Best Matches in NXT Stand and Deliver History

Since 2021, WWE NXT has hosted its own PLE, the day before WWE WrestleMania. NXT Stand and Deliver quickly became the Black and Gold answer to the “Show of Shows,” with excellent matches and compelling stories drawing eyes to the third brand of WWE.

The event being so close to WWE WrestleMania has given it a reputation for playing host to some of the best matches in NXT history. 

Ahead of this Saturday’s NXT Stand and Deliver, join me in taking a look back at the greatest bouts from the PLE’s short history.

WWE NXT North American Championship Fatal Five-Way Ladder Match (2022)

It’s funny to think that every single person involved in this match has since made their way to the main roster, but it goes to show how impressive the work here was.

The NXT North American Champion, Carmelo Hayes, put his championship on the line in a fatal five-way ladder match which stole the show. Cameron Grimes, Grayson Waller, Santos Escobar and Solo Sikoa were all vying for the belt and undoubtedly put on the match of the night.

Each of the competitors involved was dead set on climbing the ladder and leaving NXT Stand & Deliver with the title, as they all put on a clinic in front of the Texas crowd.

As you can imagine, there was a lot of time spent in the air for each man involved. Dives to the outside, springboards and leaps from ladders were all a part of this five-man frenzy.

At one point, all five men found themselves atop a ladder and a scramble for the belt ensued before they turned their attention to toppling one another. 

Grayson Waller took a particularly nasty bump, as he missed an elbow drop from the top of a ladder and crumbled through a ladder bridge at ringside. After a series of brutal moves, eventually Cameron Grimes found his way to the top of a ladder and secured the gold.

This match has been widely regarded as one of the best multi-man matches in NXT history (although there would be another the following year) and was a spectacular showcase of each man’s abilities.

Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller – Unsanctioned Match (2023)

The ‘Aussie Icon’ featured again the following year, as he was embroiled in a heated feud with Johnny Gargano. The two men had been trading verbal and physical attacks for weeks and finally came to blows at NXT Stand & Deliver in 2023.

As expected, the match quickly devolved into a brutal bout, as both men utilised as many foreign objects as possible to dole out devastating damage. Steel chairs, tables and even trash cans came into play as the two decimated one another.

Of course, there was some spectacular wrestling on display throughout, as both men are extremely talented and put on an excellent match, but the violence on display was the main talking point.

Grayson Waller hit a Coast-to-Coast on Gargano late in the match, while ‘Johnny Wrestling’ was trapped inside a trash can. Also, this match saw the return of Candice LeRae and she tore into Waller, walloping him with a kendo stick until it snapped.

This violent encounter culminated with a submission, as Waller tapped out and Gargano left as the victor. Gargano and LeRae were also reunited with Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell – The Way – at the end of the match, in a heartwarming moment.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole – Unsanctioned Match (2021)

We’re taking a trip back to the main event of the first NXT Stand & Deliver for this next match. 

In 2021, Adam Cole attacked his Undisputed Era stablemates and split the most dominant group in NXT history. He turned on Kyle O’Reilly earlier in the year and their feud became the most must-see rivalry in NXT.

Due to the animosity between these two men, an Unsanctioned Match was the most appropriate stipulation on the night and both competitors took true advantage of it. They immediately brawled to the outside and began destroying one another.

Cole made use of a collection of steel chairs underneath the ring and used them to batter O’Reilly. The match spilled onto just about every surface in the arena, as they took their battle to the entrance ramp, the announce table and the barricades surrounding the ring.

Adam Cole was dominant throughout and looked certain to be the victor as the match went on. However, O’Reilly sported an incredible comeback and laid into his former brother, annihilating him with a chain and eventually picking up the shock win.

In one of the most brutal matches in NXT history, O’Reilly emerged the winner after expending every ounce of effort that he had.

NXT North American Championship Fatal Five-Way (2023)

The Fatal Five-Way at NXT Stand & Deliver in 2022 was – as mentioned previously – exemplary. It feels as though the five men involved the following year saw that and wanted to somehow top it. And boy did they.

All of the competitors involved here set out to prove themselves and they pulled out all the stops. The defending champion, Wes Lee, put his title on the line against JD McDonagh, Dragon Lee, Axiom and Ilja Dragunov. 

Right from the get-go, each man was firing on all cylinders. They all worked at their highest pace, trying to take out each of their opponents with high-risk manoeuvres and energetic offence.

Sometimes with multi-man matches, there can be a tendency to focus on individual spots and forget the storytelling between each competitor. However, all five men managed to work brilliantly together and put together some incredible moments as a unit.

If you have some spare time, do yourself a favour and watch this match. It’s genuinely one of the best multi-man matches of all time, in my humble opinion.

Ultimately, Wes Lee retained his NXT North American Championship by pinning Ilja Dragunov after almost 20 minutes of mayhem.

WALTER vs. Tommaso Ciampa (2021)

Two men hellbent on destruction featured in this final match. The NXT U.K. Championship was on the line, as the record-setting WALTER defended his title against ‘The Blackheart’ Tommaso Ciampa.

This match had been hyped ahead of time as having the potential to be one of NXT’s hardest-hitting encounters and it certainly was.

The story of this match was the power imbalance between the dominant WALTER and his smaller opponent, and it was clear in every move. The ‘Ring General’ hammered his challenger with lariats, headbutts, chops and suplexes as he looked to end the match quickly.

However, Ciampa fought back and got a few of his impressive moves in. Ultimately, he struggled to overpower WALTER and it was evident as the match drew on.

At one point, Ciampa avoided a chop from his opponent on the announce table, as the champion instead split the hood of the table in two. This factored into the rest of the match, as the majority of WALTER’s offence came through his unharmed left arm.

These two men left everything in the ring that evening, as near-falls began to get nearer and nearer. Eventually, after weathering the storm that was Ciampa’s unrelenting onslaught, WALTER hit multiple powerbombs and a devastating chop to get the pinfall victory.

His dominant reign as champion continued and, as we now know, it was a mere prelude to the incredible work that he would go on to do in WWE.

Let’s hope that the matches at NXT Stand & Deliver this year can live up to these high standards. Make sure to catch all the action on Saturday, April 6th, before WWE WrestleMania 40.

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