It was strange watching the 2026 NXT Stand & Deliver event away from WrestleMania weekend. There’s a special aura for the show when it’s the morning of WrestleMania Saturday and that was missing this year.
With a pin in that reality, top to bottom the show was a fun watch with strong NXT style matches. The event also showcased a changing of the guard at the top of the card in the NXT men’s and women’s divisions.
Calling the guard change a new era is over-dramatizing what happened, but there was a clear effort to elevate new stars because of what took place on the show. The end result should be interesting television for next year.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Jacy Jayne vs. Kendal Grey vs. Lola Vice - NXT Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match
A strong opener and the match of the night. The action was smooth all throughout and early spots that could have looked like an extravagantly planned dance actually looked like fighting. Jayne was the heel glue that held everything together and both Grey and Vice capitalized on the heat she provided. A very cool finishing sequence led to Vice getting the victory and becoming champion. She has come a long, long way. Her work is crisper than ever and she very much fits what a top champion in NXT needs to be in 2026.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
The Vanity Project vs. Los Americanos - NXT Tag Team Championships
A strong match with good action, but the storyline premise had me rolling my eyes. Los Americanos are not Eddie Guerrero. Those two guys cheating to win as babyfaces doesn’t have anywhere close to the same charm as Guerrero did when he acted in the same way. There has to be a special connection with the audience to pull that off and not many people other than Guerrero had it. The Vanity Project is a tag team that’s going to make some money in WWE. Smart to keep the belts around their waists. Not WrestleMania marquee level guys, but guys that can do what WWE needs to fill television time. The Vanity Project against The Revival in 2016 would have been something to see.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Sol Ruca vs. Zaria
Well, it could have been an epic disaster and it wasn’t. Their brawl from NXT TV this week helped shed the stink of their promo segment together two weeks ago. Still, the match was a victim of what could have been. It wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t a crescendo of a year long storyline either. The audience was lukewarm for both Ruca and Zaria, which led to very tempered crowd reactions. Ruca getting the victory tells me they are planning a rematch in the near future.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Myles Borne vs. Johnny Gargano - NXT Men’s North American Championship
The story here was whether or not Borne could hang with Gargano. He did. In two ways. From a match storyline standpoint he kept up with one of the best NXT stars ever and then won. Thumbs up. In reality, Borne truly did keep up with Gargano during the match and reached a gear that he hadn’t seen before. As for Gargano, the live audience clearly wanted to see more. That audience wanted a five gear Gargano NXT TakeOver style match and this didn’t reach those heights. How could it, though? Not nearly enough story between the two competitors for that to happen.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Tatum Paxley vs. Blake Monroe - NXT Women’s North American Championship
Tatum Paxley is one of the most exciting stars to watch week to week on NXT television. She’s got an authentic connection with the audience that nobody else in NXT has right now. A tough spot to be in if you’re Blake Monroe or trying to book a finish to this one. Paxley and Monroe delivered a fine match with plenty of action, but both women really need the victory. Paxley got it, so her NXT future is on solid footing. As for Monroe, is she main roster bound? It’s wild to see her defined lower than Paxley, but facts are facts.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Joe Hendry vs. Ethan Page vs. Ricky Saints vs. Tony D’Angelo - NXT Championship Fatal Four-Way Match
I’m not a fan of fatal four-way bouts like this one as main events for big shows. That said, this worked well. Page and Saints carried their own story of heel one-upmanship throughout the bout and it ended up ruining both of them. The audience seemed a little hotter for Hendry, but by the end, clearly wanted Tony D’Angelo to win the title. That was the call to make. Though D’Angelo felt like he was missing for half this match, he’s the act that has gotten the most television attention for the last two months and needed this win to solidify the spot. D’Angelo will be the main player on NXT moving forward and there’s no way he would have been as a mob boss. The gimmick shift already has paid off.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
What did you think of NXT Stand & Deliver 2026? Let us know in the comments!
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