Noam Dar Defeats Butch At WWE NXT No Mercy To Retain The Heritage Cup

In a back-and-forth affair that went all six rounds, contested, of course, under Heritage Cup rules, Noam Dar outlasted Butch with timely assists from his Meta-Four cohorts and most notably, interference from fellow countrymen, Gallus, in Round Six to retain the trophy.

Though Butch entered the match with Tyler Bate by his side to even the numbers a bit, which he described on X as "BSS for one night only — probably," Dar's regular allies weren't all he had to worry about. With Butch maintaining the edge late after a Bitter End and his trademark small digit manipulation, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang appeared at ringside to take out Bate in full view of Butch. Turning his attention to the Gallus invasion became Butch's fatal flaw as, after taking them out with a dive over the top rope, upon his return to the ring, Butch was taken out by Joe Coffey, leading to Dar's decisive pin.

The opening round was evenly contested throughout, with a slight edge, perhaps, to Butch (looking awfully Pete Dunne-y, mind you), manipulating Dar's fingers to the final bell at which point Dar blasted Butch with an elbow. This allowed Dar to take full advantage in the ensuing second round, though he needed a kick to Butch's head from Oro Mensah to earn the fall. In Round 3, further distractions nearly gave Dar the decision just like that, but Butch managed a Bitter End with a little over a minute left to tie things at 1-1.

Rounds 4 and 5 featured near falls on both sides, but nothing definitive took place before Round 6, which featured Bate and Mensah clashing on the outside, a Butch tribute to Bate by hitting his Tyler Driver 97, a near fall for Butch after another Bitter End, and then the decision-swinging involvement of Gallus to lead to Dar's successful defense.  

Perhaps it won't be "BSS for one night only" after all, with a Bate and Butch versus Gallus feud potentially in the cards moving forward.