10 Biggest Holy Sh*t Moments From NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 1

1. Raquel Gonzalez Beats Io Shirai

Walter Tommaso Ciampa
WWE.com

Wow.

Io Shirai's near year-long NXT Women's Title reign is over, and Raquel Gonzalez stands in her place as the brand's new leading light. This is likely a sign that Io is heading to Raw or SmackDown post-WrestleMania, which is a bit of a worry. She'll have to adjust to 50/50 booking for one, and won't get a lot of time to work the kinds of matches she likes to work.

Back to the positives though.

Raquel has come a long-assed way from playing a Chyna-esque mute bodyguard for Dakota Kai. The former NXT Women's Tag Champ now has a belt of her own. There's also no doubting the bravery of this call from WWE. Gonzales isn't a worker in the mould of Shirai, Shayna Baszler or Rhea Ripley before her, for example.

She's worked hard, however, and will only get better over time. Still, this was the biggest surprise of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver's first night. There are bound to be more "holy sh*t" moments on Thursday too.

What did you think of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver's first night? For more WWE, check out 10 Biggest Holy Sh*t Moments From WWE Hall Of Fame 2020 & 2021 and 20 Things You Probably Missed From WWE Raw (April 5)!

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.