Recap and Review of NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver Night Two
Tonight, was Night Two for NXT Stand & Deliver and the matches on this night were just as impressive as Night One. Multiple championships were on the line and a personal rivalry was put to the test. You really couldn’t ask for a better card over two nights. Here is what went down on Night Two.
-Kickoff Show: Killian Dain and Drake Maverick defeated Breezango
-Santos Escobar defeated Jordan Devlin to become the Undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion in a Ladder Match
-Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon defeated Candice Lerae and Indie Hartwell to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships
-Johnny Gargano defeated Bronson Reed to retain the NXT North American Championship
-Karrion Kross defeated Finn Balor to become the NXT Champion
-Kyle O’Reilly defeated Adam Cole
The Kickoff Show had a tag team match to determine the new number one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Breezango took on the unique duo of Killian Dain and Drake Maverick. Both teams are very entertaining in their own way, but I love the dynamic between Dain and Maverick. It really reminds me a lot of Team Hell No and how funny they were. Ever since Breezango came back to NXT, they have really helped the Tag Team Division get better and even won the NXT Tag Team Championships. However, the loveable team of Dain and Maverick are the new number one contenders and will be facing MSK down the line.
Opening up Takeover was the Ladder Match for the Undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Championship between Jordan Devlin and Santos Escobar. Devlin won the Cruiserweight Championship in January 2020, but was soon stuck over in the UK due to the pandemic. Santos Escobar won a tournament to become the Cruiserweight Champion. We didn’t hear from Devlin for a while, but when we did, he made it very clear he was still the champion which led us to tonight’s match. They settled their issues in a ladder match, which absolutely brutal. Both men put it all on the line to become champion, but in the end, it was Santos Escobar who walked away as champion.
Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon have been a really fun team to watch since they have come together. Candice Larae and Indie Hartwell have also been fun to watch since The Way was formed along with Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory. This was a fun clash of styles and personalities that had a lot of action and some crazy moments. I thought at one point that Blackheart might have been injured, but she is one tough performer. I love the fact that Shotzi and Ember are leading the way for the Women’s Tag Team Division because their styles and personalities can match up with anyone that is put in front of them.
Bronson Reed had to win the Gauntlet Eliminator in order to get a shot at Johnny Gargano and the NXT North American Championship. Reed took a lot of damage the night before and Gargano didn’t have a problem taking advantage of it. I really loved the dynamic of a smaller bad guy taking on a bigger good guy. Gargano is definitely. Mr. NXT Takeover. He always brings his A game to these events, but you cannot discredit what Reed did over the last two days. He has a bright future ahead of him and will be champion one day. I will be very curious to see who Johnny Takeover’s next challenger is going forward.
One of the Co-Main Events was one of the most anticipated NXT Championships Matches that I can remember in recent memory. Karrion Kross, who never lost the Championship, challenged Finn Balor in what many have considered a dream match. This match had some of the best psychology and storytelling that is needed to make a great championship match. I really wasn’t sure who was going to win this match, because both have been so built so heavily to be unstoppable. With Kross as champion, I’m really not sure who is going to be able to stop him. No one on the NXT roster has his size and his intensity. It’s going take one hell of a competitor to take him down. As for Balor, where does he go from here? He literally has nothing left to do in NXT.
The other Co-Main Event was between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly and they have had a long history together as friends, teammates and bitter rivals. Prior to WWE, they were known as Future Shock in Ring of Honor and when they split, they feuded over the ROH World Championship. They have had some brutal matches in the past and tonight was just as brutal as it can be on NXT. Adam Cole is one of the greatest competitors in NXT history, but over the last six months Kyle O’Reilly has really shown that he can hang with the best of them. He did it with Finn Balor on multiple occasions. This is another one of those matches that really could have gone either way. At the end of the night, Kyle O’Reilly stood tall and walked out in one piece. I don’t know what the future holds for either man but they are from done in their careers. I personally look forward to seeing where each of them goes from here.
NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver is in the book and they definitely delivered. As I’ve said before, every time I think NXT can’t do better than their last show, they blow it out of the water. The fallout from NXT Takeover will definitely be felt for a long time, but you want have to wait to see what happens next. NXT moves to Tuesdays this coming week and I have a feeling it’s going to be epic.
