‘NXT: Stand and Deliver 2023’ PPV Review
Welcome to this review of NXT: Stand and Deliver, right here on Nerdly. Let’s get straight into the review and see what happened this week on NXT pay-per-view which takes place as part of the WWE’s massive Wrestlemania weekend continues…
Match #1: Chase University & Tyler Bate def. Schism
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
On the NXT Stand & Deliver Kickoff, Tyler Bate joined forces with Chase U’s Andre Chase, Duke Hudson and Thea Hail to battle Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler, Jagger Reid and the mysterious Ava of Schism in a turbulent Eight-Person Tag Team Match to decide who would have control of the university. Throughout the furious back-and-forth matchup, Hudson was noticeably bothered by not being utilized enough by his teammates. This finally came to a head when the rest of Chase U was down and Hudson looked as if he had sold out his Chase U family by accepting a Schism T-Shirt and embracing the opposition. But moments later, the crowd went wild when Hudson ripped off the shirt and joined his partners in an absolute beatdown. When chaos took over, Hudson joined Chase in hitting the Fratliner on Reid to pick up the critical three-count!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: NXT Women’s Title – Indi Hartwell def. Roxanne Perez, Gigi Dolin, Zoey Stark, Lyra Valkyria and Tiffany Stratton
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In a match originally conceived to crown a new NXT Women’s Champion following Roxanne Perez’s collapse in the ring, the gutsy titleholder returned in time to defend her title against Gigi Dolin, Indi Hartwell, Zoey Stark, Lyra Valkyria and Tiffany Stratton. But it was not meant to be. Throughout the free-for-all, all six Superstars battled at the top of the rungs and came mere seconds from grabbing hold of the title. In a key moment, Dolin slammed Hartwell into the steel rungs and went on to spin the steel to wipe out anyone in reach. As the contest continued, the various competitors used the ladders as weapons in the most unique and painful ways. In the final moments, Valkyria battled Gigi on the top of the ladder, and the former took a nasty fall. But before Dolin could capitalize and grab the title, Jacy James suddenly made a surprise return and emerged send her former partner plummeting off the rungs and landing back-first on another ladder. Although Stratton attempted to capitalize, Hartwell recovered and tipped the ladder to send Stratton flying head-over-heels out of the ring and onto the entire field at ringside. The war-torn Hartwell had trouble climbing the rungs, but Dexter Lumis suddenly emerged to put her on his shoulders so she could become the new NXT Women’s Champion!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #3: Gallus def. The Creed Brothers and Tony D’Angelo & “Stacks”
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In a Triple Threat showdown, NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus successfully defended their titles against The Creed Brothers and Tony D’Angelo & Underboss Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. The showdown proved to be an absolute brawl from start to finish with all three tough-as-nails tandems fighting to seize control both inside and outside the ring. In the final moments, Joe Coffey suddenly reemerged in NXT as an ace in the hole for his Gallus brothers! Without warning, he dragged “Stacks” out of the ring to prevent the pin and instantly began wreaking havoc at ringside. Moments after Joe’s painful intervention, Wolfgang hoisted “Stacks” on his shoulders, and Mark Coffey unleashed a hellacious kick to keep Gallus Boys on top!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #4: Fatal 5-Way Match – Wes Lee def. Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Ilja Dragunov and Axiom
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The determined North American Champion Wes Lee came to NXT Stand & Deliver poised to defend his title in a free-for-all against his own handpick opponents Dragon Lee, Ilja Dragunov, JD McDonagh and Axiom in a Fatal 5-Way Match. Dragon Lee created a one-man display of destruction against all opponents before leaping over the top rope to wipe out the deck. It wasn’t long before Wes Lee took control over Dragon Lee and Dragunov, but the dastardly McDonagh began systematically dissecting one foe after another. That was until Dragunov grabbed the referee’s arm and stopped McDonagh from getting the pin of Wes. Dragunov went on to play a symphony of pain against all of his opponents before hitting Wes Lee with a brutal senton off the top rope. But Axiom seized control seconds later when he leaped high off the top rope and took out Dragunov and McDonagh at ringside. At one point, Axiom had McDonagh locked in a submission as Dragunov had McDonagh in another submission. Then, when the various challengers battled themselves into a unique multiple-body pinfall attempt, Wes Lee flipped off the top rope and landed on the pile. Nevertheless, Axiom dropped the titleholder with Golden Ratio. The action continued with a series of near-falls and incredible back-and-forth maneuvers. Then, Wes Lee finished off a chaotic three-way battle against Dragunov and Axiom by hitting the Cardiac Kick to pin Ilja and retain the title.
My Score: 4.5 out of 5
Match #5: Johnny Gargano def. Grayson Waller
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In a highly personal Unsanctioned Match more than 15 months in the making, Johnny Gargano returned to NXT in search of payback on the brash Grayson Waller. Gargano attacked immediately out of his entrance to set the pace on the ultra-aggressive match. The slugfest featured trash cans, trash can lids, steel chairs, a table, Kendo sticks and generally using the announce table like a demented trampoline. During the out-of-control matchup, Gargano hit an earth-shattering suplex on his opponent over the top rope and onto a series of steel chairs at ringside. For his part, Waller hit several excruciating maneuvers, including powerbombing Gargano through the table and driving him through the chair in the center of the ring. After being taunted by Waller while watching from the front row, Candice LeRae handed her baby Quill to a friend, hopped the barricade and joined Gargano for a husband-wife Kendo stick attack on Waller to electrify the NXT Universe. Shortly after Waller hit Gargano with a vicious Coast-to-Coast, he placed Gargano onto the announce table and tried to leap at him from the tope rope. Before he could, though, Johnny Wrestling threw a steel chair into his face before powerbombing him onto the same announce table. In the final moments, Johnny hit Waller with an uppercut below the belt, unleashed a brutal steel chair assault and finally made his foe tap out to the Gargano Escape.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #6: NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship – Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn def. Kiana James & Fallon Henley
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn took full adventure of the growing strenuous relationship between Fallon Henley & Kiana James to seize the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship. Despite some impressive moments of offense from the titleholders, James and Henley lacked the combined focus to maintain an advantage and were clearly not on the same page. Add in the constant manipulation by the challengers, and the result was a recipe for disaster in which the official failed to see crucial underhanded tactics. A frantic James asked for her bag from Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs at ringside, which seemed to raise a confusing dispute between them. Unable to get the help she wanted, James was left at the mercy of a backstabber from Dawn, which set up Fyre to drop in from the top rope and pick up the pin to make Fyre and Dawn the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #7: NXT Championship – Carmelo Hayes def. Bron Breakker
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In NXT Stand & Deliver’s highly anticipated main event, Carmelo Hayes triumphed over the second-generation Bron Breakker to capture the NXT Championship. The tension could be cut with a knife from the moment the bell rang, and the opening salvo between the two mighty Superstars saw them size up each other with series of back-and-forth maneuvers that pitted the brawling nature and power of the titleholder against the quickness of his challenger, who consistently tried to raise the pace. At a key moment, Trick Williams climbed to the apron and got involved in the action, and the official wasted little time sending him to the backstage area. Before Williams could take his leave, though, Breakker put the exclamation point on the official’s decision by leaping over the top rope and taking out both Superstars. Hayes took control and looked to take flight, but Bron flipped upside down to catch Hayes and sent him flying to the mat with incredible force. When Breakker hit Hayes with an earth-shattering Spear, the official got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and was knocked out. Although Bron proceeded to lock in the submission on his opponent, there was no referee to see Hayes tap out. Seconds later, Williams returned and used the championship as a weapon to drill Breakker in the back. Bron miraculously kicked out and pushed forward, but he clearly never completely recovered. Moments later, Hayes countered the titleholder’s Press Slam, drove Breakker into the canvas face-first, and executed a thunderous leg drop off the top rope to claim the NXT Championship!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
NXT tend to always deliver when it comes to their bigger pay-per-views and Stand and Deliver was no different. Not all the matches hit but those that did were almost up to “NXT” standards of yesteryear. The highlights were the Fatal Five-Way, which was the best example of the multi-man match on this show and the unsanctioned Johnny Gargano/Grayson Waller match which was undoubtedly the best match on the entire card.
