WrestleMania weekend has finally arrived.
This is a busy weekend for everyone, myself included. I’ll be posting four columns in the span of 48 hours, with a fifth column also being worked on during whatever free time I have.
Let’s get things kicked off with NXT Stand & Deliver, the brand’s biggest show of the year. There are six matches on the main card, five of which are championship bouts. In those six matches, a total of 25 wrestlers are involved, so there’s a lot going on.
Just for fun, let’s bring this back…
I’m ready.
Are you ready?
LESS DEW EET!!!
Ricky Saints vs Ethan Page – NXT North American Title Match
Not like they were both in AEW for decades or anything, but it’s still really weird to see these two facing each other on any sort of WWE programming.
Early on, the crowd hasn’t been at the level you would expect them to be for such a big show. They’ll be quiet for a while, then bust out a chant, then go back to being quiet.
Saints with a springboard dive to the announce table, where Page moves out of the way, causing the champion to land knee-first on the desk. Ouch.
Not only does Page have a sore knee, he’s starting to have welts on his back. Then, as I type that, he suffers a rough landing on the top rope and then tumbling to the ringside area.
“Tony fumbled” chants break out, even though Saints has said he isn’t a fan of them. On top of everything else, Mr. Ricky is also bleeding from the mouth. Dude is having a pretty rough Mania weekend debut.
After a very hard-hitting match, Ricky Saints picks up the pin and the win. He’s going to feel this one for a few days. Good stuff here, and a nice choice to open the show. 3.5 Stars
Nathan Frazer & Axiom vs Hank Walker & Tank Ledger – NXT Tag Team Title Match
The challengers are an… interesting… choice to be competing for the titles at NXT’s biggest show of the year. I generally like the decision-making that NXT features with their booking, but I don’t think I can say I’m on board with this one.
FrAxiom are SO GOOD together. I’m on record calling them the best tag team in all of wrestling, and I feel they’ve had that crown for a while now. It’s always fun to watch their matches, no matter who they’re facing.
I’ll give the challengers credit. They’ve worked hard so far here, getting the crowd to cheer them more and more. Tank, specifically, is having himself a good performance.
The announce desk is taking a beating! Hank Walker with a suicide dive between the top and middle ropes, only to crash and burn on the desk. With that said, the desk is still standing, even after the Ricky Saints and Hank Walker spots.
Spanish Fly by Axiom, followed by a Phoenix Splash from Frazer… but Hank makes his way back into the ring to break up the three count! The crowd is truly invested in this match now. Wow. Helluva spot.
Again, I say… wow. We have brand new NXT Tag Team Champions! Hank and Tank with the performances of their lives, and they were able to knock FrAxiom off. I’m glad to have been wrong about the challengers. They proved that they belonged, even with a unique journey to the titles.
That was a blast to watch, and it literally got better and better as the match went on. 4.25 Stars. Now that they’ve dropped the titles, you have to start speculating about a call-up to Raw or Smackdown for Frazer and Axiom. They have both wrestled in singles matches on Smackdown over the last month, and could very well be making the jump soon.
Sol Ruca vs Zaria vs Kelani Jordan vs Izzi Dame vs Thea Hail vs Lola Vice – Ladder Match for the vacant NXT Women’s North American Title
It’s wild how deep the NXT women’s division is. You have Stephanie Vaquer defending the NXT Women’s Title in a Fatal Four-Way later in the show, six women competing for the Women’s North American Title here, and there were eight women competing for a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles during the pre-show.
As expected, this has been a wild one from the sound of the opening bell.
Thea Hail climbs the ladder in an attempt to grab the title, only for Izzi Dame to pull the ladder further and further away to prevent her from doing so. What does Izzi do after that? Climbs the ladder, on the furthest side from the title, and tries to grab the title herself. That’s not very smart. She was several feet away from the title.
Zaria and Sol make their way to the top of the ladder and have a face-off at the top. Sol looks emotional, and then appears to go for a punch, only for it to be blocked by Zaria, who puts her hands around Sol’s neck. The crowd almost gasps, as it truly looked like Zaria was about to kiss Sol for a moment before they fought it out.
After a flurry of offense, clearing out some competitors with Sol Snatchers, Sol Ruca climbs the ladder again and becomes the brand new NXT Women’s North American Champion. The win comes mere days after she won the WWE Women’s Speed Champion. What a week.
This was fun. Nothing game-changing, but it was the train wreck that you want a Ladder Match to be, so there’s that. 3.5 Stars
Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Luca Crusifino vs Dion Lennox, Saquon Shugars & Osiris Griffin – Six-Man Tag Match
Say what you will about DarkState and their early run in NXT, but they are some really impressive competitors that appear to have a lot of in-ring chemistry together. There’s a ton of potential there.
An interesting thing to watch is Tony D’Angelo standing on the apron, with a look of almost disgust as he stares at Stacks Lorenzo. Commentary is wondering if “The Don” is trying to teach his “Underboss” a lesson with tough love.
To further my previous point, Stacks says that he has an idea, and while Tony D looks on in disappointment, Stacks grabs two crowbars. He hands one to Tony, who says that it isn’t part of his plan, and he throws his crowbar out of the ring. This gives DarkState the opportunity to get the momentum back.
Well, the turn that many people predicted finally happened, although perhaps not in the way they thought. Stacks turned heel on Tony D, but did so after hitting Saquon Shugars with a crowbar. The turn itself was really well done. On multiple occasions, it looked like Stacks would turn, and the crowd reacted in anticipation, but just when you thought The Family was back on the same page, Stacks kicks Tony in the little Tonies.
The match itself was pretty decent, but will only be remembered for the Stacks heel turn. 3.25 Stars. What will Tony D do next after having his heart broken?
Stephanie Vaquer vs Jaida Parker vs Jordynne Grace vs Giulia – Fatal Four-Way for the NXT Women’s Title
A huge night for the NXT women’s division continues on here.
“Doomsday Double Blockbuster Device” was just delivered. Jordynne lifts both Stephanie and Giulia up on her shoulders, allowing for Miss Jaida to deliver a double Blockbuster from the top. Jaida damn near took the worst of it, though, landing awkwardly on her upper back and shoulder area. Cool spot, either way, even though it’s the type of spot that pro wrestling has started to drive into the ground.
It’s almost how funny this match keeps building to stare downs between Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia. No matter what happens, it always ends up with those two facing off. The crowd is appreciative of it, too.
Booker T just had more orgasms than Ron Jeremy in his prime as Stephanie Vaquer delivered her Devil’s Kiss to each opponent, one at a time. Somebody get Book some new pants. Gross.
Big win for the champion, retaining her title after hitting Jaida Parker with the SVB for the pin. She was bordering on exhaustion at the end, but did just enough to win. All four women had a chance to shine, which is always nice. 3.5 Stars
Oba Femi vs Je’Von Evans vs Trick Williams – Triple Threat Match for the NXT Title
Main event time. While not quite on the level of many old NXT Takeover shows, this has been a lot of fun to watch. Every match has been really entertaining, with the Tag Team Title match continuing to be the shining star. Will Oba, Trick, and Je’Von continue the show’s hot streak?
On commentary, Corey Graves points out that, with a win here, Je’Von Evans would become the youngest singles champion in WWE history. That’s crazy to think about. He’s a week-and-a-half away from celebrating his 21st birthday, and here he is, working the main event of NXT’s biggest show of the year.
We’re only a few minutes in, but all three men look great so far. Je’Von, especially, is showing off. His speed and athleticism don’t seem like they should be humanly possible.
My God, this has been a blast. Je’Von is EXTRA bouncy today. Oba is EXTRA powerful. Trick is EXTRA motivated, pulling out offense he’s never used before. Let’s go!
The announce table has finally been taken down! Trick with a Rock Bottom/Book End to Oba, and the table finally breaks.
What a match! Just when it looked like Je’Von was about to get the win on Oba, Trick takes him out with a Trick Shot, but then Oba gets rid of Trick. That leads to a Fall From Grace on Je’Von, allowing the champion to retain his title. That was great, great work from all three men. 4.5 Stars
I have no doubt in my mind that Je’Von Evans is going to be the NXT Champion sooner than later. It also seems like Trick Williams will be Raw or Smackdown bound soon, perhaps even this coming week. Oba Femi, on the other hand, is building his legacy as one of the most dominant performers in NXT history.
Two great matches, and the rest of the card was filled with really good matches. It’s hard to ask for much more than that. Yes, Stand & Deliver absolutely gets a recommendation from me. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you didn’t already do so.
Now, it’s time for me to take a relatively small break before I return with my review column for night one of WrestleMania 41.
