Recap and Review of NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver Night One

Tonight, was the night that WrestleMania Week kicked off with four big nights of wrestling action under the WWE banner.  Night One of Stand and Deliver had some big marquee matches. In fact, the conversation will be which of the four nights was the best of the week. Here is what went down on NXT TakeOver Stand and Deliver Night One.

-Kickoff Show: Zoey Stark defeated Toni Storm
-Pete Dunne defeated Kushida
-Bronson Reed wins Gauntlet Eliminator that involved Leon Ruff, Dexter Lumis, LA Knight, Cameron Grimes and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
-WALTER defeated Tommaso Ciampa to retain the NXT UK Championship
-MSK defeated Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma to win the NXT Tag Team Championships
-Raquel Gonzales defeated Io Shirai to become the new NXT Women’s Champion

The Kickoff Match was between Toni Storm and Zoey Stark. This was a great match to open off the week. Toni Storm has been involved in some pretty incredible matches since coming over from NXT UK. Zoey Stark has had a very quick rise on NXT, which doesn’t surprise me. She was highly touted on the independent scene and her skills speak for themselves. I am not sure what the plan is for Toni Storm, but I would have to think she has to be in the hunt for one of the Women’s Championships. As for Zoey Stark, she continues to impress and her stock continues to rise. Her victory tonight will definitely make her a credible challenger for the NXT Women’s Championship Match.

Stand and Deliver opened with Pete Dunne and Kushida, which many predicted would be a technical masterpiece. They were picking off body parts all throughout this match, which made for a really great story in the ring. Either man could have won this match, but it was Pete Dunne who ended up with the victory by hitting the Bitter End. Kushida is someone who should be holding the North American Championship or help bring more of a spotlight to the Cruiserweight Division. With Dunne getting the victory, I feel he’s right back in the hunt for the NXT Championship. He’s still very young and has a lot of years ahead of him.

The Six Man Gauntlet Eliminator match started off fast and furious with Swerve and Leon Ruff beating the crap out of each other before the bell even rang. I loved the concept of this Gauntlet Eliminator. It reminded of the Championship Scramble Match that WWE had years. I would love to see a championship defended in a Gauntlet Eliminator Match. Bronson Reed was out next and he had no problem taking advantage of the damage Scott and Ruff did to each other. Cameron Grimes came out with a boatload of money and tried buying Scott to help take Ruff and Reed. It was working to their advantage because they eliminated Ruff right as Dexter Lumis was coming out. L.A. Knight was the last one out and had a lot to say. Lumis was eliminated by LA Knight then Reed eliminated Knight. Swerve and Grimes tried teaming up against Reed, but that was short lived because Swerve eliminated Grimes. I am shocked Isaiah “Swerve” Scott lasted as long as he did, because he took a lot of punishment until ultimate being defeated by Bronson Reed.

We go from a wild and crazy match to a match that had so much natural brutality. WALTER and Tommaso Ciampa was so intense that you couldn’t help but be shocked by some of the stuff that happened in the match. The story of Ciampa has been an interesting one since he’s come back from his neck injury. I feel like at times he’s held back, but this match proved that Ciampa is still the same person he’s always been. He and WALTER really brought out the best in each other in this match. WALTER has had some really tough opponents in NXT UK, but Ciampa proved to be his toughest challenge to date. Even though WALTER retained the championship, I felt this was more about Ciampa proving his critics wrong. Ciampa still has a lot left in the tank and I have no doubt he will continue to shine as he always has.

Last month, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan had to vacate the NXT Tag Team Championships due to Burch suffering an injury. The three teams that competed for the titles tonight were MSK, Legado Del Fantasma and Grizzled Young Veterans. All three teams have different styles and personalities, which made this match so great. WWE often gets criticized for its tag team division, but NXT showed that there is still great tag team wrestling under the WWE umbrella. I really hope NXT can keep building on their tag team division and eliminate the criticisms they get. At the end of the match, MSK stood tall as the new NXT Tag Team Championships, but I have no doubt the other two teams will be gunning for them. I will also be curious to see if Imperium and Breezango get back into the title hunt in the near future.

The Main Event of Night One was for the NXT Women’s Championship. Io Shirai has held the championship for almost a year now and Raquel Gonzales has been on the rise since last February. This was a clash of styles and a classic size match up. Io Shirai has done some really crazy things in her matches, but jumping off the Pirate Skull might be the craziest yet. Raquel Gonzales took all of Shirai’s best shots and ended her dominant reign. One has to wonder who will be in line to face Gonzales going forward. My gut is telling me that Dakota Kai will split from Gonzales and want the title for herself. Io Shirai defeated everyone in her path until, so one has to wonder what’s next for her? It would not surprise me at all to see her moved up to Raw or Smackdown or she could go after the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships

NXT Takeover Stand and Deliver Night One is in the books and it was epic. It’s getting harder to rate these Takeovers because they all have been so great. Every time you think the last one can’t be topped; they blow it out of the water. Tonight, Takeover delivered so tune into Night Two to see if they can keep the momentum going.