SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV RESULTS
APRIL 2, 2024
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS (@spookymilk), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Backstage Correspondent(s): Kelly Kincaid
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
-Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams arrived earlier (separately, of course).
(1) AXIOM & NATHAN FRAZER vs. LWO (Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde) vs. THE GOOD BROTHERS (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) – Triple Threat match to determine the #1 contenders to the Tag Team Championship
Axiom and Wilde flipped over the ropes and hit the Good Brothers while they were being introduced. The action went inside and the bell sounded. Axiom and Wilde paired off for a quick segment together as Anderson occasionally tried to get involved but was thwarted. All three teams have a guy legal at all times rather than the usual-ish concept of having just two legal men. Fair enough, but much harder to keep up with. Wilde tagged in and he and Frazer had another quick sequence as Anderson kept selling or waiting for a moment. Everyone got involved as the two babyface teams went up in a corner and they just yanked the guys down one by one to boos. LWO took the next advantage, clearing everyone from the ring, then hitting tope suicidas, then finally posing in the ring as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Axiom hit Wilde with a top rope Spanish Fly just as the match went back to full-screen. He covered for two. Anderson got involved and Frazer hit him with a rana into the post. Again everyone got involved and it was a mess of action with little flow or story. Del Toro was launched onto Gallows and covered. The four other bodies crashed onto the pile to break up the pin. Frazer hit a plancha to the outside, though he went slightly too far and landed hard on his feet. He needed a second to walk it off. Spot after spot happened on the outside. Back inside, the Good Brothers hit the Magic Killer on Del Toro. Axiom and Wilde got involved and the match rolled on. Frazer hit a 450 splash on Del Toro and got the pin to advance to Stand & Deliver.
WINNERS: Axiom & Nathan Frazer at about 11 minutes.
Kelly Kincaid interviewed the winners in the ring afterward. Frazer said ever since this team started, they never slowed down. Axiom said they couldn’t be stopped. Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin, the champions, were watching from the perch.
(Wells’s Analysis: Very bizarre ending as the Good Brothers have been kind of getting a feud started with the WolfDogs for weeks now. Apparently that’s still to come, as Axiom & Frazer move on to the S&D, a spot they’ve certainly earned with their work on TV. This match, though, was a unabashed spotfest with absolutely no flow at all, and it really wasn’t clear how the Good Brothers weren’t able to break it up in the end, as they weren’t taken out by any major spot)
-Lexis King cut a pre-recorded promo on Von Wagner, calling him a dummy and saying he could do nothing without Mr. Stone. He asked why he thought he could hang in Stone’s absence.
-Fallon Henley was introduced ahead of her match with Jacy Jayne. Thea Hail, in a cowgirl getup, and Kelani Jordan, in street clothes, were with her. [c]
-An unseen interviewer interviewer talked with Ilja Dragunov outside the building. His car was booted and he wondered why. A limo pulled up next to him and told him to get in the car, because the Don doesn’t like to be kept waiting. It’s really, really hard to take Tony D’Angelo anywhere near serious enough for the threat in that scene to work, but they’re trying something, at least.
(2) FALLON HENLEY (w/Thea Hail & Kelani Jordan) vs. JACY JAYNE (w/Jazmyn Nyx & Kiana James & Izzi Dame)
It’s practically a lumberjack match out there. Henley took the brief early advantage but one of the heels tripped her up. It almost bubbled over on the outside, but they kept it together and reset. Jayne worked a chinlock shortly after things settled down. Henley escaped and threw a couple of rights and a headbutt. Henley dominated with strikes and a knee lift. Kiana James went up on the apron and Thea Hail ran through the ring to take her out with a tope suicida. Action went outside and everyone brawled. Jazmyn Nyx was in a sling so she begged off rather than take a bump. Henley threw rights at all the heels, then walked into the ring and got hit by a flash knee to end it.
WINNER: Jacy Jayne in 4 minutes.
After it ended, the four heels went out to gorilla and Jayne cut a promo about how she was lying to Hail about being her friend all along and finally she was on top again. Ava, who was in a producer’s chair, told her to move it along because it’s live TV. After the heels left, the faces came through the curtain. Ava said there was a simple solution: six-woman tag at Stand and Deliver.
(Wells’s Analysis: She didn’t state it, but Nyx looks to be the odd one out what with the injury. A shame, as she looks so good in the ring already. The match was more of an angle than a match, but if nothing else, it’s fun to watch Fallon’s mean-looking right fists over and over)
-Lexis King entered ahead of the next match. [c]
-Josh Briggs said we knew him as a tag team specialist for two years, but recently, “an absolute legend gave me some good advice.” Well, it was just JBL, but it was still good advice. It was a simple spot to get over Briggs as a real singles threat.
-A graphic promoted the six-woman match at Stand & Deliver.
(3) VON WAGNER vs. LEXIS KING
Wagner charged the ring upon his entrance and went hard at King. The bell sounded and Wagner took King outside to batter him into the barricades. Back inside, Wagner bealed King and stomped a mudhole in a corner. Wagner retained control until he missed in a corner and ate ringpost. King beat down Wagner with some kicks and basic offense and the two traded rights. King grounded Wagner with a headlock until Wagner got to his feet and charged him backward into a post. King jumped back on and Wagner tossed him overhead. King ran the ropes and Wagner hit a powerslam. King got in a kick but Wagner leveled him with a big boot. Double underhook by Wagner turned into a slam. Action went to the apron and Wagner chokeslammed King there. Wagner fired up and uncovered the announce table. King blocked it once and then hit a DDT on a second effort. King snuck inside the ring and begged the referee to count faster. When Wagner got to the ring, King hit him with the Coronation to finish.
WINNER: Lexis King at 5:50.
(Wells’s Analysis: Did King get enough offense to make the finish believable? I’m not sure he did. I was amused that the table was heavily teased and then actually not used, which is incredibly rare but works in the sense that King is a throwback heel who denies the crowd what they want to see)
-Ava approached Carmelo Hayes, flanked by three of his security guards. Ava said there would have to be a winner at S&D and there would need to be security at the face-to-face tonight. Hayes told her to make sure Trick’s boys are ready, because hers certainly are.
-Natalya tried to pump up Karmen Petrovic ahead of her match with Lola Vice. Roxanne Perez showed up and gagged at the babyface support and said she used to be the same way.
-Lola Vice was introduced ahead of the next match. [c]
-Arianna Grace waited for “Georgina” before she was able to dress her. Wren Sinclair showed up and said she thought that beauty was about showing the world who you are, not trying to fit into beauty standards. Grace said she was trying to make the world a better place. She said Georgina would have to wait, because Sinclair’s words were fighting words.
(4) KARMEN PETROVIC (w/Natalya) vs. LOLA VICE
The two worked a shoot-style early match with some kicks and blocks, both having a background in legitimate martial arts. Each girl missed a big kick and they reset. Vice grounded Petrovic momentarily but Petrovic got a kick in. Petrovic hit a discus lariat for two. Vic called it out as a favorite move of Natalya. The two got vertical again and Vice got in a number of knees and then a big kick to the back for two. Vice grounded Petrovic with a headlock and transitioned into a full nelson. Petrovic rolled forward and kicked Vice in the head from the mat and then took her down with some combo kicks. Petrovic got in a twisting kick to the back and covered for two. Rope run and Vice got in a wicked backfist. Vice locked in the sharpshooter and mocked Natalya to a huge reaction. Petrovic tapped. I guess the question is whether the Vice-Nattie issue continues or Nattie taught the move to Petrovic. No shenanigans after this match, at any rate.
WINNER: Lola Vice at 3:48.
(Wells’s Analysis: This was an enjoyable strong-style match all the way through. These two could really work a fun, vicious long-form match a few years from now. Both are rapidly improving and expanding without losing what brought them to the dance.)
-Vic promoted the Supernova Sessions segment, up next. [c]
-Clash at the Castle: Scotland spot.
-Ilja Dragunov was dropped off in front of a warehouse for dinner. A guy who clearly wasn’t an actor admitted him into the warehouse where some aging goombahs were working ominously with power saws and nail guns. They all followed him and led him to a small round table with a red placemat on it. Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Luca Crusifino and Adrianna Rizzo finally entered and D’Angelo sat at the table with Dragunov. The segment ended without a word spoken.
[HOUR TWO]
-Meta-Four was in the ring and Noam Dar asked the rest of them to say who would be Standing and Delivering all over Stand and Deliver. They said they would be, as they’re the hosts. Dar introduced Roxanne Perez, singing her name like Sting & the Police. She sold how bad it sounded. Her swagger and confidence as a heel is just light years ahead of what she was doing as a babyface. Lyra Valkyria was announced, and she didn’t have the sling on anymore. Booker T said she didn’t want to show weakness out there, but Perez was aware of it. Dar tried to talk but Perez talked over her and said Saturday she would finally regain the title she never lost. Valkyria said she was sick of hearing the same thing over and over again. She said the reason Perez wasn’t champion is that Indi Hartwell climbed a ladder faster than she did. She talked about Perez blaming everyone but herself for her losses. She joked that Perez found it unexpected and shocking when Valkyria won the triple threat with Lola Vice. She said it was unexpected and shocking just like Perez winning the title in the first place (she didn’t mention Mandy Rose by name, of course). Perez said that Valkyria thinks the championship broke her, but it just made her more dangerous. Perez called it “my title” over and over, and Valkyria took her to task for it. She said Stand & Deliver would be a fight, and while all she does is win, all Perez does is bitch. Meta-Four all sold the quip with “OOOOOOHHHHH!” Valkyria said Perez would have a lot more to bitch about soon. Perez said she had a whole year of rage built inside of her. Perez got in a cheap shot, but Valkyria leveled her with a wicked roundhouse kick and then slammed her through the table of refreshments. Somewhere in there, Valkyria picked up a bloody nose. A perfectly good segment to put some final sizzle on the match, and both women came off well. It was maybe weird that it was a Supernova Sessions segment, as they were almost completely uninvolved.
-Dijak cut a pre-recorded promo into the camera. Watching on a monitor was Oba Femi, who said he’d show Josh and Dijak why he’s champion. He was introduced ahead of the commercial. [c]
-Ava talked with Trick Williams and referee DA Brewer by the lockers, but it was silent to us. Vic reiterated Ava wanting a decisive winner at S&D. Sounds like they want to ruin the match by making it a street fight.
-Joe Gacy was introduced for his match with Oba Femi. Shawn Spears took out Gacy with a chair on the ramp, and Femi grabbed Gacy and dragged him to the ring. The ref gave Gacy an out but he said this was what he wanted.
(5) JOE GACY vs. OBA FEMI
Non-title…I think. Femi of course dominated early thanks to the opening. I’m still pretty sure he’s a heel, and I’m still pretty sure they’re swimming upstream with that, though I don’t think they’re overly concerned as Femi looks like a major star waiting to happen in any case. Gacy tried to get into it a couple of minutes in with a lariat and a springboard splash, but another springboard ended with Femi catching and darting Gacy into a turnbuckle. Femi stalked Gacy. The referee threw up the X, so something went wrong. Femi looked a little apprehensive and the announcers didn’t know what to say. The ring announcer stuttered over her words. Hopefully it wasn’t serious.
WINNER: Oba Femi by ref stoppage at 3:46.
(Wells’s Analysis: No idea what to say about that. Obviously Femi wasn’t going to lose this match, but this was cut very abruptly.)
-Vic threw to a graphic of the upcoming segment without the cameras ever going back to the ring before commercial. [c]
(6) WREN SINCLAIR vs. ARIANNA GRACE
The announcers talked about Wren Sinclair getting TV time. They said TV time is worth its weight in gold. I think they’re genuinely not aware that this isn’t a way to get over wrestlers as trying to win matches. Sinclair dominated early with some mat stuff, frustrating Grace. Grace went for a cheap kick in the corner but Wren caught the leg and hit an atomic drop. Wren tried a dropkick but Grace put on the brakes and stomped Sinclair in a corner. Punches, kicks and a legdrop by Grace. Grace snapped on a deep Boston crab but Sinclair reversed and kicked Grace from the mat. Grace missed an elbow drop and Sinclair rolled her up for two. Grace went for another crab but Sinclair fought it off and threw two loud palm strikes. Sinclair laid out Grace with a lariat, and then another. Sinclair hit a cross-body and rolled her up for two. Sinclair missed in a corner and Grace rolled up Sinclair, then grabbed the ropes and got the win. Grace posed and waved outside, pausing to stick her tongue out at Sinclair.
WINNER: Arianna Grace at 3:55.
(Wells’s Analysis: Perfectly decent match and Grace continues to do hilarious character work. Sinclair is very smooth in there but she still has no real identity other than underdog who can work)
-Vic ran down the Stand & Deliver card, starting with the NXT Championship and ending with Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes, officially calling it out as the main event of Stand & Deliver, in case anyone had any doubt after this build.
-Sol Ruca was introduced ahead of her match with Blair Davenport. [c]
-Ilja Dragunov and Tony D’Angelo jawed at the dinner table. Dragunov said nobody was able to stop him yet, and he’s an unstoppable force and nothing will stop him from leaving Stand & Deliver as NXT Champion. D’Angelo clutched Ilja’s worked injured hand and threatened him and said everyone there was ready to pounce. He said “look at their eyes” as the camera went over the same dead-eyed actor from the door earlier. D’Angelo told Dragunov to enjoy his last supper. Vic asked if the NXT Title has been in more jeopardy than this. Um, yes.
(7) SOL RUCA vs. BLAIR DAVENPORT
Shotgun dropkick by Ruca to open. Ruca put down Davenport with an armbar , then lifted Davenport for…nothing, as she kind of let her go and drop. Okay. Ruca worked a wristlock with Davenport on the mat. Davenport got into it with some rights. Rope run and Ruca caught Davenport for a gorilla press slam. She covered for two. X-Factor by Ruca, who put Davenport outside with a clothesline. Ruca hit a PK on Davenport from the apron, then went out and charged, but Davenport put her into the steps and then dropped her previously injured leg on the steps as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Back to full-screen, Ruca was still on the wrong end of a heat segment. Davenport went for a shoulder block but Ruca charged and hit her own. Davenport dropkicked Ruca, who clearly landed in a way to avoid impact on her previously-injured leg. She suplexed Davenport and both spilled from the ring. Ruca rolled Davenport into the ring, and Ruca hit a springboard splash, but she didn’t put any weight on the injured leg. She really may not be ready to return yet, unless this is the best sell job NXT has ever seen. Ruca went to the top and hit the cartwheel DDT that she did at Roadblock. She went for Sol Snatcher but Davenport slammed her using the bad knee. Davenport went for a big spot but Ruca rolled her up for the quick win.
WINNER: Sol Ruca at 9:16.
(Wells’s Analysis: Strong old-school match as the heel worked the injury and Ruca sold the hell out of it (and I do think this was entirely a strong sell rather than genuine worry about reinjury).
-Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams each prepared ahead of the final segment of the night. [c]
-Josh Briggs and Dijak talked backstage and each said they’d be winning the match for the North American Championship. That’s literally all they said to each other. Oba Femi stepped into frame and said neither of them would win the title because “I…will remain.” It seemed like they were waiting for more but that’s all that was said. Briggs smirked, but I’m not sure whether it was a break of character or just a cocky move. At any rate, that segment was a lot like not doing a segment at all.
[OVERRUN]
-Carmelo Hayes and his goons were introduced. Trick Williams was introduced to a big pop. He had his own security guys, though they weren’t wearing balaclavas and riot gear like Hayes’s guys. Williams said that Trick-Melo Gang made a bond so strong that they were the first two black men ever to main event a PLE on WrestleMania weekend. Big cheers for that. He said he wanted to be happy about it but it wasn’t like it was supposed to be. Hayes talked about the early days and the crowd tried to drown him in boos. He said it used to be them against the world but it’s now me against you. Williams said the world would be watching. They disagreed about who ruined their deal. Hayes said Williams went behind his back “and took ‘my girl’ [the NXT Championship] behind MY back.” He said the look he gave him when he found out Williams wanted that match was disgust at him going behind his back. He said Trick would always take a backseat to him. Williams said his days of taking a backseat are long gone. Hayes said “you’ve been hot for six months! Great! I’ve been hot for three years.” He said the crowd will “Switch on him, like Nintendo.” Trick said Melo envies him, and it’s all over his face. Melo said he doesn’t care what the people think. He said these people won’t be in the ring with him at Stand & Deliver, he will. Williams said Hayes would learn the hard way. He said he was gonna whoop that ass. Trick, Melo and all the security guys went at it. The security guys were all cleared out and the two men went at it. A lot of the lower-level guys like Trey Bearhill, Hank and Tank came out to try to break it up (and hey, get some TV time of their own?), and weirdly, Lexis King was also part of it. The brawl raged on as the show went off, as usual, at eight past the hour.
(Wells’s Analysis: Not the most critical scene, but then, all the work has already been done to make this feel like perhaps the biggest match in NXT history (I’m not saying it because they’re suggesting it; I really do feel it’s possible). The scene acted as more of a recap for people who haven’t been up on the product as they worked through their history and openly talked about how the feud came to be. Though it wasn’t their most exciting segment together, it was certainly correct to end the show with it as they’ll be anchoring the show on Saturday)
FINAL THOUGHTS: I missed it as I was writing about something else, but Joe Gacy had a small scene with Ava, so whatever injury he sustained is likely not serious. If it was worked, then boo to the choice to bring the referee’s X symbol into another storyline. The show was a mixed bag, as most of these go-home shows tend to be for whatever reason, but the hype for Stand & Deliver has been so strong that anything it gained tonight was gravy. Callers are telling us Blogtalk is cutting them off after 30 seconds tonight, so if we also have problems with it on the host’s end, we’ll record offline. Check out PWT Talks NXT tonight, if we win the battle with technology, or tomorrow otherwise. Cheers.
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