By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live April 9, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One]Highlights from last week’s Stand and Deliver PLE aired…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer. A rooving camera showed a first person tour of the backstage area heading to the ring. Vic noted that this is a “new era” of NXT. He also noted that the 1st hour will be commercial free…
Alicia Taylor welcomed Roxanne Perez as the new NXT Women’s Champion. Roxanne Perez made her entrance. The crowd gave Perez the obligatory “You Deserve It” chants. Perez told them to shut up because she deserved it since a year ago. Perez reiterated that she had her title wrongfully taken from her and now all is right in the world. Perez then brought up Lyra’s broken arm and how she targeted it. She said she didn’t care if she broke it either.
Perez snapped at the crowd to tell them to shut up again. Perez said Lyra said says she’s honorable, but Perez thinks she’s stupid. She said no matter how she did it, she is now women’s champion. Perez said she’s going to Raw or Smackdown in the draft, and will take the title with her. She told the crowd to enjoy seeing the belt while they can. Lyra Valkyria made her entrance with a arm in a sling. Lyra was showered with “you tapped out” chants. Lyra questioned Perez if she’s too good for NXT now?
Lyra said she can go to Raw or Smackdown because the title is staying with her. Lyra said she wants her title rematch tonight! Perez said that Lyra’s not medically cleared. Tatum Paxley emerged from the barricade and said Lyra may not be ready, but she is. Lyra apologized for snapping at Tatum. Tatum said “are you?” and then tossed the injured Lyra into the steel steps. Referees ran out to drag the injured Lyra to the back. Perez mockingly waved goodbye. She said she’s “sorry not sorry” that we won’t be getting a women’s title match.
Natalya Neidhart made her entrance. Natalya said Perez can’t leave now because the people want a title match. Natalya said she didn’t forget how rude Perez has been to her. Natalya said that she forgot more in wrestling than Perez would know. Natalya asked Perez for a title match, to win the title she never won. Perez walked away saying she’s not giving the title shot.
NXT GM Ava made her entrance to entrance music. Ava talked about how it’s a new era. Ava then booked Perez vs. Natalya for the women’s championship. Perez tried to jump Natalya, but Natalya reversed it with a double leg takedown. Perez rolled to ringside to avoid a Sharpshooter…
John’s Thoughts: Solid heel promo by Perez who continues to look natural in her new persona. It also looks like Perez is on the verge of a callup based off what she said. Interesting that they have Natalya going after the title, but that might be for that player-coach thing I was hoping for a few weeks ago. Interesting move to have Tatum Paxley turn on Lyra. Sadly, that might mean they are doubling down again on Lyra as a babyface. She’s still struggling to connect, and even got the You Tapped Out chants (which I personally hate. Nothing wrong with tapping out, but it says something that the crowd is disrespecting the white meat babyface)
Drone shots of Trick Williams, Bron Breakker, and Baron Corbin were shown as they were arriving at different parts of the performance center.
NXT Anonymous saw Axiom and Nathan Frazer chatting with Ava backstage. Vic Joseph announced Frazer and Axiom vs. The Wolf Dogs in a rematch…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Axiom and Nathan Frazer. Frazer talked about how this is their last chance. Axiom said they bonded over friendship and will definitely win. Frazer said if they can’t win they’ll have to go their separate ways. Frazer and Axiom dapped it up before leaving…
The show cut to this week’s Chase U skit. Andre Chase awarded Kelani Jordan and Fallon Henley honorary Chase U degrees for helping Thea Hail. Jacy Jayne and Jasmyn Nyx showed up. Jayne told Chase that maybe now is time for Chase to come clean about how Chase U went into debt because of Hail. Jayne revealed that Chase placed an illegal bet that Hail will win the women’s title, but then picked Hail’s health over the state of the university. Hail asked Chase if it was true. Chase said it is true, and he’ll always look for the health of Hail. Hail stormed out of the classroom…
Entrances for the next match took place…
1. Kelani Jordan and Fallon Henley vs. Kiana James and Izzi Dame. Jordan and Dame started the match. Jordan reversed a suplex into a sleeper. Henley tagged in and helped Jordan with tandem offense. Dame fended off both women with right hands. Henley and Jordan used tags to keep both women fending off the opponents. Henley hit James with a baseball slide. Jordan hit Dame with a corkscrew plancha. Dame recovered and draped Jordan on the top rope and launched her off it to the ring.
James tagged in. The heels cut the ring in half on Jordan. Jordan got a bit of a window of opportunity after reversing an abdominal stretch. Dame recovered and tagged back in James for the isolation offense. Jordan managed to leap for the hot tag. Henley cleaned house. Henley hit Dame with a jump kick and tornado X Factor. Henley hit James with a shoulder tackle and a high momentum suplex for a two count. Dame reversed a Tornado DDT. Henley took a bullet for Jordan by taking the tackle from Dame. James hit Henley with the 401k for the victory.
Kiana James and Izzi Dame defeated Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan via pinfall in 6:58.
The Jevon Evans (a.k.a. Jay Malachi) introductory vignette aired. He’ll be appearing on this week’s show…
The show cut to OTM talking trash about Evans in the Gorilla Position. OTM then made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Decent enough match to add more heat between the two pairs. Away from the match, it seems like they are doing a lot of different production techniques on NXT. They are laying it on thick of it being a “new era” (which I assume is coming from WWE stressing that this is the Triple H Era of WWE). The production things are noticeable. They did that thing with OTM where the camera followed them out of Gorilla. There was that single take drone shot to show the wrestlers arriving to the arena. They also did that single take shot with Roxanne Perez to start the show.
Charlie Dempsey, Miles Borne, Damon Kemp were chatting about Dempsey recently wrestling at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport. Luca Crucifino, Stacks, and Rizzo showed up. Luca said Tony D was on vacation. Stacks talked about how it looks like the No Quarter Catch Crew have their Catch Clause to avoid fights. Adriana Rizzo challenged the No Quarter Catch Crew for a match…
Jevon Evans made his entrance. Vic really stressed that Evans looks like a future top star. Booker noted that Evans is only 19…
2. Scrypts (w/Bronco Nima, Lucien Price, Jaida Parker) vs. Je’von Evans. Evans showed off a lot of agility. Evans hit Scrypts with a very high dropkick to the head for a two count. Scrypts rallied back and hit Evans with a standing Shooting Star for the two count. Scrypts worked on Evans with methodical offense. Evans used a double leg takedown to get some ground and pound. Evans hit Scrypts with a jump kick. Evans hit Scrypts with a sweet springboard cutter for a nearfall. Even did a bit of a body roll in the air.
Evans took down Scrypts with a clotheslines. OTM dragged Scrypts to ringside. Evans hit OTM with a rope clearing dive. Scrypts and Evans traded methodical strikes. Scrypts hit Evans with a German Suplex. Evans avoided a high moonsault by Scrypts. Evans hit Scrypts with a Mero-sault style, Corkscrew Splash for the victory.
Je’Von Evans defeated Scrypts via pinfall in 5:31.
Natalya hugged her fellow countrywoman Karmen Petrovic backstage. The camera then cut to Roxanne Perez heading to the ring from backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Sweet Jesus that was sweet! I haven’t seen too much of Jay Malachi’s work, but I’ve heard good things. Man lived up to the hype and then some. Vic was really laying it on thick that this guy was good, and he was. Innovative lucha stuff. Nice looking dropkick. That finisher looked very cool too (though I hope he didn’t land on Reggie’s face too hard). This guy does have the potential to do big things in WWE. He is 19 though, so you hope he can develop maturity. Him dedicating the win to his grand mammy has me thinking he should be a standup dude. Side note, Scrypts had one of his better in ring performances too. The problem with him is it always looks like he’s “performing” instead of fighting. Here his offense looked good and he sold well to the young upstart.
A replay aired of Joe Gacy getting hit by a steel chair by Ridge Holland at Stand and Deliver…
Vic Joseph and Booker T sent the show to Kelly Kincaid. Kelly Kincaid was shown getting her makeup done and prepping for her next interview. Kelly then saw Ridge Holland and then in non-interview style, she wondered why he attacked Joe Gacy for no good reason, after “leaving” the ring? Holland said he has to apologize. He said he just lost it.
Joe Gacy walked out of the curtain and said he understands that Holland becoming an announcer after leaving his in-ring career must have messed with his head. Holland walked away. Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro confronted Ridge to say they weren’t buying this apologetic act. Holland walked away and “accidentally” slammed the door on Del Toro’s hand. Holland looked apologetic and stormed off…
John’s Thoughts: “Sad dad” Ridge still annoys the hell out of me, but I’m willing to give this a shot if they have some deep character development in mind. Him now being the instigator of hurting people in the last segments gives him a bit of a nefarious edge. I’m hoping for the best for Ridge. The guy has been improving in the ring during his time on the main roster; and his recent NXT run has shown that he’s a good talker too.
Entrances for the women’s title match took place. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring introductions…
3. Roxanne Perez vs. Natalya for the NXT Women’s Championship. Nattie and Perez started the match with chain wrestling. Perez shoved Natalya to the ropes and gave Natalya a disrespectful slap. Natalya dumped Perez to ringside with a return slap. The show went to picture-in-picture.[c]
Natalya put Perez in a Surfboard. Perez rolled out, but ate a discus forearm from Natalya. Natalya got a two count. Perez shoved Natalya into the steel steps. Perez hit Natalya with a snap suplex. Perez worked on Natalya with methodical offense. Perez got a two count in the ring. Perez went back to the methodical offense. Natalya reversed a body scissors into a full mount. Perez put Natalya in a Guillotine Choke. Natalya got to her feet and hit Perez with a body slam.
[Hour Two] Natalya and Perez traded right hands. Natalya floored Perez and hit her with a German Suplex. Both women traded counters. Natalya hit Perez with a discus clothesline for a good nearfall. Perez and Natalya traded rollups. Perez reversed a Sharpshooter into a Crossface. Natalya broke the hold with a pin. Natalya escaped Pop Rocks.
Natalya put Perez in a Sharpshooter. After a bit of a struggle, Perez got a hand on the bottom rope. Lola Vice ran out and kicked Natalya in the hamstring while the referee wasn’t looking. Perez hit Natalya with Pop Rocks for the victory.
Roxanne Perez defeated Natalya via pinfall in 11:27 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Baron Corbin was hyping up Bron Breakker in the locker room. Corbin said they’ve been hanging out too much. Breakker said that Corbin loves hanging out. Corbin took credit for breaking Breakker’s Stand and Deliver losing streak. Breakker then yelled and tried to get Corbin to loosen up which annoyed Corbin…[c]
John’s Thoughts: While I had it in the back of my mind that Lola Vice would get involved (because they teased the program last week), Perez announcing she’s going to the main roster does add a bit of doubt on her title defenses at a meta level. Good match nonetheless between two professionals.
A twitter video was shown of WWE Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest hanging out at Yankee Stadium hanging out with the Yankees.
Lola Vice was gloating in the hallway about coming after championships. Natalya jumped her. Referees ran in to separate both women….
The No Quarter Catch Crew (sans Drew Gulak) were in the ring and all announced as the collective Heritage Cup Champion. The Tony D family made their entrance (Sans Tony D)…
4. Luca Crucifino and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/ Adriana Rizzo) vs. “No Quarter Catch Crew” Damon Kemp and Miles Borne (w/Charlie Dempsey). Borne and Kemp used quick tags to work on Luca. Luca hit Borne with a suplex. Stacks tagged in and worked on Miles with clinch knees and a running knee. Stacks and Luca cut the ring in half on Miles. Stacks hit Kemp with a cannonball. Dempsey pulled Miles away from Lorenzo’s cannonball. Kemp hit Stacks with a wrap around Suplex for a two count. Borne hit Stacks with a dropkick with Kemp hitting him with a German Suplex.
Stacks used a judo roll to tag in Luca for the hot tag. Luca rolled up Miles for a two count. Luca’s neck was sent into the rope. Luca shoved Kemp into Borne. Luca hit Dempsey with a hip toss. Luca and Stacks hit Kemp with a Shatter Machine. Luca picked up the pinfall win.
Luca Crucifino and Channing Lorenzo defeated The No Quarter Catch Crew via pinfall in 4:01.
John’s Thoughts: Good tag match. Luca Crucifino is the most unproven of the match and in his last two matches he’s shown come good all aroundness. Curious to see if they go with Luca and Stacks as the “Tag team” of the group (but they also teased that Stacks and Tony D might be at odds due to Tony D wanting to do things the right way). Also, Drew Gulak is presumably off TV due to those odd allegations Ronda Rousey threw at him.
A replay aired of NXT GM Ava announcing the creation of the NXT Women’s North American Championship…
Alicia Taylor introduced NXT North American Champion Oba Femi to the ring. Oba Femi made his entrance. Oba said some things in life are inevitable. He said he didn’t just believe he was going to retain his championship, he knew it. He said he knew it was going to be the genesis of his rule of the division. Oba said nobody can deny the impressiveness of Josh Briggs and Dijak, but that means the victory over those two titans establishes Oba’s spot at the top of the mountain.
Oba said said after crushing blows and earth shattering slams, he could only think of that moment in the ring, standing in front of the crowd, “Still!” North American Champion. Oba said that is not going to change for a long time, and that is inevitable. “Viking Raider” Ivar made his entrance in street clothes (which is a difference for him). Iva said Oba didn’t fortell that he would be here tonight.
He said everyone is talking about Oba’s Stand and Deliver. Ivar said he saw it and loved the chaos. Ivar said it was three big men beating the hell out of each other desperately trying to win the championship. A “slap that meat” chant ensued which caught Ivar and Oba’s attention. Ivar said that is what he’s here for. Oba asked Ivar what does he want? Ivar said when he watched Oba’s match, he developed a deep jealousy; not just because of the title, but because he wanted to be in the fight. Ivar said Josh and Dijak threw everything at Oba, but Oba remained an unmovable object.
Ivar said he knows he’s the man who can chop Oba down and take the North American Championship. Oba smirked and said “we shall see”. Oba walked away. Ivar put a hand on Oba’s shoulder and agreed. Oba gave Ivar a headbutt. Ivar dodged a lariat with a cartwheel and left Oba lying with a springboard crossbody. Ivar stood tall with Oba’s title belt…
John’s Thoughts: Oba Femi continues to shine in terms of look, talking ability, and natural charisma. NXT really has somebody on their hands with Oba, and it’s shocking that he probably has less than ten televised matches on NXT. He does a good job playing the role of a fighting champion and titan. Cool to see Ivar back. I like that WWE never really put him on ice when his tag partner was put on the shelf due to injury. Liked that he came out in street clothes. Not a big fan of him sounding overly dramatic. The hammy delivery works for Oba, for Ivar it felt like he was reading lines. Looking forward to Oba vs. Ivar though as that should be yet another good edition of NXT’s meat madness matches.
The Meta Four were hanging out backstage bragging about being great hosts at Stand and Deliver. Oro Mensah looked distracted. Oro was mad at Oba Femi slamming a door on his face. Oro said to trust that he’ll end Oba’s title reign. Dijak showed up and asked who came up with that Dijak skit to start Stand and Deliver. Noam said he did. Noam said he sees why Dijak is miserable, because he hangs out all alone in the dark. Noam said Dijak needs less twitter ratioing and more sunshine. Dijak said to consider this a warning and everyone gets one…
The Wolf Dogs were hanging out the locker room. The camera then cut to Axiom and Frazer also warming up in a different locker room…
OTM made their entrance. Enofe, Blade, and Reece came out next…
5. Jaida Parker (w/Scrypts, Bronco Nima, Lucien Price) vs. Brinley Reece (w/Malik Blade, Edris Enofe). The match started off with a stalemate during the collar and elbow. Parker fended out Brinley with right hands. Jaida draped Brinley on the corner and gave her some karate chops to the gut. Jaida hit Reece with a draping Banzai Drop heading into regular commercial.[c]
Jaida worked on Brinley with methodical offense. Brinley rallied back with shoulder tackles. Brinley hit Jaida with a body slam. Brinley did a front flip into a lariat for a two count. Brinley hit Jaida with a spinebuster for a two count. Parker escaped a fireman carry and gave Reece a forearm to the chest. Jaida hit Reece with a running booty to the head for the victory.
Jaida Parker defeated Brinley Reece via pinfall in 7:51.
John’s Thoughts: Decent enough developmental match between two women who are not looking out of place on TV (I can see Brinley’s character being a bit divisive though). They’re giving Jaida Parker wins. I just hope they give the rest of OTM a bit of a push too (I’m a bit biased at them having that Inglewood, CA look that reminds me of growing up in and around Inglewood). I get that part of her allure is her booty, but the finish looked a bit weak. We’ve seen more devastating usage of the cakes from other wrestlers. Shouldn’t be too hard. Wrestlers like Toni Storm have found a way to turn the yams to weapons of ass destruction (I stole that joke from the Hoodslam indie promotion).
Ariana Grace was annoying Sol Ruca backstage with her whole beauty queen routine. Grace said she was the best kept secret during Mania weekend. Grace said she’s going to be a future North American Champion. Sol said she’s coming after the title too. Grace left. Sol Ruca was throwing a fit for Natalya attacking her. Sol said Nattie was justified because Lola cost her the match. Both women exchanged a bit of words before Lola stormed off…
Axiom and Nathan Frazer made their entrance. Vic stressed that Axiom and Frazer agreed to break up if they lost the match. The Wolf Dogs then made their entrance. Vic noted that Bron and Corbin are undefeated as a team. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring introductions…
6. “The Wolf Dogs” Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Breakker did his multiple runs to hit Axiom with a high speed shoulder tackle. Vic noted that there’s a video online of Breakker running the ropes so fast that he moved the ring at Stand and Deliver. Frazer quickly ran the ropes and took down Breakker. Corbin tagged in and hit Frazer with a release Belly to Belly. Corbin took down both opponents with right hands.
Axiom and Frazer dumped Corbin to ringside. Axiom and Frazer hit both opponents with two consecutive suicide dives. Axiom hit The Wolf Dogs with a top rope Triangle Moonsault heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Frazer planted Breakker with a DDT. Axiom hit Breakker with a Frog Splash. Frazer hit Breakker with a 450. Corbin broke up Axiom’s pin. Breakker swatted Axiom out of the air. Breakker hit Axiom with a Military Press Power Slam. Axiom kicked out (Breakker has beat people off this move). Frazer tagged in and staggered Breakker on the top rope with a dropkick. Corbin hit Axiom with Deep Six. Corbin put Frazer in an Electric Chair so Breakker could hit Frazer with a Steinerizer.
Axiom broke up Corbin’s pin with a Listo Kick. Frazer went for a Suicide dive, but Corbin caught him and tossed him into the steel steps. Corbin hit Axiom with a DVD. Breakker went for a spear, but ate a Golden Ration from Axiom. Corbin took down Axiom with clotheslines. Frazer took down corbin with a superkick.
Breakker showed a lot of hops with a knee to the jaw of Frazer. Frazer did a leapfrog to avoid a spear, sending Breakker into Corbin. Breakker hit the breaks and had a great sell telling Corbin, “Woahhhhh, are you okay”. Breakker ate a double dropkick to get dumped to ringside. Axiom hit Corbin with the Golden Ratio. Frazer caught Corbin with a Phoenix Splash for the victory.
Nathan Frazer and Axiom defeated The Wolf Dogs via pinfall in 11:35 to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions.
After the match, Karrion Kross and Scarlett made their entrance. Akam and Razar jumped Frazer and Axiom from behind. The Authors of Pain hit Frazer and Axiom with the Super Collider. The Final Testament stood tall with Akam and Razar posing with the title belts…
Trick Williams was shown walking backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Awesome tag team match! Smoother than last Saturday’s match because I didn’t see any botches. Frazer and Axiom work well together, but Corbin and Breakker have been even more impressive having instant chemistry the moment they were put together. Their tag team timing is great (good ode to the Steiner Brothers too). One little detail I liked was Breakker looking legitamately concerned at hitting his Spear on Corbin when he said “woahhh are you okay”. Sucks that this is the end of their NXT tag team run, but I hope that if Breakker has nothing to do, that they go back to the Wolf Dogs on the main roster because these guys have great wholesome chemistry. Interesting to see the Final Testament in NXT again. AoP were really good back in the day. Kross has had a rough main roster run, but I’ve been a huge fan of his in ring and promo work even before Lucha Underground and I really hope he puts it together.
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary where they announced a two week themed show, Spring Break In, in two weeks. The following matches were announced for next week: Ridge Holland vs. Joaquin Wilde, Noam Dar vs. Dijak, Sol Ruca vs. Lola Vice…
[Overrun] Trick Williams made his entrance. Trick thanked the crowd for NXT being the hottest it’s ever been. Trick talked about how the fans helped NXT break an attendance record at Stand and Deliver. Trick then led a Whoop Dat Trick chant. Trick said you don’t see him in this position without one man, Carmelo Hayes. Trick said he may not agree with whatever Melo did, but Melo is “HIM”. Trick said he had to show him exactly who Trick Williams is.
Trick talked about how Bailey won her title, Cody finished his story. Trick said he’s wondering his next chapter. Trick said when he hopped on the plain, he couldn’t help but smile. Trick said he knows what he has to do, slay that mad dragon for the championship. Trick asked Ilja to come out. NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov made his entrance in a three piece suit. Ilja praised Trick for main eventing Stand and Deliver. He said he’s so proud of what Trick has become. Ilja said Trick has that “Trick Willy Charisma”.
Trick said this brand needs Trick vs. Ilja for the championship one more time. A “one more time” chant ensued. Ilja said he knows that Trick feels like he’s at the top of the world now, as a leader of a hungry locker room filled with hungry competitors. Ilja said he sees it in Trick’s eyes that he wants to go after the championship. Ilja said his answer is…. NO!!! Ilja said Trick failed during his last chance and another superstar needs a chance to go after the title.
Trick asked who he has to defeat and go through to get the title. Trick said Ilja knows that nothing can stop him on his path back to the championship. Ilja said he likes Trick’s persistence, but Trick is a risk taker, with this being a big risk. Ilja said he’ll give Trick the title match at Spring Break In, but if Trick loses, he has to leave NXT. Trick said if he can’t beat Ilja, he doesn’t belong in NXT. Trick accepted the stipulation and shook hands with Ilja.
Trick and Ilja were leaving, but were jumped from behind by Carmelo Hayes who laid them both out. Melo put the boots to Trick. A “Melo got whooped” chant ensued. Melo told Trick that he won’t make it to Spring Break In because he’ll whoop Trick in a steel cage next week sucka! Carmelo Hayes stood tall to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: Simple and effective segment to set up Ilja vs. Trick in a few weeks. Given Ilja making his Raw debut last night and Michael Cole noting that Ilja will be a part of the draft, it’s presumed that he’s getting called up; but lets see where they go here. Trick can get called up too. I also like how similar this is to the Gunther vs. Ilja Dragunov feud in NXT UK where Ilja was in the role of Trick. I like that Trick vs. Melo isn’t over yet either. Last Saturday’s match was good, but I felt like it ended abruptly without getting into a final act (they speedran that act with ref bumps). Here’s hoping Trick and Melo can step things up in next week’s cage match which should be fun.
Solid and focused episode of NXT with some programs closing up, and others starting. NXT might be in for a bit of a roster shakeup soon with the WWE Draft coming up and Ava’s presence next to Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce on Raw signifying that Raw and Smackdown are in for come callups. I’ll be by in a bit with my same night audio review for the Dot Net Members and patreon patrons.
I know I’ve said this before,but I really feel like Perez is basically doing a Cora Jade cosplay.I’m really curious if Jade was active currently would Roxanne have this same persona or perhaps they would’ve been together doing this?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that. Cora Jade has a bit of a pop punk look to her. She also comes off very similar to AJ Lee, who Cora has called her inspiration.
If I were to compare Roxanne to anybody, I see more Deonna Purrazzo’s heel “virtuosa” character in her. Credible heel in the ring that has no remorse.