After Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden, NXT heads next door to the recently renamed Infosys Theatre, which has changed names more than WrestleMania 42 has changed graphics. Number-one contenderships are on the line tonight, as NXT looks ahead to Stand & Deliver this Saturday in St. Louis.
DarkState vs OTM and Mike Santana
TNA World Champion and New York City’s own Santana enters through the crowd, garnering some “TNA” chants. DarkState’s tag team chemistry lends the advantage, much more formidable without Cutler James – who isn’t particularly like the others. Lucien Price makes a comeback after break, stomping through the opposition. Santana fires up New York, getting a near-fall with a top-rope Frog Splash. OTM breaks the pin after Santana eats a triple powerbomb, but the TNA World Champion bounces back with Spin The Block on Saquon Shugars. OTM follows with their double-team finisher for the pinfall victory.
Winners: OTM and Mike Santana
Footage from earlier shows Vic Joseph’s sit-down interview with North American Champion Myles Borne. He thanks Ethan Page for finding his edge and credits opponent Johnny Gargano as an equally stellar North American Champion. Gargano appears, takes Joseph’s place, and threatens to bring back “Johnny Takeover.” He aims to win the championship to regroup his life, saying, “For the first time in two months, I’m not going to lay down and die. I will stand and deliver like only I can.”
Backstage, Women’s Speed Champion Wren Sinclair hypes Kendal Grey for tonight’s main event. She faces AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion Lola Vice to determine Jacy Jayne’s challenger for the NXT Women’s Championship this Saturday.
Los Americanos vs Birthright – Tag Team Tournament Finals
Los Americanos continue to get over everywhere except Monday Night Raw. They jumpstart the match with stereo dives, garner “ole” chants and crotch Uriah Connors into the post. Stacks and Arianna Grace mock Bravo’s cha cha, and the masked man follows with a classic bit, secretly taking his place. After commercial, Bravo comes back with a familiar Airplane Spin, but Lexis King canes him off the ropes. Shiloh Hill arrives to drive King, Grace and Charlie Dempsey away, allowing Rayo to capitalize with a top-rope hurricanrana.
Bravo elicits underdog support after kicking out of Connors’ Swanton Bomb, and El Grande Americano’s appearance on the apron gets a pop too. It allows Los Americanos to stuff their masks, and Bravo hits a headbutt for victory. “Uno, dos, tres!” New York City counts. The duo heads to Stand & Deliver, challenging The Vanity Project for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Winners: Los Americanos
Dion Lennox crashes out backstage, vowing to make sure DarkState’s catchphrase rings true at Stand & Deliver: “When Darkstate strike, ain’t nobody safe.”
Jaida Parker vs Kehlani Jordan
Parker gets the Infosys Theatre bumping with “Miss Parker” chants, and Jordan proceeds to kill the vibe. Jordan shoves Parker into the steel steps as Booker T insists the former, a super senior, has had a meteoric rise. After break, Parker comes back with a corner hip drop, but Jordan stifles her with an eventual Frog Splash. “Miss Parker” recuperates with a top-rope German, Hipnotic and Sky High for the win.
Winner: Jaida Parker
The Vanity Project offers belt thief Blake Monroe backup, but she declines, ready for Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley. “She’s so hot,” Ricky Smokes says. “Retweet,” Brad Baylor responds.
The broadcast catches the end of NXT Champion Joe Hendry’s entrance while the other guys – Tony D’Angelo, Ricky Saints and Ethan Page – enter during picture-in-picture. NXT General Manager Robert Stone mediates a contract signing before their NXT Championship fatal four-way this Saturday. Like a spectrum, New York City boos D’Angelo and cheers Hendry the loudest when introduced in order.
To “we believe” chants, the NXT Champion compares his passion to Saints and Page’s desperation. The duo argues until D’Angelo pipes up, not taken seriously by New York City. Maybe they’ve been offended by the mobster gimmick. He earns “Tony D” chants before a four-way brawl commences. Saints and Hendry get sent through tables, and D’Angelo and Page fight through the break.
Keanu Carver vs Jasper Troy
Josh Briggs special-guest referees, filling his niche in another multi-man big man feud. Carver jumpstarts, supposedly grabs at a heckling fan, and stares down Booker T. Troy makes the save with a chokeslam through the announce desk, following up with the Black Hole Slam for a two-count. He shoves Briggs, who retaliates with a big boot, and Carver capitalizes with a pounce and powerslam for victory. Carver demands his hand to be raised, and Briggs raises his own with a lariat.
Winner: Keanu Carver
Hank and Tank hang with the injury list of Sean Legacy and Elio Lefleur – and their unfortunate partner Eli Knight. LeFleur announces a torn labrum and ligaments in his shoulder, forcing him to relinquish the WWE Speed Championship with a timeline of six months. Knight plans to enter next week’s Speed Tournament, Wren Sinclair attempts to console LeFleur, and Shiloh Hill jumps in. He counts the competitors absent from Stand & Deliver and says he’s got an idea.
Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley enters the ring, giving Blake Monroe an ultimatum for stealing her belt. Monroe claims she never lost the championship, and New York City audibly reacts, “Yes, you did!” Paxley makes a short story long, ultimately pitting herself against Monroe for the championship this Saturday. “I can be the goth to your glamour, I can be the fire to your hell,” she says before knocking Monroe down, yet unsuccessful in reclaiming the belt.
NXT General Manager Robert Stone reveals Hill’s idea, announcing a 10-person mixed tag team match on the Countdown show: Birthright versus Hill, Hank and Tank, Knight and Sinclair. Keanu Carver interrupts, and Stone soothes him with a triple threat next week against Troy and Briggs. Meanwhile, Jordan attacks Parker in the hallway with a trashcan as chaos ensues under Stone.
A promo package recaps ZaRuca’s fallout, which points out the dissension for much of their run. After becoming Women’s North American Champion, winning the Women’s Speed Championship, competing on John Cena’s last wrestling show and entering this year’s Royal Rumble, NXT fans last week decided Sol Ruca was the villain. ZaRuca officially implodes at Stand & Deliver.
Fatal Influence watches, and NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne says her title doesn’t intrude on their friendship. Bystander Izzi Dame intrudes, saying, “I make it crystal clear what I want.”
Lola Vice vs Kendal Grey
The winner of tonight’s main event faces Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship on Saturday. Grey, the technician, wrestles circles around her opponent, who fights back with headlocks and shoulder tackles. Vice weaponizes her butt before picture-in-picture, where she retains control with Three Amigos. Grey comes back to “Kendal” chants and multiple suplexes, taking down the straps like female Kurt Angle. Vice eventually rocks her with a spinning backfist as Fatal Influence arrives, allowing Grey to avoid a hip attack into the steps.
Vice hits a spinning side kick, Grey hits an Andrade-esque elbow, and the competitors trade strikes. Grey catches an ankle lock, Vice applies a guillotine, and the former reverses with a bridging suplex. She gains the pinfall victory while simultaneously tapping out. And as two referees argue, Shawn Michaels arrives to answer nothing.
Winner: N/A
