By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live March 26, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
1. Dijak vs. Shawn Spears. Dijak and Spears started with a collar and elbow. Dijak then took down Spears with a running hammer fist. Dijak took Spears and himself over the top rope with a clothesline. Spears tripped Dijak with a baseball slide and followed up with a Plancha. Dijak recovered and the big man hit Spears with a flip dive. Dijak worked on Spears with methodical offense. Spears turned the table and gave Dijak a few chops.
Dijak came back with forearms and elbows in the corner. Dijak hit Spears with a backbreaker. Dijak hit Spears with a tightrope twisting elbow drop for a two count. Spears recovered and came back with a twisting neckbreaker. Spears hit Dijak with a loud chest chop. Dijak came back with a boot and headbutt to the chest to lay out Spears. Dijak went to the top rope and Spears hit him with a crazy Release German Superplex.
Spears dumped Dijak to ringside. Joe Gacy was shown under the ring peeking out with a chair. Spears caught Dijak in the ring with a draping Codebreaker. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Dijak shoved Spears off the top rope and hit him with a high leaping clothesline. Dijak peppered Spears with shortarm forearms. Dijak then hit Spears with a running clothesline. Dijak fired up the crowd with loud slaps to Spears’s chest. Dijak hit Spears with the Time to Fly suplex. Spears escaped a choke. Dijak came bac. Spears used a victory roll for a two count. Dijak reversed a superkick into a Discus boot for a good nearfall. A “Fight Forever” chant ensued (they must be fans of that video game Spears is in? I Kid).
Spears lifted up Dijak. Dijak escaped. Spears reversed a TKO into a side takedown. Dijak gave Spears a jawbreaker on the top rope. Dijak missed a slingshot elbow drop. Spers was confused looking for his chair that Joe stole. Spears gave Dijak a jawbreaker. Dijak reversed a dive into a South of Heaven for a good nearfall. Spears blocked a superkick but Dijak chambered it and nailed Spears with a superkick. Dijak hit Spears with Feast Your Eyes for the victory.
Dijak defeated Shawn Spears via pinfall in 13:35.
Joe Gacy got on the announce table to act like Shawn’s chair was a guitar…
John’s Thoughts: A PPV quality in-ring encounter by two of WWE’s better in-ring technicians. Happy they gave them some time to work instead of this just being TV fodder. Happy to also see Dijak getting treated better than his recent role of being fodder to the stars. A bit surprised they put him over the returning Spears, but I’m not complaining. This was the strongest he’s looked in WWE in a long while. Credit to Spears too for making him look like a million bucks with good selling, while also looking good in defeat. Can’t say I’m looking forward to his feud against Joe Gacy due to Gacy’s cheesy crazy man character feeling too goofy in a bad way (and I’m a fan of the clownshoe Yakuza series. That series has top quality great clownshoes + drama dichotomy. Meanwhile, the Nick Jr. PG-ass Joe Gacy is just channel-changing clownshoes).
A Roxanne Perez sitdown promo aired. She said her old vignette of her acting like a kid and making a vision board made her sick. She then cut up pictures from her vision board. Perez said that little girl is dead. She said her heroes got her nothing, so she’s her own hero now. She said they had her carry the brand and lead NXT out of 2.0 into the new era. She talked about how all that work got her discarded and without a title.
She said she’s looking out for herself now and it feels so good. Perez said the proof is in the results, getting in the Stand and Deliver title match. She said she got all that by doing things her way. She said she doesn’t dislike Lyra, but rather has no feelings because Lyra is just the woman “barely” holding the title due to an injured arm. Perez said the title will come back to the place it belongs…
Chase U made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Another quality promo from the newly turned Roxanne Perez. She’s smashing expectations by doing a great job with this heel turn so far. Love the logic and verbiage they are having her use as it’s utilizing her long term character development in a positive way.
Hank Walker and Tank Ledger were practicing singing backstage to apply to be the “host” of Stand and Deliver. Enofe, Blade, and Reece were also there. Andre Chase was the first out of his audition saying “I nailed that s*it”…
Jasmyn Nix and Jacy Jayne made their entrance. Vic noted Nyx is a NIL athlete from WWE’s NIL program…
2. Thea Hail (w/Riley Osborne, Andre Chase, Duke Hudson) vs. Jasmyn Nyx (w/Jacy Jayne). Hail swarmed Nyx with high energy running strikes. Nyx got a two count off a small package. Nyx hit Hail with a switch knee. Nyx stompped on Hail in the corner. Nyx got a two count off a forearm smash. Nyx worked on Hail with a cravate. Chase U fired up Hail to escape. Hail hit Nyx with a Blockbuster.
Nyx came back with a nice Pele Kick for a two count. Jayne stole a red towel from Chase. Jayne tried to “throw in the towel”, but Osborne intercepted it. The referee saw it as interference from Osborne so he ejected Chase U to the back. Hail rolled up Nyx and hit her with a jawbreaker. Hail told Jayne “I thought we were friends”. Jayne slapped Hail (with the referee being a dope by forcing his vision to not see it). Nyx tried to take advantage, but Hail managed to put Nyx in a Kimura Lock for the win.
Thea Hail defeated Jasmyn Nyx via submission in 3:37.
Thea Hail attacked Jayne after the match. Kiana James and Izzi Dame ran out to give the heels a numbers advantage. Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan ran out to even the numbers and dump the heels to ringside. Hail topped it off by spearing Jayne. The heels retreated while the faces stood tall…
John’s Thoughts: Okay match. Nyx was green, but again, we can give her the benefit of the doubt as a NIL project. Her taking the loss makes me think she’s here for the reps (which is positive). Hopefully whenever she gets a push she’ll get more character development because she’s currently just generic mean girl #97. The finish was a bit overbooked with the contrived towel throw, ejection, and referee not seeing the slap.
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from commentary. Vic plugged Stand and Deliver ticket sales. Vic sent the show to the Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams “Prime Ticket” documentary video…
The video started off with b-roll footage of Trick and Melo’s friendship and rise to stardom. Trick talked about being alongside his boy during every single victory. He said even so, his name wasn’t alongside Melo’s accolades. Booker talked about how Trick needs to go after those champagne dreams and caviar wishes. Randy Orton said that people reacting to Trick positively probably got on the nerves of Melo. CM Punk said that this is a case study of human nature and both guys probably didn’t want it to happen this way.
Melo said when he called up Trick if it were bout it, then trick said he was bout it bout it. Melo said that was a lie. He said he brought Trick to the water to drink and eat off the same plate as Melo. Melo said this isn’t a Melo thing, but a Melo plus Trick thing. Melo said Trick will come to find out that Melo is 2nd to nobody. More highlights aired of Melo’s recent heel actions and promos. Melo told Trick to stay whereever he be at because his 15 minutes of fame is up…
Lola Vice was shown shadowboxing backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Great promo package! One of the best “prime ticket” documentaries in a long while. Having big stars like Randy Orton and CM Punk in the video made the match have a big match feel. Melo was really strong in his heel promo. The pre-tape and cinematic nature allows wrestlers to really come off well.
Otis, Maxxine Dupri, and Akira Tozawa were warming up in the weight room. Horny Otis of course had Lash Legend on the mind…
Lola Vice made her entrance and took the mic to lay out an open challenge. Natalya Neidhart made her entrance with a microphone. Nattie said Lola is one of the fastest rising stars in NXT, but her ego is also growing. Nattie said someone needs to put Lola in her place. Nattie said she’ll want to kick Lola’s ass. Lola jumped Natalya. Vic reminded viewers that Natalya has several pro wrestling Guinness World Records in terms of longevity in WWE…
3. Lola Vice vs. Natalya. Natalya managed to get control and slow down the action. Lola managed to create separation and fend off Natalya with chambered footsie kicks. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Natalya fended off Lola with a boot. Natalya rallied with right hands. Natalya caught Lola’s kick and tripped her. Natalya ran off Lola’s back and hit her with a dropkick. Lola reversed a Sharpshooter into a grapevined Ankle Lock. Natalya used an alligator roll to break the hold with a rope break. Lola rolled up Natalya with a Magistral. Nattie rolled up Lola for a nearfall. Lola hit Natalya with a backfist for a nearfall.
Karmen Petrovic walked to ringside to taunt Lola. Lola told Karmen she’ll hurt her. Lola yelled “I’m a Latina” and hit Natalya with a hip attack. Natalya ducked a backfist and hit Lola with a discus lariat. Lola reversed a Sharpshoot into a rollup for a nearfall. Natalya locked Lola in a Juji Gatame. Lola escaped. Natalya rolled up Lola for the victory.
Natalya defeated Lola Vice via pinfall in 8:38.
Shawn Spears told an interviewer that Joe Gacy was now on his radar. Joe Gacy was at the top of the Performance Center where he dropped Shawn’s chair onto the pavement. He then started laughing. Oba Femi walked to the chair and looked up confused…
The Tony D Angelo Family were Psyching up Stacks. Ilja Dragunov was shown walking through the hallways…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Natalya carried Lola to possibly her best match yet in her young wrestling career, which is common amongst Natalya’s matches with younger wrestlers (heck, back when Charlotte Flair was looking rough, Natalya elevated her in their NXT match). I wouldn’t mind if Natalya shows up in NXT every once in a while as a player-coach because her experience would be valuable to a lot of the younger stars, especially the NIL types. Small other note, Shawn Spears got like one line in his interview, but he didn’t deliver it in his cheesy stage actor way. That gives me hope that we’ll get the more realistic “chairman” that we saw in AEW.
A Sol Ruca vignette aired where she was shown surfing the waves of the beach. They then cut to her NXT highlights so far showing off her innovative moves. She then talked about how her success came to a holt when Blair Davenport shattered her ACL. She talked about contemplating revenge while in recovery. She said rehab sucked, but she’s back now. Ruca said she’s pissed off. Blair talked about Blair stacking victims, but now she needs to experience the pain of a tendon tearing. Sol talked about how she’s going to snatch Blair’s soul…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Blair Davenport who said that Sol is a beach bum and reminds her of sand. Blair said no matter what Sol does on TikTok, none of that will help her. Blair said she’s going to put Sol on another road to recover…
[Hour Two] Entrances for the next match took place. Vic Joseph noted that 4 out of 7 times, has the NXT Title changed hands at a WrestleMania weekend PLE…
4. NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov vs. Channng “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Adriana Rizzo) in a non-title match. Stacks fended off Ilja with forearms. Ilja came back with alternating forearms. Stacks created separation and hit Ilja with a dropkick. Stacks worked on Ilja with methodical offense. Ilja fought out of the corner and hit Stacks with a Jackknife Bomb. Stacks used a boot to block the H Bomb. Stacks hit Ilja with a Tornado DDT for a nearfall. Stacks worked on Ilja with joint manipulation. Stacks worked on injuring Ilja’s right arm and wrist.
Stacks hit Ilja’s wrist with a knee stomp. ilja got to his feet and took down Stacks with a chop. Ilja then sold the right hand. Ilja got a breather after dropkicking Stacks into the ropes. Ilja folded Stacks with a German Suplex. Ilja planted Stacks with a Power Bomb. Ilja caught Stacks with Torpedo Moscow for the victory.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Channing Lorenzo via pinfall in 5:03.
Tony D’Angelo and Luca Crucifino were watching the match in the locker room. Tony D then sent Luca to invite Ilja to dinner at a secret location…
John’s Thoughts: Decent tuneup match. Stacks looked good in defeat as he’s hung in there for a good amount of time against the world champ. The goal was also more to soften up Ilja so that made sense story wise. Hopefully they follow up on this match by having Ilja sell his wrist leading up to and during the title match.
The show cut to the 2nd part of the Trick and Melo Prime Ticket. Trick was walking the streets of South Philadelphia where he met up with some family and friends. He introduced us to his Unc Sweet Baby James. Trick thanked Sweet Baby for letting him stay at his place in Philly growing up. Trick said Philly was special to him, the city of brotherly love; but that’s ironic because he though Melo was his brother.
Booker T talked about how it’s not about getting beat down, but getting beat down, get up, and back in the fight. Trick’s boxing coach talked about how a real brother should never turn his back on a brother. CM Punk said when getting stabbed in the back by the brother, it’s the brother’s knife that hurts worse. Former NFL Player Garry Cobb talked about how people get got sometimes, and sometimes it takes a long time to get that lick back.
Trick was shown boxing and running football fields in a training montage. Punk talked about how Melo should be worried because he might have just created a monster. Trick did the Rocky run up the steps and said he’s coming after Melo…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Another great documentary with Trick Williams coming off as a standup dude and guy you want to hang out with, especially since he’s a person who has the back of his friends. NXT has done a great job making Trick out to be the protagonist of NXT; but Trick has done an even better job making WWE’s investment in him look good. good decision to have Trick’s family friends in the promo. Punk being in these videos make them main roster level.
Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin were warming up backstage. Corbin mocked Bron’s dark tan. Bron said it’s all natural from the sun. Corbin said the tanning bed does not count as the sun. Bron said he knows that. Bron then handed Corbin a bottle of spray tan that had a “the sun” sticker on it. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson showed up to say they were coming after the tag titles. Bron said if they can advance, “see you in Philly”…
Sad Ridge Holland was in a black suit looking sad. He said he knew this day would come, but he didn’t think it would be this soon. He said he wants to thank Matty Jones for bringing him in. He thanked William Regal for letting this former rugby player have a chance in wrestling. He thanked HBK and the people in the back for letting him say what he has to say.
He said while he was playing Rugby, he told himself if he ever gets a step off, he has to contemplate something. Holland said he has been a step off recently. He said he can’t in good conscious run the risk of hurting himself of someone else again. Holland said there’s a perception around him. He said he sees what people are telling him, and all the though DMs.
He said it’s had a huge effect on the man behind Ridge Holland. He said he refuses to let this job take away his ability to be the best dad or husband he could be. He said he’s had that conversation the last few days. He said he talked to his family first, and then himself in front of a mirror. He said that rugby and wrestling require physical and mental resilience, and he’s lacking that now. He said he came to a decision.
He said with all that he’s announcing that he’s stepping away from in-ring competition indefinitely. He said as tough as this decision has been, he feels blessed to have had the opportunity to have stepped foot in this company, let alone in front of the people of the world. He thanked NXT for allowing him to come back here and take one last shot at redemption.
He said he apologizes it didn’t work out. He said a appreciates everyone more than they will ever know. Ridge said cheers and put the mic down in the center of the ring. Ridge Holland then walked up the ramp to “Thank You Ridge” chants…
John’s Thoughts: Great promo. As much as the “sad dad” story has been annoying the hell out of me when it’s executed as an in-ring storytelling device, Ridge Holland has shown me that he’s one hell of a talker. This had me almost tearing up. The guy did a great job delivering his lines and bearing his soul. Him even hesitating at points made him come off as very human. I really hope this isn’t the end because this guy really has the gift of gab, and I never even would have thought he would be a great talker when they were pushing him as the big brute.
A Lyra Valkyria promo package aired. Lyra talked about how the path to the title breaks those who walk it. She talked about beating Becky Lynch she didn’t know what was on the other side. She said there’s a force behind the NXT Women’s Championship. She said it’s that force that brought her from Ireland to do right by the title.
Lyra said meanwhile, Roxanne is trying to take the easy way out by trying to win the title without wrestling for it, while also messing with people backstage. Lyra talked about how Perez didn’t actually relinquish the title because she was still defending it at the ladder match (which she lost to Indi Hatwell). Lyra talked about how the title broke Perez. Lyra said Perez’s time has past. She said she’ll do anything to keep the title and everything to keep Perez from it…[c]
Duke Hudson got a televised entrance while Josh Briggs was already in the ring. No Chase U at ringside. Dijak joined the commentary table…
5. Duke Hudson vs. Josh Briggs. Briggs and Hudson traded right hands. Briggs yelled at Dijak to watch him. Dijak said “if you are on Twitter, I’ll ratio you”. Hudson came back with a nice big man huracanrana. Hudson got a two count off a sidewalk slam. Hudson hit Briggs with a nice Slingshot German Suplex. Briggs got a breather by tackling Hudson into the steel steps. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Briggs got a two count off a sidewalk slam and standing splash. Dijak talked about knowing both Hudson and Briggs forever. Dijak decided to also brag about his tan for some reason. Briggs dragged Hudson to the top rope with his eyes focused on Dijak. Hudson shoved Briggs away, but Briggs crotched Hudson on the top rope. Briggs hit Hudson with a Superplex. The commentators talked about of Briggs may be distracted by both Dijak and his recent problems with his best friend Jensen.
Hudson rallied with right hands and a big boot. Hudson hit Briggs with the Chase U Bionic Elbow for a nearfall. Hudson hit Briggs with a Big Bossman Slam for a two count. Briggs hit Hudsion with a front kick and back sulex. Briggs then got distracted by Dijak when going to the top. This allowed Hudson to power bomb Briggs off the top rope. Hudson hit Briggs with a clothesline in the corner. Briggs came back with a clothesline. Briggs hit Hudson with the Clothesline From Hell for the victory.
Josh Briggs defeated Duke Hudson via pinfall in 10:30.
Dijak confronted Briggs in the ring. Oba Femi made his entrance to the NXT Crow’s Nest. Oba said he now has found his opponents for Stand and Deliver, two titans climbing to the top of the mountain. Oba said “I am the mountain!”. Oba said nobody will climb to the top of the summit, but people will pay good money to see Dijak and Briggs try. Oba called for a Triple Threat Match!
John’s Thoughts: Solid big man match. WWE might run the risk of not having time to push all the men at once, but I’d consider calling up some of these very talented and athletic big men to boister up the main roster. They even have a future world title big man level cooking up very quickly in Oba Femi. Really looking forward to the athletic big man match at Stand and Deliver which has potential to steal the show. Also, side props, Dijak continues to crack me up week to week with his very witty comedy lines. He hits yet again with his Twitter ratio quip. Give this man the mic more often because he’s great, in addition to being on of the best overall big men technique-wise in all of WWE.
Part 3 of the Prime Target for Trick and Melo aired. Highlights from Trick Williams making his NXT return a few weeks ago by chasing off Melo after his loss. They then showed two random holes in the dirt for coffins. CM Punk said when you set out for revenge, you dig two graves. He said this is beyond wrestling, it’s personal, it’s about who wants to hurt the other man more.
Johnny Gargano said when you’re betrayed by someone a brother to you, you lose a part of yourself, and you might not get it back. Orton said at Stand and Deliver, Trick vs. Melo is one hell of a way to start Mania weekend. Tommaso Ciampa said Trick vs. Melo might be the biggest match in NXT history. Cody Rhodes said it’s easy to pick Trick Williams to win the match. Melo talked about Trick not knowing how to carry the brand for two years, being the guy on posters, the guy selling tickets, doing media, and being “HIM”.
Melo said he brought Trick into this world, and he’ll have to take him out of it. He said he carried Trick. Melo said Trick is a hype man and that’s how it is and ever going to be. An Epic trailer montage aired of both men at war. The trailer ended with final hype for Trick vs. Melo…
John’s Thoughts: Another great promo package. They really upped the budget on this one as it came off as a almost Super Bowl weekend movie trailer. NXT all night has felt like they’ve upped their production value, but that’s topped off with this very epic edition of Prime Ticket. Hopefully WWE’s social media and ad team does a good job to push out this series of videos to use as a movie trailer to sell how big the Trick vs. Melo match is.
Vic Joseph plugged Trick and Melo facing off next week. Vic also noted that Ava has confirmed the proposed Oba Femi vs. Josh Briggs vs. Dijak title match. Vic also plugged Lyra vs. Roxanne for the title…
The show then abruptly cut to Meta Four in the production truck, where they struggled a bit to finally get the camera shot to them. Noam Dar announced that Meta Four are the official hosts of Stand and Deliver…
The Wolf Dogs made their entrance…[c]
The show cut to an Ariana Grace instagram video where she was struggling to find glam for Gigi Dolin. Grace managed to find something off camera…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Ilja Dragunov. Ilja said the underboss really brought it and it looked like The Family did their homework. Luca Crucifino showed up to invite Ilja to a dinner meeting. Ilja said he’ll be at the restaurant. Luca said it’s not at a restaurant. Luca handed Ilja an envelope. Ilja looked shocked when he opened it
Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez appearing on Supernova Sessions and LWO vs. Good Brothers vs. Axiom and Frazer was announced for next week…
Alpha Academy made their entrance (sans Chad Gable who’s in his serious story with Sami Zayn)…
6. NXT Tag Team Champions “The Wolf Dogs” Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin vs. Akira Tozawa and Otis (w/Maxxing Dupri) in a non-title match. Tozawa fended off Corbin with quick strikes to keep him at distance. Breakker and Otis tagged in. Booker talked about a lot of beef being in the ring. Otis dumped the Wolf Dogs to ringside. Otis press slammed Tozawa on the Wolf Dogs heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
[Overrun] The Wolf Dogs cut the ring in half on Tozawa. Corbin hit Tozawa with an impressive suplex into a cutter. Breakker Did the same with a nice version of the move off a Back Suplex. Tozawa got a window of opportunity by sending Breakker’s shoulder into the ringpost. Otis and Corbin tagged in with Otis having the hot tag momentum. Otis caught Breakker with a back elbow and corner splash.
Otis and Corbin traded right hands. Otis backdropped Corbin and Breakker at the same time. Otis hit Corbin with the Caterpillar. Corbin kicked out at two. Otis hit breakker with a World’s Strongest Slam. Tozawa hit Corbin with a Shining Wizard. Corbin did a Moonsault out of the Electric Chair to power slam Tozawa off a Doomsday Device attempt.
The Wolf Dogs then double teamed to power bomb Otis through the announce table. Vic Joseph’s candy spilled everywhere while the USA made sure to censor the Holy Shit chants. Corbin power bombed Tozawa. Tozawa no sold the bomb, but walked right into a Spear by Bron Breakker for the victory.
The Wolf Dogs defeated Akira Tozawa and Otis via pinfall in 10:09.
LWO, The Good Brothers, and Axiom and Frazer all entered the ring. A tag team brawl ensued to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: I raised a bit of an eyebrow with putting the midcard comedy tag team in the main event slot of what has been a solid show. I still would have ended the show with the Prime Ticket Movie Trailer-esque promo, but this main event ended up being a good showcase for the tag team champions. Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker have also become such a good accidental success story. Their chemistry is off the charts, so much that you even have Baron Corbin surprised that he’s getting genuine cheers for the first time of his career (technically the first time was when the crowd booed the hell out of Gable Steveson that one time).
I really like the tag team chemistry of the Wolf Dogs. Even though Breakker is getting the singles squashes now, I wouldn’t mind a reformation of The Wolf Dogs on the main roster because they add a different dynamic to the tag team division (their in ring in addition to their natural chemistry in backstage segments). Good usage of Alpha Academy who serve the valuable role of hyping up crowds. This is one of the best NXT episodes of the year, and it’s a good time to do that too heading into Stand and Deliver. This is a good singular show to recommend to people who aren’t caught up with NXT storylines. Lost in the shuffle, was that wonderful [hopefully temporary] time-off promo from Ridge Holland which was heartfelt. Go out of you way to see that too. I do have to run in a bit, so I’ll have the audio review for the dot net members sometime tomorrow.
It’s already been reported that Ridge stepping away is a storyline.
So he’ll likely step back in and be a monster heel I’m assuming.