WWE NXT 2.0 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 24

With NXT In Your House just around the corner, the May 24 edition of WWE NXT 2.0 was about putting the final pieces together.

Mandy Rose has defeated most of the women in NXT during her reign atop the division, but Indi Hartwell is new to her. After losing so much, she would get a chance to start rebuilding herself by challenging the NXT women's champion.

Bron Breakker has agreed to face Joe Gacy once more with his title on the line, but first he would fight Duke Hudson after disrespecting the big man the previous week.

The NXT Women's Breakout Tournament continued with two semifinals matchups. Roxanne Perez would compete against Lash Legend, while Nikkita Lyons faced Fallon Henley.

Alba Fyre was set to continue her NXT journey of self-discovery by challenging Elektra Lopez, and Ikemen Jiro looked to get some revenge against Von Wagner.

This show had potential to be big while setting the stage for an even bigger event on June 4.

Santos Escobar walked out with Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza to watch this fight closely.

After taking out Edris Enofe, Stacks and Two Dimes hit a pair of punches and then kicked off the ropes on Malik Blade to take the win. Afterward, Legado del Fantasma and The Family brawled again.

This was a fine opener, but given the matches promised for the night, this was more of a mid-show bout. Stacks and Two Dimes are flat brawlers who still need to find a distinctive style.

Blade and Enofe pulled out the only interesting spots in this contest. While NXT 2.0 is trying to build up the two as threats, Stacks and Two Dimes did not need a win over a more talented team when Legado could have cost them while protecting them.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Tony D distracted Enofe long enough for Stacks to uppercut him off the apron.
• Enofe escaped the heel corner with a jumping knee off the bottom rope, setting up the hot tag.
• Later in the night, The Don agreed to meet Escobar on his turf before they clash at In Your House.

Interviewer McKenzie Mitchell asked Wes Lee why he challenged Sanga, and he made clear he was still insulted by the big man's comments about his size.

With Lee's ribs still bandaged up from Von Wagner's attack, Sanga caught him with a clothesline and then  a chokeslam to win.

This was better than it looked on paper. Lee and Sanga had a David vs. Goliath clash where the smaller man fought hard to bring the bigger athlete down. While his injuries made him vulnerable, it was not a complete squash.

Lee has been treated decently so far since the MSK break-up, but it will be important for him to get some wins eventually. He cannot just be another cruiserweight lost in the shuffle. At the least, he and Sanga could be an interesting tag team.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Sanga tossed Lee clean across the ring.
• Lee slingshot over the top rope but met a punch from Sanga that sent him to the floor.
• Xyon Quinn came out afterward to seemingly attack Lee, but Sanga sent him running.

Elektra Lopez used her strength to impose her will upon Alba Fyre, going after the left arm. However, Fyre fought back and won with a senton bomb.

After the match, a frustrated Lopez knocked popcorn out of the hand of Cora Jade, who was watching from the crowd.

This was an interesting match, but Lopez continues to develop slowly. She dominated the action here but did not make much of an impression. It would have helped to see a bit more offense from Fyre before she pulled out the win.

In the end, neither woman gained much here. Lopez looks to be on a collision course with Jade, but nothing about this sold her as a legitimate threat to someone who has contended for the NXT Women's Championship multiple times.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• Jade talked up Roxanne Perez before deciding to join the crowd for Fyre vs. Lopez.
• Fyre headbutted Lopez twice to finally get some separation in the match.

Roxanne Perez came at Lash Legend with fire, hoping to chop her down. Her opponent looked unfazed, but she was shocked when Perez turned her powerbomb attempt into Pop Rox to take the win.

This had the potential to be the rare Legend match that shines, but she barely moved from the center of the ring. She worked this contest like she was the size of Omos, just letting Perez come to her.

Luckily, this only went three minutes as it could have been worse. The right woman won, and Perez is suddenly the favorite to win the whole tournament.

If she does win, she should be the woman to dethrone Mandy Rose.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Damon Kemp told Diamond Mine that Roderick Strong rolled his ankle and was unable to face Pretty Deadly on the show as originally planned. The NXT tag team champions later mocked Diamond Mine.
• Mitchell announced Nikkita Lyons was injured and unable to compete in the tournament. Tiffany Stratton demanded Lyons' spot, ready to face Fallon Henley and go to the Finals.
• Perez hit a series of dropkicks to the knee of Legend before taking her down with a Bronco Buster.

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter attacked Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, leaving Mandy Rose to walk out to face Indi Hartwell alone.

However, the fighting spilled out to the ringside area, which allowed the NXT women's champion to escape with a win thanks to a bicycle knee off a distraction.

Rose and Hartwell are capable of so much better. This was slow and uncoordinated. It may be due to their inexperience together, but they lacked any chemistry. They got time and did not deliver with it.

Wendy Choo is likely the challenger for the NXT women's champion at In Your House. While she has clearly improved, that matchup is difficult to get excited about. Her gimmick is hard to buy in a contest that would go longer than 10 minutes.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• Rose hit a jawbreaker and kick to the knee, but Hartwell kicked out and answered with a spinebuster.
• Choo attacked Rose afterward, dumping balls on the champion before grabbing her title.
• Later, Choo, Chance and Carter demanded title matches against Toxic Attraction. The champions accepted those challenges but called for a faceoff next week.

Tiffany Stratton politicked her way into the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament after it was announced Nikkita Lyons was injured. She used that opportunity and planted Fallon Henley with a corkscrew diving elbow out of the corner to win.

It took a while but Stratton has found her way in the ring. This was one of her better performances to date. She and Fallon worked well together. The back-and-forth outshined the rest of the women's matches on Tuesday's show.

Stratton made sense as the challenger to Perez following Lyons' injury. She is an established heel and a genuine threat to win the tournament.

While Perez should win, this final could go either way and should be a surprise hit.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Stratton sent Fallon to the floor and then hit a running double foot stomp into a modified leg trap.
• Thea Hail stated she would arrive in NXT next week after graduating from high school.

While Ikemen Jiro fought with fire to get his revenge, Von Wagner trapped him in his own jacket. He finished him with a butterfly slam.

Sofia Cromwell told Wagner to throw Jiro into the crowd again, but Josh Briggs made the save.

There was not a moment in this match when Jiro felt like he had a real shot to win. He has lost every match to Wagner. Even if he got more offense this time, he is still not at the same level. Hopefully, this is the end of this rivalry.

Wagner vs. Briggs is more interesting given their comparable size and standing in NXT. While Wagner is likely to win, this would be a brawl where the big man will finally be tested.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Jiro ran into the ring and hit a rebound elbow smash before the bell.
• Jiro dropkicked Wagner out of the ring and hit him with a baseball slide and moonsault off the apron. He connected on a diving tilt-a-whirl DDT for a near-fall.
• Cameron Grimes met Carmelo Hayes in his barbershop, announcing he would fight the better Melo first, Nathan Frazer.
• A video package was shown for a soon-to-debut Giovanni Vinci.

Joe Gacy watched from the stage, and the distraction allowed Duke Hudson to beat down Bron Breakker early.

While the NXT champion got rolling, he accidentally blasted his opponent with a steel chair that Gacy threw into the ring, causing him to be disqualified.

This was the best match on this card by far. Breakker and Hudson have serious chemistry and weren't afraid to pull out some major spots to sell this as a big match. The heel dominated the early stages of the action but sold well for the champion's comeback.

The story was sold well here as the titleholder did not suddenly develop a mean streak. He just got outsmarted when he diverted his attention too much. It now looks more likely Gacy can get a rise out of the champion and win.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Breakker found that Gacy left a 20-year-old picture in his locker room. The champion was later being interviewed, but his attention was diverted by a screen showing him scoring an 85-yard touchdown in college football...in a game his father promised to attend but missed.
• Hudson met Breakker backstage before their match and mocked him for his unbridled anger.
• Breakker headed outside to meet the Australian, only to walk right into a clothesline.
• Hudson threw Breakker off the turnbuckle onto the top rope then into the stairs outside.