PHILADELPHIA — WWE’s WrestleMania weekend got underway and the festivities began with NXT Stand and Deliver.
WWE’s developmental brand had seven matches take place inside Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon in a juicy appetizer for the grand event of night one and two of WrestleMania 40.
Here’s how things went on Saturday in the NXT event:
Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams
Trick Williams is shining again.
The crowd erupting in the “Whoop that Trick” chants as Williams made his entrance had the aura of a main event match.
It didn’t take long for the match to escalate outside of the ring and into the crowd, with both stars trading shots at each other. The match got back into the ring, and the intensity never waned for the rest of the match.
Williams tried to corner Hayes, but he moved the referee in his place and knocked out the official. With no referee in sight, Hayes brought out the chair. But Williams got a hold of it and landed several blows. The referee got back into the ring as Williams went for another shot and stopped it as Hayes landed a low blow.
Hayes landed a Nothing But Net, but somehow Williams kicked out. Hayes tried using the chair again, but the referee stopped it. It gave Williams enough time to land a spinning leg kick, get the pin and finish the event with the crowd chanting for him as he celebrated the victory.
Stand and Deliver breaks NXT attendance record
It’s a new record for NXT, and the fans came to represent. The announced crowd inside of Wells Fargo Center was 16,545, the largest crowd in the brand’s history.
NXT Championship match: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tony D’Angelo
D’Angelo made it an point to go after Dragunov’s injured right hand, and anytime the champion went on the offensive, the sting of his hand would kill any momentum.
A key moment was when the D’Angelo family tried to hand the challenger brass knuckles, but he declined to go for the easy knockout. Anytime they tried interference, D’Angelo would decline it, insisting it was his fight.
The two stars would meet outside of the ring and both tried to send each other through the announcer’s table. It would be the champion that successfully land it, executing an H-Bomb on D’Angelo to destroy the table.
D’Angelo landed a few blows inside the ring, but Dragunov was unfazed. He got the challenger down and landed a second H-Bomb, this time off the top rope, to seal the victory. The two stars showed respect for each other after the bell rang and the crowd gave an ovation for each competitor.
NXT Women’s Championship match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Roxanne Perez
“The Prodigy” is back on top.
Perez quickly went after Valkyria’s injured left shoulder and she went after it often, ranging from powerful hits or attempted submissions. Any time Valkyria tried to get on offense, Perez countered with a strike to the shoulder.
Tatum Paxley tried to come to the aid of Valkyria, but it was unsuccessful and that’s when the challenger really went to finish it off. It took a few tries, but Perez was finally able to get Valkyria to submit for the win. “The Prodigy” is back to claiming the NXT Women’s Championship one year after she lost it.
Thea Hail, Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan vs. Jacy Jayne, Kiana James and Izzy Dame
Another match that started before the bell even rang, Jayne, James and Dame attacked their opponents before the bell rang.
The heel trio controlled much of the match, throwing shade at Hail any moment they could. The fans finally got the Jayne and Hail faceoff that’s been at the center of this feud, and the two went blow-for-blow in a much anticipated moment in the match.
Dame tried to sneak an attack on Hail, but the Chase U member countered with a beautiful arm lock to get Dame to tap out for the win.
NXT North American Championship match: Oba Femi (c) vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs
It was a true battle of the giants for the NXT North American Championship.
The challengers tried to get Femi down right off the bat, but the champion took all the hits and still brought the action outside of the ring.
It took time, but Briggs and Dijak were able to execute one of the best moves of the day so far with Briggs throwing Dijak into Femi. There were several great spots in the match, mainly from Femi picking up all of the stars on his shoulders and throwing them down in a move that wowed the crowd.
Dijak looked like he was going to get the pin off Femi, but Briggs pulled the referee out of the ring just before the count reached three. Dijak then went for the pin on Briggs, but Femi came in and slammed Dijak on top of Briggs and secured the pin to retain the title in a very entertaining match.
NXT Tag Team Championship match: Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker (c) vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer
Severely undersized, Axiom and Frazer started the match before the champions even got in the ring, flying high to take out Breakker and Corbin before the bell rang.
It wasn’t long before the champs took control of the match. The challengers didn’t back down, going on impressive runs that resulted in all the stars lying on the mat. Axiom and Frazer were able to capitalize on misses from the champions, but couldn’t secure the pin. Breakker would sneak in a powerful spear on Frazer to set up Corbin for the pin and retain the tag team titles.
Joe Gacy vs. Shawn Spears
The action started before Gacy got to the ring, taking a chair shot from Ridge during his entrance. Gacy was able to get into the ring, and the intensity was instantly there with him immediately sending Spears over the top rope.
Despite the hurt back, Gacy picked up momentum in the match, displaying both his power and aerial skills. But anytime Gacy looked close to putting the match away, Spears would counter. Eventually, Gacy was able to execute his power clothesline and pin Spears to kickoff the event.
NXT Stand and Deliver start time
NXT Stand and Deliver will start at noon ET on Saturday, April 6.
How to watch NXT Stand and Deliver
NXT Stand and Deliver can be streamed on Peacock, but you must have its premium or premium-plus subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on WWE Network.
NXT Stand and Deliver match card
Matches not in order.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams
Joe Gacy vs. Shawn Spears
Thea Hail, Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan vs. Jacy Jayne, Kiana James and Izzy Dame
NXT Tag Team Championship match: Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker (c) vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer
NXT North American Championship match: Oba Femi (c) vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs
NXT Women’s Championship match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Roxanne Perez
NXT Championship match: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tony D’Angelo
Where is NXT Stand and Deliver taking place?
NXT Stand and Deliver will be at Wells Fargo Center, in the Philadelphia Sports Complex near where WrestleMania will be.
NXT Stand and Deliver predictions
Trick Williams defeats Carmelo Hayes.
Shawn Spears defeats Joe Gacy
Jacy Jayne, Kiana James and Izzy Dame defeat Thea Hail, Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan.
NXT Tag Team Championship match: Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker defeat Axiom and Nathan Frazer.
NXT North American Championship match: Dijak defeats Oba Femi and Josh Briggs.
NXT Women’s Championship match: Roxanne Perez defeats Lyra Valkyria.
NXT Championship match: Ilja Dragunov defeats Tony D’Angelo.
Shawn Michaels: NXT women’s division is best in the world
It’s not just the main roster that is loaded roster, but the same could be said about NXT. The developmental brand will have its annual Stand and Deliver premium live event on Saturday afternoon just before night one of WrestleMania, and the women’s side is spearheaded by Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship.
A six-woman tag team match with Thea Hail, Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan vs. Jacy Jayne, Kiana James, and Izzi Dame will be the second women’s match for NXT. While there’s only two matches, Shawn Michaels, senior vice president of talent development creative who oversees NXT, says he loves what he has on the roster.
‘Put our ladies up against anybody in the world,’ Michaels said. ‘I know that I’m biased, but a fact is a fact; we’ve got more depth in our women’s locker room than any company in the world.’
– Read more about the future of the WWE women’s divisionhere.
When is WrestleMania 40?
NXT Stand and Deliver kicks off WrestleMania weekend and the two-day event will begin Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET. Night two will be Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.