| NXT Spring Breakin' | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand | NXT | ||
| Date | April 23 and April 30, 2024 | ||
| City | Orlando, Florida | ||
| Venue | WWE Performance Center | ||
| NXT special episodes chronology | |||
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| Spring Breakin' chronology | |||
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The 2024Spring Breakin' was aprofessional wrestlingtelevision special produced byWWE for itsdevelopmental brandNXT. It was the third annualSpring Breakin' for the brand and aired as a two-partspecial episode ofNXT on theUSA Network. The event took place on April 23 and April 30, 2024, at theWWE Performance Center inOrlando, Florida.
Ten matches were contested on Week 1 of the event, including six televised matches and four taped for future episodes ofNXT Level Up. In the televised main event,Trick Williams defeatedIlja Dragunov to win theNXT Championship in a match where if Williams lost,he would have had to leave NXT. In another prominent match,Roxanne Perez defeatedLyra Valkyria andTatum Paxley in atriple threat match to retain theNXT Women's Championship in the opening bout. Week 1 was also notable for being the last NXT event to featureBaron Corbin,Blair Davenport, Ilja Dragunov, and Lyra Valkyria as they would all be called up to the main roster in the2024 WWE Draft.
Ten matches were contested on Week 2 of the event, including four taped for future episodes ofNXT Level Up. In the televised main event,Lola Vice defeatedRaw'sNatalya in the first ever women's NXT Underground match. In other prominent matches,Axiom andNathan Frazer defeatedSmackDown'sAuthors of Pain (Akam andRezar) to retain theNXT Tag Team Championship and, in the opening bout,Oba Femi defeated Raw'sIvar to retain theNXT North American Championship. Week 2 also notably featured the return ofWes Lee, who had been sidelined with a back injury since December 2023.
Spring Breakin' is an annualprofessional wrestlingtelevision special produced byWWE for itsdevelopmental brandNXT. The event was established in2022 and airs as a special episode ofNXT.[1] On April 9, 2024, it was announced that the third Spring Breakin' would take place on April 23 and 30, 2024, at NXT's home base of theWWE Performance Center inOrlando, Florida, expanding the event to a two-part special on theUSA Network.[2]
The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand,[3][4] whilestorylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program,NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show,Level Up.
AtVengeance Day on February 4,Trick Williams, who was accompanied byCarmelo Hayes, failed to win theNXT Championship fromIlja Dragunov. After the match, Hayes attacked Williams with a steel chair, ending their partnership and turningheel in the process.[5] AtRoadblock,The D'Angelo Family'sTony D'Angelo defeated Hayes to become the #1 contender to the NXT Championship atStand & Deliver. After the match, Williams made his return and attacked Hayes in the ring.[6] The following week onNXT, Williams challenged Hayes to a match at Stand & Deliver.[7] At Stand & Deliver on April 6, Dragunov successfully defended his title while Williams defeated Hayes.[8] On the following episode ofNXT, Williams called out Dragunov to challenge him for the NXT Championship. Dragunov agreed to a title match at Week 1 of Spring Breakin' on the condition that Williamsleave NXT if he lose, which Williams accepted.[2]
In December 2023,Tatum Paxley developed a deranged obsession with then-NXT Women's Champion,Lyra Valkyria. Over the next few months, Tatum interfered in Valkyria's matches, even helping Valkyria retain the title at Vengeance Day in a triple threat match also involvingRoxanne Perez.[5] At Stand & Deliver on April 6, Perez defeated Valkyria to win the title despite interference from Paxley.[8] On the following episode ofNXT, Valkyria confronted Perez and demanded a rematch later that night, only for Paxley to toss her into the steel steps, ending their partnership and turning Paxley heel in the process.[2] On the April 16 episode in a cinematic vignette, Paxley said that she wanted to be close to Valkyria and that she was being a good girl by helping Valkyria remain champion, but after losing her title, Valkyria meant nothing to Paxley, who expressed her desire to become champion. After Paxley's match withThea Hail, Valkyria attacked Paxley. In a backstage segment later that night, NXT General ManagerAva announced that Perez will defend her title against Valkyria and Paxley in atriple threat match at Week 1 of Spring Breakin'.[9]
In early 2023, an unidentified person was behind the attacks that left several members of the women's division on the shelf. One of the victims of the attacks wasSol Ruca, and footage of the attack was shown atSpring Breakin' 2023 on the April 25 episode ofNXT.[10] On the May 30 episode, the attacker was revealed to beBlair Davenport.[11] AtRoadblock on March 5, 2024, after an 11-month hiatus, Ruca returned from injury and attacked Davenport, costing her a match againstFallon Henley.[6] One month later on the April 2 episode ofNXT, Ruca defeated Davenport in a singles match.[12] Two weeks later, Davenport knocked Ruca off the top rope, costing her a match againstLola Vice. Later that night backstage, Ruca demanded NXT General Manager Ava to schedule aNo Disqualification match against Davenport at Week 1 of Spring Breakin'. Ava accepted the demand, and scheduled the match as aBeach Brawl.[9]
On the April 9 episode ofNXT, members ofNo Quarter Catch Crew (NQCC;Charlie Dempsey,Damon Kemp, andMyles Borne) were challenged by members of The D'Angelo Family (Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo,Luca Crusifino, andAdriana Rizzo) to atag team match, where The D'Angelo Family (Lorenzo and Crusifino) defeated NQCC (Kemp and Borne).[2] The following week, The D'Angelo Family leaderTony D'Angelo revealed that they were hired by NQCC to (kayfabe) eliminate fellow memberDrew Gulak.[a] D'Angelo demanded payment from NQCC for the job and insinuated that the NQCC'sNXT Heritage Cup be given as payment. Dempsey vehemently refused which led to the two teams brawling. Asix-man tag team match between The D'Angelo Family and NQCC was then scheduled for Week 1 of Spring Breakin'.[9]
On the March 26 episode ofNXT,Lola Vice issued an open challenge, which was answered byRaw'sNatalya, who defeated Vice.[13] Two weeks later, Vice attacked Natalya, costing her the NXT Women's Championship. Later that night, Natalya retaliated and attacked Vice backstage.[2] One week later, Natalya challenged Vice to the first-ever women'sNXT Underground match, which was scheduled for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'.[9]
On the April 9 episode ofNXT,NXT North American Champion Oba Femi celebrated his successful title defense againstJosh Briggs andDijak in a triple threat match at Stand & Deliver and claimed that he will remain champion for a long time. Raw'sIvar ofThe Viking Raiders appeared and challenged Femi for the title, which was made official for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'.[2]
On the August 15, 2023 episode ofNXT,Jacy Jayne defeatedChase University'sThea Hail. Backstage after the match, Jayne gave praise to Hail and subsequently became a mentor to Hail, turning face for the first time since 2021, with Jayne eventually joining Chase University.[14] Around January 2024, Jayne took on a new protégé,Jazmyn Nyx, who would help Jayne win matches by cheating which Hail refused to do. On the March 12, 2024 episode ofNXT, Hail disavowed her friendship with Jayne, and Jayne (with Nyx) turned on Chase University the following week, turning both women heel in the process.[15] At Stand & Deliver, Hail,Fallon Henley andKelani Jordan defeated Jayne,Kiana James andIzzi Dame in a six-woman tag team match.[12] On the April 16 episode ofNXT, Tatum Paxley defeated Hail after interference from Jayne and Nyx. A match between Hail and Jayne was then made official for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'.[9]
In late 2023,Axiom andNathan Frazer formed a tag team partnership. On the April 2, 2024 episode ofNXT, Axiom and Frazer won theNXT Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament[12] to faceNXT Tag Team ChampionsBaron Corbin andBron Breakker for the titles at Stand & Deliver but failed to win the match.[2] In a rematch on the following episode ofNXT, Axiom and Frazer defeated Corbin and Breakker to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. After the match,SmackDown'sAuthors of Pain ofThe Final Testament appeared and attacked Axiom and Frazer. A title match was then made official for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'.[2]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[26][27] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wendy Choo defeatedWren Sinclair bypinfall | Singles match[f] | 4:45 | ||
| 2 | Josh Briggs defeated Cutler James bypinfall | Singles match[g] | 4:25 | ||
| 3 | The D’Angelo Family (Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo andLuca Crusifino) (withAdriana Rizzo) defeatedDante Chen and Dion Lennox bypinfall | Tag team match[h] | 5:46 | ||
| 4 | Je'Von Evans defeatedRiley Osborne bypinfall | Singles match[i] | 5:54 | ||
| 5 | Oba Femi (c) defeatedIvar bypinfall | Singles match for theNXT North American Championship[20] | 11:11 | ||
| 6 | Thea Hail (withAndre Chase,Duke Hudson,Riley Osborne, andFallon Henley) defeatedJacy Jayne (withJazmyn Nyx) bysubmission | Singles match[21] | 7:57 | ||
| 7 | The O.C. (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) defeated Tyriek Igwe andTyson Dupont bypinfall | Tag team match[22] | 2:15 | ||
| 8 | Ridge Holland defeatedShawn Spears bypinfall | Singles match[23] | 7:35 | ||
| 9 | Axiom andNathan Frazer (c) defeatedAuthors of Pain (Akam andRezar) (withKarrion Kross,Scarlett, andPaul Ellering) bypinfall | Tag team match for theNXT Tag Team Championship[24] | 9:35 | ||
| 10 | Lola Vice (withShayna Baszler) defeatedNatalya (withKarmen Petrovic) byreferee stoppage | NXT Underground match[25] | 11:51 | ||
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