5 surprising moments from NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver Night One

Looking at the match quality from night one of NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver, how good is night two going to be on Thursday night?

NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one was an excellent final Wednesday night show for NXT. We had an exciting technical opener, a fun Gauntlet Match, a NXT UK Championship classic, a fast-paced tag team match, and a true changing of the guard in the NXT Women’s Division. NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver night one has certainly set a very high bar for night two.

As we try to figure out why Io Shirai feels the need to jump off high things on every TakeOver, we should also try to distract ourselves and present the list of the top five most surprising moments from night one of NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver 2021.

#5 Lack of Cheating at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver 2021

Pete Dunne hates Kushida's fingers.

Professional wrestling is filled with cheaters. Heels always take advantage of distracted or unconscious referees to win their matches. So imagine the surprise at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver when all six matches were won in clean and very dominant fashion. It just seems so out of place in the crazy world of professional wrestling to have this happen as it did on Wednesday night.

At NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver, even the heels picked up credible and clean victories. Pete Dunne proved himself to be one of the best submission wrestlers when he defeated Kushida. He twisted and bent many limbs on Wednesday night. Walter chopped his way to another defense of the NXT UK Championship. Raquel Gonzalez dominated her way to the very top of the NXT Women’s Division. It doesn’t happen in NXT often, but all these clean victories instantly established the future of NXT going into the rest of 2021.

#4 Bronson Reed wins the Gauntlet Eliminator Match at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver 2021

Bronson Reed is ready for Johnny Gargano.

During the last few weeks of NXT television, Dexter Lumis had been causing all sorts of problems for The Way. So when they announced a Gauntlet Eliminator Match at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver, it seemed logical for Lumis to win a shot at Johnny Gargano’s North American Championship. In one of the bigger surprises of the night, Lumis will not be getting a title shot against Johnny Takeover on Night Two.

The six men in the Gauntlet Eliminator Match, all had good showcase moments. Leon Ruff showed his great high-flying abilities. LA Knight was able to eliminate Dexter Lumis, the clear favorite. It seems a new feud might be starting between these two based on their post-match interactions.

Cameron Grimes tried to gain some allies but was eliminated by Isaiah “Swerve” Scott. Scott was impressive in the match. He lasted the entire 23 minutes, but he couldn’t overcome Bronson Reed. Reed has been on quite a roll in recent weeks but jumping up to fight for the NXT North American Championship on night two is a whole different level. Let us all hope he puts on a great show at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver. Reed might even win the title.

#3 Walter defeats Tommaso Ciampa clean at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver 2021

Two can play the chop game at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver.

One day, Walter will have a bad match. It didn’t happen at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver. He not only had the match of the night, but the match is one of the early contenders for match of the year. The fact that Walter always delivers on the big stage is incredible.

Walter and Tommaso Ciampa had a lot of hype going into their NXT UK Championship at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver. For nearly 17 minutes on Wednesday night, they went to war for the title. Walter chopped the announce table early in the match and sold that injury for a majority of the remaining time. The match was as physical as anything you will see in professional wrestling. The chops performed by both competitors in this match were loud and painful. You could see the blood blisters form on the chest of both Walter and Ciampa.

It was surprising to see Walter win the match with a single chop and without the help of his Imperium allies. Ciampia had one of his best matches in a few years. Walter has now been the NXT UK Champion for over two years now. Can anyone stop him? After NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver, do we ever want Walter to lose that title? If he keeps producing classics like his match on Wednesday night, let us hope he never does.

#2 MSK wins the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver 2021

MSK completes their quick rise to the top of NXT Tag Team Division.

Poor Grizzled Young Veterans. They seem unable to win the big one in the NXT Tag Team Division. After NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver, they have lost to MSK yet again. Does the talented new NXT tag team really have the Grizzled Young Veterans’ number?

The 15 minute match between MSK, Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma was an incredibly fast-paced match filled with non-stop action at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver. Wes Lee continues to do things that simply defy the laws of physics. Legado del Fantasma impressed with an array of luchador moves against their four opponents. They came across as a credible threat.

The match came down to Grizzled Young Veterans and MSK yet again. It was a Dusty Rhodes Classic finals rematch. Much like at the show at Vengeance Day, MSK was able to get the advantage, hit their finisher, and pick up another clean win over the Grizzled Young Veterans. It was surprising to see MSK win the vacant NXT Tag Team Titles. Since MSK has only been in NXT for about two months, it was an impressive and quick rise to the top. After this match at night one of NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver, the NXT tag team division seems ready for a very strong 2021.

#1 Raquel Gonzalez wins the NXT Women’s Championship clean at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver 2021

It was a quick rise to the top for Raquel Gonzalez at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver.

Raquel Gonzalez made her television debut in NXT on February 16, 2020 at NXT TakeOver Portland when she helped Dakota Kai defeat Tegan Nox. It was amazing to see Gonzalez get an NXT Women’s Title shot at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver a little more than a year later. After night one of NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver, she is now the NXT Women’s Champion. That is certainly one of the most impressive first years that someone has had in WWE.

The size disadvantage was played to perfection in the main event. Io Shirai did everything in her power to retain her title. She almost got Gonzalez to tap out to a submission move at one point. Shirai dived off the top of the set onto Raquel. Shirai even hit a moonsault and only got a two count. This was the first time in NXT that someone has kicked out of that move from Io Shirai.

Gonzalez was able to hit a huge one-armed powerbomb and the match was over. It was a clean and dominant win over Shirai to help Raquel Gonzalez win her first NXT Women’s Championship. Will Gonzalez become a dominant champion in the talented NXT Women’s Division? Time will tell. Here is hoping for good things for Io Shirai as well. She certainly deserves it.