We are a week and a half away from NXT’s second premium live event of the year in Stand and Deliver. There were a lot of great matches that took place on this episode of NXT as we are truly in the premium live event season and you always know NXT is going to show out when they are in that season.
Dijak vs Shawn Spears: Halfway through this match, Joe Gacy came from underneath the ring to steal Shawn Spears and this came back to haunt Spears when towards the end of the match he was looking for the chair and got distracted and this cost him the win. This was a great match to kick off NXT, seeing Spears in NXT just feels right and there will be big things for him this year. At the end of the match, Gacy stood on the commentary table and waved around the chair.
Winner: Dijak
Roxanne Perez Promo: Perez says that the little girl who was happy to be here is dead. She said that she put her body on the line and risked everything to get to the top and she got nowhere and now that she is only supporting herself she is getting to the top. She says that she has no feelings towards Valkyria, but she is the one holding Perez’s title and will do anything it takes to ensure she gets that title right where it belongs, around her waist.
Stand and Deliver Host Auditions: There were a bunch of NXT Superstars who were auditioning to host Stand and Deliver. Andre Chase felt super confident about getting the part until the Meta Four arrived and made their statement.
Thea Hail vs Jazmyn Nyx: There was a lot of outside interference in this match as Chase U was sent to the back after Jane stole Chase’s terrible towel and threw it into the ring. Hail took advantage of Nyx being distracted and made her tap out. After the match Nyx, Izzi Dame, and Kiana James beat down Hail until Fallon Henley and Kilani Jordan were rescued. Looks like we are setting up for a six-women tag next week.
Winner: Thea Hail
Prime Target: Melo vs Trick: Three parts of this were shown throughout the night and they were extremely good. The first part talked about Melo and Trick’s friendship and why Melo had to do what he had to do. The second part mostly talked about Trick and how when he was a kid he lived with his Uncle in Philly and everything he is doing now is because of him. Now that he is back in Philly he is going to make sure he gets the job done and put Melo in his place. The third part had a lot of members of the WWE Roster choose who they thought was going to win this match and Melo continued to explain to Trick that he was not ready to be a top star like Melo. Trick finishes the package by saying they are going to war next weekend.
Otis and Tozawa Promo: They are super nervous about their match but Maxxine Dupri reminds them that if they keep their eyes on the prize nothing will stop them from getting added to the Tag Team Championship match next Saturday.
Lola Vice vs Natalya: Vice said that since this is Stand and Deliver season she wants a true challenge which is why she put out the open challenge, Natayla answered and said that she is one of the fastest-rising stars in NXT, and although her resume speaks for herself Natalya is here to put her in her place. Karmen Petrovic came out and was rooting for Natayla and kept distracting Vice. This leads Natalya to get the win and Vice to be more angry at Petrovic.
Winner: Natalya
Shawn Spears Promo: Spears is disappointed that he lost and Gacy is now on his radar. Spears challenges Gacy until he gets interrupted by Gacy who is on top of the PC and throws the chair down into the street. He apologizes and says he meant to give the chair back but he forgot.
Sol Ruca Promo: Ruca talks about how when she first came to NXT the future was bright and everything was going smoothly until Blair Davenport tore her ACL. She says that next week is more than a match to her; it is a chance to finally get revenge on someone who took her out for nine months and get back on track to the path of success.
Blair Davenport Promo: Davenport says Ruca is unlikeable and compares her to sand, annoying and something that you can not get rid of. Davenport says Ruca is more focused on TikToks and cool tricks and not her big match next week. She says that after next week she will need to go back to rehab with what she is going to do with Ruca next week.
NXT Title Match: Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo vs Ilja Dragunov: Stacks got a lot of offense in this match and he proved himself within this match. Dragunov was not losing this match though as he got the big win. After the match is over Tony D’Angelo tells Luca Crusfino to invite Dragunov to dinner with a special invitation.
Winner: Ilja Dragunov
Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker Promo: Corbin hypes up Breakker and says that he is tan and that the sun can ruin his brain cells. Breaker says that his tan is natural and since Corbin can’t tan he brought himself tan so they can look more alike. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson interrupt and say that they want a traditional tag team match at Stand and Deliver and they want Corbin and Breakker to get the job done tonight. Corbin and Breakker reassure them that they will win tonight to make sure that they have a traditional tag team match next week.
Ridge Holland Promo: Holland says he has been on the fence about this for weeks and he is thankful for everyone who had believed in him during his decade-long career. He knows that there is a stigma around him that is known for injuring people and it is affecting his mental health. He says that all of the comments from the fans are affecting what is most important to him and that is being a father and a husband. After having some difficult conversations with himself he has decided to step away from in-ring competition indefinitely. He says that the decision was difficult to make, but he is grateful that he was able to step foot in WWE and perform in front of millions of people all over the world. He thanks the NXT locker room for letting him take one last step at redemption and he apologizes for it not working out. The NXT universe chants thank you Ridge as the segment ends.
Lyra Valkyria Promo: Valkyria says that everything changes when you reach the top and when you defeat Becky Lynch to become champion. She says no one knows what it is really like on the other side to become a champion. She says when people have to choose between choosing right from wrong that is where she and Perez differ. She says that Perez took the easy way out and that she lost the title last year when she couldn’t climb the ladder and retrieve her title. She wishes that they could have been friends, but Perez lets the title break her as she is not the chosen one anymore. Valkyria says she is going to do everything in her power to make sure Perez does not walk out with the title next week.
Duke Hudson vs Josh Briggs: Dijak was on commentary for this match as he and Briggs kept on exchanging words throughout the match. After a long match and a lot of death stares between Briggs and Dijak Briggs was able to get the win. After the match ended Oba Femi came out and said that he had two worthy competitors for his North American Title at Stand and Deliver. He challenges both of them to a triple-threat match at the premium live event.
Winner: Josh Briggs
Meta Four Promo: Meta Four hacks the production truck to tell us that they are the official hosts of Stand and Deliver. They started to scream and get hyped up as they claimed that NXT could not have the biggest show of the year without them.
Arianna Grace Promo: Grace does not know what dress to pick out for Gigi Dollin and after freaking out for two minutes she finally finds the perfect one.
Ilja Dragunov Promo: Dragunov commends The Family and says that they have done their homework on him. Luca Crusfino interrupts and hands him an envelope where the pre-Stand and Deliver dinner will take place.
If Akira Tozawa and Otis win they will be added to the Tag Team Title Match at Stand and Deliver: Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin vs Akira Tozawa and Otis: The one thing about a lot of the NXT main events is that they always feel rushed because a segment on the show goes over. The problem is you can identify this problem every week. The other thing I did not understand is why you had this match and then the true number one contender match next week, wouldn’t it have made sense to just put all four teams into that match? Despite all of this, the match was good. Breakker and Corbin slammed Otis into the commentary table to prove how dominant of a team they are. This led them to take advantage and get the win in the main event. At the end, LWO, The Good Brothers, Axiom, and Frazier came to confront the tag team champions. This led to a massive brawl to end NXT.
Winner: Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin
Overall: I thought overall this was a good episode of NXT. One thing that they can do well is put on a great premium live event and that has shown with the build towards that on NXT the last couple of weeks. The Prime Target series is always great to see, but like I always say way too many promos and way less wrestling. Maybe one week they will get it right.
NXT 3/26/24 is streaming now on Peacock
