Folks, it’s time for NXT Stand & Deliver. This is the sixth annual Stand & Deliver event, but the first time that the show isn’t taking place during WrestleMania week, and it’s also the first standalone NXT event to stream on YouTube in the United States.
On paper, this is, without a doubt, the weakest Stand & Deliver card that NXT has ever put together. Far more often than not, WWE shows tend to impress when you say things like that, almost as if the wrestlers themselves understand the complaints and wrestle with chips on their shoulders to prove people wrong. Will that happen again tonight? We shall see.
The Factory in St. Louis, Missouri is the venue for NXT’s biggest show of the year. About 40 minutes before showtime, WrestleTix reported that there were a total of four tickets available, so we’ll definitely be looking at a full sellout crowd of 1,771 paying customers.
There are six matches on the card, with five championships being on the line. Let’s have some fun, shall we?
Jacy Jayne vs Lola Vice vs Kendal Grey – Triple Threat Match for the NXT Women’s Title
Because of a top-of-the-show mini segment involving Shawn Michaels and “Sexxy” Red, plus multiple video packages, as well as WWE’s love of showing everyone on the card walk in the parking lot or into the arena, the opening bell for the match took place 17 minutes after the show began.
This is one of those fun groupings of competitors. The champion is someone who many feel deserves a main roster call-up, but this isn’t your usual Stand & Deliver spot where a challenger is clearly being built up for a huge title win.
The early pace is fast and furious so far. The No Disqualification format of Triple Threats is already important, as we also have Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid at ringside to support Jacy, while Wren Sinclair is there to support Kendal. All the women at ringside have gotten involved in the match in one way, shape, or form already.
We’re well over ten minutes in, and the pace still hasn’t slowed. The challengers are really showing off here. Lola is using her striking and submission background to stand out, while Kendal’s technical wizardry is on full display. Jacy, to her credit, is being the slimy heel that she is, constantly trying to steal the win any chance she gets.
A frantic finish, with Kendal getting sent out of the ring, allowing for Lola to nail Jacy with a beautiful looking spinning backfist to get the pin and the win. We have a brand new NXT Women’s Champion, and her name is Lola Vice.
Honestly, I’m not mad at the title change at all. I like Jacy Jayne’s character work, but her in-ring work doesn’t quite reach the same level. She’ll have good performances here and there, but they’ll mix together with some so-so performances. Putting the title on the very popular Lola Vice allows for the division to move in a different direction, and that is needed.
As I said, this was quite the fast-paced match. There weren’t any slow spots, with action taking place from bell-to-bell. Even though she didn’t win, I love that Kendal Grey had a chance to shine. She is pretty clearly being positioned as the future of NXT, and therefore, the future of WWE. Her time is coming, so it’s important to keep her looking strong, even in defeat. Very fun opener all around. I’ll go ahead and give this 3.75 Stars.
Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes vs Rayo & Bravo – NXT Tag Team Title Match
It will never stop being funny that Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are under the masks of Rayo and Bravo, respectively. They’re working different styles than we’re used to seeing from them, and showing off a completely different personality in these roles. Even if you’re wishing Bate and Dunne would return as themselves, you have to be impressed at the work they’ve done in recent months, bouncing back and forth between the United States and Mexico for AAA, NXT, and the WWE main roster.
Baylor and Smokes are still very young, so it’s very smart to put them in a situation like this against two not-so-old (Dunne is 32, and Bate is still 29) veterans that have been around the block once or twice.
I dig some of the double-team offense that Baylor and Smokes have. They are very much a modern tag team with a lot of the fast-paced work they perform.
This has been a lot of fun so far. That fast-paced offense by the champions, and the unique hybrid Lucha Libre and British offense from the challengers, are making for an entertaining combination.
El Grande Americano introduced the metal plate again, but it was eventually stolen by Baylor and Smokes and passed on to their Vanity Project stablemate, Jackson Drake. The finish saw Drake hit Bravo behind the Referee’s back, leading to the champions retaining. Lots to enjoy with the clash of styles that both teams have. 4 Stars, and we’re off to quite the start so far tonight.
Sol Ruca vs Zaria
Our only match that isn’t for a title features as close to a blood feud that we have in NXT right now. This might be the only match on the entire card that belongs on Stand & Deliver.
Vic Joseph and Booker T play off of each other well, but there are times when they veer out of control with their arguments. Lots and lots of yelling back and forth as they defend their points, and you’ll go multiple minutes without them calling a single move in the match. This is one of those instances, with Booker constantly defending Zaria’s point-of-view here, while Vic keeps on saying how innocent Sol is.
Another fun clash of styles here, with Sol’s speed and insane athleticism going up against Zaria’s size and strength.
A Sol Snatcher on the outside causes Zaria to hit the ramp with an incredibly loud thud… but Zaria technically got to her feet first. That was very horror movie villain-esque. Moments later, another Sol Snatcher was hit, but it wasn’t enough, as Zaria kicked out. Impressive performance from the Aussie.
Zaria was looking for an Avalanche F5 to pick up the win, but Sol was able to break out and it led to a third Sol Snatcher. This time, it was enough for the hard-fought victory. Another fun match, even if it didn’t quiiiiite reach the level that the previous two matches did. 3.5 Stars. I’m interested to see where both women go from here.
Myles Borne vs Johnny Gargano – NXT North American Title Match
I really like seeing Johnny Wrestling back in his old NXT stomping grounds. We have no idea if it’s a temporary switch, or more of a full-time move, but I guess we might be on the verge of finding out in the next 20 or so minutes.
Johnny is the only three-time NXT North American Champion, and he’s looking to add to that with his fourth title win. Normally, I’d be all for him winning the title and moving back to NXT, even on a short-term basis, but I think it’s far too soon for Myles Borne to lose the title. NXT spent so much time in building his underdog story, and with having him end Ethan Page’s longest-ever North American Title reign, so having him lose the title barely a month later seems like a weird decision. Not the weirdest or the worst creative decision that WWE has made this week, but weird nonetheless.
Johnny is doing everything in his power to relive the glory days of the “Black and Gold” era. He’s working like he’s in the main event of an old Takeover show, and Myles Borne is right there with him. They’re going back and forth, and forth and back, and back and forth again.
After a really fun match, Myles was able to reverse a One Final Beat attempt before hitting a third Borne Again, and it was enough to get the win. 4 Stars. It didn’t have the backstory that the old Takeover matches used to have, and it also didn’t last long enough to be in line with those matches, but it was still very enjoyable.
After the match, Dion Lennox interrupts Myles showing respect to Gargano, and the DarkState member takes Borne out with a steel chair, signaling that he’s next up for a shot. Cool beans.
Tatum Paxley vs Blake Monroe – NXT Women’s North American Title Match
After a Hurricanrana from the top sends Tatum crashing to the ring ramp, she cries out that she hurt her shoulder. It sounds like she told the Referee that she separated it, but there was no dreaded “X” thrown up by the Ref, so it seems to be just a kayfabe injury.
While both women are working hard, I think this match is missing the intensity that a title match on the biggest show of the year should have. That’s what happens when you throw things together with no real story behind it, I guess.
A Glamour Shot DDT was not enough to get the win for the challenger, and it would soon come back to bite her. Moments later, Blake was taken on a Cemetery Drive, and that got the pin and the win for Tatum. People in the crowd seemed very surprised by the result, and I can’t say that I blame them. Even though Tatum’s title reign wasn’t even a month old, I didn’t think NXT would have Blake lose again. Interesting choice. Good for Tatum, though. After her 24-day reign as the NXT Women’s Champion last year, she deserves a reign that lasts a bit longer.
This wasn’t a bad match, but it never really reached a gear that would help it to stand out and be something you’ll remember moving forward. It was the “worst” match of the show so far, coming in at 3.25 Stars.
Joe Hendry vs Ricky Saints vs “All Ego” Ethan Page vs Tony D’Angelo – Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Title
There’s some NXT star power here, but this definitely doesn’t scream out “Stand & Deliver main event” to me. Oba Femi vs Trick Williams vs Je’Von Evans last year? Yup. Trick Williams vs Carmelo Hayes the year before? Yup. Bron Breakker vs Carmelo Hayes in 2023? Yup. Those were worthy of being in the main event spot of NXT’s biggest show of the year, featuring big names and storylines that had been building for months.
Can Mr. Page and Mr. Saints coexist?!?!?!?!? So far, so good. They’re working like a well baby oiled team so far.
Of course, as soon as I finish typing that, they start to argue over who should get the pin on Joe Hendry. It’s funny how often stuff like that happens in pro wrestling. Friends arguing in spots like that, or getting mad at their pal in a Battle Royal for an elimination attempt. It’s singles competition, guys.
The story so far has been almost completely surrounding Saints and Page. They’re clearly looking for an opportunity to screw the other one over, and are just waiting for the right moment to make it happen.
It’s all breaking down! Page and Saints are brawling at ringside! Saints is upset that Page broke up one of his pin attempts. Page goes to put Saints through a table, but their little tiff is broken up by Tony D, who Spears both men through the announce table at ringside.
Taking out half of the competitors in the match allowed for Tony D to get in the ring with Joe Hendry. One Spear and a Dead To Rights chokeslam later, and we have ourselves a brand new NXT Champion. Tony D gets “you deserve it” chants from the crowd as he poses with the title. Hendry’s reign comes to an end after an even 60 days.
The match was fun, even if it wasn’t something that approached “great” territory. It was something that was more focused on telling the story of dissension in the ranks of the two heels, and in that regard, it was a success. Overall, I’d say this was 3.5 Stars. Solid, but outside of the final outcome, it’s not something you’re going to be talking about for a while moving forward.
Overall, this was a solid show, with 3.25 Stars coming in as the lowest-rated score, but as I always say with these NXT pay-per-view events, you’re fighting a losing battle if you try and truly compare them with the Takeover events of years gone by. Those days are gone, and they’re probably never coming back.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to watch some old Takeover matches to get the feeling back.
