WWE NXT Review - March 29, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Imperium (Gunther and NXT Tag Team Champions Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) def. LA Knight and MSK

This was a nice preview of what to expect at Stand & Deliver when Gunther faces MSK while MSK (along with The Creed Brothers) challenge Imperium for the NXT Tag Team Championship. It was all action and fast-paced. I'm fine with keeping Imperium strong, but I do question booking Knight to lose multiple times leading up to Stand and Deliver. He came up short against Grayson Waller twice, then Dolph Ziggler, and now Imperium. He's probably not winning on Saturday, either, so it's pretty clear he's on his way up to the main roster imminently.

Ivy Nile def. Tiffany Stratton

This was another fairly basic bout from both women, which is pretty much what I was expecting given their experience level. Nile has been racking up wins (and I believe she's still undefeated), but this was the second straight time she beat someone via a distraction finish. NXT 2.0 has done distraction finishes quite a bit. This furthered the feud between Stratton and Sarray, for whatever that's worth.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen def. Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde)

Briggs and Jensen are as bland as can be, so this latest program of theirs involving Legado del Fantasma with Elektra Lopez and Fallon Henley being the focus does nothing for me. This was a serviceable match and Legado are very talented, but I wish they didn't lose more than they won. Needless to say, a six-person tag team match is clearly coming at some point. Lopez is better as a manager at this point, but if she's going to get experience, that's a fine way to do it.

Raquel Gonzalez Saved Dakota Kai From Toxic Attraction

We haven't seen Gonzalez on NXT TV in about a month or two, so this marked her official return. I can't say I was expecting her to reunite with Kai, but I suppose it makes sense because of what we've seen from them in recent months. It's been subtly teased, but I didn't think we'd actually get the reunion. Imagine if we got this with Kai and Tegan Nox before they released Nox. I'm looking forward to that tag title match at Stand & Deliver, but it does render the women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (which was won by Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray, by the way) completely useless.

Von Wagner def. Bodhi Hayward

Wait, Wagner is still feuding with Andre Chase and his goof troop? Why?! I thought we had moved past this when Wagner squashed Chase a while ago (unless that hasn't happened yet and I'm misremembering things), but apparently not. Wagner is simply not working and the Andre Chase stuff is too damn hokey for me. Hayward seems to be as inexperienced as Wagner, so as you could probably imagine, this was not good.

Joe Gacy def. Draco Anthony

Gacy was pretty prominently featured on NXT 2.0 around the time of the relaunch, but we've barely seen any of him lately on TV. I don't want to complain because I hated the gimmick early on, but it is odd they're not doing more with the guy. He's been doing this thing with Anthony for a while and this may have been the blow-off. Gacy dominated a majority of the match and that was about it. Nothing out of the ordinary about it.

Nikkita Lyons def. Sloane Jacobs

I'm still not sold on Lyons. She's definitely been better in her recent showings on NXT than she was when I first saw her on 205 Live a few months ago, but the character needs work. I just don't think she comes off as likable. This was a pretty standard showcase for Lyons ahead of her match with Lash Legend next week. I have not cared about that feud at all, so hopefully that bout exceeds expectations.

Cameron Grimes def. Roderick Strong and A-Kid in a Triple Threat Match to Qualify for the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at NXT Stand and Deliver

All three of these men are terrific and I would've been happy with any one of them qualifying for the Ladder match at Stand & Deliver, but the reality is that Grimes had to advance way more than Strong or A-Kid after telling the story a week ago of his father passing and wanting to win gold in his honor. Thus, the outcome was the right one. The match wasn't given a ton of time, but they made the most of what they had and it was entertaining.

Overall Show

The video packages for Dolph Ziggler and Bron Breakker were very really well done, especially Breakker's. It hyped up their NXT Championship clash at Stand and Deliver exceptionally well and showed viewers another side to Breakker. As a go-home show for Stand and Deliver, this was solid albeit unspectacular stuff. I guess they did build toward everything on the card, but I could have done without some of the unnecessary filler and uninspiring enhancement matches. I know that's what NXT is all about nowadays, but those should have been saved until after the event. Despite NXT 2.0 being a very hit-or-miss product, Stand and Deliver has plenty of promise on paper.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews