WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From March 24

Back in the WWE Performance Center, the March 24 edition of NXT continued the build toward Stand & Deliver, including multiple major matches with championship implications.

Ricky Saints and Tony D'Angelo battled in a match with major NXT Championship ramifications. Wren Sinclair and Kendal Grey took on Fatal Influence, hoping to earn Grey another shot at Jacy Jayne.

A Gauntlet Eliminator was set to determine the next No. 1 contender to the North American Championship while the NXT Tag Team Championships tournament continued.

With Sol Ruca and Zaria also set to meet face-to-face, this was certain to be a wild night that would establish who represents NXT on one of its biggest nights of the year.

Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid (w/ Jacy Jayne) vs. Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair

Last Time in Action: Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair lost to ZaRuca (NXT, February 10); Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid lost to ZaRuca in a match also including WrenQCC (NXT, January 20).

Wren was quickly isolated by Henley and Reid, who wore her down with fast-paced double-team offense.

While a strong strategy at first, this left Grey fresh for the hot tag. She looked nearly unstoppable from that point on, nearly winning after a feint back elbow smash.

The former Evolve women's champion went for a cross armbar on Reid. While she was able to block the first attempt, she locked in the second while Wren locked in her own submission on Henley, forcing a tap-out from Reid.

Afterward, Grey demanded a shot at Jacy Jayne. Lola Vice came out to call her shot. Robert Stone made a No. 1 contender match between them next week.

This was a fairly basic tag team match. Wren was the pure babyface in peril while Grey got the full fiery comeback spot. It was clear who was the priority.

Still, the likely woman to challenge Jayne at Stand & Deliver delivered the explosive offense necessary to come off as a true threat to end Fatal Influence's reign of terror in NXT.

Vice makes sense to challenge Jayne as well, but Grey is clearly NXT's top rising priority. She has massive upside in and out of the ring.

Result

Grey and Wren def. Reid and Henley by submission.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

The show started with Stone trying to balance out backstage requests from Shiloh Hill, Tatum Paxley and Josh Briggs unsuccessfully.

Wren and Grey wore matching green-and-silver gear while Fatal Influence all had different colors.

Vic Joseph noted Reid needed to prove herself to Fatal Influence and was clearly set up down the stretch to take the fall.

Joseph said this was the most competitive the NXT women's division had ever been, which may be a bit of hyperbole given the incredible history of the brand's women over the years.

Sol Ruca and Zaria Agree to End This at Stand & Deliver

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Zaria delivered her truth to Sol Ruca as the two women agreed to fight at Stand & Deliver.

Sol Ruca questioned how her friendship with Zaria fell apart before challenging her to a match at Stand & Deliver.

Zaria arrived to call Ruca egotistical for forcing her to stand behind her for almost a full year after taking the Women's North American Championship from her.

While Ruca tried to push back, Zaria stood firm in her criticism that her former friend was only holding her back.

This was supposed to be Ruca's moment. She started the segment alone and got a chance to sell her side of this conflict.

However, she struggled to fully sell the emotional weight of the moment and was quickly overshadowed by Zaria, who spoke with passion.

From the beginning, this angle has felt miscast since Zaria has been the friend in the right, frustrated with how little Ruca did to support her.

This made it all clearer and would ideally set the stage for a double turn at Stand & Deliver that allows Zaria to embrace the fan support behind her.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

The crowd was more behind Zaria than Ruca despite her role as the heel.

"You're not the villain in my story. You're the mistake." Zaria delivered the final bar in this promo with a fire that Ruca is going to struggle to counter.

Ricky Saints and Ethan Page argued about who deserves the next shot at Joe Hendry. Josh Briggs complained about not even getting time with Robert Stone.

Kelani Jordan vs. Thea Hail

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Kelani Jordan regained some momentum with a win over Thea Hail.

Last Time in Action: Thea Hail lost to Wren Sinclair in the Speed Championship Tournament (NXT, March 10); Kelani Jordan lost to Lola Vice in NXT Underground (NXT Vengeance Day, March 7).

In a dominant showing, Jordan overwhelmed Hail and sealed the win after the One of a Kind.

Afterward, Jordan continued to attack Hail until Jaida Parker arrived to run her off.

This was a disappointing match because it was so short. It never felt like Hail was given a real chance despite her recent championship success.

While NXT has found a rhythm with less-than-three minute matches due to the Speed Championship format, this was not a Speed match.

It was basically a squash and clearly highlighted that Hail's accidental championship victory did not push her forward into contending with the top women of NXT.

While Jordan needed this win after NXT Underground and is setting the stage for a strong program with Parker, they could have worked a few more competitive minutes.

Result

Jordan def. Hail by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments and Observations

Hail did not even get an entrance for her match with Jordan.

Shiloh Hill offered Tatum Paxley a geolocation to find Mariah May and her Women's North American Championship.

North American Championship No. 1 Contender Gauntlet Eliminator

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Candice LeRae brought Johnny Gargano back to NXT in an attempt to restore his fighting spirit.

Last Time in Action: Jackson Drake alongside Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes lost to Los Americanos (NXT, March 17); Charlie Dempsey alongside Tavion Heights lost to Lexis King and Uriah Connors (NXT, March 10); Dion Lennox lost to Tony D'Angelo (NXT Vengeance Day, March 7); Johnny Gargano lost to Oba Femi (SmackDown, March 6); Shiloh Hill alongside Hank and Tank defeated The Vanity Project (NXT, March 3).

Hill and Drake opened this match. Lennox then Dempsey followed with no early eliminations. The last man was Johnny Gargano, introduced by Candice LeRae, who hoped returning home would bring back Johnny Wrestling.

Gargano took one hit and was right back to his sleepy near-catatonic state on the apron. The wrestlers worked around him.

The DarkState star threw Hill through the barricade at ringside. OTM later used the broken barricade to stomp Lennox's head and set up Hill for the first elimination.

Hill and Drake went back and forth until Hill caught him with a pop-up neckbreaker for his second elimination.

Dempsey caught Hill with a Regalplex for a near-fall, but Hill fired back and hit another pop-up neckbreaker for an elimination.

The Birthright attacked Hill afterward, sending him into the steel steps. The Poison Pixie dumped Gargano onto Hill to win and earn a shot at Myles Borne.

The arrival of Johnny Wrestling was a cool twist for this match on paper, but he was mostly just a comedic distraction.

That action was solid as a whole, certainly a step above the rest of the night so far, though the pace clearly showed the inexperience of the competitors. This too often shifted into one-on-one matches.

This was a big spot for Hill, who got all the real eliminations in the match and established himself as the true threat coming down the pipeline for Borne.

However, Gargano is the next man up, and hopefully this win will reawaken Johnny Wrestling for a match that can reestablish him and put over the North American champion.

On paper, Borne vs. Gargano is a good match, and the latter rarely misses when he is competing in NXT.

Result

Gargano won the Gauntlet Eliminator, last eliminating Hill, to earn a North American Championship opportunity at Stand & Deliver.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

Gauntlet Eliminators are a rare sight in WWE but have been a staple in the WWE 2K games for years. NXT advertised WWE 2K26 during this match.

This is such an infrequent match type that LeRae stumbled in saying its name.

Borne towered over Gargano when he came out to stare down his next challenger.

Backstage afterward, OTM announced they would fight DarkState in a six-man tag match next week alongside TNA world champion Mike Santana, who had a short pre-taped message for DarkState.

Keanu Carver and Jasper Troy both promised victory next week in MSG.

Robert Stone continued to field various requests backstage. Stone promised to find someone to referee Carver vs. Troy next week. He also granted Jaida Parker a match with Kelani Jordan next week.

NXT Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender Tournament: The Culling vs. Los Americanos

Last Time in Action: Rayo and Bravo Americano alongside El Grande Americano defeated The Vanity Project (NXT, March 17); Shawn Spears and Niko Vance lost to The Vanity Project in a match also including Hank and Tank and OTM (NXT, February 17).

Early in the night, it was revealed that someone laid out Eli Knight and Elio LeFleur backstage. Los Americanos took their place in the tournament due to their win over The Vanity Project last week.

Rayo and Bravo tried to quickly set a fast pace in this match, but the power of Niko shut them down multiple times.

Rayo and Bravo both loaded their masks with metal plates to set up a pair of headbutts to Spears that knocked him out for the three count.

A solid tag team match sets the stage for a strong final match-up against The Birthright's Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Uriah Connors.

While Los Americanos are not the NXT stars who should be winning tournaments like this, they make more sense as challengers for The Vanity Project at Stand & Deliver.

Rayo and Bravo are a memorable tag team in a way they never have been on Raw. This was another strong showing that makes it easy to forget who is under the masks.

While this match only included one NXT developmental star, Niko stood out as he had the power necessary to throw Rayo and Bravo into one another at multiple points in the contest.

He is starting to find his confidence in the ring and could be worthy of more serious opportunities soon.

Result

Bravo and Rayo def. Spears and Niko by pinfall to advance to the finals of the NXT Tag Team Championships No. 1 Contender Tournament.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

Rayo's outfit has Curry Man vibes from distance, helped further by the odd dance moves.

When Spears ripped at the mask of Bravo, Vic Joseph and Booker T argued over the legality of that move.

Commentary completely missed Bravo loading his mask at first but saw Rayo do it to set up the finish.

After a night of frustration, Josh Briggs interrupted Robert Stone with Keanu Carver and agreed to referee Carver's match with Jasper Troy at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.

Tatum Paxley found Blake Monroe in a hotel room and warned her that they would meet in the ring next week.

Tony D'Angelo vs. Ricky Saints (w/ 'All Ego' Ethan Page)

Last Time in Action: Ricky Saints alongside "All Ego" Ethan Page defeated Joe Hendry and Myles Borne (NXT, March 10); Tony D'Angelo defeated Dion Lennox (NXT Vengeance Day, March 7).

While the power and size of D'Angelo was a problem for Saints early on, he was able to utilize the ringside area to wear down the bigger man.

D'Angelo tried to shift the momentum but took a Spear from Absolute for the first true near-fall of the match.

The mocking stomps and slaps of Saints annoyed the former Don, who started to roll and hit his own impactful Spear.

When D'Angelo prepared to Chokeslam Absolute, All Ego attacked, causing a disqualification.

The heels tried to lay into D'Angelo afterward, but Joe Hendry arrived to make the save before hitting the man that laid him out last week with a Standing Ovation.

The final shot in the ring was Saints and Page fighting over the NXT Championship while D'Angelo smiled at Hendry.

Robert Stone then announced a Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Championship for Stand & Deliver and a contract signing for that match next week.

Saints and D'Angelo delivered in the ring, though they never truly pushed the pace or drama throughout.

The DQ finish was a disappointing ending for a contest that still had room to build, and the Fatal 4-Way setup was not as exciting as NXT wanted it to feel.

The dynamic at this stage is two goofy heels messing with a champion trying to come off more serious and a developing tweener who still has not fully gotten over.

This feels like an obvious title retention for Hendry while D'Angelo will be the real single threat to the champion beyond Stand & Deliver.

Result

D'Angelo def. Saints by DQ.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments and Observations

It is still jarring to see new presentation for D'Angelo, but his new entrance sells him as a major threat, especially in NXT.

Saints was hamming it up early in this match, playing to the crowd with over-the-top facial expressions.

Page was also hamming it up at ringside, though his expressions seem more pointed to sell that he is mocking even his own partner.

D'Angelo delivered a significantly better Spear than Saints.

Overall Show

The road to Stand & Deliver is not coming together as smoothly as in past years. In particular, the NXT Championship scene is far too messy to truly carry the brand forward.

NXT would be smart to pivot to Jacy Jayne vs. Kendal Grey as the main event of Stand & Deliver for the NXT Women's Championship as that has more dramatic weight.

An even bolder move would be to trust in Sol Ruca vs. Zaria. While they did not fully deliver in their back-and-forth promo, they have obvious chemistry and a story worthy of a spotlight.

The rest of the card is shaping up decently, with Johnny Gargano's return potentially bringing back some old NXT fans.

Los Americanos are on track to make a bigger name in NXT than on Raw and should deliver another great match at Stand & Deliver against The Vanity Project.

This night just did not deliver as much hype as it should have for Stand & Deliver on April 4, but it did more to build toward next week's MSG show, which looks good—but not great—on paper.

Overall Grade: C+