By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at Capitol Wrestling Center (WWE Performance Center)
Aired March 24, 2021 on USA Network
[Hour One] A highlight video aired of last week’s NXT main event…
Adam Cole was shown entering the WWE Performance Center lobby. Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix were on commentary…
Entrances for the opening tag team match took place. Vic Joseph noted that Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez will be the main event of NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver Night 1. Joseph noted that this is a big deal for Gonzalez who will get her first Takeover main event…
1. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Zoey Stark and NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai. Gonzalez took down Stark with a deep arm drag. Stark reversed the pressure and worked on Gonzalez with shortarm kicks. Stark hit Gonzalez with a huracanrana. Stark gave Gonzalez a knee in the corner. Kai tagged in and hit Stark with an assisted double stomp. Stark took down Kai with a Thesz Press. Shirai tagged in. Kai was tossed around the ring. The commentary team advertised William Regal addressing the Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole situation. Vic Joseph also made sure to drop the line about NXT having the best women’s division in the world.
John’s Thoughts: WWE’s really confident in having Vic Joseph drop that “best women’s division in the world” line every week, and it’s deserving because they have way more talent than they have TV time for on a weekly basis. I would argue that the 2nd best women’s division in all of wrestling is Impact Wrestling (and yes, even more than the beloved Stardom or Joshi promotions). Impact has a lot of talent there so much that they also had to make tag titles.
Kai and Shirai traded rapid fire pin attempts. Stark tagged in and gave Kai a tackle in the corner. Stark gave Kai a lariat for a two count. Kai ended up slamming Stark to the mat heading into picture in picture.[c]
Shirai got the hot tag after the break and cleaned house. Shirai hit Gonzalez with a standing stomp. Shirai also swung the foot of Kai into Gonzalez. Shirai hit Gonzalez with a 619 with Stark following up with a blind tag. Stark hit Gonzalez with a slingshot dropkick. Stark hit Gonzalez with a plancha. Stark cleaned house at ringside. Shirai hit Gonzalez with a Triangle Moonsault. Stark went for a 450, but Gonzalez avoided it. Gonzalez hit Stark with a Uranage.
Gonzalez waited until Shirai got on the apron so she could boot her off. Gonzalez gave Stark another uranage for the victory.
Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai defeated Zoey Stark and Io Shirai via pinfall in 11:43.
Gonzalez and Shirai got into each other’s faces. Shirai knocked Kai off the apron. Gonzalez attacked Shirai. Gonzalez gave Shirai a uranage on the announce table (didn’t break). Highlights from the match aired with Joseph hyping up the main event of night 1 of Stand and Deliver…
John’s Thoughts: Standard and effective stuff to put some heat behind Gonzalez heading into her title match at Takeover. This could also use one of those cool subtitled Io Shirai promos. What really stood out here is NXT really seems high on Zoey Stark. They put her on TV almost every week after the day she got signed and she’s been immediately put into matches with people on the top of the card. I’m intrigued to see what she can do once they give her a coat of paint in terms of character. Right now she’s in Create-a-wrestler mode, but NXT does a good job with their repackages most of the time. (now if only someone would give Fandango a damn repackage).
The camera cut to “security camera footage” from a Gracie BJJ school where Kyle O’Reilly was training. Adam Cole barged into the gym and the two men started yelling at each other. The gym staff pulled both men apart…
McKenzie Mitchell tried to interview Kyle O’Reilly, but he was cut off by Roderick Strong who offered to help O’Reilly kick Adam Cole’s ass. O’Reilly said he appreciates the help, but this is an issue between Cole and O’Reilly. Strong pondered for a seccond and told O’Reilly that both O’Reilly and Cole can go to hell…
LA Knight was shown walking through the locker room. Knight started off his promo by saying “Tonight… Tonight…” (which he used to do in Impact Wrestling as a tribute to Billy Corgan’s Smashing Pumpkins). Knight ran though some of his usual Eli Drake catchphrases heading into commercial…[c]
Jordan Devlin cut a promo backstage and said his match tonight will be one of the biggest matches on NXT just because Devlin is in it. Devlin said he likes and respects Kushida, but Kushida is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Devlin said he’s going to make an example out of Kushida to show Santos Escobar what Escobar has in store for him at Stand and Deliver…
2. “The Colossal” Bronson Reed vs. LA Knight. Reed and Knight got in each other’s faces to start the match. Reed took down knight with a Pounce. Reed then hit Knight with a backdrop. Wade Barrett was over-the-top in defending LA Knight. Reed hit Drake with an elevated Power Slam when Knight went for a crossbody. Reed continued to dominate Knight with his size and power advantage.
Knight ended Reed’s momentum by rebounding his head on the top rope. Knight then hit Reed with a slingshot shoulder tackle. The show cut to regular commercial after Knight did his “L A Knight catchphrase”.[c]
Knight worked on Reed in the corner with shoulder tackles. Knight then continued with methodical heel offense on Reed. Reed turned the tables after a whip and a front hip attack. Reed hit Knight with a corner splash. Knight went for his BFT signature move, but Reed reversed it into a chokeslam. Reed went high risk and Knight crotched Reed on the top rope. Knight kept trying to go on the top rope, but he was constantly shoved off. Reed hit Knight with the Tsunami Splash for the victory.
Bronson Reed defeated LA Knight via pinfall in 8:42 of on-air time.
The commentators cut to tweets form The Bump host Matt Camp and William Regal that addressed Danny Burch getting a separated shoulder out of last week’s main event. Vic Joseph announced Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado Del Fantasma vs. MSK for the Tag Team Championships at Stand and Deliver. Barrett hyped up Karrion Kross vs. Oney Lorcan for after the break and noted that Lorcan was fighting to avenge his injured tag team partner…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I really like the finish as it shows that NXT creative hasn’t halted Reed’s push. Reed has shined ever since they gave him “The colossal” moniker. Hopefully they get to him vs. Garrgano in the near future, or maybe they try an extended feud with LA Knight. I’m a bit surprised that Knight lost his second match in his latest NXT run (not sure how much he won in his last NXT run), but at the same time Knight is an overconfident heel who can absorb losses and easily get his heat back on the mic. We do have to see better mic work from Knight in NXT because so far his promos are very empty and just consist of him running through his Eli Drake catchphrases (catchphrases that NXT viewers probably aren’t even aware of). I am confident that he can turn things around though because he has cut very meaningful promos in both Impact and NWA.
A sponsored video package aired which spotlighted NXT UK Champion WALTER…
WALTER vs. Drake Maverick was announced for later in the show….
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Karrion Kross vs. Oney Lorcan. Lorcan was aggressive out of the gate. Lorcan had the advantage until Kross dumped him to ringside. Kross tossed Lorcan into the chain link fence and then forearmed him into the fence. Lorcan went for a suplex on Kross, but Kross countered into a suplex of his own. Kross worked on Lorcan in the corner with shoulder tackles. Lorcan hit Kross with some of his signsture chops, but all that did was fire Kross up. Lorcan tackled Kross into the apron to stagger Kross a bit. Lorcan gave Kross a drop kick and a series of tackles.
Kross ended Lorcan’s rally with a lariat which led to a two count. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Lorcan escaped a Juji Gatame by getting a foot on the rope. Kross roared in Lorcan’s face and gave Lorcan an Exploder Suplex. Kross put Lorcan in a cravate and told Lorcan that he loved what he did to Burch. This fired up Lorcan and caused Lorcan to toss Kross into the ringpost. Lorcan slammed Kross’s shoulder in the mat. Kross responded to Lorcan’s stiff slaps wit a roar. Lorcan took down Kross with a series of uppercuts. Kross ended Lorcan’s momentum with a big boot after Lorcan missed a blockbuster. Kross hit Lorcan with a Saito Suplex and Northern Forearm Smash for the victory.
Karrion Kross defeated Oney Lorcan via pinfall in 5:58 of on-air time.
[Hour Two] Kross took the mic after the match and said he was going to address the actions of Finn Balor last week. Kross said he appreciates that Balor’s action had malice behind it. Kross said he was giving respect to a man who didn’t deserve it. Kross said Balor’s neck in his hand felt like anyone else’s. Finn Balor made his entrance during Kross’s promo. On his way to the ring, Balor paused to look at the fallen Oney Lorcan.
Balor said that Kross took his best shot last week and the Prince is still standing. Balor said that Kross showed Balor Kross’s weakness. Balor said when a man’s young he fights with emotion, uncontrollable emotion. Balor said some people call it demons, but it’s just emotions. Balor said he had to control his emotions, which made him unstoppable.
Balor said Kross still fights with emotion, which makes him sloppy, and vulnerable. Balor said he’s going to push Kross to the point where he has two options at takeover: 1) Kross surprises everyone by controlling his emotions, or 2) Kross’s emotion will end up mastering Kross. Balor said when those emotions take hold, he’s dragging Kross to the cold and deep water and he will drown Kross in that water…
William Regal was shown sitting in his office (complete with his Power of the Punch Brass Knuckles on a pedistal). Regal announced a “Gauntlet Eliminator” Battle Royal to determine the number one contender to the North American Championship…
WALTER vs. Drake Maverick was announced for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A really cool and poetic promo between Kross and Balor. I really fear for Kross on the main roster because Vince is probably going to mistake Kross’s Nihilism for Supernatural and then pigeonhole him with some goofy ghost gimmick. That said Kross did find a way to make being the white bunny from Alice in Wonderland look violent and badass (which he did in Lucha Underground). Hopefully we get one of those very stiff, snug, and violent matches from Kross that I know he’s capable of. At the same time, hopefully it isn’t too stiff as to land either Kross or Balor in a hospital bed (see: Balor vs. O’Reilly).
Kushida cut a subtitled promo backstage. Kushida said Jordan Devlin has been impressive as NXT UK champion and he’s proud to take Devlin on in his open challenge. Kushida said he’s the best technical wrestler in the world…
They showed Drake Maverick with a crow bar confronting Marcel Barthel and Fabien Aichner about the whereabouts of Killian Dain. Walter showed up and took the crowbar out of Drake’s hand and then told him to leave…
Entrances for the next match took place…
4. NXT UK Champion WALTER (w/Marcel Barthel, Fabien Aichner) vs. Drake Maverick in a non-title match. Walter quickly swatted down Maverick. Walter pancaked Maverick with a power bomb. Drake Maverick was already motionless when Walter put him in a nasty Liontamer. The referee quickly called for the bell.
WALTER defeated Drake Maverick via ref stoppage in 0:23.
Tommaso Ciampa made his entrance to confront WALTER in the ring. Ciampa brought up how he once mentioned that WALTER intrigued him, but he said he misspoke and that the UK title intrigues him. Ciampa challenged WALTER to a match at Stand and Deliver for the UK Championship. Walter shrugged off Ciampa and was walking away. Ciampa attacked Walter , but was overwhelmed by Barthel and Aichner. Walter ripped off Ciampa’s necklace which fired up Ciampa. Ciampa was then laid out by one of Walter’s stiff chops. Walter told Ciampa that he’ll see him at Takeover.
Pete Dunne was shown backstage saying he asked for someone to take him up on his challenge and no one took him up on that offer. Dunne then stated his claim for winning next week’s Eliminator match…
The show cut to Robert Stone and Aliyah trying to convince Mercedes Martinez to team up with Aliyah because Jessi Kamea was injured and can’t compete in the tag team title match later in the show. They handed Mercedes a envelope full of Cash. Mercedes said this will only be a deal if the envelope payment was only half-advance and that the second half will come when they win the tag titles. Stone agreed and Aliyah celebrated that she had a tag partner…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Yo! I love me some WALTER matches, especially when he’s just killing opponents. RIP Drake Maverick. As cold as Ciampa has been of late, this automatically has WALTER vs. Ciampa as one of my most anticipated matches for the Takeover Stand and Deliver card. The guy is just so fun to watch in the way he clobbers and squashes people. When against a credible opponent, this leads to a real war of a match. I really hope that Timothy Thatcher doesn’t get involved, just because WALTER matches should be unsullied. They were playing up that Thatcher was a part of Imperium though (when Imperium used to be known as Ring Kampf)
A sponsored Shotzi Blackheart video package aired where Blackheart talked about all the big moments she had in WWE and NXT last year. Blackheart said as big as things were she is just happy to be herself. She said she’s looking forward to making more historical moments for herself…
Johnny Gargano barged into William Regal’s office. Regal wondered if Ciampa wears that Championship on his waist everywhere he goes. Gargano complained about having to defend the title at Stand and Deliver and said it isn’t fair because the number one contender will be chosen in Night One and he’ll have only 24 hours to know his opponent. Regal recommended that Gargano study up on all his possible opponents. Gargano walked out saying “that’s a million guys!”…
Entrances for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship match took place.
5. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Mercedes Martinez and Aliyah (w/Robert Stone) for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Moon and Blackheart had the upper hand over Martinez for the opening moments. Martinez got the advantage after Robert Stone caused commotion on the apron, even throwing in a shoe. Stone was also wearing a flashy silk shirt. Aliyah tagged in to keep Blackheart isolated in the heel corner. Martinez tagged in and hit Blackheart with an assisted slam for a two count.
Blackheart fended off Aliyah and Martinez to tag in Moon for the hot tag. Moon hit Aliyah with a dropkick and corner tackle. Martinez broke up the pin attempt after Moon hit Aliyah with a power bomb. Blackheart reversed a Chokeslam by Martinez into a DDT. Aliyah was the legal woman and got hit by a Eclipse for the loss
Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart defeated Aliyah and Mercedes Martinez via pinfall in 3:53 to retain the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Cameron Grimes approached Roderick Strong in the locker room. Grimes said that the UE has done so much for the business that it would be a shame for it to end like this. Grimes said that he wants to buy the Intellectual Property of the Undisputed Era. Just as Grimes was saying “too the moon!” he was clocked by a punch from Strong. Strong left the locker room with Grimes yelling “That’s not how you do business, Roddy!”…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A credibility building match to build up the tag champs and they should be looking good heading into a presumed feud against The Way, Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae, which they teased once Blackheart and Moon won the titles. It’s cool that Martinez is kept out of the loss, but I would be good to see her in a grudge feud against a singles babyface because she is way to talented to be kept out of a meaningful program. I was honestly surprised that NXT went with Toni Storm over Martinez in Io Shirai’s last feud.
Speak of the devil, Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae confronted Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon in the hallway. Both teams traded jabs, ending with LeRae saying that The Way are going to challenge for the titles on their time…
Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix checked from the commentary table. They announced the following matches for Night 1 of Takeover Stand and Deliver: Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez for the Women’s Championship, Walter vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the UK Championship, Grizzled Young Veterans vs. MSK vs. Legado Del Fantasma for the Tag Team Championships, and the Number One Contender Eliminator Match to challenge for the North American title the following day. For Night to the commentary team announced the following matches: Finn Balor vs. Karron Kross for the NXT Championship, Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin in a Cruiserweight Title unification match, and Johnny Gargano vs. the winner of the eliminator match…
Entrances for the non-title match took place…
6. NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin vs. Kushida in a non-title match. Kushida took down Devlin early on with a heel hook. Devlin hit Kushida with a Uranage and standing Moonsault for a two count. Kushida hit Devlin with a hip toss, cartwheel, and dropkick. Kushida focused his attack on Devlin’s left arm. Devlin showed down Kushida with a jawbreaker. Devlin countered a baseball slide with a beautiful Asai Moonsault. The show cut to picture-in-picture commercial.[c]
Back from the break, Devlin had Kushida locked in a cravate. Once both men got to a vertical base Kushida hit Devlin with a series of punches and a handstand elbow. Kushida slammed Devlin to the mat with a shoulder slam, continuing to focus on injuring Devlin’s left arm. Devlin got to the ropes to prevent Kushida from locking in the Hoverboard Lock. Devlin reversed a Kimura with a pin attempt to force Kushida to break the hold. Devlin hit Kushida with a cutter for a two count.
Devlin went for a Devl-Inside on Kushida but his arm gave up on him. Devlin was then distracted when Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, and Raul Mendoza showed up at the top of the ramp. Kushida hit Devlin with a nice Superplex into a Falcon Arrow right into a Juji Gatame. Devlin got his foot to the rope. While the referee was distracted, Wilde and Mendoza pulled Devlin to ringside and were about to attack him. Devlin slid under both men and went back in the ring. Kushida ended up knocking Wilde and Mendoza off the apron with the handstand boot. Devlin used a jackknife pin into a neck bridge for the rollup win.
Jordan Devlin defeated Kushida via pinfall in 9:28 in a non-title match.
Kushida hit Wilde and Mendoza at ringside with a Tope Con Hilo. Kushida then dove from the stage and hit Wilde and Mendoza with a cannonball. Santos Escobar got in Jordan Devlin’s face in the ring. All of a sudden, HBK’s entrance music started playing as Shawn Michaels made his entrance. He’s looking like an old cowboy these days. Michaels took a ladder from out under the ring and then slid it in the ring. Michaels saluted and walked away. Vic Joseph noted that Shawn Michaels innovated the ladder match and that this was a good idea…
Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole were shown in separate hallways heading to the ring with security escorts. At the Gorilla Position, Adam Cole had a mini-staredown with Shawn Michaels…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A nice surprise to have Shawn Michaels reappear on WWE television via NXT. He said zero words, but said a lot in setting up a ladder match to decide the undisputed Cruiserweight Champion. Heck, Escobar can get out of the match without taking a pinfall if this is the way they transition Escobar to the heavyweight division. What was another fun moment was the Adam Cole and Shawn Michaels moment. They did that on purpose and they have to be teasing a Adam Cole vs. Shawn Michaels match down the road, right?
William Regal was mediating a contract signing between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly. Regal blew a gasket and was yelling due to both men causing trouble in NXT recently. Regal didn’t like that the cops had to get involved. Regal said that NXT isn’t liable for what happens at Stand and Deliver and that this match will be the co-main event of Night 2 of Stand and Deliver. Adam Cole took the mic and said he had a revelation, that he didn’t need Undisputed Era anymore. Cole said Undisputed Era was holding him back and Kyle O’Reilly showed him that.
Cole said he was actually buying into the BS about being a brotherhood. Cole said he had to see O’Reilly fail twice when he went after the NXT Championship. Cole said O’Reilly then went on and tried to befrend Finn Balor and recruiting him in UE. Cole said he realized that O’Reilly was happy being a lapdog and Cole is nothing like that. Cole said he’s not one to sit on the sidelines. Cole said O’Reilly lost sight of what this was all about. Cole said O’Reilly should be thanking Cole because O’Reilly wouldn’t have made it to WWE without Cole.
Cole said he is the one who main evented, led the charge, sold the merchandise and O’Reilly did nothing! Cole said everyone knows who will win at Stand and Deliver already, and the only person who doesn’t know that answer is the lapdog sitting across from Cole right now. Cole signed the contract. O’Reilly signed the contract. O’Reilly talked about how he and Cole didn’t care who they stepped on to succeed. He said they were Pitbulls. O’Reilly said he understands that he and Cole will always have heat with the locker room and management.
O’Reilly said that since UE came to WWE they all became better fighters, champions, and stars. O’Reilly said Adam Cole is the same asshole who stepped foot in NXT a few years ago. O’Reilly said if anyone thinks that he and Cole will be cool again they are mistaken. O’Reilly said he sold his soul to Undisputed Era and he wants it back. O’Reilly said Cole is a conceited prick who used his friends to get ahead. O’Reilly said not a single person is going to be surprised when O’Reilly beats Cole into a pulp. O’Reilly said for the first time in four years, after the win, O’Reilly will sleep like a baby. Cole said that O’Reilly is signing a Death Warrant. O’Reilly tossed the pen at Cole. Cole and O’Reilly tried to get at each other and were held back by security. Vic Joseph closed the show by hyping up the Unsanctioned match at Takeover…
John’s Thoughts: Great mic work from O’Reilly and even better mic work from Cole. NXT has spent the last couple of weeks trying to make this feud feel personal and I feel like they’ve done the best they can. NXT Takeover Stand and Deliver Night 2 is setting up to be an extremely strong show. Balor, Kross, Takeover-Gargano (as opposed to goofy TV-Gargano), O’Reilly, and Cole? That’s enough talent to build a WrestleMania or Wrestle Kingdom Card around if you give each match 15 or so minutes to tell great stories. Night one isn’t bad either, and I’d just watch Night one for the Ciampa and Walter match alone.
This week’s NXT was a huge improvement over last week and an improvement over their usual formula. Last week’s show was one of NXT’s rare duds. Some would argue that they had to deal with a COVID outbreak, but it looked like a dud on paper coming in. This week’s show went hard in setting up both nights of Takeover and I think they did a solid job. If anything, this show also had Shawn Michaels showing up, saying no words, and setting up stories not only for the Cruiserweight unification match, but even setting up a story with Adam Cole through a simple glare. I’ll have more thoughts on this show tomorrow with my Members Exclusive Audio Review.
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