NXT Stand and Deliver (6.4.24) review  

 

April 6, 2024 

 

WRESTLEMANIA WEEK REVIEW #16 

 

Yes, this was supposed to be Mania N1, but the VOD on the Network is horrendously out of sync and unwatchable. So, I have to watch this dogshit. NXT is a big colourful pile of vomit designed to teach “superstars” how to badly act on TV. It stopped being of any use years ago. They have barely produced any good talent since it turned into the Indies retirement home. The laughable intro video is the most cringe shit I’ve seen. Hosts are Vic Joseph, Booker T and Wade Barrett.  

 

NXT Tag Team Championship 

Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin (c) vs. Nathan Frazier & Axiom  

I stand corrected on the “created nothing”. Bron is genuinely excellent but then he had genetics on his side and he’s a second-generation guy. Carter and A-Kid were already good when they went to NXT. If Big Barry Corbin wasn’t involved this wouldn’t look out of place on the Indies this weekend. Bron is special though. For someone to be that fast, strong and comfortable in the ring is great to watch.  

Choreography in modern wrestling makes it easy to please a crowd. You just do a bunch of cool shit in a relatively logical order and “this is awesome” will follow. The execution is good though. I’m enamoured by Axiom hitting a dropkick to Bron’s face. Give me violence any day. Although Frazier’s 450 Splash does look suitably violent and out of control. He also does a SWANK~! Phoenix Splash before Bron kills him with a spear to retain. This was slick but spotty. Lots happening. I liked it though. ***¾  

 

This is not explained. I can only assume it’s explained on Peacock or something.  

 

NXT North American Championship 

Oba Femi (c) vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs 

How is Donny Dijak still in NXT? He’s worked here for six years. There is some meat in the ring here. Big meaty boys doing big meaty spots. The chokeslam off the apron onto Oba Femi sat in the announcer’s chair is sick. The way big 6’8” dudes work has changed so much over the years. The expectation is now for them to do it all. Which makes the juniors doing the same spots less impressive. The three-way fighting is well done too. The timing and movement make it feel like guys are attempting things when they get cut off. It’s well put together.  

 

They even do a big dumb Tower of Doom spot that makes sense. With Dijak attempting something with Briggs on his shoulders and Femi just slipping underneath to throw them both. WWE’s camerawork does a good job of hiding thigh slaps. I’ve never noticed it before, but they cut on the slap to try and hide it. Dijak does way too much thigh slapping. Again, they do a great job on a three-way spot where Dijak misses on the rail, Briggs then wipes out Femi through the rail and eats Feast Your Eyes. It’s just a really well put together match. The WWE do a great job with the camera angle on the finish, so you don’t see Oba Femi coming, but it has been pointed out the cameraman must have been in the ring. He powerbombs Dijak onto Briggs to retain. **** 

 

Good luck following that! There’s so much filler on these shows though. Loads of video packages and adverts and backstage bits. Just get on with it.  

 

Izzi Dame, Jacy Jayne & Kiana James vs. Fallon Henley, Kelani Jordan & Thea Hail  

Oh no, what is this? A lesson everyone in wrestling should learn is that the less experienced you are, the less moving parts you want in your match. Some people think ‘hiding’ people in tags is a good thing but it’s not. Get the singles reps in and you’ll get better. I don’t want to start breaking this down but there are so many movez here that make no sense. Even someone who is athletically gifted like Kelani is out here doing stupid things. For every half decent high spot, there’s a load of crap around it. It’s untidy. The whole match is supposed to build to Jayne vs. Hail and when they get to it, it’s not good. Hail taps out Izzi instead.  

 

Post Match: Ava, NXT GM, announces a secondary women’s belt. The crowd are all “YEESSS, more pointless belts. YEEEAAAAAH”. She also calls this the best women’s division in the world. Is that because you signed everyone or because you don’t watch Tokyo Joshi Pro?  

 

Before we get underway, they’ve signed someone else! How many wrestlers are under contract here? It feels like a lot.  

 

NXT Women’s Championship 

Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Roxanne Perez  

Lyra, “a wounded duck” (Wade Barrett), comes in with tape on her shoulder and that’s the story. Doesn’t stop her doing a cartwheel. I don’t think Perez is technically gifted enough to do a limb match. It’s persistent too. So, Perez starts by going after the arm and then keeps going to it. For a big match on a big show, it doesn’t land with me. When they switch to doing spots, which they’re better at, the match dramatically improves. The tope into DDT spot on the floor is brilliant. Lyra taking the bump on the top of her head exclamation mark style.  

 

They do a couple of good minutes and then it’s back to the arm. They get sloppy as the match progresses and Lyra looks gassed. The one pinfall is supposed to be a bridge and she’s flat on her back. At least they finish strong with Perez hitting her Pop Rocks finish and going back to the arm to get the submission with a weakened Lyra unable to escape. I appreciate them sticking to the storyline. We’ll go ***. 

 

Haha.  

Haha. What are they doing? The whole build for this title match is ridiculous.  

 

NXT Championship 

Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tony D’Angelo 

Tony D’Angelo? Get the fuck out of here. Was there no one better available? Across the ring is Dragunov, one of the best wrestlers working today…when he’s left to just fight people. Here they try and do some drama, NXT style, and naturally it sucks. Ilja attempting his stupid 619 thing and falling because his hand is injured. Yeah, that’s where we’re at. For starters, just get that move out of your move set because it sucks. Normally I can get behind an injured body part but a) that was the ENTIRE story of the last match and b) Ilja is a goofy body part seller.  

It doesn’t help that it’s the right hand, so he can’t do chops, but he still does chops??? We get CINEMA with Tony refusing to use brass knucks or get help. Is this supposed to be some sort of redemptive arc for a character who is a mobster? They then collaboratively clear off the announce table. This match is dreadful. The crowd, like seals begging for a fish, clap along with “this is awesome” because they saw a table spot. A massive collection of losers, who overpaid for Wrestlemania tickets and now have to justify it by pretending the matches are good.  

 

None of this goes anywhere or means anything. Dragunov still wins and still finishes using the H-Bomb, which is using his bad hand. At least the women’s title used the build and turned it into the story of the match. This was just a random bunch of shit that happened. Awful, awful pro-wrestling. Dragunov deserves better.  

 

Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams 

I love hearing “whup that trick” because it reminds me of Hustle & Flow, which is a fantastic movie. We get the big old crowd brawl, which reminds me of the Attitude Era where they did it on every show. Trick feels like a secondary act, especially compared to the elegance of Hayes. The whole point of NXT is to get potential talent and graft it into actual ability, so I don’t hate this is as a match up. There’s a lack of face/heel dynamic in the match. Without the hype video I wouldn’t know it was a grudge match. The whole thing just feels overly dancy and pre-planned.  

 

Just when I think they’re getting it together, there’s a ref bump. At least it felt like the ref was backed into a corner ahead of it, so it didn’t feel too convoluted. Some very silly chair shots follow. I have no idea what Carmelo is doing on the selling there. Just bizarre. Not content with that bullshit, they do a SECOND REF BUMP. Jesus fucking christ. Then out of nowhere Trick catches Melo with a high knee for the win. Huh. That was both underwhelming and stupid.  

 

The 411: 

Oh man, this show peaked EARLY. The first two matches almost caught me off guard with how good they were. Structured and exciting, it felt like the NXT undercards of old. But then we dropped completely off a cliff and never came back. Perez-Valkyria was ok, but the show wasn’t at that old NXT level, which I’m sure the young and hungry NXT workers want to get to. They want to steal the spotlight from the main roster guys and gals, and they’re being held back by poor booking, training and storytelling. NXT creative is bad. I don’t know what’s happening down there, but something must change. How has it gone from old NXT to this garbage? NXT used to be a huge highlight of Mania weekend but now…it’s not good.