping up strong, though, especially if Gallus vs. The Creed Brothers is the plan.

Next week will set up the NXT Women's Championship final with a pair of semifinals that will outshine most of this week's action. The first round could have been more competitive, but the stage has been set well for the women to overdeliver.

While this wasn't its best week, the future still looks bright for the gold brand.

Overall Grade: C-