Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: NXT, NXT Takeover, Stand & Deliver, Wrestlemania, wrestling, wwe

NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver Recap – Night One

Hey gang!  It's Wrestlemania week, the biggest wrestling week of the year, and that means NXT is having its biggest Takeover event of the year.  And as Wrestlemania has gotten bigger and longer, so has NXT, and that leads us to tonight, where we'll get to see night one of the two-night event that is NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver.  NXT has never had an event this packed before, and they promise this will be the biggest event in their history (and they certainly have the card that could accomplish that!), and that requires two nights to get it all in.  Well, let's tune in to the USA Network (the final Wednesday night NXT broadcast…sniffle) and see what night one has in store for us!

Zoey Stark vs. Toni Storm

BUT FIRST!  We've got a pre-show on the new home of the WWE Network, the Peacock app, and they're going to kick things off with some singles action.

Mickie James joins Vic Joesph at the commentary table for this one.  The crowd is hot for Storm with a "let's go Toni!" chant as we start off with some lock-ups and Stark taking Storm to the mat with a side headlock.  Storm reverses to a leg choke, and Stark kicks up.  Storm tries a standing headlock, but Stark reverses into an armlock.  She tries a running move, but Storm catches her with a hard shoulder.  Stark responds with a kick to the jaw and follows with a missile dropkick from the top rope.  She then tries a running move, but Storm dumps her to the mat and gets a reverse chinlock in.  Storm gets her into the corner before hitting her with a snap suplex.  She then locks in a single leg crab, but Stark kicks out, and then Storm kicks her in the face.  She slams Stark into the turnbuckle and hits her with some uppercuts, but this wakes up Stark, who stomps Storm into the corner.

Storm responds with a scoop slam and goes to the top rope but is met with a punch from Stark.  Stark hits her with a superplex from the top rope, and both are down.  They slug it out as they get to their feet.  Stark gets her with a series of kicks but misses a running kick, and Storm tries a German suplex, but Stark reverses into her own German suplex and then a running kick for a two-count.  She immediately tries a pin, again and again, gets two.  Stark tries to get Storm on her shoulders, but Storm reverses for an electric chair drop for a two count.  They get to their feet, and Stark hits a superkick for another two count.  Storm hits two German suplexes and then goes for the Storm Zero, but Stark rolls her up with an inside cradle for the three count.

Winner: Zoey Stark

Onto the main card –

We open the show with the guitarist for Alice Cooper, Nita Strauss, playing the National Anthem on electric guitar.  Pretty cool!

The crowd is jacked and banging on the glass like a playoff hockey game.  There's also a huge skull at the entrance that looks very similar to the stage from the 1998 Survivor Series.

Kushida vs. Pete Dunne

These two go right at it right off the bell, exchanging some rollups and attempts at holds.  Kushida gets Dunne in a step-over wristlock, but Dunne reverses into a wristlock of his own.  We see a series of reversals before Dunne gets them both out of the ring and suplexes Kushida onto the apron.  He then goes to work on Kushida's fingers and elbow, mixed with a hard stomp to the head.  Back on their feet, Dunne and Kushida exchange hard slaps and chops to the chest.  Dunne rolls out to the ramp, and Kushida tries a top rope move but misses.  No worry, though, as he bounces off the ropes and hits Dunne before running from the entrance to hit Dunne with a running knee.  They get back in the ring, and Dunne hits him with a chop, and Kushida responds with a Pele kick.  Dunne then grabs the fingers again and tries a pump handle slam, but Kushida rolls him up for two.  Kushida locks in a standing bow stretch, but Dunne gets out and headbutts him.  Dunne now bashes him with forearms and knees.

This is a strong style and then some!  Kushida hits a suplex into a cross armbreaker, and Dunne gets out, hits him with a double hook suplex into his own armbar.  On the mat, they start headbutting each other like bulls before getting to their feet, and Kushida hits a dropkick. He whips Dunne into the corner and hits him with a senton kick.  He gets Dunne to the top rope and locks in the Hoverboard Lock, and then suplexes him to the mat, still holding the lock.  Dunne gets the rope, but then Kushida gets him in an armbar.  Dunne gets his foot on the rope, and Kushida hits him with a knee from the top rope.  He then locks in a standing Hoverboard Lock, but Dunne again gets the ropebreak.  Dunne grabs Kushida's middle finger and snaps it before hitting a series of kicks.  Dunne hits the Bitter End for the pinfall.

Winner: Pete Dunne

Wow, what a match!  Breakneck speed from the start and some of the stiffest shots I've seen in a while.

Gauntlet Eliminator To Determine The #1 Contender For The NXT North American Title

Well, this started weird as the match was already in process as we came back from the commercial.  It's Isaiah "Swerve" Scott vs. Leon Ruff for three minutes to start, and they're all over each other on the outside, bouncing off the crowd barrier around the ringside area, that is until Ruff hits a springboard Stunner off the announce table to Swerve.  Back in the ring, Swerve rebounds and hits Ruff with a slingshot.  They get to the top rope in the corner, and Swerve tries a top rope powerbomb, but Ruff reverses into a top rope hurricanrana.  Bronson Reed now enters, and Ruff tries a top rope dive to the outside on him, but Reed catches him and tosses him back in.  He then sets his sights on Swerve, splashing him in the corner before getting him up for a delayed suplex, which Ruff gets in on by jumping from the top rope to assist with the slam.  Reed then Bonzai drops him before doing it again.  Ruff tries a German Suplex on Reed but can't budge him.  Swerve tries to help, but Reed slips behind them, and German suplexes both of them at once.  Reed gets Swerve into the corner as Cameron Grimes enters the match.  As he distracts Reed, Swerve hits him with a low dropkick, and Grimes hits him with a moonsault from the top rope.  Grimes then offers Swerve some money, which he accepts, and the two go to work on Ruff, taking turns punching him.  Ruff reverses but Swerves dumps him hard into the turnbuckle.  The two then set their sights on Reed, knocking him from the apron, before going back to Ruff and double-teaming him.

Dexter Lumis now enters, taking his time and walking slowly to the ring.  Grimes tries to pin Ruff, but Swerve tosses him and pins Ruff himself.  Ruff is eliminated.  Lumis DDTs Reed on the ramp before entering the ring.  He goes after Swerve and Grimes, suplexing both off the ropes and then hitting Swerve with a bulldog and a clothesline.  He then faces off with Reed in the ring, and they exchange looks, then blows.  After reversing getting the other on their shoulders, Lumis tosses Reed out of the ring before Grimes pulls him out.  LA Knight now enters, cutting a promo from the entranceway.  Reed cuts him off and tosses him into the ring.  Knight plays possum and tries diving on Reed, but he's caught in a Samoan drop.  Grimes tries running at Reed, but he's caught and is tossed from the ring.  Reed then whips Swerve hard into the corner as Knight tries to hit him, but he bounces off Reed.  Reed now hard whips Knight corner to corner, but Knight rallies and hits a neckbreaker on Reed, a powerslam on Grimes, and a Superplex on Swerve.  He then has a staredown with Lumis, but Lumis hits the Silencer on Grimes.  As he's locked in on the mat, Knight runs in and rolls up both to pin Lumis.  Lumis is eliminated.  Swerve then hits Knight with a running knee, Grimes hits him with a sideslam, and Reed hits him with a senton splash for the pinfall.  Knight is eliminated.  Lumis then locks Knight in the Silencer on the outside.

The three finalists trade blows in the ring, all tired and wobbling.  They have a sequence where each reverses a move into the other, and they each fall onto each other on the mat.  Swerve and Grimes again team up on Reed and take turns striking him.  Eventually, they turn on each other, and Grimes tries rolling up Swerve, but he reverses it for the pinfall on Grimes.  Grimes is eliminated.  Swerve hits Reed with bodyshots, but Reed fights back and goes to the top rope, where Swerve runs up to kick him in the head.  Swerve then hits a slam on Reed onto the apron.  Swerve goes to the top rope and hits a 450 splash for a near two count.  Swerve hits a rising kick to the head on Reed.  Then another.  He sets him up for a third, but Reed grabs him by the throat.  Swerve gets out and hits another kick for another near count.  Swerve tries an armbar, but Reed gets out and hits a powerbomb, followed by an Alabama slam.  He then goes up top and hits the Tsunami for the pinfall.

Winner and #1 Contender: Bronson Reed

Johnny Gargano comes out to the stage to taunt Reed ahead of their title match tomorrow night.

Walter vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT United Kingdom Championship

The lock-up starts and Walter tries to sneak in a chop, but Ciampa dodges it.  They trade headlocks and shoulders, and Walter still can't hit the chop on Ciampa.  Ciampa turns it up now, stomping Walter in the corner and trying a running move, but Walter finally hits the chop to cut him down.  He then hangs Ciampa on the top turnbuckle and pounds on his chest, knocking him to the outside.  Walter follows him and chokes him on the announce table.  He then slaps down and misses Ciampa but breaks the announce table!  They get to the apron, and Ciampa tries to hit Willow's Bell, but Walter gets out.  Walter tries to chop, but Ciampa blocks it with his elbow and hits the champ with knees.  Ciampa then goes in on Walter's chopping hand.  Walter boots him down but is holding his hand in pain.  Walter locks in a single-leg crab and then moves into an STF.  Ciampa works to his feet, but Walter boots him in the jaw again.  He then chokes Ciampa with his foot on the bottom rope before the ref breaks it.

Walter suplexes Ciampa from the apron back into the ring but is still holding his hand in pain.  He kicks at Ciampa, taunting him to get up.  Ciampa tries, but Walter knees him in the head.  He then holds Ciampa up and punches him in the face.  He gets Ciampa up, and Ciampa reverses into a clothesline and then a series of clotheslines. Ciampa gets him on the ropes and keeps trying to clothesline out of the ring, over and over and over, but Walter is still standing.  Finally, Walter hits him with a chop, but Ciampa gets back up and clotheslines him again.  He then hits Walter with a Celtic Cross for a two count.  Ciampa then knees the champ in the head and tries a double underhook, but Walter's back body drops him.  Ciampa goes after the hand again and then hits the double underhook slam for a near two count.  Walter catches a running Ciampa in a headlock and then a German suplex into a lariat for a near two count.  Walter tries the powerbomb but can't lift him.  Ciampa bites his injured hand and gets him down into a wristlock, pulling at his fingers, but Walter gets ropebreak.  Ciampa stomps a grounded Walter and then pummels him as Walter covers up.  Ciampa again tries Willow's Bell, but Walter drops off the apron.

Walter gets back up and goes after Ciampa's neck, but Ciampa pounds on Walter's hand before Walter slams his head into the turnbuckle.  Ciampa and Walter go to the top rope, and Ciampa back body drops him off the top rope for another near two count.  Ciampa now hits Walter with chops of his own as Walter gets to his feet.  Ciampa chops him over and over before Walter hits chops of his own, and they trade chops.  Walter steps over him and tries to pin him with his weight, but Ciampa gets out.  Walter then hits two straight powerbombs, but Ciampa kicks out after two.  Walter hits a chickenwing suplex followed by a slap on Ciampa for the pinfall.

Winner and still NXT UK Champion: Walter

Unbelievably great match, guys!  This was hard-hitting old-school wrestling at its best.  It legit looked like a fight between two tough guys.

After the match, Walter meets his stablemates from Imperium on the stage and poses with the title.

Oh good, the little dog from last week is back again.  The segment promises the debut of Franky Monet on Tuesday.

MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado del Fantasma – NXT Tag Team Championship

Fantasma and MSK each take turns getting double teams in on Gibson to start.  Gibson tags Drake in finally, and they take out Fantasma, and Drake goes to work on Carter.  Drake is all over him, hammering him with punches and holds.  Carter finally gets out of a suplex and tags Lee, and they double team Drake out of the rings.  They then do a vaulting splash to the GYV on the outside.  Fantasma then do their own vaulting splashes onto the other two teams to the outside.  Fantasma gets Carter back in the ring and hangs him in a tree of woe, and then each goes to the top ropes and goes coast to coast on him.  They go for the pin, but Gibson breaks it up.  Wilde and Carter get in the ring one on one, and Wilde is all over him.  He tags in Mendoza, who works on him in the corner.  He tags Wilde back in, and they double team Carter with running clotheslines in the corner, trading tags.  They then hit a double suplex followed by Mendoza hitting a lionsault for a two count broken by Drake.  Carter tags out, and Lee goes at everyone with kicks and flips to the outside.

Carter tags in, and they hit the standing moonsault on Drake for a two count.  He tags Lee, but Gibson grabs him from the apron.  Lee gets back in and hits a double reverse suplex on Fantasma.  Gibson then holds Lee's injured hand in the turnbuckle while Drake does a running dropkick on it.  Gibson hits him with a suplex and puts him in an armlock, but as he's about to tap, Carter stops him.  Fantasma then enters, and each hit moves on the GYV.  They then double-team Lee with a running enziguri but only get a near two count.  Everyone goes to ringside to fight.  GYV hit a Doomsday device on the ramp to Wilde as MSK hits Mendoza with a double team by the announce table.  MSK then face off with GYV in the ring, and they get to brawling.  MSK hits a double cutter on Drake and then a double team top rope neckbreaker to Gibson for the pinfall.

Winners and new NXT Tag Team Champions: MSK

A very fun, high-flying, and fast-paced match that served as a nice complement to the previous match's hard-hitting style.

Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez, with Dakota Kai – NXT Women's Championship

Night one main event time!  And Shiria charges Gonzalez right off the bell, and Gonzalez catches her.  She tosses the champ into the corners and uses her size and power advantage against her right away, but Shirai is crafty and is able to dodge and avoid her moves.  Shirai hits Gonzalez with a diving head scissors from the top rope and takes over.  She chops Gonzalez into the corner and tries a lifting stomp, but Gonzalez catches her and gets outside.  Shirai then hits her with a diving crossbody through the ropes.  She then goes up top, but Kai tries to interfere.  The ref then bans Kai from the match and sends her back.  Shirai tries a moonsault from the apron, but Gonzalez catches and vaults her into the ring post.  Back in the ring, Gonzalez hits a backbreaker slam but only gets a two count.  She then runs at Shirai, but Shiria hits a drop toe hold into the ropes.  She tries a running move, but Gonzalez catches her and hotshots her into the top rope, and gets two.

Gonzalez goes for a suplex, but Shirai flips out and hits her with chops until Gonzalez punches her down.  She then gets the champ in a gut wrench into a backbreaker hold, but Shirai gets out and hurricanranas her down and does a jumping stomp.  Shirai does a running armdrag and then a 619 before hitting a top rope dropkick and a sunset flip for two.  The champ goes back to the top rope, but Gonzalez grabs her and tries the one arm powerbomb, but Shirai reverses into a crossface. Gonzalez crawls desperately and finally reaches the bottom rope to break it and crawls out of the ring.  Shirai then goes to the top rope and does a moonsault onto Gonzalez onto the ramp.  She then hit Gonzalez with a running knee to the face on the stage, seeming to knock Gonzalez out. Gonzalez comes to only to find Shirai do a flying crossbody from the top of the set onto her from 20 feet high!

They drag each other back to the ring, and Shirai goes back up to the top rope and hits the moonsault for a near two count.  The champ can't believe it as Gonzalez rolls out of the ring.  Shirai follows her, but Gonzalez boots her before one arm powerbombing her on the outside.  Both are down on the outside, but Gonzalez tosses Shirai back in before the ref counts them out. Gonzalez tells Shirai she needs to learn to stay down, but Shirai uppercuts her and then gets hit with a lariat by Gonzalez. Gonzalez then one arm powerbombs Shirai and gets the pinfall.

Winner and New NXT Women's Champion: Raquel Gonzalez

Gonzalez celebrates on the stage with her newly won title as night one of NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver goes off the air.

Very good night one, and tomorrow night might be even better!  To find out, tune in at 8 pm to see night two of NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver, exclusively on the Peacock app.

Till next time friends!

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