Kicked off of WrestleMania Weekend, The Factory in St. Louis approaches quickly on the road to Stand & Deliver. But before April 4, NXT heads to Infosys Theatre in New York City next week, and tonight, the Performance Center in Orlando hosts a five-man gauntlet eliminator to determine North American Champion Myles Borne’s next challenger.
Shiloh Hill asks General Manager Robert Stone to be first in tonight’s gauntlet when Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley interrupts. She asks for Blake Monroe, who stole her championship belt last week, and Hill offers to help. Before Josh Briggs can speak, a referee redirects Stone to chaos elsewhere.
WrenQCC vs Fatal Influence
Booker T demands Mike Rome get some bass in his voice for Fatal Influence, who have one championship less than last week. “You tapped out” chants are thrown at Fallon Henley, who lost her Women’s Speed Championship to Texas-native Wren Sinclair. Cameras catch Eli Knight and Men’s Speed Champion Elio LeFleur floored backstage, the latter of which reportedly injured over the weekend. Between LeFleur and Sean Legacy, Knight has a Danhausen-esque curse attached to him.
After break, Vic Joseph announces the duo is getting medical attention, and meanwhile, Kendal Grey receives the hot tag. Sinclair and Henley drop each other ringside, Grey connects with a back elbow, and Lainey Reid reverses an armbar. But Grey smoothly reverses into another armbar, and Sinclair cinches Final Wrench on Henley for victory.
Winner: WrenQCC
Grey calls out Women’s NXT Champion Jacy Jayne at Stand & Deliver before Lola Vice enters. She threatens to break Jayne’s jaw first, and Stone makes next week’s match official: Vice versus Grey in New York City to determine Jayne’s opponent on April 4.
In-ring, Sol Ruca speaks mildly about the ZaRuca breakup and musters up tears. Ruca says she fought for equal opportunities for Zaria, who eventually breaks the monologue. “To stand beside the person that has everything that you want… I hated it,” Zaria says. Orlando sides with Zaria for choosing herself, booing Ruca’s rebuttal about insecurity. “You’re not the villain in my story, you’re the mistake,” Zaria closes.
In the locker room, Ethan Page and Ricky Saints argue over who gets Joe Hendry at Stand & Deliver. Meanwhile, Josh Briggs complains about being ghosted by Stone. His name is uttered, and he appears, NXT Champion Hendry vows to take care of Tony D’Angelo if Saints doesn’t tonight.
Kehlani Jordan vs Thea Hail
Jordan suggests 22-year-old Hail grow up, hence tonight’s match. The latter eventually fires up and applies the Kimura Lock, but Jordan comes back with a facebuster and split-legged moonsault for victory. She continues the assault post-match until Jaida Parker makes the save to rowdy “Miss Parker” chants from Orlando.
Winner: Kehlani Jordan
In a promo package, Jasper Troy reflects on protecting Booker T from Keanu Carver at Booker T Appreciation Night. He calls Carver out at New York City, pitting two hosses together.
Shiloh Hill gives Tatum Paxley the exact location of Blake Monroe, thanks to his online pixel data tracker. “Is this weird?” Paxley asks, getting inhabitually outweirded.
Gauntlet Eliminator
The winner faces Myles Borne for the North American Championship, starting with Hill and The Vanity Project’s Jackson Drake. Despite the youthful appearance, Drake exhibits crisp athleticism – opposingly, the bigger Hill pulls off an inside-out senton. DarkState’s Dion Lennox enters next, powering through the opposition into picture-in-picture. Birthright’s Charlie Dempsey gets the split-screen treatment, coming back from break amid a four-person sleeper hold. Vic Joseph announces Birthright’s Lexis King is out from injury, similar timing to LeFleur from this past weekend. Lennox throws Hill into the barricade, and the competitors are floored before the final entrant.
“I have tried everything to snap him out of this funk,” Candice LeRae says from the entranceway. “Everthing except this one place, a place that we’ve called home for so long.” Johnny Gargano comes back home in a vintage “Johnny Wrestling” t-shirt, although LeRae still pushes him to enter the ring. Drake immediately boots him, and Gargano assumes his plank position on the apron. “Johnny Wrestling” chants surround the motionless body, OTM blindside Lennox, and Hill eliminates the DarkState leader with a neckbreaker.
In picture-in-picture, Gargano rolls away like a freshly-squeezed orange and planks on the barricade. Drake connects with two incredible dives on Hill and Dempsey, but the former hits a neckbreaker for another elimination. Dempsey becomes a suplex machine, but Hull hits another neckbreaker for his third elimination. Stacks and Uriah Connors throw him into the steel steps and back in-ring, where LeRae shoves Gargano into a pinfall for victory. Borne officially defends against Gargano, a three-time North American Champion, at Stand & Deliver.
Winner: Johnny Gargano
NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project and Josh Briggs press Robert Stone for time, but referee Darryl Sharma pulls him away. Sharma says no referees want to officiate Carver versus Troy, and Stone promises to think of something. Without a break, Jaida Parker comes in next, getting a “here, damn” match against Kehlani Jordan next week.
An NXT Origins package highlights Tiffany Stratton, who went from collegiate gymnast to WWE superstar. “NXT built me from the ground up,” she says, one of many such cases.
Backstage, OTM responds to attacking Lennox tonight, and Bronco Nima announces a six-man tag team match for next week: DarkState versus OTM and “somebody outside of NXT… New York’s own.” On the monitor, TNA Champion Mike Santana calls out the opposition: “Make sure you wipe your feet, because you’re stepping into papi’s home.”
The Culling vs Los Americanos – Tag Team Tournament
In place of Eli Knight and Elio LeFleur, Bravo and Rayo Americano get the call after defeating Vanity Project last week – as Texas heroes, judging by the reception. Orlando starts “ole” chants, and Shawn Spears mocks his opponent with… butt clenches. Niko Vance hulks up against them, but the Americanos hit stereo dives before break. Spears tries ripping Bravo’s mask, and Vance slams him into Rayo. The latter saves Bravo from Vance’s diving headbutt, Spears hits C4 for a two-count, and Rayo hits him with a loaded mask. Bravo capitalizes with a loaded mask of his own, and Los Americanos advance against Birthright next week.
Winners: Los Americanos
Robert Stone says Keanu Carver can’t have a match without a referee, and Josh Briggs steps in. “I can control them, you don’t scare me,” Briggs says, inserting himself into another big man feud.
Tatum Paxley finds Blake Monroe’s hotel, and questionably, a camera has too. After break, Monroe takes a bubble bath with the Women’s North American Championship belt, interrupted by Paxley through the door, demanding a face-to-face next week.
In a social media post, Sexyy Red previews next week’s card, preceding her hometown appearance at Stand & Deliver on April 4. Vic Joseph checks up on Booker T after seeing Sexyy Red on-screen.
Ricky Saints vs Tony D’Angelo
D’Angelo doesn’t have numbers advantage anymore, as Ethan Page accompanies his frenemy ringside. Saints mistakenly gets into a grappling match with D’Angelo, but the former shoves him into the steps before break. D’Angelo recuperates with suplexes but eats a spear thereafter. He stifles Saints’ methodical offense with a much more intense spear, but Page chop-blocks him for a disqualification. They commit a two-on-one assault until NXT Champion Joe Hendry evens the odds, hitting Standing Ovation on D’Angelo too. Saints and Page both grab the NXT Championship belt, D’Angelo smiles, and Hendry’s music plays.
Winner: N/A
Back in Robert Stone’s office, the general manager announces a fatal four-way at Stand & Deliver: Hendry defends against Saints, Page and D’Angelo with the official contract signing next week.
