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William Regal kicked off NXT with two major announcements. One was that WrestleMania week would host a two-day special, TakeOver: Stand and Deliver, and it would take place on April 7th and 8th.
The other was to crown Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to the ring while the rest of the NXT Women's Division was at ringside, and declare them as the first-ever NXT Women's Tag Team champs. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart came out and challenged for the new Championships and Regal made the match official.
Io Shirai (c) vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Women's Championship
Shirai was dominating early on and slapped Storm in the face before the NXT Women's Champion went for the Octopus lock. Storm countered a moonsault from the champ but took a 619 after the break. Io hit a missile dropkick and Storm came back with a superplex.
Storm hit a German Suplex followed by a bridge for another near fall. Shirai managed to hit a moonsault to the outside before Storm hit the Storm Zero, but the champ kicked out.
Storm went for a flying headbutt off the top but was caught in the crossface again. She had no choice but to tap out.
Result: Io Shirai def. Toni Storm
Match rating: B+
Backstage on NXT, Finn Balor said that Adam Cole didn't have anyone backing him up. He said he beat Cole to win the belt and would beat him to keep it.
After a break, LA Knight was backstage, saying that it was time for his debut next week if anyone had that tingle in their loins. Bronson Reed attacked him and we got a quick cameo from Steve Corino.
Pete Dunne vs. Jake Atlas on NXT
Atlas got in some offense early but Dunne kicked his knees as the former attempted a head scissors and then bent Atlas' arm backwards. Jake went for a moonsault but was caught.
Atlas hit a German Suplex on Dunne and then a standing moonsault for a near fall. Jake kept control with a lariat but went for his finisher and Dunne kicked him off the ropes. Dunne locked in his brutal submission move and made Atlas tap out.
Result: Pete Dunne def. Jake Atlas
After the match, Dunne grabbed a mic and said that he was the best technical wrestler in the world, and dared someone to try and prove him wrong.
Match rating: B
Backstage on NXT, Marcel Barthel and Imperium were seen trying to recruit Tim Thatcher to join the group again.
Back from the break on NXT, we got a passionate promo from Leon Ruff. He'll be facing Swerve next week.
Up next was the first-ever NXT Women's Tag Team Championship match between Champs Kai and Gonzalez against Moon and Blackheart.
Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez (c) vs. Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart - NXT Women's Tag Championship match
Shotzi and Kai kicked off the match on NXT and Blackheart got Kai in a Texas Cloverleaf right off the bat. Kai broke the hold and both women kicked each other down before Gonzalez got the tag during the break and took control of the match.
Kai was back in and put Shotzi in a leg-scissors hold to keep her grounded before Shotzi tagged in Ember Moon, and the former NXT Women's Champion went on a rampage. Moon got a near fall before Kai hit a kick to the face. Gonzalez tagged back in and they hit their finisher on Moon before The Shenom kicked out.
Moon got a near fall and tagged Shotzi back in before they went for a double-team move but Gonzalez broke the pin. She put Shotzi in a headlock and Moon attempted an Eclipse but Gonzalez blocked it. Gonzalez was knocked out of the ring and Shotzi rolled up Kai for the win.
Result: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon def. Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai to become the new NXT Women's Tag Team Champions
Match rating: A
Backstage on NXT, Adam Cole was seen explaining how he got rid of the dead weight.
The entire NXT Women's Division was seen congratulating Shotzi and Ember, except for Candice Wrestling and Indi Hartwell.
Candice and Indi met up with Austin Theory and Johnny Gargano backstage on NXT and Gargano continued to play Theory.
Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter on NXT
Carter went after Xia Li before the bell but the latter regained control and bashed the former with kicks and knee strikes. Carter hit a few kicks of her own before getting a near fall. She went after Li on the ropes but the ref stopped her.
The Chinese Superstar upped her aggression before staring Catanzaro down. Kacy hit Li with a crutch before Li could injure Carter.
The match was called due to DQ and Kacy got in the ring and started to bash Li with the crutch. Boa got in the ring and stopped the attack. He looked to their leader and she gave the signal but Carter hit him with the crutch and ran off.
Result: DNF
Match rating: B+
Jordan Devlin cut a short promo about returning to NXT and confronting Cruiserweight Champion, Santos Escobar.
Escobar was seen arguing with NXT GM William Regal backstage about the comments from Devlin as Legado del Fantasma headed out to the ring.
Legado del Fantasma vs. Grizzled Young Veterans on NXT
The Grizzled Young Veterans controlled the match before Mendoza turned the tide with a dropkick. A few quick tags gave Legado control and they showed off some impressive team moves. Wilde was distracted as two people dressed up as astronauts appeared on the ramp. Many thought it was Breezango but it turned out to be MSK.
Wilde hit a sunset flip on Drake for the win before MSK attacked Gibson with their helmets. Breezango hit the ring to blindside Wilde and Mendoza before posing in the ring.
Result: Legado del Fantasma def. Grizzled Young Veterans
Match rating: B
We were backstage on NXT and Kai and Gonzalez were angry. They were interrupted by Io Shirai and the NXT Women's Champion said she wanted Gonzalez next.
Thatcher was asked about what Imperium said earlier in the night but he was cut off by Ciampa who challenged Imperium to a match next week on NXT.
Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole - NXT Championship match
Balor had control early on in the NXT Title match and Cole tried to get a headlock in. After the break, the match went outside the ring and Cole drove Balor into the plexiglass at ringside before tossing him back into the squared circle.
Balor turned the tides by targeting Cole's knee with a basement dropkick and getting a near fall. Balor kicked Cole out of the ring before arguing with the referee. Cole pulled Balor out of the ring and kicked Finn in the face.
Balor hit a suplex on the steel around the ring and after a break, missed the Coupe de Grace and took a shot to the jaw for a near fall. Balor broke out of the crossface and missed the 1916 DDT before taking a Panama Sunrise for a near fall.
Kyle O'Reilly appeared and distracted Adam Cole as Balor regained control of the match. The champ hit the 1916 DDT on the floor before getting the Coupe de Grace in the ring for the win.
Result: Finn Balor def. Adam Cole to retain the NXT Championship
After the match, Adam Cole tried to apologize to O'Reilly but then went for a low blow. O'Reilly wiped him out and a group of officials tried to stop him.
Cole and O'Reilly ran backstage while Balor had a staredown with Karrion Kross who sneaked up behind him.
Match rating: A+
Episode rating: A
We got a PPV-worthy main event, the unveiling of the NXT Women's Tag Championships as well as a great opening match for the Women's title. Regal announced the two-night TakeOver: Stand and Deliver while Shirai hinted at a future title match with Gonzalez.
