WrestleMania weekend is upon us, and the festivities are starting early with WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2023. The best and brightest in WWE’s developmental brand would clash to make their mark on WrestleMania weekend.
Hosted by Pretty Deadly, this show was certain to impress anyone not familiar with WWE’s youngest and brightest stars.
In the main event, Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes, NXT’s guiding stars for the past couple years, would collide for the NXT Championship. Who emerged as NXT’s truest foundation?
Johnny Gargano is back in NXT one last time to settle a final score. He and Grayson Waller would brawl in an unsanctioned match. How far were they be willing to go to take each other out?
Every NXT title was on the line at this event. Roxanne Perez would defend her gold in a ladder match against five hungry women. Wes Lee faced the best four men he could find with his NXT North American Championship handing in the balance.
This was just the top of a stacked card that looked to make NXT proud, highlighting more future mega stars including The Creed Brothers, Tony D’Angelo and Chase U.
After an intense battle of stables, Duke Hudson put on a Schism T-shirt then ripped it up and worked in unison with Chase U to take down the heels. Andre Chase and Hudson hit the Fratliner to win.
This was a very fun opening act for NXT Stand & Deliver, even after it was surprisingly thrown on the Kickoff show last minute. Chase U working together near the end was especially cathartic.
Hudson chose his side and made Schism pay for their mind games. This was the best way to go as Chase U is a very popular act in NXT. This is a gimmick that can translate very easily to the main roster.
Schism cannot buy a win, but that has always been the case. Ava Raine at least finally got a little bit of ring time, though Thea Hail massively out-shined her.
Result
Chase U def. Schism by pinfall to retain control of Chase U.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
- Hail demanded a shot at Raine, who refused to tag in at first. When they clashed, the Chase U student laid out the Schism star until Reid broke up the pin and forced a tag.
- When Reid made a second save, Hail made him pay with a springboard tornado DDT.
- Hudson finally for involved, running over The Dyad on his own with powerful strikes.
- Gacy nearly took the win with the Upside Down on Bate, but Chase made the save.
Every women was close to gold in this match. Gigi Dolin had it in hand, but Jacy Jayne returned to throw her down onto a ladder. Indi Hartwell sent Tiffany Stratton down onto the field then got an assist from Dexter Lumis to rise and capture the title.
This was a fantastic ladder match that should stand up to the competition on WrestleMania weekend. Everyone got their spot. As with any of these matches, there were some rough spots, but hopefully nobody suffered a serious injury.
It was a shock to see Roxanne Perez lose the NXT Women’s Championship so soon, but maybe she has a great story now to get back to the gold.
Hartwell’s win feels more like an NXT lifetime achievement award than anything. She has worked in the company for so long, so she gets a surprise title run before heading to the main roster.
Result
Hartwell won by taking down the championship to capture the NXT Women’s Championship.
Grade
A
Notable Moments
- Pretty Deadly delivered a glorious cold open for NXT Stand & Deliver.
- The Prodigy started off strong, running over everyone until Stratton kicked a ladder into her on the floor.
- Dolin smacked everyone with a ladder on her shoulders then slammed Valkyria onto a propped up ladder. She then dodged Stark, who landed on Valkyria on the ladder.
- Stark nearly pulled down the championship, but Perez pulled her down. Perez almost took it, but Dolin made the save.
- Stratton took some rough bump including a spinebuster on the ladder on the small of her back from Hartwell, a headscissors takedown to the floor from Perez and a spill off a giant ladder onto a pile of women outside.
Tony D’Angelo fought hard to give Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo this big win, but The Creed Brothers and Gallus continued to break up the pins. Finally, Joe Coffey arrived to uneven the odds and set up Mark Coffey and Wolfgang to take out The Underboss to win.
This was a solid tag team match but sloppy. Following the women, the men tried to make their own impact with major spots but definitely lagged behind.
The right team won as Gallus finally is fully reunited. Joe can be a major challenger going forward in NXT, and he makes the tag team champions feel unstoppable.
The Family showed off some great tag team synergy but still needs to work more to refine their offense. They can be a great tag team with more time.
Result
Gallus def. The Family and Creed Brothers by pinfall to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Grade
C+
Notable Moments
- Julius Creed carried Mark and Stacks on his shoulders to set up a Brutus Bomb, which Brutus did not hit, but it still looked impressive from Julius.
- The Don nearly got his team the win with a fisherman buster to Julius then the Bada Bing Bada Boom to Mark.
Everyone fought in this match with all they had, and it was the smallest of margins by which Wes Lee retained. He caught Ilja Dragunov mid-running European uppercut with the Cardiac Kick to win.
This was the match of the night and could be the match of the weekend if the main roster does not seriously step up to the challenge. The talent on display was unreal.
Axiom may not have had the name to match up with the other challengers, but he absolutely stole the show. Dragunov was a close second though with some incredible moments.
The champion let his challengers stand out while escaping with the NXT North American Championship. Wes is building a legacy as NXT North American champion that may be the best in the title’s history.
Result
Wes def. Dragunov, Dragon, McDonagh and Axiom by pinfall to retain the NXT North American Championship
Grade
A+
Notable Moments
- Wes stood in the center of the ring to start the match, but he gladly stepped aside for Dragunov and McDonagh to brawl.
- The champion went for a somersault plancha on McDonagh, who walked away. As The Necessary Evil was celebrating, Wes laid him out with a superkick.
- McDonagh dived onto Axiom and Dragunov outside then planted Dragon with a Spanish Fly. He caught Wes with the Devil Within, but The Czar stopped the pin count. Everyone then turned on McDonagh and laid him out.
- Dragon caught Wes in the ropes and laid him out with a diving foot stomp to the floor.
- The champion broke up a pinfall by Dragunov on everyone with a diving corkscrew.
- Axiom caught Wes with the Golden Ratio mid-Cardiac Kick.
- Dragunov nearly took the win off a dead-lift superplex and running low forearm smash on Axiom, but the Lees met at pinfall to break it up.
Grayson Waller took a beating in this intense physical war. Johnny Gargano had enough ot the loudmouth, low-blowing him then making him tap to the Gargano Escape.
Johnny TakeOver was back, and he told a great story with Waller. It was near the level of Gargano’s best old NXT matches. The two battered each other and kept the energy high throughout.
Few have been as good lately in NXT as Waller, so he deserved this spotlight, even if he could never take the win. He has more than proved himself as a heel of the future for WWE.
Hopefully, both men can carry this momentum forward no matter what brand they are wrestling for in the future.
Result
Gargano def. Waller by submission.
Grade
A
Notable Moments
- Waller walked out while streaming live on Instagram, taunting Shawn Michaels at the gorilla position.
- Candice LeRae watched this match closely from ringside with Quill in hand. Eventually, she stepped into the ring and battered Waller with a kendo stick.
- The loudmouth tried to strike The Rebel Heart with a steel chair during his entrance, but Gargano kicked him out of the ring then dived onto him over the announce table.
- The Rebel Heart battered Waller with a kendo stick then planted him with the One Final Beat for a close near-fall.
- Waller low-blowed The Rebel Heart then hit a running return cutter for a near-fall.
- Waller’s back was battered from kendo stick shots, left red and purple.
- Afterward, The Way reunited as Gargano and LeRae stood with Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis.
Kiana James showed her loyalty to Fallon Henley by protecting her but still relied too much on cheap tricks. When Josh Briggs stopped Brooks Jensen from helping James, she fell to a senton bomb/backbreaker finisher, losing the tag titles.
This was better than the build suggested it would be, but it was still a step below the rest of the card. The drama distracted from the action as expected, though everyone stepped up in terms of in-ring performance.
Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn are a really strong women’s tag team, finding their chemistry easily. Now that a cohesive team had the titles again, hopefully NXT’s women’s tag division can get back on track.
Result
Fyre and Dawn def. James and Henley by pinfall to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Grade
C
Notable Moments
- Fyre dived at the champions before the bell, and James knocked Henley out of the way to take the fall alone.
- Henley sent Dawn into Fyre on the top rope then hit a springboard blockbuster for a near-fall.
- Fyre and Dawn almost took the win off a combination Gory Bomb finisher. The champions almost retained off a powerbomb/dropkick finisher.
Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes went at it throughout this NXT Championship match. However, it took a save from Trick Williams to seal it. Him finally won off the Nothing But Net for the victory.
Afterward, the former NXT champion put over Melo and raised his hand as the new champ.
This was a solid but formulaic main event. After all the build, the finish was cheap, requiring Him to cheat to win. It would have meant more if Breakker went out finally meeting his match once Trick was ejected.
What matters most is that the right man is champion. Give Melo the best and brightest in NXT, and he will steal the show time and again going forward. NXT would be smart especially to look at the five men that stole the show earlier.
The former champion did not look like a man looking for a rematch at the end. This likely seals the future of Breakker, who will head to the main roster. He has high potential but still can learn a lot from working with the top guys.
Result
Melo def. Breakker by pinfall to become the new NXT champion.
Grade
C+
Notable Moments
- Trick put over Him during his entrance while jerseys were shown on the screen for many of the men Melo defeated as NXT North American champion.
- Trick pulled Melo off the shoulders of Breakker, and the referee sent him to the back.
- Him went for Nothing But Net. Breakker ducked, but Melo kicked him out of the ring. When Melo went for a dive again, he got planted with a Frankensteiner.
- Breakker speared Melo into the referee then locked in the Steiner Recliner, causing a tap out that the ref did not see. Trick blasted the former champ with the championship.
- Him reversed a military press into a double knee facebuster to set up the win.
