The 2023 NXT Battleground was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. It was the first annual

Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

held for the promotion's

developmental brand In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

NXT, and the sixth overall. The event took place on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the

Tsongas Center Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell (formerly Tsongas Arena) is a multi-purpose facility owned by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and located in Lowell, Massachusetts. The arena was opened on January 27, 1998, and dedicated to the memory of the ...

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

and aired via WWE's

livestreaming Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- liv ...

platforms. It was the first Battleground held since

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, as well as the first to livestream on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

. Six matches were contested at the event. In the main event,

Carmelo Hayes Christian Brigham (born August 1, 1994) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Carmelo Hayes. He ...

defeated

Bron Breakker Bronson Rechsteiner (born October 24, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bron Breakker. He is a former two-time WWE Intercontinenta ...

to retain the

NXT Championship The NXT Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended as the top men's championship of NXT (WWE brand), NXT, the promotion's Farm team, de ...

. In other prominent matches,

Tiffany Stratton Jessica Lynn Woynilko (born May 1, 1999) is an American professional wrestler and former gymnast. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Tiffany Stratton and is the current WWE Women's Champion in he ...

defeated

Lyra Valkyria Aoife Cusack (born 23 October 1996) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. She is a former one-time and the inaugural W ...

in a tournament final to win the vacant

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champion is Jacy Jayne, who is in her fi ...

Noam Dar Noam Dar (; born 28 July 1993) is an Israeli and Scottish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE where he perfroms on the NXT brand and is the current NXT Heritage Cup champion in his record-setting fourth reign. He is also known for his ti ...

defeated Dragon Lee to retain the

NXT Heritage Cup The NXT Heritage Cup is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is a specialized championship for NXT, the promotion's developmental brand, defended exclusively under British Rounds Rul ...

, Gallus (

Mark Coffey Mark Anthony Coffey (born 13 February 1990) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand as a member of Gallus (professional wrestling), Gall ...

and Wolfgang) defeated

The Creed Brothers The Creed Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Brutus Creed (Drew Kasper; born May 13, 1996) and Julius Creed (Jacob Kasper; born October 3, 1994). they are signed to the professional wrestling promotion ...

( Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) to retain the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's Professional wrestling championship, professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT ...

, and in the opening bout,

Wes Lee Deveon Everhart Aikens (born November 2, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT and Evolve brands under the ring name Wes Lee and is the leader of The High Ryze stable. He is a former one-t ...

defeated

Tyler Bate Tyler Bate (born 7 March 1997) is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand and is one of the two members of New Catch Republic, performing alongside Pete Dunne. In 2017, he became the inaugur ...

and

Joe Gacy Joseph Ruby (born August 8, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. As of August 2020, he is signed to WWE, on the WWE SmackDown, SmackDown brand, where he performs under the ring name Joe Gacy and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks faction. Gac ...

in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

to retain the

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champi ...

. Battleground was held on the same day as

Double or Nothing Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either cancellation of a debt ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It can be seen as a gentleman's ag ...

, a

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

event produced by

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

(AEW) and specifically AEW's flagship event. This marked the first time since April 1989 that two major promotions produced major events head-to-head, after WWE's

WrestleMania V WrestleMania V was a 1989 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the fifth annual WrestleMania and took place on April 2, 1989, at the Atlantic City Convention Hall in ...

and

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

's Clash of the Champions VI. The event received highly positive reviews from critics, with the Last Man Standing match being singled out for praise for its brutality, story, and the performances of Dragunov and Dijak, and has been labeled a match of the year contender for WWE. The North American Championship triple threat and the NXT Women's Championship match also received praise.

Production

Background

was previously an annual July

(PPV) event established by

in 2013, although the original 2013 event was held in October. Battleground continued until its final event in July 2017, which was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

brand division, following the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016 where WWE split the main roster between the Raw and SmackDown brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. A Raw-exclusive Battleground was expected to be held in 2018, but it was taken off of WWE's PPV lineup as following

WrestleMania 34 WrestleMania 34 was a 2018 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 34th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, held for ...

that year, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs, resulting in the promotion reducing the yearly amount of PPVs produced. On March 30, 2023, after five years, WWE revived Battleground for its

, NXT, and it was scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the

. The event was

livestreamed Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...

in the United States and the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...

in most international markets, in turn marking the first Battleground to air on Peacock due to the American version of the WWE Network merging under Peacock in March 2021—unlike previous Battlegrounds, the 2023 event did not air on PPV as beginning with the 2022 calendar year, NXT's major events are only available via WWE's livestreaming platforms. Tickets went on sale on April 1. The event went head-to-head with

, a PPV event produced by

(AEW), which is AEW's flagship event. This marked the first time since 1989 that two major promotions produced major events head-to-head, after WWE's

(airing on PPV) and

's Clash of the Champions VI (airing on TBS). According to WWE executive

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

, the scheduling was not intended for WWE to go head-to-head with AEW, but that it was just due to the holiday (

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

weekend) as he said WWE events had always done well on holidays.

Storylines

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, '' NXT'', and the supplementary online streaming show, '' Level Up''. At Stand & Deliver,

defeated

to win the

, ending Breakker's reign at 362 days. On the following episode of ''NXT'', Breakker embraced Hayes and Trick Williams, but turned on them. At Spring Breakin' after Hayes' successful title defense, Hayes challenged Breakker to a title match at Battleground, only for Breakker to lay out Hayes and Williams. The following week, Breakker accepted the challenge. During the

2023 WWE Draft The 2023 WWE Draft was the 17th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the April 28 episode of ''Friday Night SmackDown'' (in Cor ...

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT (WWE brand), NXT, th ...

Indi Hartwell was drafted to the main roster on Raw. She had also recently injured her leg. On the May 2 episode of ''NXT'', Hartwell announced that she would be vacating the title and that a

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

to crown a new champion would begin the following week with the final at Battleground. The tournament participants were revealed on May 8. In April 2023, after months of inactivity following the closure of

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' was a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the ...

, reigning NXT Heritage Cup Champion

made his debut for NXT. On the May 16 episode of ''NXT'', Dar hosted his first United States installment of "Supernova Sessions" and had Dragon Lee as his guest. Dar bragged about his Heritage Cup and lorded it over Lee, much to Lee's annoyance. Lee urged Dar to defend his championship but Dar resisted until

Nathan Frazer Benjamin Timms (born 23 July 1998) is a British professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nathan Frazer. He is a former one-time NXT Heritage Cup Champion and a two-time NXT Tag Te ...

interrupted and addressed Dar's constant dodging of title defenses. Provoked by this, Dar accepted Lee's challenge for the Heritage Cup at Battleground, marking the first defense of the Heritage Cup on the NXT brand and subsequently its first defense in the United States. On the May 2 episode of ''NXT'',

successfully retained the

after interference from

. The following week, Bate (accompanied by Lee) won his match after interference from

. On the May 16 episode Bate and Lee were attacked backstage by Gacy and the other members of The Schism. Lee went to the ring to call out Gacy for the attack to which Gacy responded that Lee shouldn't trust Bate. Despite suffering an arm injury during the attack Bate came out to address Gacy's claims but in the process also admitted he was eyeing Lee's championship. Lee then said he would be willing to defend the title against both men at Battleground. Since April, Dijak and

Ilja Dragunov Ilja Rukober (; born 10 October 1993), known by his ring name Ilja Dragunov (), is a Russian-born, German- naturalised professional wrestler. As of January 2019, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inacti ...

had been feuding with each other. At Spring Breakin', Dijak viciously attacked Dragunov backstage. On May 17, after more weeks of feuding, a

Last Man Standing match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

between the two was scheduled for Battleground. At Stand & Deliver, Gallus (

and Wolfgang) (with Joe Coffey) retained the

in a triple threat tag team match involving

( Julius Creed and Brutus Creed). The Creed Brothers got a championship rematch on the April 18 episode of ''NXT'' where Gallus retained. On the May 16 episode, after The Creed Brothers won their match, they called out Gallus to another title match at Battleground, which was confirmed the following week.

Event

Preliminary matches

The event began with Wes Lee defending the NXT North American Championship against Tyler Bate and Joe Gacy (accompanied by Ava) in a triple threat match. In the opening stages, Bate delivered a suplex and a standing shooting star press to Lee, but Gacy broke up the pin. Lee then delivered two Cardiac Kicks simultaneously to both Gacy and Bate for a two count. Bate then delivered the Tyler Driver '97, but Lee broke it up. Lee then delivered a Meteora, but Gacy broke it up. As Gacy was sitting on the top turnbuckle, Lee delivered a tope suicida to Bate on the outside. As Gacy attempted the Upside Down, Lee dodged it and hit the Cardiac Kick to retain the title. The next bout was a British Rounds Rules match for the NXT Heritage Cup, contested between defending champion Noam Dar and Dragon Lee (with Nathan Frazer). In the first 5 minutes of the first round, Dar kicked Lee off the apron and started messing with Lee's mask. As the first round came to an end,

Oro Mensah Oliver Sauter (born 9 May 1995) is a Nigerian-Swiss professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring names Oliver Carter and Oro Mensah and is a former a one-time NXT UK Tag Team Champion. Prior to ...

came out to be Dar's cornerman. In the second round, Lee delivered a headscissors takedown and a diving springboard dropkick for a two count. Dar then rolled up Lee to score the first fall ''(Noam 1: Lee 0)''. In the third round, Lee delivered a suicide dive to Dar and a diving knee strike for another two count. Dar then delivered a back elbow to Lee as the third round ended. In the penultimate round, Dar attempted a Kneebar, but Lee escaped. Lee then delivered a Pele kick and a Texas Cloverleaf, but Mensah helped Dar to reach the ropes. Mensah then pushed Frazer into the steel steps. Lee then delivered a headscissors driver to score his first fall ''(Noam 1: Lee 1)''. In the final round, Lee delivered a knee strike, a german suplex, and a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. As Lee signaled his finishing move, Jakara Jackson came down to the ring and distracted the referee, allowing Lash Legend to hit Lee with a bucket. Dar then delivered the Nova Roller to win the match and retain the title ''(Noam 2: Lee 1)''. The next match was a Last Man Standing match contested between Ilja Dragunov and Dijak. In the closing stages, Dragunov hit the steel steps on Dijak, then put the steps on Dijak and delivered a Coast-to-Coast, but Dijak was able to get to his feet. Dijak then started choking Dragunov with a steel chair. Dragunov then delivered the Torpedo Moscow and an elbow strike to Dijak's head. Dijak was not able to get to his feet before the referee's count of 10, thus Dragunov won the match. Next, Gallus (Wolfgang and Mark Coffey, with Joe Coffey) defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed, with Ivy Nile). In the closing stages, Brutus delivered the Brutus Ball to both Wolfgang and Mark. Julius then delivered belly-to-back suplexes and a shooting star press to both Mark and Wolfgang for a two count. As Joe was distracting the referee, Nile pushed him, allowing Julius to deliver a clothesline to Joe on the outside. Ava then came out and pushed Nile into the ring post. Gallus then delivered the Gallus Gate to Julius to retain the titles. In the penultimate match, Lyra Valkyria faced Tiffany Stratton in a tournament final for the vacant NXT Women's Championship. In the opening stages, Valkyria delivered a missile dropkick, two Northern Lights suplexes, an enzeguiri, and a crucifix powerbomb for a two count. Valkyria then delivered a release German suplex. As Valkyria attempted a spinning leg lariat, her knee tweaked, allowing Stratton to deliver a powerslam. As Stratton attempted a Moonsault, Valkyria moved out of the way and delivered the spinning leg lariat, but Stratton's feet reached the ropes. As Valkyria attempted a top rope powerbomb, Stratton countered it into a hurricana and then delivered a Death Valley Driver and the ''Prettiest Moonsault Ever'' to become the new NXT Women's Champion.

Main event

In the main event, Carmelo Hayes (with Trick Williams) defended the NXT Championship against Bron Breakker. In the opening stages, Breakker delivered a spinebuster and a belly-to-back suplex. Hayes then delivered the Fadeaway leg drop. Breakker then delivered a top rope frankensteiner for a two count. As Breakker attempted a military press powerslam, Hayes countered into a DDT. Hayes then delivered a pump kick and a springboard forearm, but Breakker prevented the referee from counting. As Breakker attempted the Steiner Recliner, Hayes escaped and hit a pump kick. As Hayes attempted a springboard clothesline, Breakker countered into a mid-air spear for a two count. Hayes then delivered a series of superkicks, a tornado DDT, and the Nothing But Net to retain the title.

Reception

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...

rated the last man standing match 4.75 stars, which was the highest rated of the night. The lowest rated matches would be the NXT Heritage Cup and the NXT Tag Team Championship matches both receiving 3.25 stars each. The opening triple threat received 3.5 stars, the same as Tiffany vs Lyra. Finally the main event received 4 stars.

Results

NXT Women's Championship Tournament

References

External links

* {{WWEPPV, Battleground 2023 WWE Network events Professional wrestling shows in Massachusetts Events in Lowell, Massachusetts May 2023 in the United States