NXT STAND & DELIVER 2023 RECAP & REVIEW
NXT STAND & DELIVER 2023 MATCH CARD
Indi Hartwell defeated Roxanne Perez (c), Zoey Stark, Gigi Dolin, Lyra Valkyria, and Tiffany Stratton. Ladder match for the NXT Women’s Championship
WINNER: INDI HARTWELL
OUR PREDICTION: ROXANNE PEREZ
RATING: 8/10
A brilliant opener to the show. Fast-paced, and had a feel-good winner. Indi Hartwell winning was a surprise that no one saw coming. After all the carnage of the match, Gigi Dolin looked to have the match won before Jacy Jayne came out and cost her the match. Tiffany Stratton takes control before being pushed off the ladder by Indi Hartwell. Indi Hartwell was about to win but couldn’t get herself up the ladder. Suddenly, when all hope seems lost, Dexter Lumis climbs into the ring to help Indi Hartwell climb up the ladder. Index is reunited and Indi Hartwell is the new NXT Women’s Champion. You gotta feel bad for Roxanne Perez here, but she will hopefully win the title again. Good for Indi Hartwell. A fun ladder match that wasn’t too crazy but enough to keep the crowd engaged. Good stuff.
Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) (c) defeated The Family (Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo) and The Creed Brothers (Julius Creed and Brutus Creed) (with Ivy Nile). Triple threat tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship
WINNER: GALLUS
OUR PREDICTION: GALLUS
RATING: 6/10
Watching this match you have to acknowledge that The Creed Brothers are more than ready for the main roster. Gallus was in control throughout most of the match with The Creed Brothers fighting back for the most part. Sadly you could tell that The Family was here to take the pin as they didn’t get to do nearly as much as the other teams. Towards the end of the match Joe Coffey returned to help out Gallus win, and Gallus’ fireman’s carry flapjack/big boot combination finishes Stacks. A fine match that was too short, and was a step down from the opener. Glad Gallus retained the titles though.
Wes Lee (c) defeated Axiom, Dragon Lee, Ilja Dragunov, and JD McDonagh. Fatal five-way match for the NXT North American Championship
WINNER: WES LEE
OUR PREDICTION: DRAGON LEE
RATING: 9/10
If we’re looking at strictly in-ring action this was the best match of the whole weekend. Ilja Dragunov was definitely the highlight as he was in control throughout most of the match. This was Dragon Lee’s in ring debut for NXT and he fit right in. After everyone got their time in the ring, the last three in the ring were Wes Lee, Ilja Dragunov, and Dragon Lee. Dragunov knocks out Dragon Lee right before Wes Lee knocks Dragunov out with a Cardiac Kick for the win. An amazing match. If Wes Lee keeps putting on matches like this he may go down as the greatest NXT North American Champion of all time. The only downside was the lack of storyline heading into it.
Johnny Gargano defeated Grayson Waller. Unsanctioned match
WINNER: JOHNNY GARGANO
OUR PREDICTION: JOHNNY GARGANO
RATING: 8/10
A really fun time. Johnny Gargano is the greatest NXT Superstar of all time so it felt good that he had one last match for the brand if this is truly his final NXT event. Both men used tons of weapons and it was back and forth the whole time. It truly seemed like either man could win. Waller goes over to Candice LeRae and Gargano’s son, which is too far for Gargano. With the baby handed off, Gargano fights back and Candice jumps the barricade to beat up Waller with a kendo stick. That was the highlight of the match. Johnny Gargano proceeded to win the match with the Gargano Escape. Amazing match, and won of the best of the night.
Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn defeated Fallon Henley and Kiana James (c) (with Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs). Tag team match for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship
WINNER: ALBA FYRE & ISLA DAWN
OUR PREDICTION: FALLON HENLEY & KIANA JAMES
RATING: 7/10
Alba Fyre is too good for this tag team division that the WWE simply doesn’t care about. Although, the quality of this match was better than we all expected it to be. It wasn’t amazing, but it was good. Hopefully, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn have a good title run and make the titles more prestigious. It was a pretty one-sided matchup with Alba Fyre getting most of the offense in. A Backstabber/Swanton combination at the end of the match to Kiana James gives us new champions. A solid match that was a good pallet cleanser in between Gargano vs Waller and the main event.
Carmelo Hayes (with Trick Williams) defeated Bron Breakker (c). Singles match for the NXT Championship
WINNER: CARMELO HAYES
OUR PREDICTION: BRON BREAKKER
RATING: 9/10
What a match this was! This is one of those matches we will be looking back at in a years’ time when we see Bron Breakker vs Carmelo Hayes at WrestleMania. In a fast-paced match between NXT’s best, it makes you wonder if anyone else in NXT can live up to the precedent set by these two. Bron Breakker is about to use The Steiner Recliner but it’s blocked and Hayes pulls him into a Crossface. That doesn’t last long either so Breakker hits the spear right into the referee. Carmelo Hayes then hits Bron Breakker with Nothing but Net for the win. Amazing match, a new champion, and it’s what’s best for business. Great stuff.
