NXT Review: 31/03
- Linus O'Howell
- 12 hours ago
- 6 min read
Mike Santana and OTM VS DarkState
The final NXT before Stand and Deliver, live from the Theatre in Madison Square Garden, kicked off with the TNA World Champion, Mike Santana, teaming up with OTM to take on DarkState! As someone who was born in New York, Mike Santana got a great reaction from the crowd, but I honestly feel like that happens every time he appears on NXT! As a match, this was pretty simple, but I actually think it benefited from that! DarkState and OTM aren’t two teams who are capable of putting on FRAXIOM-style classics, so sticking to the basics was a smart move! NXT were also smart to leave a lot of the big moments to either Santana or Dion Lennox, another thing I can’t fault them for! Eventually, after Santana wiped everyone out, OTM scored the win with their finisher to start the crowd off on the right note! And this right here is why the NXT-TNA partnership works for both shows!
Grade: B-
NXT Tag Team Championships Number 1 Contenders Match: Birthright VS Los Americanos, Jaida Parker VS Kelani Jordan, NXT Championship Contract Signing
Vic Joseph held a sit-down interview with Myles Borne, where Myles talked about the honour of walking into Stand and Deliver as the reigning NXT North American Champion! Myles also put Johnny Gargano over as one of the greatest to ever hold this Title, which brought in Gargano to remind Borne that before Stand and Deliver, there was Takeover, and he was known as “Johnny Takeover”! Johnny explained that whilst it isn’t personal between the two of them, that North American Title is personal to him; it’s something Johnny needs, “more than you know”! This was so cool! Wren Sinclair was then hyping up Kendal Grey backstage before Birthright faced Los Americanos in a match to determine who would challenge The Vanity Project for the NXT Tag Team Championships at Stand and Deliver this Saturday! This was one of two examples on this show as to why the build to Stand and Deliver has felt very rushed; I mean, this show was literally supposed to be NXT Roadblock, and yet I didn’t hear that name once throughout this 2-hour broadcast (as well as last week, too)! Luckily, the crowd really liked Los Americanos, proving that an NXT crowd is a lot more like a AAA crowd, rather than a Main Roster WWE audience! They even cheered when El Grande Americano showed up to deal with Lexis King, which was the perfect opening for Rayo and Bravo to cheat their way to another victory! In no way is The Vanity Project VS Los Americanos worthy of appearing on NXT’s biggest show of the year, but I guess the one positive is that Rayo and Bravo will get a good reaction on Saturday!
Grade: C+
Dion Lennox was furious backstage, telling DarkState that he’ll prove that they’re still a threat on Saturday, whilst Kelani Jordan was then ready and raring to go when she faced Jaida Parker! This sort of felt like the big match on this show that NXT just didn’t have room for at Stand and Deliver, and honestly, I think it’s a bit of a shame! I think both Jaida and Kelani have earned their way onto NXT’s biggest show of the year, and I’d argue that this match is far more deserving of taking place in St. Louis than the NXT Tag Team Title bout! Anyway, both women were clearly out to prove a point here, with strong offense from both, a token that eventually ended with Miss Parker scoring the win following a Hipnotic-Déjà vu combination! Surely Jordan is Main Roster-bound now?
Grade: B-
After The Vanity Project’s attempt to flirt with Blake Monroe got them nowhere (again), Mr. Stone entered the ring to hold a Contract Signing for this weekend’s NXT Championship Fatal 4-Way! Joe Hendry was fired up here, saying that whatever happens this weekend, he will end it, and still” NXT Champion, whilst both Ricky Saints and Ethan Page are firmly set on becoming “2-time” NXT Champions! Tony D’Angelo was definitely the guy that got the smallest reaction here, but one of the points he made about being the only “NXT guy” in this match was quite interesting; that’s something I hadn’t considered when it comes to this storyline! See, Tony D has seen outsider after outsider win the big one before him, and we also can’t forget that D’Angelo failed to capture this Title at Stand and Deliver two years ago (against Ilja Dragunov)! Eventually, after everyone signed the contract, a brawl broke out, with both Saints and Hendry going through a table as security guards got in between Page and D’Angelo! I’m certain that neither Ethan nor Ricky are winning here, but I honestly have no clue between Joe and Tony!
Grade: B-
Jasper Troy VS Keanu Carver, Tatum Paxley and Blake Monroe Come Face-to-Face
Josh Briggs was in the ring next as he was set to be the Special Guest Referee for the one-on-one clash between Jasper Troy and Keanu Carver! This match didn’t last very long at all, with Keanu deciding that it was okay to attack a fan, whilst he also got in the face of Vic Joseph! Jasper made him pay for this by sending Carver through the announce table, but when KC was then able to kick out, Troy got annoyed, putting his hands on Briggs! As expected, Josh retaliated, booting Jasper Troy in the face as Keanu Carver took advantage to score the win! Booker T was furious about this, but there clearly wasn’t any sign of favouritism as Briggs floored Carver to end the segment! This was missable!
Grade: C
A bunch of NXT superstars were down over the fact that they won’t be appearing on Stand and Deliver this year, whilst Elio Lefleur confirmed that he’s going to have to relinquish his NXT Speed Championship after suffering a 6-month+ injury! However, Shiloh Hill had a plan to cheer everyone up before Tatum Paxley came down to the ring to explain how Blake Mornoe is a “complex woman”! Tatum said that Blake has something that belongs to her: her NXT Women’s North American Championship, but she also has something that Monroe wants! See, Blake is all about being in the spotlight, and there’s no bigger spotlight than NXT Stand and Deliver! So, Tatum offered Blake a match at SAD, stating that she’ll happily be “the Goth Girl to your Glamour”! However, for whatever reason, Blake Monroe still refused to give Tatum Paxley the NXT Women’s North American Title back, escaping with it! I’m so confused; what was the point of this entire segment if Paxley wasn’t going to get her Title back?!
Grade: C
Mr. Stone announced a random 10-person Mixed Tag Team match for the Countdown to Stand and Deliver, whilst Keanu Carver demanded a match with both Josh Briggs and Jasper Troy! I’m not exactly sure why he wants to fight Troy again; he beat him?! Anyway, Kelani Jordan then assaulted Jaida Parker, so that feud clearly isn’t over, whilst we then got a “Rise and Fall” of ZaRuca video! This was well shot, but it’s no Trick-Melo/Cole-O’Reilly video package!
NXT Women’s Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match: Lola Vice VS Kendal Grey
After Izzi Dame made her intentions to Jacy Jayne crystal clear, it was Main Event time as Lola Vice and Kendal Grey fought over the right to challenge Jayne to her NXT Women’s Championship at Stand and Deliver! This was a fierce match, with plenty of strong shots from both women! This was being highlighted as one of the biggest crossover matches in NXT history, and whilst it definitely isn’t, it does show how well this current version of NXT works! Fatal Influence eventually showed up, bringing another referee down to the ring (to stop them), and this led into the finish well as Lola locked in a deep submission hold on Kendal! However, Grey was able to reverse it into a Northern Lights Suplex, a move that was enough for the former Evolve Women’s Champion to get the win! However, the other referee who was at ringside had noticed a tap, and he was correct! In fact, Kendal actually tapped before the referee counted to 3, meaning technically, Lola should’ve won this match! NXT in MSG then ended with Shawn Michaels coming down to the ring to try and gain some control back, but this seems anything but simple to work out! Also, why was Izzi Dame with Fatal Influence?!
