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Joe’s AAA Results & Review (2/12/19)

Joe Dinan takes you deep into the world of AAA Lucha Libre this week!

Published

5 years ago

February 12, 2019

Joseph Dinan

Joe Dinan takes you deep into the world of AAA Lucha Libre this week!

Live on Twitch 2/8

During the pre-show Kross is interviewed talking about he hasn’t been pinned in 3 years and he wants the Mega Championship. He makes threats towards Fenix. A precursor to this was Sammy sent in a video saying he couldn’t be there because of a family emergency so he won’t be on Sunday’s show too. Best believe I’m not changing the billing though. Unsure if this is an angle or real but I imagine if it was real, like most people who miss AAA shows they wouldn’t say anything about it. We randomly have decided to have the 6 sided ring for this show. I’m not sure if there’s a formula to decide when they do 4 or 6 sides.

Nino Hamburguesa, Lady Shani, and Dinastia vs Lady Maravilla, Villano III Jr, and Lanzelot

Lanzelot and Dinastia start the match out trading moves and counters. Dinastia wins the encounter but Maravilla comes in and northern lights suplexes him for a two count. Villano comes in with Shani next and Shani is able to work him over hitting a head scissors. Nino comes in then to work with Villano and they trade strikes. Nino hits him with a big shoulder block to knock him out of the ring, bringing Lanzelot in. Nino again uses his size to his advantage on Lanzelot. Dinastia gets tossed to the outside, then Maravilla tosses Shani outside and the triple team on Nino commences. Villano then dumps Dinastia on his head. Shani dodges an attack and hits a drop kick on Lanzelot and he falls into Maravilla in the corner. Dinastia hurricanrana’s Villano into them. Nino then hits two corner attacks on the pile. Maravilla is down in the corner and they want Nino to hit her but he doesn’t want to. Playing on the angle from last show where I guess he has a crush on her. So Dinastia and Shani kick her in the face. Lanzelot and Dinastia go back and forth, and Dinastia goes up top but Lanzelot drop kicks him off and he takes a nasty spill. Lanzelot then hits a plauncha. Villano then misses a moonsault on Nino and he hits a middle rope leg drop then goes to the top but then Maravilla comes and stops him.This is enough time to distract him for Lanzelot to finish off Dinastia with a flipping tiger bomb I guess for the win. Shani doesn’t want Nino checking on Dinastia since he’s the reason they lost. Lanzelot pins Dinastia with a flipping tiger bomb.

Winners: Lady Maravilla, Villano III Jr, and Lanzelot

Konnan comes to the ring in th enext segment with Fantasma, La Mascara, and Rey Escorpion. Whatever happened to that Mad faction…hmmm. Well they talk about Fenix and whoever and Vampiro comes out and there’s a video message from Pentagon and Fenix challenging Texano and Rey Escorpion for the tag belts on March 16th at Rey of Reyes. Vampiro punches Mascara and Rey. Vampiro goes to attack Konnan but he gets jumped. Psycho Clown and Laredo Kid come out to match the save but Faby Apache comes and hits them with chairs so Taya comes out to chase her down. Konnan and his gang are standing tall at the end. Commentators talking about Impact and AEW when pertaining to the Lucha Brothers, so I’m guessing they have some sort of relationship with Impact still. Which maybe indicates Impact and All Elite will be somewhat……I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Laredo Kid vs Taurus

Okay so this match slot was to be a cruiserweight title match but now it’s a singles match with Laredo Kid and Taurus so some changes will be made to the card later down the line. They start fighting for position and then do some acrobatic spots that they both have counters to. They trade moves some more until Laredo Kid hits a hurricanrana, then an elaborate head scissors to the outside, followed by an asai moonsault. He rolls him back in the ring for a two count. He hits a suplex then two middle rope moonsaults for a two count. Taurus no sells some shoves, then tackles Laredo and sends him flying. It was so brutal the announcers start to speak English briefly. Taurus then hits a rotating dive through the middle rope and catches some of Laredo Kid as he flies into the barricade. Back in the ring Taurus goes for the pin but doesn’t get it. They start to trade strikes then. Kid whips Taurus to the corner but Taurus runs up and hits a kind of cross body. He then spears Kid for a close two count. Kid gets Taurus caught up in the ropes and jumps up and hits a cutter off the ropes but only for a two count. Laredo Kid kicks Taurus in the gut then hits a Canadian Destroyer and then a 450. Taurus kicks out of this. Taurus then catches Laredo Kid and hits a cradle pile driver which they call a michinoku driver. I mean I guess it was set up like that but was still Jerry Lynn’s cradle pile driver. Taurus goes to the top rope and as if Jesus healed him, Kid runs up and hits a Laredo Fly for the win. Crowd is getting behind him certainly, though. Laredo Kid pins Taurus with a Laredo Fly.

Winner: Laredo Kid

Taya Valkyrie and Aerostar vs Faby Apache and Monster Clown

Match starts with Monster Clown and Faby beating on Aerostar and Taya. Taurus, obviously isn’t in this match and neither is Maximo, so I took them out of my initial header since rather than replacing we’re subtracting for once. Clown and Faby continue to work over both of them. Aerostar’s mask fell off or got ripped rather during this beating so realistically the match should be over, but until that’s sorted out Taya gets double teamed. Mask was definitely ripped, as it looks like Aerostar has a new mask. Monster Clown has again ripped Aerostar’s mask and has busted him open. Some real rudos work going on here. Taya finally dodges an attack and hits Faby, then hits a head scissors on Monster. Aerostar comes into the picture and drop kicks him to the outside and then hits a dive through the middle rope. Taya attempts a corner attack on Faby but the ref interferes. After at least 5 minutes of tornado tag we go back to standard tag rules for now. Aerostar works over Monster Clown using his quickness. Aerostar sends him to the outside with a head scissors, then kicks Faby in the butt. He then hits an… asai cannon ball on Monster Clown. In the ring Taya hits a spear on Faby and she’s down for the count but the heel ref just won’t count. Faby attacks Taya from behind but hit the ref. Taya like a moron goes for a school boy. No count obviously. Faby then hits Taya and hits a german suplex but Taya gets the shoulder up and then ref helps keep Taya down and counts the pin. Faby and the ref are arguing for whatever reason. Nobody understands this relationship. Faby Apache pins Taya with a german suplex and ref help.

Winners: Faby Apache and Monster Clown

(Latin American Championship Match) Drago (Champ) vs Flamita vs Hijo Del Vikingo vs Jack Evans

Well hey, we were supposed to get a triple threat for the Cruiserweight title but we’re getting a four way for the Latin American title. All that’s well ends well. Drago and Evans work together to take out Vikingo and Flamita to start. Drago hurricanrana’s Evans to the outside. Vikingo returns with a shot gun drop kick on Drago. Vikingo then hits a hurricanrana and now Flamita is back in. Flamita hits a hurricanrana then a drop kick. He then poses but wait Evans is back in. He gets Flamita to the outside then Evans hits a handspring dive over the top rope. Vikingo and Drago then fight until Drago goes to the outside and Vikingo hits a dive over the top rope. Evans and Vikingo then work but Vikingo catches him off the top and hits a swinging slam. Flamita re-enters but Vikingo takes care of him too. Drago comes in to stop the pin. Drago uses Vikingo as a spring to hit a DDT on Flamita. Evans hits a moonsault but uses it to hit a double reverse DDT on Vikingo and Drago. Flamita hits a 619 on Vikingo then he and Vikingo get tied up on the ropes. Vikingo wants to hit the double stomp, but Drago comes to hurricanrana Vikingo but Flamita german suplexes him and they all go flying. Evans then hits a 630 but it gets broken up. Jack rolls to the outside and Flamita hits a dive through the middle rope. Flamita hits a DDT on Drago, then Vikingo hits a reverseranna on Flamita. Drago hits a hard shot gun drop kick on Vikingo for a two count. Vikingo gets Drago down and goes for a shooting star press but Drago gets the knees up. Drago then hits a flipping DDT for the win. Maybe a Canada DDT? I don’t know. Drago pins Hijo Del Vikingo with a flipping DDT.

Winner: Drago

Dr. Wagner Jr, Maximo, and Puma King vs Blue Demon Jr, Hijo Del Fantasma, and La Mascara

A lot of posturing to go on in this match. Mascara and Maximo start and it ends up with Maximo kissing him. Fantasma comes in and clotheslines his head off. Puma King and Fantasma are in now, King kicks him in the ass then hits a flap jack. Fantasma hits a big kick on Puma then they team on him in the corner but he’s able to tag Wagner. Wagner hits a dragon screw leg whip and goes for another but Demon enters and strikes him and now everyone is brawling. Wagner gets laid out on the entrance way. A pop up cutter is hit on Puma by Fantasma and now they’re beating on Maximo. They smack him some and Mascara hits a super kick on him. Next Blue Demon bites Wagner. Wagner dives off the apron onto Demon to make a come back. Puma and Maximo work over the other two and Maximo kisses Fantasma and he falls. Puma and Maximo do the fusion dance. Maximo then hits a dive through the middle rope on Mascara. Puma goes for a dive but hits Maximo. Wagner is all alone now. Wagner gets a pinning combination on Demon but gets kicked in the face. While the ref is distracted Demon kicks Wagner below the belt for the pin. Blue Demon Jr pins Wagner with a groin shot.

Winners: Blue Demon Jr, Hijo Del Fantasma, and La Mascara

Psycho Clown and La Parka vs Killer Kross and Rey Escorpion

Rey comes to the ring with a freaking sword. Escorpion and Clown brawl on the outside and Kross works over Parka in the ring. Kross and Rey then trade dance partners and continue to work on them. Clown hits a hurricanrana on Rey to the outside and Parka hits a slow dive through the middle rope. Clown hits the double stomp in the corner for a two count since Rey missed his spot. Rey then hits Clown with a chair. Fantasma comes out with Mascara and hits a tombstone on Parka. Laredo Kid comes out of nowhere to attack Kross but Kross isn’t having it. Clown pulls Kross to the outside and Laredo Kid hits a dive through the middle rope. Clown then hits a dive but then arm drags Rey. They continue to brawl and La Parka is being stretched out, so Laredo Kid is on double duty. Rey launches Kid into Kross and he hits a buckle bomb. Hijo Del Vikingo comes in and hits a drop kick on Rey Escorpion then Kross throws him in the air but he lands on his head. Kross tries to throw him out of the ring but Vikingo counters. He kicks Kross to the outside then hits an imploder 450 to the outside on him. Clown and Rey are in the ring now. Rey goes for a power bomb but Clown reverses into a pin for a two count. In the ring Vikingo chops down Kross then hits an imploder 450 but Kross kicks out. He then gets up and power bombs him and then Saito suplexes him for the win. Killer Kross pins Hijo Del Vikingo with the Saito Suplex.

Winners: Killer Kross and Rey Escorpion

Live on Twitch 2/10

La Parka comes out with a neck brace to start. La Parka thanks Myzteziz and Laredo Kid for helping him but it’s personal with Fantasma. Dr. Wagner comes out. An Une Fon guy attacks Wagner and Parka, Blue Demon came out but it wasn’t Demon it was Fantasma and Demon was the Une Fon guy. Laredo Kid and Hijo Del Vikingo come out to help. Wagner is bleeding already.

Nino Hamburguesa, Lady Shani, and Dinastia vs Villano III Jr, Lady Maravilla, and Lanzelot

Lanzelot and Shani start out grappling for once. AAA just goes to 100 immediately. Shani drop kicks Lanzelot out of the ring. Shani works over Villano and then Dinastia and they go back and forth with acrobatics. Maravilla comes in and her and Dinastia get a double submission on each other. Nino comes in and Maravilla tries to seduce him which she does and Lanzelot drop kicks him from behind. They then triple team Nino. They then team on Shani. They hit a double team neck breaker on Dinastia. Shani pulls down Maravilla and Nino makes a come back hitting a splash on Villano. Nino throws Dinastia into Lanzelot and Villano. Nino then does a flip through the middle rope on the pile. Maravilla and Shani slap each other before Lanzelot and Dinastia hit each with super kicks. Dinastia goes for a hurricanrana on Villano but messed but they go with it. Then he hits an asai moonsault. Nino somersaults into Lanzelot in the corner. Nino goes to the top and Maravilla tells him no no but Shani hits her with a back stabber. Nino hits a top rope frog splash on Lanzelot for the win. Nino Hamburguesa pins Lanzelot with a frog splash.

Winners: Nino Hamburguesa, Lady Shani, and Dinastia

Hijo Del Vikingo vs Jack Evans vs Taurus

Well very quick in this match Hijo Vikingo does a dive where Taurus catches him and then power bombs him on concrete. Evans then does an asai moonsault on Taurus. Back in the ring they all do spots involving all 3. Taurus then runs over Evans who sells it great. He kicks out at 2. He then hits a head scissors on him. Hijo tries a springboard ddt but turns it into an arm drag. Hijo hits a flipping hurricanrana to the outside on Taurus. Back in the ring Evans hits a drop kick for a two count on Hijo. Back in the ring Taurus goes to spear Evans but he jumps and hits Vikingo. Taurus hits an F5 on Evans who kicks out. Vikingo hits a spin kick on Taurus then catches Evans for a slam then hits a standing shooting star for a two. Evans hits a northern lights suplex into a falcon arrow for a two count. Taurus has Evans up but Vikingo hits a spinning Neck breaker so Evans ends up pile driving Taurus. Vikingo goes to the top and Evans pulls him off and misses a 450. Vikingo catches him in the ropes and hits a foot stomp, then an imploder 450 for the win. Hijo Del Vikingo pins Jack Evans with an imploder 450.

Winner: Hijo Del Vikingo

Maximo, Taya Valkyrie, and Aerostar vs La Mascara, Faby Apache, and Monster Clown

Match erupts in a brawl to start. Mascara takes out Maximo and then Taya so now we’re teaming on Aerostar then Maximo. After minutes of being teamed on Aerostar makes a come back hitting a hurricanrana and Taya hits a back breaker. Aerostar continues to work on Monster Clown on the outside. They get back in the ring and Monster and Aerostar work and Aerostar gets the advantage but they team up on him again. Aero dodges a double team attack and head scissors Clown to the outside. Taya and Faby get in there and Taya hits an arm drag to the outside. Taya then hits a hurricanrana on Monster Clown. Maximo and Monster Clown do some comedy spots but Maximo does a nice arm drag. Faby holds him and Maximo dodges and Mascara super kicks her. Maximo then kisses Mascara and he goes to the outside. Maximo and Aerostar hit dives through the middle rope. Taya is in with Faby. Faby accidentally hits the heel ref and Taya hits a school boy for the fast count and win. Taya beats Faby with a school boy.

Winners: Maximo, Taya, and Aerostar

Fenix (Drago) vs Laredo Kid vs Flamita

Fenix sends in a message saying he’s not going to be there cause he’s injured. Well that’s obvious by the fact he’s sending in a message. Drago replaces Fenix. To start the match they all trade pinning combinations and immediately reverse them. Drago gets sent out and Laredo Kid chops Flamita in the corner. Drago comes back and kicks Laredo Kid out of the ring. Flamita drop kicks Drago out of the ring. Kid comes in and kicks Flamita off the apron and hits an asai tornado dive on Drago and Flamita. Drago gets back in the ring first and hits a dive through the middle rope. Flamita hits a running shooting star off the apron onto Drago. Flamita throws Kid back in the ring then completely misses a swanton bomb but acts like he didn’t. Drago comes in and hits a big DDT on Flamita which Laredo Kid breaks the pin up. Kid hits a michinoku driver on Drago and does the corner Super Crazy moonsaults but Flamita breaks the pin up. Flamita kicks Laredo Kid then hits a 450 but Drago breaks up the pin. Drago and Flamita hit a super kick on Laredo and then kick each other in the face. Drago hits a senton on Flamita while hitting a code breaker on Laredo Kid. Laredo gets up and hits a rolling cutter then stacks Flamita on top of Drago and hits a 450 for a two count. Flamita hits a DDT on Kid and then Drago goes to the top but gets kicked and Flamita hits a package suplex. Laredo then hits a hurricanrana on Flamita, but Drago hits a Canadian Destroyer on Laredo Kid for a two count. Laredo Kid is on the apron and Flamita hits a hurricanrana off the top onto the floor. Flamita goes for a 450 on Drago and misses. Drago hits a flipping DDT but Kid breaks up the count. Drago goes up to the top and Kid kicks him and leaps up and hits a Laredo Fly for the win. Laredo Kid pins Drago with a Laredo Fly.

Winner: Laredo Kid

Dr. Wagner Jr vs Blue Demon Jr

Blue Demon slapping hands with the fans. Good heel work here. Faby Apache is ring side with Demon and since it’s a hard core match she’s interfering. Demon does a dive through the middle rope right to Wagner’s knees. They brawl into the crowd and Demon attacks him with a chair. Demon continues to work him over around the arena with the chair. Faby hits a chair into another chair into Wagner’s nuts. Demon bites Wagner’s bloody head and spits his blood out. Ew. Wagner ducks a chair shot and Demon hits the ropes and then hits himself. Now Wagner is on the offense. Wagner rips and Demon’s mask and Faby hits him from behind and Wagner dragon screw leg whips her. Wagner throws her into the crowd. Demon’s mask is ripped in half and he’s leaking blood now. Wagner hits a power bomb for a two count. Wagner and Demon both get laid out and Faby keeps punching Wagner but Taya comes out and attacks Faby. Monster Wagner comes out and attacks Taya. Now Joe Lider is out here to attack Monster Clown. Taya hits a spear on Faby and then she hits Monster Clown with a chair. Joe Lider hits a death valley driver through a table. In the ring Wagner hits a michinoku driver for the win. Dr. Wagner pins Blue Demon with a michinoku driver.

Post match Faby beats up the heel ref. Ref hits a shoulder block on her but Taya hits a throw, then knees to the corner on the ref. Wagner’s gonna give a back stage interview but he gets jumped by Demon, Faby, and Monster. Vampiro pushes them back. Gosh I hope they’re not setting up a match with him. Wagner challenges Demon to a hair vs mask match. Probably won’t happen.

Winner: Dr. Wagner Jr

Psycho Clown, La Parka (Laredo Kid), and Puma King vs Rey Escorpion, Hijo Del Fantasma, and Killer Kross

The match starts with brawling as you’d suspect. Kross easily presses Laredo Kid. The technicos keep getting worked over for minutes. Kross power bomb Puma King while Rey hit a neck breaker. Kross starts biting Laredo Kid’s thumb. Yummy. Back in the ring Kross power bombs Clown. Then he power bombed Puma King onto Psycho Clown. Kross then power bombs Kid on the pile. Finally after at least 15 minutes Clown runs up the ropes and hits a hurricanrana on Fantasma and makes Kross miss an elbow drop and gets Rey to the outside. Laredo Kid, Clown, and Puma then hit dives over the top rope. Clown breaks a broom on Escorpions back. Clown hits a power bomb on Rey, then launches Puma into him for a drop kick. Clown then hits a drop kick to Fantasma’s nuts. Kross comes in and suplexes Kid and Puma. Clown hits Kross with a back stabber, then Kid hits a 450 but Kross kicks out. A bunch of moves are done but the ring gets cleared out for Kross and Kid. Kross does his monster no sell and hits Laredo with a big clothesline. In the ring Escorpion press slams Clown but Clown gets a power slam soon after for a two count. Rey hits a hurricanrana off the ropes for a two count. Rey hits a DDT and then a lionsault on Clown but Clown kicked out again. Clown hits a dive through the middle turnbuckle on Rey and turns it into an arm drag. Laredo Kid hits an asai moonsault on Kross. Fantasma facing off with Puma and La Mascara interferes to help but he messes it up and Puma gets Fantasma with a pinning combination. Puma King pins Hijo Del Fantasma with a pinning combination.

Clown, Puma, and Laredo get jumped after the match. All their masks get taken. As usual.

Winners: Psycho Clown, Puma King, and Laredo Kid

AAA also announced English commentary coming the 16th of February. So no excuses for you English fans not to watch unless Vampiro is on commentary.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Related Topics:AAA Dr. Wagner Jr Featured Featured Big lucha libre twitch

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Greg DeMarco’s WWE Stand & Deliver 2024 Results & Review

It’s that time of year again–time for WWE NXT Stand & Deliver! Greg DeMarco is here with your results and his review of NXT’s biggest event!

Published

4 weeks ago

April 7, 2024

Greg DeMarco

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver Roxanne Perez Women's Champion

It’s that time of year again–time for WWE NXT Stand & Deliver! Greg DeMarco is here with your results and his review of NXT’s biggest event!

As everyone gears up for WrestleMania, the NXT Universe (?) gets ready for their WrestleMania, Stand & Deliver! Shawn Michaels has been less HBK and more HBCook lately, delivering some of the best booked shows found anywhere on Tuesday nights.

I fully expect that to carry over–but let’s see it in action!

Countdown Match – Shawn Spears vs. Joe Gacy

As much as I really wanted “The Ten Guy” back, I have enjoyed Shawn Spears run back in NXT. Also interesting to see Wade Barrett on commentary alongside Vic Joseph and Booker T, which makes me expect the ‘Mania call will be handled by Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Pat McAfee.

Ridge Holland, who had joined the Kickoff panel, had to be held back during Shawn Spears’ entrance, then attacked Joe Gacy with a chair during his own entrance. Storylines in every element of the show–that is how it’s done!

Also interesting to see Gacy bring back little facets of The Schism with the mask and the smiley face on his knee pad. Makes me wonder what the long term plan is for him (either on NXT or the main roster), as he is crazy entertaining (and crazy, and entertaining).

Stream of consciousness:

Thank Randy Orton cares that Spears used the Hangman DDT? Something tells me Randy doesn’t.
Joe Gacy is so damn talented and moves so well for his size and perceived conditioning.
Shawn Spears is a 22-year veteran of the ring, and it shows in all of the little things he does, especially the non-verbals.
Gacy, mind you, is an 18-year veteran himself, let’s not forget that.
Didn’t expect that result, especially after Ridge attacked Gacy on his way to the ring.

Winner via pinfall: Joe Gacy

Highly entertaining match that fits anywhere: Countdown To Stand & Deliver, NXT TV match, NXT TV main event, PLE main card match, and would work on Raw or Smackdown. Very intrigued to see what happens next for both of these guys.

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2024

As usual, I am watching this on a delay (west coast time, and I’ve gots a family!). I am fairly capable of staying spoiler free as I start (I did get one result spoiled for me, but it is what it is). But I did see that the event drew 16,545 fans, which is amazing (and a record for NXT). For perspective, last year’s event with the same name drew 7,584. For those of you who, like me, try to apply some math to these things, that’s double +18% (or 215% of last year’s attendance).

Job well done by all involved.

Once again… #WWENXT delivered.

An incredible show, with a record-setting number of @WWEUniverse members in attendance. Congrats to the Superstars, and the crew members behind the scenes, who helped set the tone for the biggest #WrestleMania Weekend EVER. #StandAndDeliver pic.twitter.com/JiAypgi2MW

— Triple H (@TripleH) April 6, 2024

Very much enjoyed the opening video (that I presume we watched as Meta Four made their way to the ring), where there went through all of the major settings and storylines in NXT and here tonight.

I was wrong, Meta Four stayed by the entrance. Great to see that huge crowd on camera. The business is so hot right now.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match – Axion & Nathan Frazer vs. Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker (champions)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Nathan Frazer & Axiom win the tag team titles.

Extremely excited to see Axiom & Frazer get the nod to be in this match when you had The LWO, The Good Brothers, and Alpha Academy all as possible participants as recently as this past Tuesday. Not so sure they will get the win, but you never know with Baron Corbin having been back down in NXT for a while now, and Breakker already a member of the Smackdown roster.

Hot start to the match (and PLE) with multiple dives from the challengers.
Breakker is so damn good with less than 4 years in the business. He was truly born with it.
Interesting fact from Vic that Breakker has never won at Stand & Deliver. Of course, in 2022 he won two nights later on Raw.
Wade Barrett speaks! I forgot he was on commentary. It’s hard when Vic & Booker do this together every week. And Booker talks a lot–and for a long time.
Axiom & Frazer really do make a fantastic team. If they don’t win tonight, I wonder where they fit in. Because they are so damn good.
Hell of a Frankensteiner, not sure what Corbin was supposed to do with it.
“Justified” This Is Awesome chants, as Tony Khan would say.
BARON CORBIN WITH THE USO SPLASH!!!
Tons of near-falls in this match. HBK letting these boys go!
Spear ends it, I’m surprised Bron didn’t get to score the fall since he’s never done that at Stand & Deliver.

Winners via pinfall, AND STILL your NXT Tag Team Champions: The Wolf Dogs

Outstanding opener, crowd was way into everyone. But, man, Bron Breakker is on a completely different level. That man is going to deliver one hell of a WrestleMania main event some day.

WWE NXT North American Championship: Dijak vs. Josh Briggs vs. Oba Femi (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Oba Femi retains the NXT North American Championship

Given the copious number of nearfalls in the opener, I expected the six-woman tag here. But, hey, this card is stacked, so obviously we need to place that elsewhere. I love all three guys in this match, and I really think Josh Briggs is likely going to get called up in the next draft. But man, Oba Femi is a damn star! He might in one of those WrestleMania main events with Bron Breakker that I referenced earlier.

This match is sponsored by Knuckles, on Paramount+, by the way. Weird to see a Paramout+ sponsorship on a show streaming on Peacock, but here we are!
That Knuckles banner is literally duct-taped to the floor! That’s always a funny aspect of Stand & Deliver, some of the main production elements are already set-up in the stadium.
The Man of Mayhem definitely brings that when he flip-chokeslams Dijak from the top rope to (through?) Oba Femi, who was seated (literally) on the floor.
Briggs, by the way, is an 8-year veteran of the ring (that surprises me, I thought he had more), and Dijak has 11. Femi, of course, has about 15 matches. Which is absolutely insane.
Looking up those years, I had the result of this match spoiled for me, but I am totally fine with that. That result was expected!
Interesting for Barrett to point out that some refs won’t allow getting your foot on the ropes to break up a pin in a Triple Threat Match. All the years I have been watching this stuff, I haven’t heard that.
~~SUPERKICK~~BIG BOOT PARTY!
Dijak and Briggs doing the majority of the heavy lifting in this one, and putting on a performance reminiscent of Dijak and Keith Lee.
NOW THAT WAS A TOWER OF DOOM SPOT.
I can’t even describe it, you just have to see it. INSANE.
If I ever rewatch this match, I am counting the number of Big Boots.
Feast Your Eyes on a 300 lb man!
Crowd was NOT HAPPY about Briggs pulling the ref out. I thought it was brilliant.
“Justified” This Is Awesome chants, as Tony Khan would say.
That camera shot was AMAZING.

Winner via pinfall on Briggs, AND STILL your NXT North American Champion: Oba Femi

What a match! Seriously, one hell of a classic put on by all three men. All props to Dijak and Josh Briggs, who really need to have great runs on the main roster.Man, this company is LOADED with talent right now. Where do you fit everybody? It feels like they need a third main roster brand.

Meta Four (unsuccessfully) trying to get interviews is very, very entertaining.

Six-Woman Tag Team Match: Kiana James, Izzi Dame, & Jacy Jayne (With Jazmyn Nix) vs. Fallon Henley, Kelani Jordan, & Thea Hail (with Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, & Riley Osborne)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Babyfaces over!

I loved the addition of this match to the card, getting six very talented competitors on the card. Hell of an opportunity for Izzi Dame and Kelani Jordan, too.

All total, we have 10 NXT Superstars in and around the ring for this match.
Still not sure why Jacy Jayne worked so hard to save Chase U just to ditch them so quickly after. If she was never Thea’s friend, why did she bust her ass to help?
Kelani with a handspring into a ….. Flatliner? That makes zero sense.
Nice “not the first time a James has been jealous of a Jordan” reference by Vic Joseph, who should appreciate that Lebron James brought a championship to Cleveland.
Have to wonder if Jacy, Jazmyn, Kiana, and Izzi will formally be put together into a “Mean Girls” style stable.
Love Wade Barrett with the Toxic Attraction reference.
Gotta figure that Fallon Helney will end up on the main roster sooner rather than later–and I hope she isn’t lost in the shuffle.
Kelani Jordan has a lot of development to come, but damn she can hit that Moonsault to the floor just as good as Charlotte Flair.
Great set-up to get to Thea vs Jacy, and the crowd was hyped for it.
Nice sequence to the finish.

Winners via Hail submission on Dame, Thea Hail, Fallon Henley, & Kelani Jordan

Hell of a match that felt like it got a lot of time, and was easily Stand & Deliver worthy. The women’s division is in really good hands for years to come.

Hey look Giulia is here! (And kinda looks nervous.)

WWE NXT Women’s Championship: Roxanne Perez vs. Lyra Valkyria

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Roxanne Perez captures the NXT Women’s Championship for a second time (with something underhanded involved)

Kinda surprised to see the two women’s matches back-to-back. I actually had the match order a little different, and the final three would have been (in order): NXT Championship, NXT Women’s Championship, Trick/Melo.

Nice point from Vic Joseph, pointing out that the NXT Women’s Championship is the only NXT title to be defended at a WrestleMania.
Another streaming partnership for a match here, with Fallout on Amazon Prime getting the visibility treatment here on Peacock.
Roxanne Perez working over the arm like a champ. That’s been a big part of the story all along.
I must say–as I always do when the set-up is like this–that I really do prefer a WWE arena event without the big huge stage (not talking abut WrestleMania).
With all the high-flying, crazy action of the first three matches, the crowd is definitely a little quiet during this one–all the spent time working over the arm also causes that.
I’m not complaining, this is very much the type of match you’d see on the main roster (even a main roster WrestleMania), and that’s why we are here.
Roxanne Perez, by the way, has 6-years in the business. Nine years for Lyra Valkyria.
The Pop Rox (and subsequent kickout) definitely woke the crowd up.
Tatum Paxley appearance, which had to be expected (Paxley has been amazing in this pairing, by the way).
The crowd is now solidly behind Roxanne Perez. Big pop for her locking in the submission a second time.
Poison Rana into Pop Rox into the Crossface, and that has to be it.
Big pop for the finish, too.

Winner via submission, AND NEW WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Roxanne Perez

Roxanne Perez joins Shayna Baszler and Charlotte Flair as your only two-time NXT Women’s Champions. She needs a good 440 days to pass Baszler’s days as champion–and I would love to see it.

WWE NXT Championship – Tony D’Angelo (with Channing Lorenzo, Adriana Rizzo, and Luca Crusifino) vs. Ilja Dragunov (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Ilja Dragunov retains

Tony D’Angelo’s highest profile match to date, and I truly think he deserves this spot. But to me, this spot is about building Tony’s future. I see him as a future NXT Champion, but not tonight. The build to this has seen Tony lean more towards the heel side once again, which could set things up for a Tony/Trick feud. But we could get more than one match out of Tony and Ilja, too

During the intros I did our experience check: Tony D debuted in 2019 (5 years ago–time flies!), Ilja Dragunov has been working for 14 years.
Tony wearing the “WrestleMania whites” for his gear today–usually you see more of that! We’ll see what happens at WrestleMania tonight.
Seeing Stacks on the outside is odd to me. Not because he’s out there, or out there with Tony, but it seems like a demotion for him after working so closely with Tony in-ring. I do wonder if a split is coming there.
Ilja chops the ringpost as we hear from Booker T for the first time in this match! I almost wondered if he took a break or went back to congratulate his student, Roxanne Perez.
Ilja tried to get Stacks involved, but The Don called him off. Ilja kissed him on each cheek (a Mafia thing, which Wade Barrett totally missed and called as Ilja kissing Tony on the mouth) and that just fired up Tony D.
Huge Overhead Belly To Belly by Tony off the top rope, which woke the crowd up (much like Roxanne vs Lyra, they started off slow).
Well done H-Bomb through the table, as Stacks looks on and says he’s not doing anything (remember, Tony told him not to).

Winner via pinfall, AND STILL your WWE NXT Champion: Ilja Dragunov

Not gonna lie, that felt short. And while it was the Top Rope H-Bomb that ended it, the match never made me believe Tony might capture the title. (Late research showed me I was wrong–this was 17 minutes and was the longest match of the program!)

Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams

It was no surprise when this match was announced as the Stand & Deliver main event. It simply made sense. What’s crazy is the development of Trick Williams, wrestling on a Stand & Deliver for his first time ever, and doing so in the main event.

Hype video for this match was great, but almost felt unnecessary solely because everyone knows this story.
The only drawback of this feud was how long it took for Melo to be revealed as the one who attacked Trick. Even in the video package that was largely overlooked. I wonder how many casuals actually know that it happened that way?
Carmelo Hayes made his debut almost exactly 10 years ago, in April 2014. Trick, on the other hand debuted in late 2021, less than three years ago. That’s how fast Trick has developed.
With the brawling in the crowd (after the match started), and commentary constantly reminding us that Ava told the referee to provide “leniency,” you have to wonder why this match didn’t have any added stipulation/gimmick to it.
Nice little double dropkick spot done in a way you normally don’t see.
BIG BOOT!
Big dive to the floor from the middle rope from Melo to Trick.
“Justified” This Is Awesome chants, as Tony Khan would say.
Why did we need a ref bump in a match where the ref was already handcuffed? Let’s see …
So we got a chair, and a low blow. Since nothing followed the low blow, the crowd didn’t really buy the nearfall.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand ref bump #2.
Another, more believable, nearfall.
Trick Knee finishes the match.

Winner: Trick Williams

Look, it was a great match. Was it truly a “moment?” Tommaso Ciampa called it the biggest match in NXT history. And it might be Melo’s send-off. If so, I think it fell short. Think of the things that Ciampa and Johnny Gargano did in their Takeover matches. Hell, there was a women’s 4-way on a Takeover that got crazier than this. Trick is over, but I think this one missed a third gear to make it truly great. And I hate to say it.

Greg DeMarco’s Overall Thoughts on NXT Stand & Deliver 2024

My complaints about the match order (swap the two NXT title matches), and the lack of a third gear for Trick and Melo notwithstanding, this was one hell of a show. NXT is the future, and I need to remind myself about that. It’s a different NXT now then when Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were trying to kill each other all over the building. It’s about populating the main roster, and so many of the stars we saw today will do just that. Trick and Melo will cross paths again, even if it’s not in NXT.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this show, and the most important point is that the future is bright. Damn bright.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: WWE WrestleMania 40 Opponents For Roman Reigns

It’s Royal Rumble season, which means we may soon know Roman Reigns’ WWE WrestleMania 40 opponent. Who are the candidates to challenge the Tribal Chief?

Published

4 months ago

December 30, 2023

Greg DeMarco

The start of 2024 will send us right into the Royal Rumble, which kickstarts the Road To WrestleMania, and the next milestone title defense for Roman Reigns! But who will his opponent be?

Roman Reigns’ historic championship reign is one that history will never forget, even if it can be polarizing for many fans online. Many of those fans believe it is a veritable lock that Cody Rhodes will get a rematch at WrestleMania 40 and unseat the longest reigning champion of the modern era. Doing so would be a major departure for WWE.

Only once in WWE history has the main event of WrestleMania been a rematch of the prior year’s main event: WrestleMania 29 saw John Cena defeat The Rock in a rematch of the prior year’s main event (which The Rock won). While there have been rematches at WrestleMania (including two famous trilogies featuring The Undertaker vs. Triple H and Steve Austin vs. The Rock), Cena-Rock is the only instance of a main event repeating in consecutive years.

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5 Stories To Watch In 2024

Could it happen this year? See what I think–here are your Top 5 WWE WrestleMania 40 Opponents For Roman Reigns!

5. AJ Styles

Recently making his return to WWE Smackdown, AJ Styles has been turning heads with his alignment. He seems to be a heel-leaning tweener, attacking LA Knight and not being buddy-buddy at all with Randy Orton. This is more of a vigilante AJ, one who is hell-bent on revenge on The Bloodline for taking him out. Many would expect his beef to be with Solo Sikoa, the man who put him on the shelf, but that was at the behest of The Tribal Chief.

I believe AJ will get his title shot, but I don’t expect it to be at WrestleMania 40. But if it were AJ Styles, the company would have no issue getting the match over, as AJ is one of the most beloved performers of this generation, and a WrestleMania main event would be quite the feather in the cap of an amazing career.

4. Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn is no stranger to the Premium Live Event main event, competing in multiple such matches in 2023–including the main event of night 1 of WrestleMania 39. He also challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Championship in Montreal at the Elimination Chamber event, a night those in attendance–and Sami himself–won’t soon forget.

Sami Zayn is currently out of action, but a Royal Rumble return–and victory–would be a surprising development but would also make Sami an amazing babyface headed into a WrestleMania 40 showdown with Roman Reigns. It also follows the pattern of underdog babyfaces “on the 10s,” following Bret Hart (WrestleMania 10), Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 20), and Daniel Bryan Danielson (WrestleMania 30) challenging for the world title in the WrestleMania main event.

3. Cody Rhodes

You may be surprised to find Cody “so low” on this list, coming in at #3. As I listed above, it’s a no-brainer to so many people. History says it won’t happen, but it’s easy to ignore history when it doesn’t suit your narrative. WWE, on the other hand, loves history, especially making history.

And the company will never be this close again to having someone surpass Hulk Hogan’s 1474 day reign as WWF Champion. It’s now or never for that historical marker, and it makes perfect sense to do it with Roman. They should have split the titles in 2022 at Clash At The Castle (utilizing Austin Theory’s Money In The Bank briefcase and a wiseman in Paul Heyman smart enough to find a loophole that Theory could only cash in on one championship, thus when Drew McIntyre pinned Theory he only won one title–the WWE Championship). So if you assume Roman is breaking Hogan’s reign, it makes zero sense to have Cody lose AGAIN in the main event of WrestleMania.

For those of you who say “there’s no way Cody doesn’t win it at 40,” remember that you also said the same thing about WrestleMania 39. I do believe Cody Rhodes finishes the story–at WrestleMania 41 (potentially in London) when he is the man to finally take the title off of Roman Reigns.

2. CM Punk

Speaking of another guy looking to finish a story, CM Punk is on a mission to finally secure his WrestleMania main event (although his WrestleMania 28 title defense against Chris Jericho WAS considered a main event by WWE–but you know Punk and many others believing the main event is only the match that goes on last).

If Punk is going to get a show-closing match at WrestleMania 40, it’s likely going to have to be against Roman Reigns. You might think Punk vs. Seth Rollins is going to main event night 1, but there’s a small issue with that. WrestleMania 37 is the last “Granddaddy Of Them All” to have women in a main event match. I just can’t see Triple H being the guy to keep them out of that slot for a third straight year.

The only way CM Punk gets his WrestleMania main event at 40 in Philly is to win the Royal Rumble and challenge Roman Reigns. I don’t think that happens as I fully expect Punk vs. Rollins to happen, just with no championship involved.

Honorable Mentions – a few darkhorse/longshots to challenge Reigns in Philly include…

GUNTHER.
Seth Rollins
A Bloodline 4-way vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso.
Brock Lesnar.

Just kidding on that last one! 😁

1. Randy Orton

It’s crazy to think that Randy Orton was last in a WrestleMania main event at WM30–a full decade ago. Hell, Triple H has a more recent WrestleMania main event (WM32), along with Daniel Bryan Danielson (WM37). Orton has been white-hot since his return. He was also rumored to be Roman’s SummerSlam 2022 opponent before the injury (that turned into Roman vs. Brock Lesnar in the now-famous Last Man Standing Match that featured Brock nearly destroying the ringside area with a tractor).

It’s also crazy to think that the internet fanbase chooses to ignore Randy’s place in WWE history. A Royal Rumble win would make him only the second three-time Rumble winner, alongside “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Orton is also crazy over with the casual fanbase. And remember, THAT is the target audience, not us.

Daddy’s Back, he’s winning the Royal Rumble, and (unsuccessfully) challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the Night 2 main event of WrestleMania 40.