Ricky Saints is the new NXT Champion, having defeated Oba Femi in the main event of Saturday’s No Mercy premium live event.
The victory ends Femi’s dominant reign and marks Saints’ first time holding the championship.
The main event told a story of power versus speed, with the much larger Femi overpowering Saints for long stretches of the contest.
Femi used his strength advantage to punish the challenger, delivering a series of brutal backbreakers, a massive chokeslam, and at one point, punching Saints so hard that he flew out of the ring and was nearly counted out.
Saints weathered the storm and used his quickness to find openings for his signature offense. He managed to hit both a spear and a powerbomb from the top rope, but Femi kicked out of both pinfall attempts.
A key moment occurred outside the ring when Saints countered a powerbomb attempt by delivering a DDT to Femi on the announce table.
Back in the ring, Femi regained control and hit his finishing move, the Fall From Grace, but Saints kicked out in the match’s most dramatic near-fall.
The finish came moments later when Femi attempted a second Fall From Grace. Saints countered the move into a DDT, then followed up with a spinning DDT to secure the clean pinfall victory and capture the title.
The ABSOLUTE Champion.
Ricky Saints just flipped NXT on its head! ? pic.twitter.com/kIyslgWNhR
— WWE (@WWE) September 28, 2025
Saints earned his opportunity at the championship by winning the 2025 NXT Gold Rush tournament. He defeated several competitors, including Wes Lee in the tournament final, to become the number-one contender for Femi’s title.
