WWE NXT Results - March 24, 2021: The Build To Stand & Deliver Continues

With NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver only two weeks away, the black and gold brand continued to build to the show on this week's edition of NXT. 

The show got straight to the in-ring action this week as Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez took on Io Shirai and Zoey Stark in the opener. Gonzalez was kept quiet for much of the match, but she ultimately proved decisive and picked up the win for her team following two One-Arm Powerbombs on Stark. 

Gonzalez and Shirai then gave fans a possible preview of their NXT Women's Title match on April 7 as a distraction from Dakota Kai allowed Raquel to overpower Shirai and The Genius Of The Sky was sent crashing onto the announce table moments later following a One-Arm Powerbomb from the challenger. 

After the match, the broadcast cut backstage to Kyle O'Reilly, who was being escorted around the Capitol Wrestling Center. Roderick Strong stopped his former stablemate and said they need to both go out there and kick Adam Cole's ass. O'Reilly just blew off Strong, though, and an insulted Master Of The Backbreaker told Kyle him and Cole can both go to hell. 

The former Undisputed ERA members were involved later in the show as Roderick Strong punched Cameron Grimes after The Technical Savage offered to purchase The UE's intellectual property rights. 

Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole then sat opposite each other in the main event segment as William Regal told them the solution to their blood feud. The NXT general manager berated both men and said he would not allow them to embarrass the company before he placed a contract for Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver on the table. Regal also revealed that because O'Reilly is not medically cleared, both men will have to agree that NXT will not be held accountable for what they do to each other. 

Cole was the first man to sign and he went on a long tirade about his opponent. He said he had a revelation that he didn't need The Undisputed ERA anymore and if anything, the group was holding him back. He noted he sat back and watched O'Reilly lose twice to Finn Balor, only for Kyle to then try and befriend Balor and recruit him to The UE. Cole then told O'Reilly he was nothing more than a sidekick and said The Undisputed ERA is nothing without Adam Cole and neither his Kyle O'Reilly.  

O'Reilly followed up with his own promo and said he finally decided to take some accountability for his actions from when he was a heel. He noted all four members of The UE had become better wrestlers and stars, but only he became a better person. Cole is still the same asshole who signed in 2017 and an insecure pr*ck who used his best friends. The former NXT Tag Team Champion then admitted he sold his soul for The Undisputed ERA but he now wants it back so he can sleep at night. 

O'Reilly put pen to paper soon after and the former friends had to be held back from each other as NXT went off the air. 

Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole wasn't the only match booked for TakeOver on this week's show. 

After WALTER demolished Drake Maverick in 23 seconds, Tommaso Ciampa headed to the ring and challenged The Ring General to an NXT United Kingdom Championship match at Stand & Deliver. WALTER initially tried to walk away, but Ciampa slapped him and the action quickly descended into a three-on-one beatdown of The Blackheart. An insulted WALTER then ripped off Ciampa's necklace, Chopped him across the chest and accepted the challenge. 

It was also announced during the show that MSK, Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma will square off for the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship on April 7. 

Johnny Gargano's opponent at Stand & Deliver will also be decided on night one of TakeOver. William Regal announced during the show that a 12-man battle royal will take place next week and the final six will qualify for a Gauntlet Eliminator on April 7. The Battle Royal will then continue and the order of the gauntlet will be determined by when the Superstars are thrown over the top rope. Wrestlers will enter the Gauntlet every three minutes and eliminations will only occur by pinfall or submission. The winner will challenge Johnny TakeOver for the NXT North American Championship on April 8. 

The 12 competitors in the Battle Royal are Kushida, Leon Ruff, Austin Theory, LA Knight, Tyler Rust, Jake Atlas, Bronson Reed, Dexter Lumis, Cameron Grimes, Roderick Strong, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Pete Dunne. 

Following this development, Gargano confronted Regal in his office and asked if the general manager was coo-coo bananas. The champion protested that 24 hours did not give him enough time to prepare for a title match, but Regal waved off Johnny's concerns and said he will just have to prepare for all of the competitors instead. 

Two of the competitors in the Battle Royal also went one on one on this week's show. Bronson Reed and LA Knight have been feuding over the past few weeks and the former IMPACT World Champion was made to look a fool for angering The Colossal One as Reed put him away after eight minutes with Tsunami. 

A stipulation was added to the NXT Cruiserweight Title unification match later in the show following Jordan Devlin's win over Kushida. Both cruiserweights fought back and forth, but Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde interfered during the closing stages and cost Kushida the win. The Time Splitter took them out while they were stood on the apron and The Irish Ace took advantage and rolled Kushida into a Bridge for the 1-2-3. 

An enraged Kushida then took out Mendoza and Wilde while Santos Escobar and Jordan Devlin jawed back and forth in the ring. They were quickly interrupted by Shawn Michaels, though, who made his way down the ramp and tossed a ladder into the ring, adding the stipulation to their Stand & Deliver match. 

An NXT Women's Tag Team Championship also took place on this week's show as Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart defended the belts against Aliyah and Mercedes Martinez. Jessi Kamea was originally scheduled to team with Aliyah, but Robert Stone announced she was injured and he managed to recruit Martinez after she said he had to double her fee. 

Luckily for Martinez, the fee wasn't paid by the minute as she did little to help Aliyah and Ember Moon caught the Robert Stone Brand member with the Eclipse after three minutes to secure the win. 

The latest chapter in the rivalry between Karrion Kross and Finn Balor was written this week as well. Kross faced Oney Lorcan on the show as the former NXT Tag Team Champion blamed The Herald Of Doomsday for Danny Burch's injury and he wanted to exact some revenge. 

Lorcan couldn't overcome Kross, though, and the former NXT Champion managed to survive a flurry of Running European Uppercuts and put Oney away with a Saito Suplex and brutal Forearm to the back of the head. 

After the match, Kross said Balor inadvertently knocking Oney Lorcan into Scarlett on last week's NXT was an action done with malice. The Prince, therefore, didn't deserve his respect. 

Balor had something to say about that, as he headed to the ring. The NXT Champion said Kross took his best shot last week, but he was still standing. He then detailed his plan to defeat Kross. 

The Herald Of Doomsday fights with uncontrollable emotion, Balor said, while he has learned to be cold and calculated in the ring. Everything Kross does is a reaction, which makes him "sloppy" and "vulnerable" and The Prince promised to push Kross to the point where he either masters his emotions or his emotions master him, which he believes is the most likely scenario. When that happens, Balor will drag his opponent into the cold deep water and drown him. 

Check out the full results from the March 24 NXT below:
• Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez def. Io Shirai & Zoey Stark
• Bronson Reed def. La Knight
• Karrion Kross def. Oney Lorcan
• WALTER def. Drake Maverick
• Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon def. Aliyah & Mercedes Martinez - NXT Women's Tag Team Championship
• Jordan Devlin def. Kushida