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In a title match two years in the making, Bron Breakker defended his NXT Championship against Carmelo Hayes at Stand & Deliver. After an incredible main event bout, Breakker ultimately lost the title to the 2021 Breakout Superstar.
Featuring the top two superstars of the brand, many expected to see a title change at the premium live event. But did a real-life event force the swap? Last night, IMPACT Wrestling star Gisele Shaw took to Twitter to highlight an incident where Rick Steiner, Bron's father, allegedly harassed her with horrific transphobic comments.
"I hear someone yelling, 'you're a man,' 'you're a dude,' 'you're a piece of trash,' 'You are filth,' 'get the f*** away from here.' I kept my head down and kept walking as I did not want to acknowledge that hate," wrote Shaw.
Gisele Shaw stated that the second time she heard those same remarks, she decided to find out who was responsible. Surprisingly, it was WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner.
The post has been gaining traction, with many wrestlers supporting Shaw. Some even attacked Steiner, like Chris Jericho, who claimed that he'd been a bully since the late 90s.
This won't be the first time an online dispute forced a title swap in NXT if that is indeed the cause. However, it's more than likely that what we saw play out at Stand and Deliver was the original plan.
Two NXT Titles changed in a year following online controversy
If Rick Steiner's outburst did affect Bron Breakker's title run, it would be the third time in a year that a title on the brand was forced to change due to online controversy.
On April 8th, 2022, Wes Lee and Nash Carter, known as MSK, were stripped of the NXT Tag Team Titles. A week after capturing the titles for the second time, Nash's then-wife Kimber Lee accused him of abuse.
Kimber Lee would also post a picture of Carter jokingly doing a Nazi salute while mid-shave with a mustache akin to Adolf Hitler. This would lead to Nash's release and the vacation of the tag team titles.
In December 2022, Mandy Rose dropped her NXT Women's Championship, ending her 413-day reign with the title. She was initially set to defend the belt against Roxanne Perez at Deadline, but the match was moved to the December 13th edition of NXT when it was revealed that Rose was posting explicit content on her FanTime page.
Was Rick Steiner's transphobic outburst responsible for the title change at Stand & Deliver? Let us know your opinions in the comments.
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