NXT Stand & Deliver officially kicked off WrestleMania weekend and ushered in a new champion in the main event.
The event was headlined by Bron Breakker who was making his fourteenth defence of the NXT Championship against Carmelo Hayes.
The two young up-and-coming stars have been on a collision course ever since they both burst on the scene following the introduction of NXT 2.0.
Breakker was put in the top spot as the face of the company and was crowned the champion within his first year on the brand.
Someone else who was making waves on the new look brand was Hayes. He won the NXT Breakout Tournament quickly followed by North American Championship.
Their respective rise through the ranks ultimately led to the two meeting in the main event of NXT’s biggest show of the year.
The match started off tentatively with both wrestlers feeling each other out. The speed picked up as both men began hitting their signature offence, Hayes with his high-flying strikes and Breakker with his monster power moves.
Things got interesting when Haye’s hype man Trick Williams interfered, which resulted in him being eliminated from ringside by the referee.
Toward the end of the match, Breakker hit a huge spear that took out both his opponent and the referee. While the official was down the champ locked in the Recliner, which forced Hayes to tap out.
As Breakker looked for the ref to call the match, Williams returned and took advantage of the situation and struck Breakker from behind with the title.
Unaware of the interference, Hayes climbed to the top turnbuckle and delivered the Nothing But Net diving leg drop to score the win and become the new champion.
Carmelo Hayes Ended Bron Breakker’s 362-Day NXT Championship Reign
Welcome to the HIM era. @Carmelo_WWE is the NEW #WWENXT Champion!#AndNew#StandAndDeliverpic.twitter.com/pNcYAk1RMD
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 1, 2023
Following the match, the former champ showed the utmost respect to his successor and presented him with the title. The new champion reciprocated the gesture and they showed mutual appreciation to one another.
Breakker left the event as the second of the longest reigning NXT Champion of all time having won the title for the second time from Dolph Ziggler on April 4th, 2022.
The show also saw the Women’s Tag Team Championship change hands when Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn defeated Fallon Henley and Kiana James.
Johnny Gargano beat Grayson Waller in a brutal Unsanctioned Match that saw Candice LeRae get involved. Wes Lee retained the North American title in an excellent Fatal Fave Way match that featured Dragon Lee, Axiom, Ilya Dragunov and JD McDonagh.
Gallus also successfully defended their Tag Team Title in a Three Way Match against The Creed Brothers and Tony D’Angelo and Stacks.
The biggest surprise of the night, Indi Hartwell won the six-woman ladder match to become the new Women’s Champion.
On the kick-off show, Chase U bested The Schism and kept their school alive in the process.