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It's WrestleMania week, and more importantly, it's time for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. This two-night extravaganza is jam-packed with match of the year candidates from the Black and Gold brand, and we're here to preview all the bouts for the first night.
On the pre-show of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Zoey Stark will face off against Toni Storm.
We've got three championship bouts on the main show, including what could be the crowning of a new top star in Raquel Gonzalez in the main event. Io Shirai's run as NXT Women's Champion has been stellar, as she's basically beaten everybody else on the roster up to this point. Will Gonzalez be added to that long list of names?
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WALTER will also defend the NXT UK Championship against Tommaso Ciampa, as the Blackheart aims to get some much-needed revenge on Imperium and take a little gold in the process. Will he be the first to take the Ring General out since the big man made his debut in WWE two years ago?
All of that, plus a triple threat tag team match for the vacated NXT Tag Team Titles, a gauntlet to determine Johnny Gargano's No. 1 contender, and the match we'll be kicking this article off with, Pete Dunne vs. Kushida.
Pete Dunne and Kushida will tear the roof off the CWC at NXT TakeOver
There are no titles on the line in this one. In fact, there wasn't too much of a build to it, either. Still, sometimes all you need to get a match of the year is two of the best in the world looking to prove their greatness. That's exactly what Pete Dunne and Kushida are fighting for, as both men aim to prove which of them is the greatest technical wrestler.
Both Kushida and Dunne came out of 2020 white-hot, despite losing their feuds. Kushida proved himself in a series of matches against the likes of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. The Time Splitter broke out of his shell last year and slammed into 2021 in full gear.
Though he lost his title bout against Gargano at TakeOver: Vengeance Day, he proved to be one of the greatest wrestlers, not just in the company but in the business.
While Kushida was chasing the North American Title, Pete Dunne had his eyes on Finn Balor and the NXT Championship. For several months, the Bruiserweight went after The Undisputed Era before finally settling on The Prince. Much like Kushida, he failed to walk away with the gold at Vengeance Day but delivered yet another top performance in his WWE tenure.
Though there aren't any prizes at stake, Dunne and Kushida have put their pride on the line instead. This is going to be a technical masterpiece between two superstars with nothing to lose and has the potential to walk away from WrestleMania week as the best match of the week.
NXT North American Championship #1 Contender Gauntlet Match: Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott vs. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis vs. LA Knight
On NXT last week, LA Knight managed to outlast every other man in the battle royal to secure the final slot in the North American Championship #1 Contender Gauntlet Match. The latest addition to the Black and Gold brand last eliminated Dexter Lumis to do so in a rather shocking fashion.
Lumis barely moved throughout the match up until Knight and Cameron Grimes were looking to eliminate Bronson Reed. After assisting them, Lumis was thanked by the "Thousand Dollar Man" of NXT in Grimes. He offered both Lumis and Knight some cash to eliminate themselves, but Lumis attacked him before Knight could consider the deal.
Heading into this match-up, Leon Ruff and Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott are involved in a deeply personal rivalry. Cameron Grimes has also been poking his head into the business of Bronson Reed and LA Knight, which means that the only man in the match that doesn't have a story involving his other opponents is none other than the Tortured Artist of NXT.
He does, however, have an ongoing feud with NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano and The Way. Knowing this, odds are that Lumis will be the #1 contender to Gargano's title heading into night two of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Still, though it's somewhat easy to predict, these are some of the best talents that NXT has to offer. WWE has done well with gauntlet matches over the past few years, and this should be no exception.
In every gauntlet match, there is often one who tends to run the...well...gauntlet. Going into TakeOver, it may very well be Leon Ruff, which would be exciting to see.
NXT Tag Team Championship: MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado Del Fantasma
The NXT Tag Team Championship match is the one many fans are pegging as an early winner for the match of the night. MSK, Grizzled Young Veterans, and Legado Del Fantasma all had some fantastic matches in the Dusty Cup this year. GYV and MSK made it to the finals, where the newcomers knocked off the former NXT UK Tag Team Champions to win the tournament.
Since then, MSK has run afoul of Legado Del Fantasma and Grizzled Young Veterans. Recently, Wes Lee was injured at the hands of Zachary Gibson and James Drake after their defeat, forcing MSK to delay their shot at the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Now with the belts vacated thanks to an unfortunate injury to Danny Burch, MSK have an opportunity to get some revenge and new hardware in one shot.
However, as heated as their rivalry is, they can't afford to overlook Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, who have been on a mission to dominate the tag division after they and their boss Santos Escobar suffered a humiliating defeat against Karrion Kross. Escobar wanted Legado Del Fantasma to run the brand, and that meant getting the titles. Though they failed to win the Dusty Cup, they found themselves with quite an opportunity at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
This one isn't easy to call whatsoever. MSK could walk out with a major babyface victory, or Legado Del Fantasma could kick off a great wave of momentum for their boss heading into night two. The Grizzled Young Veterans were beaten in the finals of two back-to-back Dusty Cups. The titles have always been within their grasp. Could Wednesday lead to them finally being crowned NXT's No. 1 tag team?
NXT UK Championship: Tommaso Ciampa vs. WALTER (c)
WALTER has absolutely dominated the NXT UK brand for nearly two years now. The Ring General recently crossed the pond to assist Imperium in their fight against Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher, who has been noticeably absent in recent weeks.
Imperium attempted to bring Thatcher, their former ally back on the indy scene, into the fold once again a while back. Since then, the Thatch-as-Thatch-Can master hasn't been seen, leading Ciampa to believe that the group has done something horrible to his newly found friend. Though the odds of WALTER losing this NXT UK Championship bout are low, the one thing that's difficult to predict is how Ciampa will end up losing.
Will WALTER just mow down the Psycho Killer? Will Ciampa be betrayed, yet again, by a tag team partner? Over a year ago, Johnny Gargano stabbed Ciampa in the back in a bout for the NXT Championship. It seems that we may be heading that way on Wednesday.
Or it could be the return of someone else entirely. Imperium weren't just interested in Timothy Thatcher. They'd also been seen talking to Killian Dain as of late. The Beast of Belfast disappeared around the same time that Thatcher did, leading to Dain's tag partner Drake Maverick facing the wrath of WALTER on NXT TV.
What if Timothy Thatcher attempts to assist Ciampa, only for both men to be laid out by a reinvigorated and deadlier Killian Dain? There's a lot of possibilities with this one, and with it looking to be the most brutal match of the week, it's no wonder that fans are eagerly awaiting this one on NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night One.
NXT Women's Championship: Raquel Gonzalez vs. Io Shirai (c)
Few women have had the run at the top that NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai has. Shirai has held the title for 303 days and counting, giving her the fourth-longest reign in the brand's history. The only NXT Superstars ahead of her right now are Paige, Shayna Baszler, and Asuka.
Shirai has also beaten everyone on the NXT brand that it has to offer. Toni Storm, Mercedes Martinez, Zoey Stark, Candice LeRae, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackheart, Dakota Kai. The list goes on. Shirai even defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks at NXT Great American Bash over the summer.
With all that, it's clear that Shirai's reign has been one of the most successful runs in the brand's history. There's not much left for the Genius of the Sky to accomplish in NXT anymore, which is why Raquel Gonzalez will more than likely walk out of TakeOver with the gold.
Raquel Gonzalez has been presented as the new powerhouse in the division, so much so that she even managed to send Rhea Ripley packing in a Last Woman's Standing Match. The fact of the matter is Gonzalez seems to be the new star of the division, and with a Shawn Michaels-Diesel alliance with Dakota Kai seemingly heading toward a break, a feud between them for the gold would be exciting, and fresh.
If this is Shirai's last night as NXT Women's Champion, it's been an incredible ride. That would also mean that she'd be on her way to the main roster. Since we're used to seeing call-ups take place on the RAW and SmackDown after WrestleMania, we should expect to see the Joshi Judas appear on the main roster very soon after this match.
Which match are you most looking forward to for night one? Let us know below, and be sure to follow along with us here at SK Wrestling as it takes place live.
