8 Ups & 2 Downs From NXT Stand & Deliver 2022
Triple H appears; Tommaso Ciampa waves goodbye to NXT; 3 titles change hands.
Few things were certain heading into NXT's Stand & Deliver 2022.
The reborn third brand hasn't exactly been hitting weekly homes runs on TV, and Vince McMahon's 2.0 rebranding has largely disillusioned those who once enjoyed the indy-wrestling-meets-WWE-production vibes of the show. NXT 2.0 is developmental for Raw and SmackDown - plain and simple. That's the way things will be until the boss man's whims steer things in a different direction again.
Now for some good news. NXT's roster came through on the final word of this pay-per-view's name. They did deliver, often in a big way. No match on the card could be considered an obvious disappointment, and some definitely exceeded expectations that many had going in.
WWE put on an afternoon of surprise comebacks, emotional farewells, title switches and more. This, being honest, was a better way to set yourself up for WrestleMania 38 than Monday's episode of Raw or Friday's naff edition of SmackDown.
Here's all the good and bad from an event that might just represent hope for the future of NXT after all. More wrestling like this wouldn't be a negative.