WWE NXT Review - March 26, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dijak def. Shawn Spears

It's not often that we get two seasoned stars against each other on NXT these days, so this was a treat. It was as well-wrestled as you'd expect. I'm glad Dijak went over to keep his momentum rolling, but it is weird that Spears lost his first match this early in his return run. Joe Gacy moved Spears' chair at ringside before he could use it, so does that mean we're getting a Gacy vs. Spears program? Am I supposed to care?

Thea Hail def. Jazmyn Nyx

Nyx has been wrestling for less than two years and I can't recall single televised match she's had prior to this point (including on Level Up), so I was curious how she'd do. Honestly, I thought she held her own just fine. Hail was the perfect opponent for her and they exceeded my expectations. Keeping this on the shorter side was definitely for the best. Jacy Jane's attempted interference backfired and the post-match angle indicated we're getting Hail, Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan vs. Jane, Kiana James and Izzy Dame soon.

Natalya def. Lola Vice

This was an open challenge from Vice. I couldn't muster up any excitement for it being answered by Natalya (who has already had a few different runs in NXT over the last decade), but to their credit, they had a very nice match in the time they were allotted. Karmen Petrovic appearing in Natalya's corner was rather random, but it looks like she'll be Vice's next rival, which will keep the both of them busy for a bit.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov def. Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo (Non-Title)

This was basically a warm-up for Dragunov before he defends the NXT Championship against Lorenzo's boss Tony D'Angelo at Stand & Deliver. Of course, Lorenzo was never going to win, but he was able to score some offense before losing. They had a decent match. Luca Crusifino confronted Dragunov backstage later on and invited him to a dinner with D'Angelo on next week's show. This feels like the build to a main event on an NXT televised special, not Stand & Deliver.

Ridge Holland Addressed His Future

When Holland said last week that he was going to do what everyone wanted him to do, I immediately assumed this would be some sort of an angle with someone interrupting him to kick off a new feud or him turning heel. Instead, he announced he's stepping away from in-ring action indefinitely. I don't know  how legit that is because I could certainly see him resurfacing eventually (not unlike what Roderick Strong did in 2021), but he delivered his promo well here, I'll give him that much. Maybe the time away will help him in the long run because his return to NXT has been a bust so far.

Josh Briggs def. Andre Chase

Without being officially labeled as such, this was basically a qualifier for the NXT North American Championship match at Stand & Deliver (much like the opener). Briggs made more sense to go over given his direction as of late, whereas Chase has been a background player in whatever Chase U is doing. This was a solid hoss fight. Post-match, Oba Femi confirmed that he'll defend the North American title at Stand & Deliver in a Triple Threat against Briggs and Dijak.

NXT Tag Team Champions Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin def. Alpha Academy (Akira Tozawa and Otis) (Non-Title)

If Alpha Academy won, they would've automatically been entered into the NXT Tag Team Championship match at Stand & Deliver. It would've been ridiculous if they did win, so the outcome was the correct one. What's funny is that this consisted entirely of main roster stars. It was fun and the crowd was into it, but it didn't accomplish anything. Next week's Triple Threat tag team match will determine Breakker and Corbin's Stand & Deliver opponents.

Overall Show

I appreciated that there was more of a less-is-more approach to this episode than usual with the video packages for Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes and Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez at Stand & Deliver being the focal point. Those were the best parts of the entire episode. The rest of this show was paint-by-number stuff, which has been the norm for NXT almost all year. Despite that, Stand & Deliver has the potential to be a strong event per usual.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews