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WWE NXT had several big rivalries to build towards before TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Roderick Strong was looking to focus on his individual performance on NXT following the break-up of the Undisputed ERA. KUSHIDA and Pete Dunne, on the other hand, managed to build towards a rivalry between themselves during the night.
Strong took on Cameron Grimes early in the night before the Battle Royal match at the end of the show. The Way’s Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell scored a victory over Gigi Dolin and Zayda Ramier. LeRae and Hartwell are looking to become the next NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Santos Escobar looked to send a message to Jordan Devlin before TakeOver, while several segments built towards the other championship matches for the event.
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#5 Roderick Strong suffered a setback on WWE NXT
Cameron Grimes decided to have some fun at Roderick Strong’s expense on WWE NXT. Grimes brought out the "Grimes the System" merch and a "Grimes the System" theme song to mock his opponent.
Strong wasn’t too happy with The Technical Savage’s doings and attacked him early. Strong was aggressive during the match, but Grimes kept finding some openings to get the better of his opponent.
A big running boot from Strong took down NXT's Thousand Dollar Man after he got a little cocky. Strong continued to stay on top of his opponent and hit a great backbreaker before taking Grimes out with a superplex off the top rope.
However, Grimes continued to stay in the match and brought out an Undisputed ERA armband to distract Strong. The distraction allowed The Technical Savage to hit the Cave In for the victory.
Strong was visibly hurt by the loss and this could lead to a character change for one of the best wrestlers in NXT. Grimes played his role perfectly during the match, and the victory helped him gain momentum for the Battle Royal later in the show.
It will be interesting to see whether Strong will interfere in the match between Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. But it’ll arguably be better if WWE allows him to head in a different direction and enter contention for the NXT North American Championship instead.
#4 Santos Escobar defeated Tyler Breeze; the WWE NXT Tag Team Championship match got some build
The WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion came out to state he was the "Emperor of the Cruiserweights" in the company. Santos Escobar was looking to send a message to Jordan Devlin on NXT before their big match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Escobar issued an Open Challenge which was answered by none other than the Prince Pretty of NXT, Tyler Breeze. Breeze called the NXT Cruiserweight Champion entitled before the two men got down to business.
Escobar attacked Breeze’s mid-section early in the match and became a bit too overconfident. Prince Pretty returned the favor and went after Escobar’s legs before hitting a few good kicks. Breeze locked him in a Sharpshooter after delivering some knee breakers and it took the champion a lot of effort to fight out of it.
After a few good moves, Escobar hit the Phantom Driver to pick up the victory. The match was solid and allowed Breeze to once again prove he deserves a singles championship run in WWE.
Prince Pretty seems to have done a lot of damage to Escobar’s legs, and that’s something Devlin will look to exploit next week. Legado del Fantasma tried to do more damage to Breeze after the match but MSK arrived to clear the ring.
The Grizzled Young Veterans then appeared on the big screen and mocked both the teams ahead of the Triple Threat for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Unfortunately, Breezango isn’t a part of the NXT Tag Team Championships match. However, the angle allowed NXT to build towards a rivalry quickly after Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan were forced to relinquish the titles.
#3 The Prime Target preview for Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly along with other segments on WWE NXT
WWE NXT produces some of the best videos to hype up big TakeOver matches. The brand did the same for the upcoming match between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
The preview for the Prime Target special looked back at the relationship between Cole and O’Reilly and their journey heading into this match. It’s been a long time coming, and fans can expect these two men to deliver a Match of the Year candidate at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Cole and KOR shared a great friendship over the years that’s taken them all around the globe. Stand & Deliver will play host to one of the biggest matches between these two superstars.
Plus, the black and gold brand used interviews and backstage segments to build towards the other major matches for TakeOver. Tommaso Ciampa and WALTER will lock horns for the NXT UK Championship, and the two men are ready to get their hands on each other.
On the other hand, Karrion Kross seemed more than ready to take down The Prince for the NXT Championship at TakeOver.
The creatives did not overdo the builds and kept things simple to ensure that fans remained interested in the matches next week.
#2 Zoey Stark and Raquel Gonzalez had a great match on WWE NXT
Io Shirai and Raquel Gonzalez came to blows backstage on WWE NXT. Gonzalez took out the NXT Women’s Champion before heading to the ring for her match against Zoey Stark.
Starks had to deal with an angry Gonzalez during the match after the backstage segment. Gonzalez overpowered her opponent and punched her into a corner.
Stark had a good game plan in mind and tried to wear her larger opponent down. A running hurricanrana followed by a dropkick gave Starks a fighting chance. Stark even managed to take Dakota Kai out of the equation outside the ring before facing the wrath of the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship.
A series of knees nearly helped Stark pick up the victory over Gonzalez. However, the powerhouse kept kicking out and finally hit a single-arm chokebomb to pick up the victory.
After the match, The Genius of the Sky ran down to continue her brawl with Gonzalez. However, Gonzalez was able to lay Shirai out once again.
The match was enjoyable and showed the creatives have a lot of faith in Stark who has competed in several big matches since her debut. Stark was good in the ring while Gonzalez was fantastic once again.
Another attack from Shirai did not come off as expected, and Gonzalez sent her through a wall. The build towards their match for TakeOver has been great, and Gonzalez could finally dethrone the NXT Women’s Champion at the show.
#1 Some top superstars qualified during the Battle Royal on WWE NXT
The main event of WWE NXT was reserved for the Battle Royal to determine who’d take part in the Gauntlet Match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Leon Ruff attacked Isaiah "Swerve" Scott before the match could begin.
Roderick Strong did not come out for the match after his frustration spilled over in the first match.
Cameron Grimes, Austin Theory, Tyler Rust, KUSHIDA, Pete Dunne, Dexter Lumis, L.A. Knight, and Jake Atlas entered the NXT ring for the Battle Royal. Everyone started fighting, except Lumis, who stood in a corner and watched the other men trade blows to stay in the ring.
Atlas was the first man eliminated by Rust, but Rust was quickly eliminated from the match by Scott. Austin Theory was the next man out after he landed outside the ring on his back. It looked as though he had a plan to re-enter the ring. Instead, he kicked-up, with both feet hitting the floor, eliminating himself.
KUSHIDA and Dunne kept fighting each other and fought over the top rope. This helped establish the final six men who’d compete in the Gauntlet Match. The order of entry in the match was on the line as the final six men tried to avoid elimination.
Reed took out Ruff and Scott, following which Grimes, Knight, and Lumis eliminated The Colossal Reed. Grimes tried to buy himself a victory, literally, but was eliminated by Knight and Lumis. Finally, Knight eliminated Lumis to pick up the victory. The match wasn’t too messy and worked well as a Battle Royal.
Knight has the advantage heading into TakeOver, while Lumis looks like the favorite for the contest. It’ll be interesting to see who gets a chance to challenge Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
