There are a lot of things that make Takeover: Stand and Deliver special this year. Starting with the fact that this is the first WWE show with a real crowd instead of WWE workers or digital screens, also the first time NXT is hosting a two-day Pay-Per-View, their first after the agreement with Peacock and the last PPV during their Wednesday run, as NXT shifts to Tuesday, marking the end of the almost underwhelming “brand war” against AEW.
However, amidst all these, Stand and Deliver stands out because of just how stacked the match card is. Minus a few hiccups, the super-stacked NXT roster was showcased in its full glory, and it delivered! From the booking to the execution, everything worked out perfectly, so much so, it might put Wrestlemania 37 to shame!
The first night started with Nita Strauss playing the American national anthem. She has been a regular performer for WWE, and it’s her third return since her first time performing for Shinsuke Nakamura’s entrance in Wrestlemania. 34.
With the tone set for a perfect night ahead, the first match of Stand and Delivered featured the Bruiserweright Pete Dunne taking on Kushida. While this feud didn’t get the chance to build that well, and Dunne’s open challenge to prove himself as the best technical wrestler angle felt like an afterthought, to begin with. However, the match didn’t disappoint at all.
While the build-up wasn’t perfect, they delivered when on their promise of technical wrestling. The match was everything you’d expect from them. From rest holds, to crazy submission moves, to moments that make you gasp in awe, this was everything you’d expect from arguably two of the best technical wrestlers in WWE at the moment.
From Dunne hitting an X-plex on the side of the ring to Kushida going overboard with his hoverboard locks to Pete Dunne and his joint manipulating moves that make you squinch, these two have the potential to go on for hours. However, considering this was only a starter and the match ended pretty soon. However, this shouldn’t be the end of the feud and they should continue this feud until both of them are catapulted to something bigger.
With the starter out of the way, the next match on night one was the gauntlet match for the number one competitor for the North American Championship scheduled for the second night. Leon Ruff, Isaiah “swerve” Scott, Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, and LA Knight were part of the Gauntlet as decided by the Battle Royale the previous night.
Generally, I’m not big on gauntlet matches because they often get dragged for too long with little to no memorable parts. However, kudos to the creative for actually keeping the match exciting. The match started off with Leon Ruff crawling his way into the ring due to a sudden attack by Swerve. They brawled all over the ramp and then made their way into the ring for the match to start. NXT creative has been trying to establish Leon Ruff as an underdog with a lot of heart and this match was no different.
All the subsequent entries felt like worthy additions to the match, from Bronson Reeds’ “colossal” entry to Cameron Grimes bribing swerve to keep himself afloat, Dexter Lumis arriving in his methodical, mystical persona, and LA Knight running his mouth only to get run over by Bronson Reed. The eliminations also felt earned and the ending sequence was satisfying. From LA Knight’s quick elimination of Lumis and Swerve getting rid of Grimes even after taking his money, the match never felt too dragged. Eventually, Bronson Reed won the match with Swerve being the last one out.
While Bronson Reed winning is as good as it gets, the biggest star from the match was none other than Isiah “Swerve” Scott.
He survived the entirety of the match and was the glue that kept the match going. I was never big on Scott, but he definitely deserves his moment on top!
Next up, is the psycho-killer, the blackheart Tomasso Ciampa taking on the Ring-General WALTER for the UK championship, and truth be told, this was something I was genuinely looking forward to, Ciampa was established as a person who cared about his daughter, someone who prioritized his well-being after a plethora of neck surgeries because he wants to make his daughter proud. Against the brash, ruthless, Walter, who considers the mat to be sacred.
This match was amazing, to say the least: it felt like a Mortal Kombat game where you keep trying all your combos while saving your best for the last, giving you the victory.
Walter, after breaking a table in half with a chop, protected his hand the entirety of the match, only to finish the match with another Knife-edge chop.
With Walters commitments in Europe and lack of desire to work in the states for the long-term, it’s safe to say that his run in the US won’t be a long one, but thinking about all the amazing feuds that could happen with him and Imperium being with the already stacked NXT roster, we can only hope he stays.
Moving on, we had the triple threat tag team match for the NXT tag team championship vacated by Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. Legado Del Fantasma, Grizzled Young Veterans, and MSK faced off each other in arguably the best tag match WWE had in a long while.
From dashing moves, top-notch high flying actions, and impeccable teamwork, the teams gave their all for the tag gold. While MSK won the match, it is a match of the year candidate in all due rights.
However, MSK has had a rocket on their back since their debut and they’re honestly on a whole new level. They have the athleticism and in-ring chemistry of the Hardy Boyz with the Charisma on 200s Edge and Christian, there’s just so much to love about them! With the current spotlight, Wes Lee and Nash Carter are in for the future!
The main event for night one was Io Shirai vs Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT championship. To be very honest, it was a mixed bag. There’s no denying that both Raquel and Io are extremely talented individuals who can hold off themselves in a fight effortlessly, and their match today had its share of big spots and good moments.
However, my biggest concern was about how Io was the one to carry the match all the way through.
Most of the big moments were orchestrated by her and she was the driving force for most of the time. While this might be a way to solidify Raquel as a giant that’s impossible to defeat, the match could’ve done a lot more than it showed. With that, night one ended for the second night of wrestling.
The second night started with a solid performance from Poppy. It fit the tone of the show perfectly, setting the stage for another great night of wrestling. The first match of the night was the Cruiserweight title unification match between Santos Escobar and Jordan Devlin.
Now, I’m generally skeptical about Devlin still being in WWE, given the nature of the outstanding allegations against him. However, both he and Santos are amazing wrestlers, and today was no different. From Escobar’s ecstatic fashion and all the painful spots in the match, tonight was something special.
Both of the men tried their best and the pacing was top-notch. From Devlin’s Spanish fly off the ladder to Legado Del Fantasma interfering to save their leader, it was a story told right. Both of their heelish personas were evident throughout the match. However, the ending with Escobar celebrating with his son might hint at an imminent face turn.
But in all honesty, Escobar has been a top-notch champion, and it’s about time he moves up the ladder.
Next up was the NXT Women’s champion Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon taking on The Way comprising of Candice LeRae and Indy Hartwell. This match was everything you’d expect these women to do, hot tags, top-notch wrestling, and some comedic moments courtesy of the way.
However, a botch from Candice and Indi not being able to catch Shotzi and her hitting the Plexiglass head-first was hard to look at. I really hope she’s was checked afterward and she’s okay.
The North American Championship match between Johnny Gargano and Bronson Reed followed next. I’ve been a fan of the cowardly heel Gargano for a long time, and today was no different. Him running away from the Colossal Bronson Reed, attempting cheap shots every now and then and Austin Theory being a goof in Gargano’s corner. This was a fun match, to say the least. However, the person who came out of the strongest was Bronson Reed. Johnny Wrestling did a phenomenal job to put the Colossal one over, and he looked better than ever. Let’s hope it’s a run of good things for the big man!
Moving on, we have the first main event of the night. Finn Balor vs Karion Kross for the NXT championship, and I, for one, was very skeptical. I’m not big on Kross and most of his matches were average at best. While Balor has been an amazing champion from day one. But, Balor tried his level best tonight to call the match and it was the best from Kross we’ve seen yet.
Balor trying to get Kross down and out by targeting his limbs, forcing him within the ropes, and trying his level best to get the giant to his knees, while Kross also played to his strength. Some of his punches looked really stiff and damaging, something you’d expect from a big guy. With Kross being the winner, I’m not very optimistic, but I hope he lives up to it. For Balor, let’s just hope he and Walter finally get into the much-anticipated feud pre-pandemic.
Moving on, the last match was the unsanctioned match between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, the feud that has been brewing for weeks, with both Cole and Kyle at their very best. The video package shown at the beginning of the match was top-notch, continuing NXTs history of amazing video packages.
With both of them escorted to the ring with additional security, this match had everything. From the start, it felt like these two men want to hurt each other. They countered each other and tried everything to genuinely hurt the other, not to just skim away a victory.
Some of the moments were genuinely jaw-dropping, from the men breaking the ramp to Adam Cole breaking the floor to get O’Reilly out.
However, the ending was both jaw-dropping and satisfying. However, the pacing did seem off at some points and the match felt dragged every once a while. In the end, the ending was satisfying, while keeping you asking for more. What makes this one stand out is that there was no excessive bleeding or wrestlers forcing cuts on them to add the effect of gore. All the scars, bruises looked brutal and a result of their actions in the match.
From the looks of things, O’Reilly might be the one to dethrone Kross, while the future of Cole is yet to be known. Whether he takes on a bigger role in the main roster or returns to NXT after a while, this feud and this match will be a defining point of his NXT career.
There are a few other things genuinely likable about Stand and Deliver, the use of the screen in the CWC was better than ever, and the graphics were top-notch. NXT definitely set the standards and kickstarted Wrestlemania week better than ever. Now, whether Wrestlemania will live up to it, that is the question!