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NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night One managed to get the ball rolling for WrestleMania week. Fans and critics alike raved that it was one of the better TakeOver events in recent memory, and that's high praise. Luckily for all of us, that was only the first half, and tonight's show was set to wow the NXT faithful once again.
The NXT Championship was on the line tonight, as Finn Balor faced off against the dominant and deadly Karrion Kross. Would Kross be able to regain the championship he never truly lost, or would he be added to Balor's impressive resume?
Johnny Gargano also defended his Championship against the Colossal Bronson Reed, who won the right to challenge for the North American Title last night. All that, plus the Cruiserweight Unification Match and the NXT Women's Tag Team Title Matches filled up the card for tonight.
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The match that everyone seemed to be looking forward to, of course, was the Unsanctioned Match between Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole. The Undisputed Era officially imploded a few months back, and these two have been trying to ruin each other's lives ever since. The friendship is dead. The question is, who would leave tonight the better man?
On the kick-off show, Killian Dain and Drake Maverick defeated former NXT Tag Team Champions Breezango to earn a shot at the newly crowned titleholders, MSK. Prior to the opening match, we got Poppy, an artist very familiar to the NXT faithful, performing a new song for the crowd.
The first match of the night was the highly anticipated Unification Match between the two NXT Cruiserweight Champions Santos Escobar and Jordan Devlin.
NXT Cruiserweight Championship Unification Ladder Match: Santos Escobar (c) vs Jordan Devlin (c)
Both men went right at each other, beating one another down before Jordan Devlin got the best of Santos Escobar with an armdrag. Escobar countered the Devlin Side but was dropped with a uranage/moonsault combination. The CWC crowd showed no love for the NXT UK star.
Escobar moved to the floor but was taken out with a springboard moonsault. Devlin was the first to introduce the ladder. He baited Escobar in, lifting it to avoid a baseball dropkick and crashing it into Escobar's face. The leader of Legado Del Fantasma finally managed to take control when he forced Devlin off the ladder, smashing his face into the steel construct.
Devlin was launched spine first into the ladder and bounced over the ropes all the way to the floor. As he struggled to stand, Escobar drove his knees into Devlin, sandwiching the Irish Ace of NXT between himself and the barricade.
In the ring, a ladder was dropkicked into the ribs of Devlin, leaving him gasping for air as Escobar grabbed another one.
Escobar hit a short missile dropkick into the ribs of Devlin, further focusing on the injured body part. Devlin countered with a slingshot, landing on the ladder and climbing up. Escobar yanked him off again, but Devlin turned around in mid-air, spiking Escobar with a vicious DDT.
That wasn't enough to put him away, as Escobar responded with The Arrow from the Depths of Hell, slamming Devlin into another ladder. However, the original NXT Cruiserweight Champion refused to stay down. Escobar countered another Devlin Side attempt, stunning The Irish Ace with a flash knee strike. Devlin responded with a Spanish Fly and a slingshot cutter.
After all of that, Jordan Devlin moved to the top of the ladder for a moonsault on high, crashing right onto the midsection of Santos Escobar. Devlin moved up the ladder, but Legado Del Fantasma rushed the ring, sending him crashing to the floor and into the steel steps.
Escobar sent his lackeys back, believing he had the match won. As he climbed up to get the titles, Devlin threw a ladder into his spine. He followed Escobar up, countering the Phantom Driver with a sky-high Spanish Fly.
Devlin, all too slow, made it to the top of the ladder. Just as he reached for the NXT Cruiserweight Titles, Escobar joined him. A headbutt sent Devlin through a ladder, allowing Escobar to be crowned the true and Undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
Results: Santos Escobar defeated Jordan Devlin at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Grade: B+
After the match, Escobar was joined not only by Legado Del Fantasma but his nine-year-old son, who donned his father's mask and raised one of the titles high over his head.
NXT Women's Tag Team Title Match: The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) vs Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon (c)
The Way went right at the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions, getting the better of Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in the opening moments. After disposing of Moon, Indie Hartwell slammed Blackheart for a step-up senton for Candice LeRae.
A fireman's carry/double knee facebuster combination dropped Blackheart for a two-count. Shotzi couldn't escape The Way's corner, with the 2020 NXT Breakout Star of the Year struggling to make it to Moon for several minutes.
Hartwell and LeRae kept the ring cut in half for a while but, eventually, a wild enzuigiri stunned Candice, allowing Blackheart to get to her partner.
Moon ran in like a house on fire, pelting The Way with a series of kicks and punches. A discus punch nearly knocked LeRae out of the ring.
Moon set up for The Eclipse, but a distraction from Hartwell allowed LeRae to hang her up on the top rope. Just as Hartwell tagged in, Blackheart prevented a double superplex, only to give Hartwell the upper hand in the Tower of Doom. Hartwell got a near fall on the former NXT Women's Champion.
Moon fought back to Blackheart, who flew across the ring into The Way with a flying crossbody. A dragon suplex dumped LeRae to the floor with Hartwell, where Blackheart crashed into them with a suicide dive.
Moon followed up with a dive of her own before the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions brought LeRae down with an impressive tag team maneuver.
LeRae kicked out and rocked Blackheart with a spinning back kick. A flapjack/Codebreaker combination from The Way would've been the end had Moon not broken the pin up. Moon was able to drop both Hartwell and LeRae with a double Eclipse, and Blackheart brought home the win with her diving senton.
Results: Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon defeated The Way via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Grade: B-
NXT North American Championship Match: Bronson Reed vs Johnny Gargano (c) w/Austin Theory
The NXT North American Champion struggled to get his challenger off his feet. Despite having to go through an exhausting Gauntlet Eliminator on NXT TakeOver Night One, Bronson Reed looked fresh as a daisy.
A massive fallaway slam nearly sent Johnny Gargano across the ring and through the ropes. Gargano hit his slingshot spear, but it didn't drop the big man. A series of bear-paw-sized chops battered Gargano into the mat. Gargano's clotheslines and kicks failed to bring the big man down.
However, a chop block finally gave him an opening, and a flying clothesline dropped the challenger.
Gargano escaped a powerbomb attempt and avoided a seated senton, delivering a sliding clothesline to the back. Johnny TakeOver kept Reed down on the mat, locking in a crossface and kneeing the monstrous competitor in the ribs. Reed broke away and caught Gargano diving, turning it into a powerslam in mid-air.
Reed's delayed suplex was nearly countered, but Reed turned it into a death valley driver, getting a near fall on the NXT North American Champion. Gargano avoided a deadlift superplex, hanging Reed up in the ropes for an elevated backstabber.
Johnny hit the superkick to the midsection but was dropped with a big suplex by The Colossal One. Reed moved up for The Tsunami, but Gargano rolled across the ring. A running senton missed, and the North American Champion followed up with a crucifix pinfall attempt.
Reed was spiked with a poison rana, and Gargano Escape was locked in. Reed escaped to the elevated ramp and countered One Final Beat with a forearm smash. A Razor's Edge launched Gargano over the ropes.
Somehow, Gargano was still able to avoid the Tsunami and followed that with a superkick to the back of the head. One, two, no! Reed kicked out.
Reed managed to drop Gargano and again went for the Tsunami. With Gargano distracting the ref, it allowed Austin Theory to draw Reed's attention.
Gargano crotched Reed up top. As he went for the top rope rana, Reed landed on his feet. A powerbomb planted Gargano. Theory just managed to get his foot on the ropes.
Theory was proud of himself and faced the consequences of his actions when Reed used Gargano as a weapon to batter him.
A suicide dive crushed Theory, but Gargano took advantage. Sending Reed back inside, Gargano set up for One Final Beat. Again, Reed countered, hitting an Air Raid Crash for a near fall at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Two superkicks stunned Reed, and Gargano avoided a diving moonsault to deliver back-to-back One Final Beats to finally put Reed away and retain the NXT North American Championship.
Results: Johnny Gargano defeated Bronson Reed via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Grade: B+
NXT Championship match: Karrion Kross w/Scarlett vs Finn Balor (c)
The NXT Champion refused to back down from the sadistic Karrion Kross. Finn Balor went after the arm, looking to weaken his challenger's formerly injured shoulder. A knee lift sent Balor into the sky, but it only left a smile on The Prince's face.
A low kick and chop seemed to fire up Kross, who launched the champ overhead. Balor cracked another grin and laughed in Kross' face. A slap to the face angered the former NXT Champion, as Balor looked to take advantage of Kross' unstable emotions.
Balor got exactly what he wanted, as Kross fired up and launched him into the corner.
A high-speed shoulder tackle nearly cut Balor in half. A second one, though, missed when Finn dodged, sending Kross into the ring post.
Balor aimed to yank his shoulder out of the socket, using the top rope for leverage. Kross broke away from his grasp and suplexed The Prince of NXT across the ring.
Tied up in a tree of woe, Balor was unable to avoid a running knee into the midsection. Somehow, Balor was able to catch Kross with a surprising armbar. Kross was left in the middle of the ring writhing in pain.
After making it to his feet, Kross set up a powerbomb counter. Balor held onto the arm, jamming it into the mat.
A spin kick saw Kross fall down to the mat, a scene we saw play out when Balor kicked Kyle O'Reilly at NXT TakeOver: 31.
Scarlett was unfazed, however, and Kross soon took over. He slammed the NXT Champion into opposite turnbuckles, but the powerslam was countered with a spinning headlock elbow drop.
Kross was first to his feet though, and a nasty bridging suplex led to a short-arm clothesline and powerbomb for a two-count.
Balor again went after the arm and sternum and caught the challenger with the sling blade. Kross anticipated the shotgun dropkick, rocking him with a clothesline. The Doomsday Saito dumped Balor on his head.
Balor saw Kross' elbow coming, responding with the Pele Kick. A series of shotgun dropkicks connected, as did the Coup de Grace. It wasn't enough to pin Kross, though, and Kross turned the pin into a Kross Jacket attempt. Balor rolled through, escaping and hitting a jumping double stomp.
Kross howled in pain, unable to get to his feet. Balor locked in an octopus stretch, but Kross broke through. He mounted the back of Balor and hammered his skull into the mat. A deadlift German planted Balor, as did another Doomsday Saito.
The knockout forearm connected, but Balor was still moving. As Balor made it to his feet, another blow laid out Balor. Just like that, Karrion Kross regained the NXT Championship.
Results: Karrion Kross defeated Finn Balor via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Grade: A+
Unsanctioned Match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver - Kyle O'Reilly vs Adam Cole
The end of NXT's most dominant faction. The end of a friendship. The end of an era. It all led to this.
Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole ran right into one another, but O'Reilly got the best of his former brother, sending Cole to the floor.
A dive set Kyle up for an armbar, but Adam stood on his feet and booted O'Reilly in the face.
The Panama City Playboy bounced O'Reilly off the barricade, but the multi-time NXT Tag Team Champion responded with a series of high kicks to the chest.
They moved back into the ring, and Cole was caught in a guillotine. The former NXT Champion pushed O'Reilly up to the top rope and shoved him to the floor, where Kyle landed on his neck.
Cole followed that up with a steel chair, driving it into O'Reilly's injured neck. A neckbreaker to the chair, which had an Undisputed Era logo on it, left O'Reilly grasping his neck and head. An ushigoroshi earned the NXT Triple Crown Champion a close call.
Kyle made it to his feet and battered Cole with a nasty striking combination. A backdrop through a sitting chair left Cole open for a heel hook.
Adam rolled to the floor, trying to sit up in a chair. O'Reilly took that opportunity to hit a flying dropkick off the apron. Kyle kicked a chair into the head of Cole before rolling to the floor for a steel chain.
O'Reilly slid them into the ring but was dropped with a hangman's neckbreaker right onto that pile of steel. It wasn't enough to put him away, though, and O'Reilly wrapped the chain around his leg.
The short kicks to Cole's head seriously dazed the Panama City Playboy, but the former NXT Champion responded with a Figure-Four Leglock.
A backstabber with the chain still wasn't enough to end Kyle O'Reilly's night. Cole set up two chairs and dumped O'Reilly into one for a shining wizard.
O'Reilly again managed to kick out. Cole went to drive his former UE brother into the steel steps, only for O'Reilly to land on his feet for a guillotine.
Cole went limp, and a knee to the jaw dropped him. O'Reilly set up near the steps but couldn't pull the trigger.
That hesitation wasn't enough to save Cole, who was rocked with a running boot. A suplex onto the table, that didn't give, sent Adam over the barricade. As O'Reilly chased him, he was cracked with a TV monitor. Kyle was dumped, limp, into the ring while Cole emptied out a toolbox.
O'Reilly suffered a Pele Kick but rebounded with a clothesline and a brainbuster, gaining another near fall. With the chain wrapped around the arm, O'Reilly hoped to get a submission win with an armbar.
Cole was trapped in a triangle choke and managed to break away when he drove a tire iron into the ribs of Kyle O'Reilly.
Kyle and Cole sat up in two chairs right in front of one another, close enough to hammer one another with their best shots.
As they got to their feet, O'Reilly got the best of Cole. That was until NXT's MVP hit the low blow. A superkick laid O'Reilly out for the two-count.
A chair was wrapped around O'Reilly's neck, and Cole was ready to end his career. The NXT official tried to put a stop to it but was rocked with a big right.
O'Reilly was spiked with the Panama Sunrise, but the ref was still out cold. The longest reigning NXT Champion continued to focus on the neck, driving it into the barricade and slinging weapons into the head of his former friend.
On the ramp, O'Reilly locked Cole in a guillotine, leading to both men falling through like Taz and Bam Bam Bigelow at Heatwave '98.
They broke through the side of the stage, and O'Reilly was the first to get to the ring. However, he only managed to crawl there, while Cole was upon his feet.
The NXT official was back up at this point, ready to put an end to the match. O'Reilly fell to the floor, and Cole dropped him on the steps with a brainbuster. As if by instinct alone, O'Reilly's shoulder got up at two-and-a-half.
The Last Shot was set up, but Kyle fell forward, unable to hold himself up. Kyle ducked the second attempt and snapped Cole in the heel hook.
In a desperate move, Cole found the chain and wrapped it around his fist, knocking O'Reilly out.
It was time for another Panama Sunrise. The NXT Triple Crown Champion went for it all, but O'Reilly countered. A fireman's carry neckbreaker and penalty kick rocked Cole, as did a surprising Last Shot. However, it wasn't enough.
O'Reilly wrapped a chair around Cole's ankle and moved to the top. We've seen this on NXT many times. Cole thought the same, as he quickly escaped and hit O'Reilly with a chair.
O'Reilly went low and wrapped the chain around his leg. Cole was draped over a chair, and the flying knee connected, putting the former NXT Champion away for good.
Results: Kyle O'Reilly defeated Adam Cole via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Grade: A+
The CWC gave the NXT main event a standing ovation. If Kyle O'Reilly hadn't proven himself against the former NXT Champion Finn Balor recently, he solidified himself as a top guy tonight. At NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, O'Reilly reigned supreme.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
