| NXT Stand & Deliver | |||
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 Promotional poster featuringDolph Ziggler andBron Breakker | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand | NXT | ||
| Date | April 2, 2022 | ||
| City | Dallas,Texas | ||
| Venue | American Airlines Center | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
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| NXT Stand & Deliver chronology | |||
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| NXT major events chronology | |||
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The 2022NXT Stand & Deliver was aprofessional wrestlinglivestreamingevent produced byWWE. It was the second annualStand & Deliver held for the promotion'sdevelopmental brandNXT. The event took place on Saturday, April 2, 2022, at theAmerican Airlines Center inDallas,Texas. The event was held as a part ofWrestleMania Weekend, being held the same day asWrestleMania 38 Night 1 with a special start time of 1 p.m.Eastern Time.
Unlike theprevious year's event, which also aired onpay-per-view (PPV), the 2022 event was only available via livestreaming, as beginning with this event, NXT's major events no longer air on pay-per-view. Although this was the second Stand & Deliver, it was the first to not be held as anNXT TakeOver event, as that event series was discontinued in September 2021 when NXT reverted to being WWE's developmental brand. This was also the first NXT event to be held outside of Florida since the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Seven matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event,Raw roster memberDolph Ziggler defeatedBron Breakker to retain theNXT Championship. In other prominent matches,MSK (Nash Carter andWes Lee) defeated defending championsImperium (Fabian Aichner andMarcel Barthel) andThe Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed andJulius Creed) in atriple threat tag team match to win theNXT Tag Team Championship, and in the opening bout,Cameron Grimes defeated defending championCarmelo Hayes,Santos Escobar,Solo Sikoa, andGrayson Waller in afive-way ladder match to win theNXT North American Championship.
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In April 2021 duringWrestleMania 37 week,WWE held a two-nightNXT TakeOver event titledStand & Deliver for theNXTbrand.[1] In September 2021, the NXT brand went through a restructuring, reverting to adevelopmental brand for WWE.[2] The NXT TakeOver series was subsequently discontinued.[3][4][5]
On January 24, 2022, it was confirmed thatStand & Deliver would continue on as its own event for NXT with a second Stand & Deliver event announced to be held duringWrestleMania 38 weekend, thus establishing Stand & Deliver as NXT's annual event held duringWrestleMania week.[6] This second Stand & Deliver was scheduled to be held at theAmerican Airlines Center inDallas,Texas on Saturday, April 2, 2022, the same day as WrestleMania 38 Night 1. Due to this, Stand & Deliver had a special start time of 1pmEastern Time. It was available tolivestream throughPeacock in the United States and theWWE Network in international markets; unlike the previous year, it was not available on traditionalpay-per-view. This was the first NXT event to be held outside of Florida since the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and the first held outside of NXT's home arenas—Full Sail University (former) and theWWE Performance Center (current)—sinceNXT TakeOver: Portland in February 2020.[7][8]
The event comprised seven matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program,NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show,Level Up.[9][10]
On the February 8 episode ofNXT,Raw'sDolph Ziggler made his first-ever appearance in NXT during theNXT Championship match contract signing between championBron Breakker andSantos Escobar.Tommaso Ciampa also interrupted the segment and attacked Ziggler.[11] AtRoadblock on March 8, Breakker, Ciampa, and Ziggler competed in atriple threat match for the championship where Ziggler won the title after interference fromRobert Roode.[12] The following week, after Ziggler's successful title defense, Breakker appeared and challenged Ziggler for the title at Stand & Deliver, and Ziggler accepted.[13]
After retaining theNXT North American Championship on the March 1 episode ofNXT,Carmelo Hayes announced that he would be defending the title in aladder match at Stand & Deliver.[14] Qualifying matches then began to determine the other participants in the match. On the March 15 episode, Santos Escobar qualified for the match by defeatingCameron Grimes.[13] The following week,Solo Sikoa andGrayson Waller qualified for the match by defeatingRoderick Strong andA-Kid, respectively.[15] On the March 29 episode, Grimes defeated Strong and A-Kid in a last chance triple threat match to qualify for the final spot in the match.[16]
On the March 15 episode ofNXT, Tommaso Ciampa addressed the fans, and seemingly announced his departure from NXT.Tony D'Angelo appeared and challenged Ciampa to a match, claiming that he wanted to be the next "Don of NXT". Ciampa accepted and shook hands before D'Angelo attacked Ciampa with a low blow.[13]
On January 4, 2022, atNXT: New Year's Evil,Cora Jade andRaquel González failed to defeatToxic Attraction leaderMandy Rose in a triple threat match for theNXT Women's Championship.[17] González and Jade then entered that year's Women'sDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament,[18] where they were eliminated in the semifinals at Roadblock after interference from the other members of Toxic Attraction,NXT Women's Tag Team ChampionsGigi Dolin andJacy Jayne. Later that night, after the other semifinal match, Jade attacked Rose in the "Toxic Lounge".[12] The following week, Jade stole all of the title belts from Toxic Attraction, with Dolin and Jayne being trapped when they tried to retrieve the tag title belts. As Jade tried to leave the Performance Center with the NXT Women's Championship belt, Rose attacked her and spray-painted the back of Jade, setting up a match between Jade and Rose for the NXT Women's Championship at Stand & Deliver.[13] On the March 29 episode, González savedDakota Kai from a three-on-one beatdown from Rose, Dolin, and Jayne. Later that night, a tag team match pitting Dolin and Jayne against González and Kai for the tag titles was scheduled for the Stand & Deliver pre-show.[16][19]
Also in January,Kay Lee Ray began feuding with Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne).[20] This led to an NXT Women's Championship match on the February 8 episode ofNXT,[18] where Ray failed to win the title from Rose. Afterwards,Io Shirai prevented Ray from a beatdown from Toxic Attraction.[11] Shirai and Ray then entered the 2022 Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic,[21] where they defeated Dakota Kai andWendy Choo in the finals to win the tournament. Afterwards, they challenged Rose for the NXT Women's Championship, turning the title match into afatal four-way match.[15]
After defeatingMSK (Nash Carter andWes Lee) to win the 2022 Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic atNXT Vengeance Day,[22]The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed andJulius Creed) were granted anNXT Tag Team Championship match against championsImperium (Fabian Aichner andMarcel Barthel) at Roadblock,[14] but they were mysteriously attacked backstage. MSK replaced them in the match, which ended in a no-contest when Julius and Brutus attacked both teams.[12] The following week, The Creed Brothers demanded to know who attacked them. MSK then claimed that they did not attack them, but they deserved a match for the tag team titles. Imperium interrupted and attacked both teams, stating that they would defend the titles against both teams as they did not fear anyone. Later that night, a triple threat tag team match between the three teams for the titles was scheduled for Stand & Deliver.[13]
On the March 15 episode ofNXT,Gunther did not like the fact thatLA Knight got an NXT Championship match that night.[13] The following week, after Gunther's match, Knight confronted Gunther and challenged him to a match at Stand & Deliver, which was made official.[15]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Vic Joseph |
| Wade Barrett | |
| Spanish commentators | Marcelo Rodríguez |
| Jerry Soto | |
| Ring announcer | Alicia Taylor |
| Referees | Darryl Sharma |
| Dallas Irvin | |
| Derek Sanders | |
| Will Charlton | |
| Pre-show panel | Sam Roberts |
| McKenzie Mitchell | |
| Beth Phoenix | |
| Akbar Gbaja-Biamila |
During the Stand & Deliver pre-show, Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) defended the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship against Dakota Kai and Raquel González. González attempted a Chingona Bomb on Jayne, who escaped, but González performed a big boot on Jayne. González followed up with a twisting Vader Bomb for a nearfall. Kai performed a German Suplex on Jayne and a Pump Kick on Dolin. Jayne and Dolin performed a double Suplex on Kai and followed up with a high-low kick combo on Kai for a nearfall. In the climax, Wendy Choo appeared and struck Dolin with a pillow before throwing orange soda in her face. Back inside the ring, Kai performed a Yakuza Kick to a cornered Jayne followed by a Chingona Bomb by González to win the titles for a record-setting second time.[23]
The actual event began with Carmelo Hayes defending the NXT North American Championship against Cameron Grimes, Santos Escobar, Solo Sikoa, and Grayson Waller in a ladder match. During the match, Waller's bodyguard,Sanga, brought a ladder in the ring, only to have Escobar send it to Sanga. After a brawl between Sanga and Sikoa outside the ring, Sanga got the upper hand and tossed Sikoa back inside the ring. Grimes performed a Tope Con Hilo on Escobar, and Hayes performed a Moonsault on Grimes. After Escobar took out Hayes, Escobar attempted to climb the ladder, but was attacked but Waller. Grimes performed a Spanish Fly on Escobar. As Hayes' partner,Trick Williams, set up another ladder, Sanga broke it up with his bare hands. Afterwards,Legado Del Fantasma (Elektra Lopez,Joaquin Wilde, andRaul Mendoza) used the broken pieces of the ladder to take out Sanga. Sikoa performed a Press Slam on Wilde and Mendoza at the same time. As Sikoa and Escobar were at the top of the ladder, Williams tipped it over. Williams was at the top of the ladder when Grimes tipped it over, causing him to crash into the other wrestlers. After Hayes pulled Grimes off the ladder, Hayes and Waller fought at the top of the ladder when Sikoa, Grimes, and Escobar climbed up an adjacent ladder. Waller then knocked Hayes and Escobar off the ladder and touched the title belt, but Escobar performed a Dragonrana on Waller from the top of the ladder. Moments later, Sikoa performed a Frog Splash on Escobar. Grimes performed a Cave In on Sikoa onto a ladder outside the ring. Waller attempted an elbow drop on Hayes, but Hayes moved out of the way, causing Waller to crash. In the closing moments, Hayes attempted to retrieve the title belt, but Escobar performed a Gutbuster and a Phantom Driver on Hayes. Moments later, Grimes performed a Cave In on Escobar. Grimes then retrieved the title belt to win the title for the first time.[23]
In the second match, Tony D'Angelo (accompanied by AJ Galante) faced Tommaso Ciampa. During the match, D'Angelo retrieved a crowbar, but Ciampa intercepted him with a big boot. While the referee tossed the crowbar away, D'Angelo performed a low blow on Ciampa and followed up with a Fisherman's buster for a nearfall. As D'Angelo tossed the crowbar back inside the ring, Ciampa performed Willow's Bell and a Fairytale ending for a nearfall. Ciampa then applied a crossface on D'Angelo, who made it to the rope to escape. In the climax, D'Angelo performed a DDT on Ciampa on the exposed concrete and back inside, D'Angelo performed a face wash boot on Ciampa to win the match, which marked Ciampa's last NXT match. Afterwards,Triple H appeared to share the special moment with Ciampa and both embraced and went backstage.[23]
In the third match, Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter) and The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) (accompanied byMalcolm Bivens andIvy Nile) in a triple threat tag team match. In the end, Aichner and Barthel attempted a European Bomb on Carter, but Carter countered into a sunset bomb. Lee performed a top-rope Frankensteiner on Barthel, which sent him into apowerbomb by Carter to win the titles for MSK for a second time.[23]
In the fourth match, Mandy Rose defended the NXT Women's Championship against Cora Jade, Kay Lee Ray, and Io Shirai in a fatal four-way match.[23] Before the match, Rose unveiled an updated design of the NXT Women's Championship belt, featuring the same overall design but now on a white leather strap and with multi-colors within the ridges of the center plate (matching the NXT 2.0 color scheme).[24] At the beginning of the match, the challengers sent Rose out of the ring. Ray and Shirai performed simultaneous suicide dives on Rose and Jade, respectively. Shirai attempted a 619 on Ray, but Rose pulled her out of the ring. Rose performed a belly-to-belly suplex and aspinebuster on Jade for a nearfall. Rose performed a vertical suplex on Jade. Shirai performed a Moonsault on Ray. Back inside the ring, Shirai performed a 619 and a top rope Dropkick on Ray for a nearfall. Ray applied a Koji Clutch on Rose while Shirai applied a Texas Cloverleaf on Jade. Jade sent Shirai into Ray to break the submissions. Jade performed a Canadian Destroyer on Ray on the ring apron. Shirai performed a German Suplex on Rose for a nearfall. Shirai performed a top rope Spanish Fly suplex on Rose, but Jade performed a Senton on Shirai to break up the pin. In the closing moments, Jade performed a Running Knee, Sliced Bread, and a modified Paydirt on Rose for a nearfall. Ray performed a KLR bomb on Jade, but Shirai shoved Ray off the top rope. Shirai then performed a Moonsault on Jade but as she attempted a pin, Rose performed a Bicycle Knee on Shirai to retain the title.[23]
In the penultimate match, Gunther faced LA Knight. In the climax, as Knight was on the top turnbuckle, Gunther chopped him off and into the ring. Gunther followed up with a top-rope splash and a Powerbomb on Knight to win the match. This would also be Knight's final NXT appearance.[23]
In the main event, Dolph Ziggler (accompanied by Robert Roode) defended the NXT Championship against Bron Breakker. While Breakker made his entrance, he broke the "X" in the NXT 2.0 logo in half with a chainsaw. Early in the match, after Breakker dominated, Roode grabbed his leg to halt his momentum. The referee saw this and ejected Roode from ringside, after which, Ziggler took off a turnbuckle pad. Breakker performed a Frankensteiner on Ziggler for a nearfall. Breakker performed aSpear on Ziggler for another nearfall. Ziggler attempted aSuperkick, but Breakker caught him and followed up with a second Spear. Breakker then performed a Military Press Powerslam on Ziggler, but Roode returned to take Ziggler out of the cover. Despite this, the match continued. Breakker then leapt over the top rope to take out both Roode and Ziggler. After Breakker sent Roode into the steel ring steps, Ziggler performed a Fameasser and aZig-Zag on Breakker for a nearfall. Ziggler followed up with a top rope elbow drop on Breakker for another nearfall. In the climax, Breakker attempted another Military Press Powerslam, but Ziggler escaped by raking Breakker's eyes. Ziggler then shoved Breakker into the exposed turnbuckle pad and performed a Superkick to retain the title.[23]
John Moore ofPro Wrestling Dot Net called the NXT Title match "a really good WWE main roster style PPV main event", giving praise to Breakker and Ziggler's performances, felt the North American Title Ladder bout was a "good opening high spot match" that got viewers invested in the show, saw Gunther/LA Knight as formulaic but "a fun formula to watch", and critiqued that the NXT Women's Title Fatal four-way had rough elements whenever Rose and Jade interacted with each other. He concluded by saying "this was not an NXT Takeover by any means. The closest match to the usual NXT style was the opening ladder match, and you see those on main roster PPVs too. The amount of strange booking and plot convenience made this feel main rostery, which is not great when it comes off as inferior with all the green talent. So when it comes to judging this on the Takeover curve, this doesn't even make the mark".[23] Matthew McFarlin ofSlam Wrestling reviewed the event and gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars. He wrote that: "The North American Championship ladder match was impossible to follow, and the remainder of the card suffered because of it. While the opener had exciting, well-executed chaos, some matches were just messy and unengaging. Ziggler and Breakker put on a solid main event, but it wasn't enough to make Stand & Deliver worthwhile".[25]
On the April 4 episode ofRaw, Bron Breakker got his rematch against Dolph Ziggler and defeated him to win the NXT Championship for a second time, which was the third time the title was defended onRaw, as well as the first time the title changed hands onRaw.[26] AtNXT the next day, Breakker talked about his win over Ziggler, only to be interrupted by Imperium (Gunther, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel). Gunther challenged Breakker for the title, and the match was scheduled for that episode's main event, where Breakker retained. Also on that same episode, The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) defeated Aichner and Barthel after Aichner walked away from the match. Afterwards, The Creed Brothers were attacked by two hooded men, who were later revealed to bePretty Deadly (Kit Wilson andElton Prince, formerly "Lewis Howley" and "Sam Stoker", respectively, inNXT UK), making their NXT debut.[27] This was Gunther and Barthel's final NXT appearance, as three days later, Gunther and Barthel, the latter receiving a new ring name called Ludwig Kaiser, debuted onSmackDown.[28] The other member of Imperium, Fabian Aichner, stayed in NXT for a few more months, and received a new ring name called Giovanni Vinci.[29] He made his main roster debut atClash at the Castle, where he and Kaiser accompanied Gunther (who defended hisIntercontinental Championship againstSheamus at the event), reforming Imperium in the process.[30]
This would be Nash Carter's final WWE match. NXT Tag Team Champions MSK (Wes Lee and Carter) were scheduled to have a title defense on the April 12 episode ofNXT,[27] but on April 6, Carter was released from WWE,[31] and the titles were vacated as a result.[32] This led to a tag team gauntlet match for the vacant championships in which Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince), in their debut match on NXT, won by last eliminating The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed).[33]
A title rematch between Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) and new NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Dakota Kai and Raquel González was announced for the following episode ofNXT.[34] During the match, Wendy Choo tried to interfere, only for NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose to attack her. This allowed Dolin and Jayne to defeat Kai and González to become record-tying two-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champions. Later that night, Kai destroyed equipment backstage, and warned Rose that she was not safe.[27] This would be González's final NXT appearance before she was called up to the main roster onSmackDown and debuted on the April 8 episode ofSmackDown under the new ring name "Raquel Rodriguez".[28] On the April 12 episode ofNXT, Kai challenged Rose for the NXT Women's Championship in a losing effort after interference from Dolin and Jayne.[33] This would in turn be Kai's final appearance in WWE until she returned on the main roster atSummerSlam in July alongsideBayley and Io Shirai,[35] as Kai was released from her contract on April 29.[36]
Over the coming weeks, Wendy Choo kept targeting Toxic Attraction (NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose and NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne), including an unsuccessful attempt at winning the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship.[37] After Choo attacked Rose following the latter's match on the May 24 episode ofNXT,[38] a title match between Rose and Choo was scheduled forIn Your House.[39]
Cameron Grimes talked about his NXT North American Championship win, only to be interrupted by Solo Sikoa, setting up a match between the two for the title for the following week,[27] where Grimes retained. Following the match, Grimes was attacked by Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.[33] On the April 19 episode, after Hayes' match, Hayes stated that he would be taking the title back from Grimes atSpring Breakin'. As Hayes and Grimes stared each other down, Sikoa appeared and attacked Hayes and Williams. Later that night, a triple threat match between Grimes, Hayes, and Sikoa for the title was scheduled for Spring Breakin'.[40]
Following Tony D'Angelo's win at Stand & Deliver, AJ Galante officially crowned him the "Don of NXT" on the following episode ofNXT.[27]
This would also be the final WWE appearance for Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray before their ring names were changed to Iyo Sky (July 30 during SummerSlam, stylized in all caps)[35] and "Alba Fyre" (first reported April 16 byPWInsider;[41][42] made official during a video package on the April 26 episode ofNXT[43]), respectively.
| First round NXT (February 22, 2022 – March 1, 2022) | Semifinals NXT Roadblock (March 8, 2022) | Final NXT (March 22, 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Amari Miller andLash Legend | 2:44[21] | |||||||||||||
| Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter | 7:59[12] | |||||||||||||
| Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley | 3:26[21] | |||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro andKayden Carter | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo | 10:22[15] | |||||||||||||
| Indi Hartwell andPersia Pirotta | 5:21[14] | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai andWendy Choo | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Raquel González and Cora Jade | 10:42[12] | |||||||||||||
| Yulisa León andValentina Feroz | 4:47[14] | |||||||||||||
| Raquel González and Cora Jade | Pin | |||||||||||||