WWE NXT No Mercy 2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s annual review of "WWE NXT" No Mercy, the show that believes in Joe Hendry! You know, mostly! If you haven't seen the show, be sure to check out our No Mercy results page before diving into this column, which is entirely comprised of the subjective opinions of the WINC staff. Also, we're not going to talk about everything here — this space is reserved for our strongest feelings, and we didn't have many of those about Wes Lee vs. Zachary Wentz, or even Oba Femi vs. Tony D'Angelo. The opinions we do have, though, we stand by — and now, it's time for us to deliver them!

So, how did we feel about the latest Chase U member turning on the group? Are we compelled by the newer, spookier version of Wendy Choo? And most importantly, why in the name of all that's holy in wrestling was Giulia's long-awaited debut not the main event? Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about "WWE NXT" No Mercy 2024.

There are good matches in the wrestling business. As you will see from the rest of my colleague's esteemed opinions, there were plenty of good matches on Sunday's card alone. However, there are only a few matches that you can use to fully immerse a non-wrestling fan into a wrestling match without little to no context. Nathan Frazer and Axiom's fight against Chase U for the NXT Tag Teram Championships was not only palatable and exciting to maintain the focus of someone not already engrossed in the product, but it featured several aspects of professional wrestling performance. It is not every day that you have such a variety of professional wrestling's aspects shown in a single segment (match and post-match), and it is even rarer that you see it be done well.

Ridge Holland is a controversial figure, and I'm not the biggest fan of him myself. However, you cannot deny that he played his role of the match's big, strong man very well. He absolutely flattened Frazer and Axiom at every turn, and it took both Frazer and Axiom to even put a dent in him. Holland — however imperfect he is — provided a great example of a hard hitting bruiser.

Frazer and Axiom's excellence cannot be understated. Their incredible athleticism was put on full display for the Denver crowd, and they showed the best WWE has to offer in the department of high-fliers and risk-takers. Axiom was very agile, and showed a good starting example into lucha libre wrestling; anyone who is unfamiliar with the style can see his performance and decide if that is something they're interested in, based on his performance alone. Frazer especially stood out, with his superb selling. Plus, a Shooting Star Press out of nowhere, just because he can — Frazer is a beast that is sure to captivate any watcher.

Chase U's post-match meltdown should also be applauded. You could show that faction's implosion to anyone unfamiliar with the craft, and they will quickly begin to understand the important of storyline and grudges in the professional wrestling artform. Thea Hail's performance especially portrays the dramatic nature of wrestling well.

It may be silly to love a match because it is a good entry point into wrestling, but perspective is key here. Sure, we are spoiled with better matches, but how many of those matches rely on intricate storylines and loads of context that the casual or novice watcher doesn't have time to sit through? If you are a rookie wrestling fan, matches with heavy story reliance might not be the most accessible. Matches that are technically brilliant are easier to digest, but still run the risk of boring someone unfamiliar with the brilliance behind their choreography. This was not the best match in the world, obviously, but it was palatable, diverse, and something that can be watched in vacuum, with no background knowledge. There is merit in having a match that could be someone's entry point into the business. Everyone involved earned that merit.

Written by Angeline Phu

I absolutely loved everything about No Mercy this year, except for just one thing, and that thing thankfully didn't have anything to do with in-ring action. It's the overall fact that Chase University keeps allowing in outsiders who do nothing for them (outside of Jacy Jayne and her raunchy calendar to get them funding, but even that didn't work out so well) and then getting turned on and screwed over. I mean, come on, Andre Chase is supposed to be a professor, how is he not smart enough to see these things coming over and over again? When Chase and Ridge Holland won the NXT Tag Team Championships when Holland got them the opportunity against Nathan Frazer and Axiom, you could already see the turn coming from a mile away. Or, at the very least, dissension within the group, as it was Holland getting his chance to shine this time and not Chase U MVP Duke Hudson, like it usually is, and in my eyes, always should be.

I also overall didn't like the trading of the belts back-and-forth. Chase U had them for only a hot minute, and I thought "Fraxiom" would be splitting up soon, as they've had a lot of miscommunications in the ring as well as outside of it, with Frazer and Axiom accusing each other of being more interested in other things than the tag team gold. That split would have been way more interesting (and would have led to a more interesting match compared to that of Hudson and Holland I'm sure we're getting) than what we saw Sunday. Holland fell back into his usual antics of injuring people (in kayfabe this time) and that's just an angle, especially with the stretcher job for Chase, that I think WWE just needs to completely stay away from with his character following the Big E incident. Some people might have forgotten that aspect, but I'm sure other hardcore fans haven't, and it's just overall cringy and that's all I'll say about that moving forward.

WWE also could have built up way more tension with Holland and the rest of Chase U. I don't think Holland's heel turn needed to be immediately after them losing the belts. You could have built up to this over a few weeks, then had a good blowoff match between Holland and Chase where the former beats the hell out of his professor, then Hudson steps in to save the day and take him on like the true MVP he is. We also could have had interactions with Holland and Thea Hail, who was the one who really brought Holland in to the stable in the first place. I know I should be used to WWE rushing heel turns like this, but I wasn't a fan on a show that was excellent in every other aspect. This immediate heel turn didn't make me excited to see the fallout on Tuesday when I tune in to "NXT," which is a big storyline fail.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Wendy Choo's new horror-inspired gimmick has been around since mid-June 2024, and yet it has yet to land her any inspiring opportunities before her match against Kelani Jordan at "NXT: No Mercy." It is my displeasure to announce that Choo's new horror-inspired gimmick continues to land her any inspiring opportunities.

With the incredible success of the Wyatt Sicks, one would assume that a horror-themed wrestler would have no problem finding success in the ring. However, Choo's character is a veritable flop. There could be multiple reasons for her lackluster return to WWE programming. Her ring performance is okay, but nothing revolutionary. She does not have the hype-factor of a great, fresh legacy to base her character off of, and she has not exactly been pushed as a star by "NXT" creative. All of these reasons definitely play into the failure of her character, but Sunday's match against Jordan highlighted the biggest reason for her lifelessness (and one can argue that this is the root of her failure): her character adds nothing to her already weak in-ring performance.

Some superstars have such great characters or iconic quirks, that their poor in-ring performance can be ignored. Choo is not one of those Superstars. Choo's character doesn't do anything to make herself stand out, whether its against the varied "NXT" women's locker room, or the entire scene of horror-based wrestlers. There is no effort in her character, either from herself or WWE — no added production, nothing. She is just a grown woman with creepy makeup and a corny, painted-on smile. How did she even get possessed? Nobody remember, because we were not given an impetus to remember! Her character is so trite and uninspired that it cannot distract us from her lack of cohesive moveset or special character.

Some may argue that Choo's character is technically distinct, as nobody else on the "NXT" women's roster is leaning into the creep factor like Choo is. Tatum Paxley might be the closest competitor to Choo, and even so, their brand of terrifying is different from one another. However, there is a difference between having a strong character and a distinct character. Anybody who is "stands out" is going to be considered a wrestler with a distinct persona. However, a truly strong in-ring character will have a moveset that clicks with their character. When those aspects mesh well, they elevate the wrestler from just distinctive, to truly strong. As we've established, Choo's in-ring capabilities are nothing to write home about. She fights like any other wrestler you can pick up from the independent scene, not like a possessed ad for pajamas. Her in-ring performances are already weak, but because they don't even align with her character, they are made even more inconsequential to her overall aura. Nothing elevates her character, so there is nothing left to do but fail.

I really want to root for Wendy Choo. I really do! However, it's a hard ask to root for a wrestler who has nothing to root for.

Written by Angeline Phu

I'm going to give a pre-emptive shout out to Kelani Jordan and Wendy Choo for their match Sunday; Jordan is very much one to watch in the future and a complete natural. But it's at the top of the card where the "WWE NXT" women's division continues to be a thermonuclear concoction of some of the very best talent today and for years to come. Roxanne Perez continues to be the pinnacle of an already stacked pool of competitors, adding Jaida Parker to an esteemed list of challengers who simply didn't have the luck or the longevity to wrest the title away from her. Parker was more than a worthy adversary, but by now it has been clear for some time that this title run is destined for something just a little bit bigger than anything the current field offers; and that's where Giulia came in.

Putting an end to months of speculation and anticipation, the former World of Stardom champion made good on her Stand & Deliver cameo in April to finally walk down the ramp and face off with "The Prodigy." Let's speak it plainly, there is no way on God's green Earth that their match doesn't deliver, and the very fact that a lot of fans have expected this for months has weaved an intrinsic degree of hype into their future feud – since it is worth noting that they have merely faced off at this juncture.

The match between Perez and Parker warrants its own limelight as well. By now, Perez is the Mount Everest that everyone wants to climb, and Parker had been a climber with momentum after recent weeks. That dynamic made for a classical sporting competition trope pitting the unstoppable force against the immovable object, and both performers played their roles to perfection. In a rare move for the spectacle focus of contemporary wrestling, every movement had a rhythm and a reason, every decision and its outcome just made sense and the match flowed excellently. Unlike Cody Rhodes versus Kevin Owens at Bash In Berlin earlier this weekend, an injury sustained by Parker to her ribs meshed into the story told by the action. It proved to be that injury and pure circumstance that she lost the bout, maintaining her credibility as a competitor rightfully deserving of a future second chance, and further exemplified the scratch-and-claw attitude that Perez has adopted to maintain her current title reign. Someone really should hand the pencil to Shawn Michaels for the main roster.

Written by Max Everett

The fact that Roxanne Perez vs. Jaida Parker, with former STARDOM ace Giulia debuting in the aftermath, didn't main event No Mercy is an actual war crime, and Shawn Michaels deserves to be brought up on charges before The Hague. Not as much as, you know, some other people, but eventually!

Look, I get that Joe Hendry is over. I understand this. If he had been booked to win the NXT title Sunday night, I would have seen the logic in not following that with anything. If there had been another major TNA debut at the end, I could sort of see the logic in closing with that (even though I can't really think of anyone who could reasonably debut that would be as big a deal as Giulia). Even something like Trick Williams turning heel or some other kind of surprise alignment change could at least have pretended to justify the placement.

None of that happened, though. Hendry lost, no alignments changed, and the only person who showed up at the end was Pete Dunne. Big deal. How are you going to send your audience home on Ethan Page retaining the title via low blow followed by Dunne laying out Williams, when you could have followed it with (a) the best match on the show and (b) the debut of the person we've been waiting to debut in "NXT" since f***ing WrestleMania. How are you not going to close on the image of those two facing each other down?

Yes, I know the answer is "sexism," but that doesn't make it any less disappointing. Giulia's arrival was a perfect excuse to have the women's division — by far the strongest thing on your show — main event a PLE, and you dropped the ball for literally no discernable reason. Madness.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

I always look forward to "NXT" premium live events ever since I started consistently watching and covering the show, and today was no different after yesterday's Bash in Berlin card, despite Saturday's earlier start time for the event. There was something about yesterday's five matches taking over three hours that didn't jive with me as a wrestling fan, and I knew there wouldn't be any unexpected craziness on the show, due to it not being one of the Big Five premium live events or a Saudi Arabia show, so I really was looking forward to "NXT," and No Mercy did not disappoint. The overall pacing of the show was excellent and there were just enough surprises on the event that it wasn't overwhelming, but it wasn't boring.

While I didn't like Ridge Holland's heel turn on Chase U after they lost the NXT Tag Team Championships, the heel turn and the title change was a pleasant surprise to kick off the show. The stretcher job wasn't too long, but was just dramatic enough. All the matches on the card ran together nicely, with what seemed to me to be shorter video packages, and a few necessary videos. Those included explaining just who Jaida Parker is as a person/character, as it was her first time challenging for the NXT Women's Championship. The video explaining the Rascalz and Wes Lee's involvement in the stable was great to have on the show, as well. The card overall wasn't too terribly predictable, considering nobody here at WINC went 6-0 overall in our picks, thanks to Zachary Wentz and Chase U and Wendy Choo's losses. There weren't any backstage interviews that I felt were out of place or unnecessary.

The in-ring action across all matches was pretty phenomenal as well. There were great spots in the North American Championship match. Parker showed up and showed out against Roxanne Perez in an incredible first showing for the top women's gold, enough that I hope Ms. Parker gets to a place where she's consistently at the top of the division. The debut of Giulia was expected, but very well done and didn't take up too much time for just a stare down, though it did make me want to tune in on Tuesday. Compared to the World Heavyweight Championship match pitting GUNTHER against Randy Orton yesterday, Joe Hendry and Ethan Page's match seemed extremely well-paced, despite being a bit overbooked with the numerous referee spots that also featured Trick Williams, but that's just to be expected from WWE.

Overall, "NXT" put on a great, well-paced PLE for the holiday weekend. Not too short, not overtly long, and the in-ring action was great. I think it was helped by the fact it didn't feature any gimmick matches (here's looking at you, ridiculous lights on the Strap Match in Berlin), and it didn't need to. If you didn't catch No Mercy live, I highly recommend it for the in-ring action alone, which was just faster-paced, good ol' fashion fun.

Written by Daisy Ruth