By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Stand & Deliver Hits
Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams vs. Je’Von Evans in a Triple Threat for the NXT Championship: A hot main event. The discipline shown by not having wrestlers on the undercard kick out of every big move imaginable paid off. They saved the hottest near falls for the main event and the crowd reacted in a big way, as most of the fans how were visible in the hard camera shot were standing for the final minutes of the match. Evans taking the loss was expected going in, but they had the fans questioning who would go over thanks to the top notch work from all three men.
Ricky Saints vs. Ethan Page for the NXT North American Championship: The only singles match on the card delivered. The excitement that Starks showed during his entrance was great. Starks going over was the anticipated move since he just won the title. It’s always fun to wonder whether the match losers on this show are main roster bound. With that in mind, Page would be a fine addition to Raw or Smackdown.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Giulia vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker in a four-way for the NXT Women’s Championship: As good as this was, you can’t convince me that a Vaquer vs. Grace singles match wouldn’t have been even better. But this was still highly entertaining. The wrestlers were given individual moments to shine, and the live crowd seemed well aware of each wrestler’s signature spots. In other words, this wasn’t a crowd filled with fans in town for WrestleMania who decided to give NXT a chance, this crowd was passionate about the NXT product.
Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger for the NXT Tag Team Titles: Do Frazer and Axiom have bad matches? This was another gem. They did an effective job of making the challengers look overmatched, only to have them come back strong to score the big upset win. The only knock is that Hank’s dive from the ring for a crash and burn spot on the broadcast table was too similar to what Starks did in the the opening match. Even so, this was fun, as it’s always nice when the lovable losers get a moment in the sun.
Sol Ruca vs. Zaria vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Izzi Dame vs. Lola Vice vs. Thea Hail in a six-woman ladder match for the vacant NXT Women’s North American Championship: Don’t look now, but Sweet Sol Sister is Ruca Two Belts. Okay, the WWE Speed Championship is a throwaway title, but it’s still cool that she won both championships in eight days. It will be interesting to see how the Zaria character reacts to Ruca’s win. I didn’t care for Zaria being slotted as a babyface to begin with, so a heel turn would be welcome. There were some high-risk moments, and one can only hope that everyone came out of this match in one piece. If there’s one thing to clean up it’s that there were too many times when wrestlers had to stand on the ladder and look like fools for not pulling the belt down while waiting for someone to stop them.
Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and Luca Crusifno vs. “DarkState” Dion Lennox, Saquon Shugars, and Osiris Griffin: The match was built around the question of whether Stacks would stay loyal to D’Angelo. They had some clever teases before he finally pulled the trigger. The creative team played up this potential turn for so long that I wondered if it would ever happen. I questioned if it was a misdirection that would lead to Crusifino turning on D’Angelo instead. I also pondered the possibility of D’Angelo rewarding Stacks’ loyalty by leaving the family in his hands while D’Angelo moved to the main roster. Good for Stacks for finally getting a chance to be more than a sidekick. Meanwhile, the DarkState’s win felt secondary to the Stacks turn, but they stepped up and had a good showing in a high pressure situation.
Penn & Teller: It’s always a treat to see the Vegas legends, and making the NXT Heritage Cup disappear may be the greatest trick they’ve ever done. Okay, so the actual trick was tame by their high standards, but getting rid of the worthless championship is wonderful.
Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley vs. Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson vs. Fallon Henley and Jacy Jayne in a four-way elimination match for a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles: A soft Hit. A solid pre-show bout, and I like that they went with an elimination match. It’s hard to get excited about Dolin and Paxley winning. I’m not alone if the live crowd’s polite applause reaction was any indication. The fact that they went over suggests they were picked to be fed to the champions on Tuesday. Hopefully, that loss will trigger a needed character shift for the talented Paxley.
NXT Stand & Deliver Misses
Not enough singles matches: The main show matches delivered, but it doesn’t change the fact that the brand’s WrestleMania weekend show needs more singles showdown matches. I enjoyed Stand & Deliver, but this good show had the potential to be a truly great show had the focus been on presenting the best possible card. Hold a Big John Studd Memorial Battle Royal (or something) to get people on the show, but put the fans first on the biggest weekend of the year.
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