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WWE NXT will present Stand and Deliver this Saturday from Philadelphia, PA. Here are our takes on what will happen.
Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes
Dave: This has been really well done, long term smart booking. I think Trick gets the win and is elevated. For one thing, it makes sense. For another, it seems it's time for Melo to come to the big roster after Mania.
Mike: This is rightfully the main event as they've built the story for some time, literally since the first ever NXT 2.0 broadcast! So, who wins? It seems to me that Hayes is likely heading to the main roster sooner than later, so the right thing to do here is for Williams to score the win here. He's going to be a big player for the brand in the months to come.
Richard: Going into Vengeance Day, I thought we were going to see this be the main event of Stand and Deliver, but for the championship with Hayes challenging Trick because he was jealous of how successful Trick has become. I thought Hayes made a great point when he compared Trick’s desire to go after the World Title instead of the North American title was comparable to a guy trying to date their best friend’s girlfriend. The way that the Prime Target segment came off, I don’t think there is any way that Trick Williams can lose this match. Will Trick win the NXT championship before his likely move to Raw or Smackdown? I don’t know, but if he can convincingly defeat Hayes in this match, I don’t think it will matter. Trick gets out of Melo’s shadow on Saturday.
NXT World Champion Ilja Dragunov vs. Tony D’Angelo
Dave: I like Tony's character and all but it's nowhere close to the time to take the belt off of Ilja.
Mike: I don't see a title change here but I do think this will be a match where D'Angelo gets to show what he has to offer as a main event player. Despite the fact that he's been one of the more character-based performers since debuting, he has a great amateur wrestling background and I suspect we'll see him really let it all hang out here. Dragonuv is on an incredible run and I don't see that ending here.
Richard: I think Ilja Dragunov has done a great job as the face of NXT and has been a great champion. Tony D’Angelo is a good in ring wrestler saddled with a gimmick that makes me want to watch the movie where Chris Kattan plays a member of the mafia. The wrestling match between these two people should be very good and will not be the main event of the show so they can do things they would not be able to do if it was closing out the show. The booking of the build to this match has me scratching my head and makes me feel like I am at a seder. In most storylines, the champion dictates the terms . . . in this one, the challenger does. In most storylines, they do RESTAURANT segments once . . . in this feud we have gone to RESTAURANT twice. I am looking forward to the match, but I don’t want distractions or interference in this match. I am afraid we get some crazy stuff because it is not the main event and I think there is a chance that we have a new champion. I think Ilja should retain, but we could be looking at a ‘celebration’ on Tuesday night.
NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez
Dave: This one could go either way. Perez has been interesting since her turn and it's added to her character. I think Valkyria adapts her character to match Perez and holds onto her belt.
Mike: While I always liked Perez as a babyface, she's shown some new dimensions of herself since the heel turn. There was a period of time where she was the best thing in Ring of Honor and she's well on her way to becoming one of the definitive female performers in NXT. I suspect there is a title change here as Lyria chasing the belt will probably mean more than another win.
Richard: There are matches where the promos have made the matches more interesting and there are matches where the promos don’t make me care about the match. This one is the latter. The best thing about the build for this match is that Lyra is saying what I have been saying since Roxanne lost last year at Stand and Deliver and complained about ‘never getting a chance to win my title back’. I don’t think there is a wrestler in any major company who has gone from ‘yay, they are doing something’ to ‘yay, they are done doing what they are doing so I don’t have to see them again’ as fast as Roxanne. I don’t buy the ‘heel’ persona and her ‘righteous indignation’ is less credible than a 3 year old having a tantrum. Lyra said she would do anything to win and that could mean ‘not being herself’ so I could see ‘twin magic’ with Tatum Paxley where Tatum replaces Lyra for a moment and Roxanne ‘pins her’ but then Lyra rolls her up to get the victory. Unfortunately, I think Roxanne wins the title back.
NXT Tag Team Champions Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer
Dave: This is the match I see a Title change coming in. Bron is headed to the main roster and in fact is already there. Post WrestleMania means new storylines and characters and I think it's time for him to stop splitting time. I also love that Corbin has been doing great work helping the young talent so I hope that continues with whoever they put him with next.
Mike: Say whatever you want about how Baron Corbin was presented over the years on the main roster, but he found new life in NXT and has really played well off of Breakker. All that said, I could see a title change here as Breakker is technically a Smackdown talent now. I like the idea of Axiom and Frazer as the champs fending off all challengers.
Richard: This might be the match I am looking forward to the most on this show. I expected it to be Gallows and Anderson facing Corbin and Breakker based on the way it was set up, but based on the match Tuesday night, I would have been fine with any of the three teams facing the champs. Corbin and Breakker have great chemistry and they are entertaining in their promos. Axiom and Frazer are a fun team and I want to see a criss cross segment with Bron and Frazer to see if they can hit 88 miles per hour. Bron and Baron work too well together to take the titles off them even though Bron is ‘technically’ on the Smackdown roster. Give this one 15 to 20 minutes please.
NXT North American Champion Oba Femi vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs
Dave: I hate when the champ loses in a three way so I will keep the belt right where it is.
Mike: This is going to be another big test for Femi. Briggs and Dijak have been contributing a lot to NXT over the last several months but could use a big win. However, Femi is still relatively early in this run and you can see him improving and finding his footing after the surprise North American title win. My gut says he retains, but if he doesn't, it should be Dijak getting the title.
Richard: The biggest story of this match will be how Oba Femi looks. He is relatively new to the business and he has had some decent performances on his road to the North American Title. I don’t think it is time to take the title off of him, but Dijak and Briggs have been treading water and a title reign could mean a lot for them. This should get around 10 minutes and when it appears that Briggs or Dijak is going to win, one takes out the other and Femi gets the ‘third man mops up the scraps’ trope to win the match.
Thea Hail, Kelani Jordan, and Fallon Henley vs. Kiana James, Izzi Dame, and Jacy Jayne
Dave: It feels like team Thea wins here.
Mike: Lots of hard working young talent getting a shot here. That's what the original Takeover concept was all about. I expect the babyfaces to go over.
Richard: This match was added on Tuesday’s show because they had to put a camera in Gorilla. Jacy teased being the ‘attraction’ but without the previous toxicity and she was with her buddies Kiana and Izzi. Thea is still angry at Jacy for not being her friend and she yelled enough to force Ava to make the match for this show. This should be a decent match and this should be a showcase for Jordan and Dame. Thea’s team will win the match because it feels like the right thing to do.
Joe Gacy vs. Shawn Spears on the Kickoff Show
Dave: This is the perfect situation for the vet to put over the younger guy.
Mike: Spears should be there to put over the younger talent after having a good match with them in a worker/coach role. I feel like Gacy really needs something to kickstart his next chapter. This should be it.
Richard: They added this match on this week’s television and at least it breaks up the video packages and ‘spontaneous banter’ during the Kickoff Show. Joe Gacy is a wrestler I enjoy watching with a character I don’t enjoy. Shawn Spears has a chair. I want to see Gacy do more than be ‘crazy guy who might or might not lead a cult and not do anything else’. Give Gacy the win and then Spears can take his chair to the back and sit in it while he thinks about his loss.
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