WWE NXT Review - March 14, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Johnny Gargano Addressed the Audience

It was definitely cool to see Gargano back in an NXT ring addressing the fans, even though it isn't the same NXT we all associate him with (and yes, I realize he was a part of NXT 2.0 for a few months prior to his departure in December 2021). You could tell he was happy to be back as well and I'm happy he's finishing his story with Grayson Waller properly. Speaking of Waller, Vic Joseph interrupted Gargano's promo to show him footage on his phone of Waller at Gargano's house, so that cut the segment short. I thought what was done with Gargano and Waller on this show was really well done and added another personal layer to their upcoming Stand & Deliver match.

NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) def. Pretty Deadly

I had no idea this was advertised for this episode. I thought it would be saved for Stand & Deliver since it didn't happen at last week's Roadblock special, but I'm glad they got it out of the way here since it wasn't worthy of happening at Stand & Deliver. It was a good, well-wrestled match, but there wasn't anything special about it. I believe both teams are heel, so I'm not sure who the crowd was supposed to cheer for and that was my biggest gripe of the whole feud.

Zoey Stark def. Sol Ruca to Qualify for the NXT Women's Championship Ladder Match at Stand & Deliver

Shawn Michaels announced on Twitter that Roxanne Perez is being kept off Stand & Deliver as a precautionary measure after last week's injury angle and a new champ will be determined in a Ladder match at Stand & Deliver. Hopefully there's a good reason for this because taking the title off Perez for  storyline reason would be ridiculous. Stark and Ruca originally fought a few weeks ago and Stark won, so I figured there was a chance Ruca might win and qualify for Stand & Deliver. Ultimately, that was not the case, but it's too soon for her to be competing in a Ladder match, anyway. She was once again impressive in defeat and they had another quality contest.

Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre def. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter and Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley in an NXT Women's Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Tag Team Match

This is another match I don't remember being announced in advance. The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship picture is largely centered around Fallon Henley and Kiana James right now, so it didn't matter who won here. Henley and James are already headed for a split, so it's pretty obvious they're going to be dropping the belts to the newly-formed team of Dawn and Fyre. This was fine while it lasted, but the focus was on Paxley turning on Nile after all the tension that has been teased between the two.

Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh Brawled

Unlike Gallus vs. Pretty Deadly, this was a match I hoped would happen at Stand & Deliver because I do feel they'd kill it on that stage. Instead, they'll face next week on the show. This was a solid segment to set it up, and I actually like that they're having an old-school feud with nothing on the line. They have history dating back to their time on NXT UK, so it's simply a case of both guys wanting to prove their superiority over each other. I'm looking forward to their rematch next week, though I'm surprised it doesn't have a stipulation attached to it.

Dabba-Kato def. Apollo Crews

This was the first match in their feud, so it was logical for Kato to win. It was better than I thought it would be. Crews is seasoned and Kato will benefit from working with him, but to Kato's credit, he held his own. I assume there will be more matches between them, but we'll see if the rematch takes place at Stand & Deliver. Their feud doesn't have a lot of heat because Crews has lost so much that a win over him means practically nothing by now, but I appreciate the effort to get Kato over.

Gigi Dolin def. NXT Women's Tag Team Champion Kiana James to Qualify for the NXT Women's Championship Ladder Match at Stand & Deliver

Jacy Jane was shown with her arm in a sling during a backstage interview, so I'm going to assume she lost to Dolin clean last week because of Jane's injury and that's why they're not having a match at Stand & Deliver. I have no idea why James would be involved in a qualifier when she's one-half of the tag champs, so that made the outcome obvious. The match was whatever, but at least Dolin advanced and will be on the Stand & Deliver card.

NXT Champion Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes Signed the Contract for Their NXT Championship Match at Stand & Deliver and Attacked Pretty Deadly

There was no moderator for this contract signing, so self-appointed Stand & Deliver hosts Pretty Deadly came out to moderate it themselves. I enjoy Pretty Deadly, but I'd argue their presence actually took away from the serious nature of the segment, though I know they were there in order to be put through the table by Breakker and Hayes. I thought Breakker and Hayes had an excellent exchange with both guys cutting strong promos about why this match is so important. It does leave me wondering if Hayes will do something heinous ahead of Stand & Deliver to establish himself as the heel or if they'll be respectful toward each other for the entire build.

Overall Show

What a mess of a show. An NXT North American Championship open challenge was advertised ahead of time, but all we got was a bunch of wrestlers brawling for a shot and the match never actually happened. Instead, Lee will defend the title in a Fatal 5-Way at Stand & Deliver. That's in addition to the matches that weren't announced taking place, and if they were announced, they probably weren't important enough for me to remember. I really like the show-closing segment and the Gargano-Waller stuff, but everything else was all over the place and the rest of the Stand & Deliver card beyond those two matches feels rushed as a result.

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