WWE has released a new SEC filing ahead of its annual stockholder\’s meeting in May.
This is where they listed salary and compensation for top executives for 2021, which you can see here:
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon: $1,400,000
President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan : $1,200,000
Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon: $730,000
EVP, Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H: $730,000
WWE stated, \”In respect of 2021, we did not grant any salary increases to our named executive officers.\”
For comparison, WWE also listed the earnings for these executives for last year that salary, stock awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation, and other compensation:
Vince: $3,905,792
Khan: $12,964,565 (Khan was granted a $5 million sign-on bonus. He joined the company in August 2020. He received $6,799,138 in stock awards)
Stephanie: $2,187,266
Triple H: $2,318,280
Regarding Stephanie, it was stated in the filing, \”In 2020, Shane McMahon was retained as a performer for the Company for which he received minimum guaranteed performance fees and royalties aggregating approximately $820,369.\”
Finally, WWE has \”booking agreements\” listed for Triple H and Stephanie. Here\’s an excerpt:
Paul Levesque. We have a booking agreement with Mr. Levesque which currently runs until March 30, 2022, and thereafter extends for successive one-year periods unless either party gives notice of nonextension at least 90 days prior to the expiration date. Under this agreement, Mr. Levesque is entitled to a minimum guaranteed annual payment of $1 million which the Company is entitled to recoup from all payments under the agreement including pay for performing in live and televised events and royalties for merchandise sold utilizing Mr. Levesque’s name and/or likeness.
Stephanie McMahon. We have a booking agreement with Ms. McMahon which currently runs until October 6, 2021, and thereafter extends for successive one-year periods unless either party gives notice of nonextension at least 90 days prior to the expiration date. Under this agreement, Ms. McMahon is entitled to a minimum guaranteed annual payment of $750,000 which the Company is entitled to recoup from all payments under the agreement including pay for performing in live and televised events and royalties for merchandise sold including Ms. McMahon’s name and/or likeness.
WWE's proxy statement just published.
Here's the compensation table for WWE's top corporate officers.
Total compensation in 2020:
Vince McMahon: $3.9 million Nick Khan: $13.0M (includes $5M sign-on bonus) Paul Levesque: $2.3M (incl. talent pay) Stephanie McMahon: $2.2M (same) pic.twitter.com/AHlswe0lqA
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 2.026 million viewers with a 0.68 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is up from last week’s 1.701 million viewers and the 0.52 rating.
This week’s episode was the post-WrestleMania 37 edition of Raw. The post-WrestleMania 36 edition of Raw last year did 2.118 million viewers and a 0.70 rating.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday night:
The first hour did 2.125 million viewers and a 0.69 rating (A18-49).
The second hour did 2.091 million viewers and a 0.71 rating.
The final hour of the show had just 1.862 million viewers and a 0.65 rating.
This episode featured Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka, Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose, John Morrison & The Miz vs. Damian Priest, and Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman vs. Randy Orton in a triple threat match.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.250 million viewers. This is up from the 2.137 million viewers on FOX that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demos, up from the 0.57 rating the previous week’s show. The episode drew an average of 2.080 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 2.036 million viewers.
The first hour saw it pull in 2.060 million viewers while hour two did 2.099 million viewers. The show did 2.020 million viewers in hour one while hour two did 2.041 million viewers a week ago.
Charlotte Flair has made her return to WWE television.
She did so on the April 12th edition of Raw for a promo segment in the first hour. She talked about how she was upset about missing WrestleMania 37 because she’s a true superstar. She said that she wasn’t on the card due to things out of her control.
She listed various things from teaming with and challenging Asuka to Lacey Evans getting pregnant to her father acting like a fool. She called Rhea Ripley a snake. Flair said that no one compares to her and she is the karma that will come upon the women’s division because she is the opportunity.
The former Raw and SmackDown Women\’s Champion announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19. It wasn’t known exactly when she tested positive for COVID-19, but she did miss several episodes of Raw.
It was first speculated about what was going on with Flair when she was pulled from advertisements for WrestleMania 37. It was originally reported that WWE had plans for Flair to wrestle Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title at WrestleMania 37. WWE later changed plans and confirmed Ripley would step up to wrestle Asuka at this show.
Flair also had to deal with a misunderstanding with WWE over a false pregnancy test.
Ivar and Erik made their returns to in-ring action on Monday’s episode of Raw from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center when they worked a tag team match against Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander.
The returning stars went over in the contest after hitting their finisher to Alexander.
Ivar was on the sidelines due to an injury as he underwent neck surgery in September of last year.
Before the surgery, he had been dealing with neck issues, but aggravated it while doing a suicide dive during an eight-man tag team match on the September 7th Raw episode. This match saw the Viking Raiders in action together as The Hurt Business with Cedric Alexander battled Ivar, Erik, Ricochet, and Apollo Crews.
He got the surgery done by Dr. Andrew Cordover at Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama.
With his tag team partner on the sidelines, Erik had surgery done by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas at Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama to have some surgical hardware removed from his arm.
After all the build and lead-up, WrestleMania 37 is in the books after being held over the course of two nights – Saturday and Sunday – this past weekend from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Peacock.
The first night opened with WWE Champion Bobby Lashley retaining the strap against Drew McIntyre while Bianca Belair won the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship from Sasha Banks in the headliner.
On the second night, Rhea Ripley won the Raw Women’s Title from Asuka and in the headliner, Universal Champion Roman Reigns retained the title over Edge and Daniel Bryan.
Pwinsider.com has gathered a list of producers for each match, as seen below:
Night 1
Sasha Banks vs. WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair was produced by TJ Wilson aka Tyson Kidd.
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre was produced by Jamie Noble and Jason Jordan.
The Miz and John Morrison vs. Damian Priest and Bad Bunny was produced by Adam Pearce.
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins was produced by Shane Helms.
The New Day vs. WWE Raw Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos was produced by Chris Park.
Tag Team Turmoil Match: Carmella & Billie Kay vs. Lana & Naomi vs. Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs. Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan vs. Natalya & Tamina was produced by TJ Wilson and Pat Buck.
Steel Cage Match: Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon was produced by Michael Hayes.
Night 2
Triple Threat Match: WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan was produced by Michael Hayes.
Asuka vs. WWE Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley was produced by TJ Wilson.
Randy Orton vs. The Fiend was produced by Jamie Noble.
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – producers not known.
Nigerian Drum Match: Big E vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews was produced by Jason Jordan.
Matt Riddle vs. WWE United States Champion Sheamus was produced by Chris Park.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. Natalya and Tamina was produced by TJ Wilson and Pat Buck.
WWE opened the second night of WrestleMania 37 with Randy Orton battling Bray Wyatt, who was portraying his Fiend character.
After a distraction by Alex Bliss, who appeared from the giant music box at ringside and had black goo on her head, Orton managed to hit the RKO for the win.
This finish caught many fans and even oddsmakers off guard as Wyatt had been the big favorite heading into the match. The end of the match also felt flat to some.
Fightful Select reports that the plan as of last Friday was for The Fiend to win the match. However, the decision was made over the weekend to have Orton win the bout. It was noted there was never a plan in order for a Firefly Funhouse Match.
Those associated with the angle were never given an endgame at any point prior to the weekend. In fact, the only thing that was known was how it would write Orton off of television for a good period of time as originally planned.
The surprise finish was pitched over the weekend as Bruce Prichard and Vince McMahon were instrumental in the change and the decision-making associated.
Finally, it was said management was happy with the finish as it played out, but the wrestlers they\’ve heard from were exceedingly confused.
As expected, Edge, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns battled in the main event of WrestleMania 37 – Night 2 for the Universal Title.
The match was a fight as they brawled around ringside. Reigns powerbombed Bryan through the announce table. Bryan and Edge did a double submission hold on Edge. Edge hit a spear to Reigns only for Bryan to pull out the referee to break it up. Edge hit a conchairto to Bryan then Reigns hit a spear to Edge and did a conchairto to Edge for the win and to retain the title.
The WWE Hall of Famer worked the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event by entering the Men’s Royal Rumble Match at number one and lasted more than 58 minutes to eliminate Randy Orton to win the match.
At the time of his return, Edge had been sidelined since last year when he suffered an injury during a match with Randy Orton at the WWE Backlash pay-per-view event.
WWE decided to change plans when they had Bryan feud with Reigns for the title as “The Big Dog” first beat the fan favorite star at the Elimination Champion pay-per-view event only for them to do a rematch at Fastlane the following month.
Edge was the special guest enforcer for the contest. The finish of that match led to Bryan being added to the Mania headliner as he actually tapped out Reigns after the referee was knocked out. However, Edge hit a spear to both Reigns and Bryan, which led to Reigns pinning Bryan.
Asuka stepped into the ring with Rhea Ripley with the Raw Women’s Title on the line at Sunday’s WWE WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Peacock.
The match saw both wrestlers get plenty of offense. At one point, Asuka hit a DDT off the apron. Ripley won with the Riptide for the win.
Originally, Charlotte Flair was slated to challenge Asuka for the title but then a turn of events changed that. Flair was informed by WWE that she wasn’t medically cleared because they thought she was pregnant, which ended up being a mistake on the behalf of the company. Then, Flair tested positive for COVID-19.
With Flair on the sidelines, WWE made the call to have Ripley take her place with the idea that they could always add Flair into the match and make it a three-way bout.
Ripley dropped the NXT Women’s Title to the daughter of Ric Flair at WrestleMania then went into a feud with her and Io Shirai for the title on NXT TV. Shirai later dethroned Flair for the title. Ripley was also an entrant in the 2019 women\’s Royal Rumble.
The latest match between Big E and Apollo Crews took place in a Nigerian Drum Match at Sunday’s (April 11, 2021) WWE WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event.
The match had weapons around the ring from kendo sticks to tables to drums. The finish saw Crews put him on a table, but missed a splash off the top rope and went through it. This led to Commander Azeez aka Dabba Kato to run out and attack Big E, which led to Crews winning the title.
On the April 2nd edition of SmackDown, Crews cut a backstage promo challenging Big E to this match. In that promo, he noted that it was an ancient duel created by his ancestors for those who are wronged to get a chance to make things right.
WWE had Crews debut this character back in February where he has since embraced his Nigerian heritage and claiming to be a descendent of Nigerian royalty. WWE started this promo when Big E noted in a promo that Crews wouldn\’t be getting another shot at the title, but they did an angle where Crews attacked Big E with the steel steps.
Last month at the Fastlane pay-per-view event, Big E retained against Crews, but after the match, Crews attacked him. There was a six-man tag team match on an edition of SmackDown in late March where Crews pinned Big E.
Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus put on a hard-hitting style of a match with the WWE United States Title on the line on the second night of the WWE WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event.
The match that was held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida saw a back and forth spot fest. Riddle hit some dives off the top rope and a spot on the outside. Sheamus got a close nearfall with the brogue kick. The finish saw Sheamus hit the brogue kick when Riddle was going for a moonsault off the middle rope.
WWE set up this match on the March 29th edition of Raw when Sheamus defeated Riddle in a non-title match. Before it started, Sheamus sent Riddle into a production crate while backstage.
The end of that contest saw Sheamus pin Riddle after hitting a knee strike. After the match, Riddle got some payback when he knocked Sheamus, who was celebrating, out of the ring. Before that, Sheamus did a segment where he was interrupted by Riddle, who asked multiple questions. When Sheamus acted like he was interested in riding Riddle\’s scooter, Riddle was about to give it to him, but Sheamus instead attacked him with it.
Kevin Owens battled his bitter rival turned best friend Sami Zayn with Logan Paul being at ringside as Zayn’s special guest at WrestleMania 37 on Sunday night.
The match featured Owens getting the early offense until Zayn hit him with a brainbuster on the apron. Owens did later follow up with a frog splash off the top rope. Owens hit a stunner for the win.
Post-match, Paul checked on Zayn then congratulated Owens for the win. Zayn was upset by it and confronted Logan about it. He shoved Zayn down then walked out. Paul raised the hand of Owens, but it got booed by the fans. Owens laid out Paul with a stunner.
Paul’s involvement in this match started earlier this month when Paul accepted Zayn’s invitation as a guest for Zayn’s red carpet premiere of his documentary trailer that was shown on the April 2nd edition of Friday Night SmackDown.
The trailer aired and showed him feeling that everyone was against him. Zayn asked for Paul’s thoughts following the end of the trailer, Paul stated put a lot of effort into the trailer. This led to Owens coming out and giving Zayn a stunner then telling him to stop with the conspiracies.
Owens brushed against Paul after he left the ring and later in the show, Zayn attacked him.
The latest installment in the feud started when Owens told Zayn to stop with the constant conspiracy theories and Zayn fired back by saying that Owens is part of the conspiracy.
The highly anticipated bout between Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion took place in the main event of the first night of the WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event.
The match had moments where Belair showed off her strength whether it was carrying Banks up a set of steel steps or holding her in a suplex spot for a lengthy amount of time. A cool spot saw Banks lock in the bank statement and used Belair’s hair while doing so. The finisher saw Belair hit Banks in the stomach with her hair and connected with the Kiss of Death for the win.
Belair got the title shot by winning the women\’s Royal Rumble match. She entered the match at number three and was in it for nearly 57 minutes. She last eliminated Rhea Ripley to get the win. The February 26th edition of SmackDown saw Belair declare which title she would challenge for.
At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event, Banks and Belair unsuccessfully challenged for Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler\’s Women\’s Tag Team Titles. The company doubled down by booking a rematch at the Fastlane pay-per-view event with the same result.
Bad Bunny impressed fans with pro wrestling in-ring debut when he teamed up with Damian Priest in a bout against The Miz and John Morrison.
The match took place on the first night of the WWE WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event, which featured Bunny’s entrance seeing him arrive on top of a semi-truck into the stadium. The match opened with Bunny and Miz where Bunny had some time to shine with a series of quick roll-ups. The heels beat down Bunny for a few minutes. Bunny hit a Canadian Destroyer to Morrison on the floor. Bunny pinned Miz with a top rope crossbody.
The bout had originally been announced as a singles match between Bunny and Miz. WWE made it official on last week’s episode of Raw when Miz & Morrison accepted a challenge from Bunny and Priest after WWE shot an angle where Miz and Morrison destroyed $3.6 million Bugatti by painting on it. Once the rapper saw what happened to his car. He was attacked by the WWE stars from behind.
The rapper made his first WWE appearance back in January when he performed his song \”Booker T\” at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. Since then, the four men have been feuding with each other.
In preparation for this match, Bunny had been training at the Performance Center in Winter Park, FL.
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage Match was quite the spectacle.
The match was on the WWE WrestleMania 37 – Night 1 card and saw Strowman get attacked by Elias and Ryker before the match even started. McMahon ripped a piece of sheet metal off the cage to use it as a weapon. McMahon did hit the coast-to-coast for a near fall.
A cool spot was when Strowman destroyed part of the cage to bring McMahon from the outside in. Strowman tossed him off the top of the cage and into the ring. Strowman hit his powerslam finisher for the win.
In late March, WWE had McMahon accept Strowman\’s WrestleMania challenge, he informed Strowman that he would give him any match that he wanted. Thus, “The Monster Among Men” picked this gimmick match and cut a promo about the reasoning behind his choice because he wanted something to prevent Shane\’s lackeys Elias and Jaxson Ryker from getting involved in the contest.
Originally, a singles match between Strowman and McMahon was supposed to take place last month at the Fastlane pay-per-view event. However, WWE did a storyline angle where McMahon got out of the match when he claimed that he suffered a knee injury in training. As a result, Strowman ended up beating Elias at the show.
This whole storyline has been built around McMahon calling Strowman stupid including a segment where McMahon revealed Strowman\’s fifth-grade report card with all D grades.
The New Day made their latest defense of the WWE Raw Tag Team Titles against AJ Styles and Omos on the first night of WrestleMania 37.
The match happened in the middle of the pay-per-view event. It featured The New Day beating down AJ for the first few minutes. When Omos got the first tag, he got a nice pop. Omos no sold their moves and tossed them around the ring. Omos got the win with a powerslam.
Less than a month ago on an episode of Monday Night Raw, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods beat Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander to win the Raw Tag Team Titles when Kingston connected with a foot stomp off the top rope for the win.
This was a significant win for The New Day as they set their personal record of holding the straps 11-times and surpassed Dudley Boyz for the most Tag Team Championship reigns in WWE by a set of partners reigning together.
WWE was quick to move onto the next program as Styles cut their celebration short by walking down to the ring with his bodyguard to cut a promo about how he’s held all the titles in WWE except for the tag team straps. As a result, he issued the challenge for a match at the biggest event of the year for WWE.
The big clash between Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley not only was memorable but will go down as the opening of the first night of the WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event.
The match, which was delayed due to weather, had a slow build throughout it. After missing a spear and running into the ring post, McIntyre worked over the left arm of Lashley throughout the match.
At one point, McIntyre hit an outside dive to take out MVP and Lashley. The finish saw Lashley put him in the Hurt Lock and McIntyre passed out.
Lashley became the WWE Title a few months ago during an episode of Raw by defeating The Miz in a lumberjack match. WWE did a storyline where Lashley got the title shot as part of a deal he made with The Miz as he helped Miz win the WWE Championship when he attacked McIntyre at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view after McIntyre retained the WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber match. The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the WWE Championship.
Just one year ago at the WWE Performance Center with no fans in attendance, McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event of night two of WrestleMania 36 to win the WWE Title.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event next month, which has yet to be announced.
The card for the WWE WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event has been finalized.
The company has confirmed that WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair will headline the first night. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat Match is believed to be the headliner of the second night.
As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special on Saturday and Sunday evenings starting at 7 PM EST.
Final WWE WrestleMania 37 Card
Night 1
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair – Main Event
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
The Miz and John Morrison vs. Damian Priest and Bad Bunny
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. AJ Styles and Omos
Carmella & Billie Kay vs. Lana & Naomi vs. Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs. Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan vs. Natalya & Tamina – Tag Team Turmoil Match (Winners Get Women’s Tag Match on Night 2)
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon – Steel Cage Match
Night 2
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan – Triple Threat Match
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley
Randy Orton vs. The Fiend
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E vs. Apollo Crews – Nigerian Drum Match
WWE United States Champion Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. TBA
With WrestleMania 37 being held over the course of two nights, there will have to be two main events.
Many people believed that Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Title would headline the first night due to that being the top program on Monday Night Raw. There’s been a movement among fans on social media to let WWE know that they think Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Title should fit that role.
It appears that has worked as Stephanie McMahon confirmed Banks vs. Belair will headline the first night while speaking on The Bill Simmons podcast.
“Sasha and Bianca, who is newer, are going to be headlining night one of WrestleMania. That’s going to be special and spectacular. I can’t wait to see their match.”
McMahon continued by noting that she always knew Banks could be right at the top and she has that ‘it’ factor because she shines. McMahon mentioned she’s very excited for Sasha to have this moment.
Finally, McMahon brought up hearing among fans that Bayley and Banks have been credited for carrying things during the pandemic with their storyline and she thinks they’ve done just that. Thus, she’s grateful to them for doing so.
Although not confirmed, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat Match is believed to be the main event for the second night.
WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver – Night 2 aired live on Peacock from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Santos Escobar def. Jordan Devlin to become Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion
WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart def. Candice LeRae and Indie Heartwell to retain
WWE NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano def. Bronson Reed to retain
Karrion Kross def. Finn Balor to win WWE NXT Title
Kyle O’Reilly def. Adam Cole in Unsanctioned Match
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
WWE Cruiserweight Title Unification Ladder Match
When WWE booked Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin in WWE Cruiserweight Title Unification Ladder Match, fans knew it was going to be something special. This was the battle to find out the true Cruiserweight Champion. Thus, it was no better than to put them in such a contest.
This was the opening contest. Early on in the match, Devlin hit a springboard moonsault off the middle rope to the floor. Devlin later hit a moonsault off the top of a ladder.
At one point, Legado Del Fantasma members ran out and pushed Devlin off a ladder then rushed to the backstage area. Devlin recovered. Another impressive move was Devlin hitting a Spanish fly off a ladder. In the end, Escobar pushed Devlin off a ladder and crashed him through another.
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly in an Unsanctioned Match was one of the highlights of this show. It also served as the main event. O’Reilly got a new generic rock theme song. The same goes for Cole.
The rivalry between these two stars was so intense that this contest was only fitting to settle the score. WWE changed the ropes to black and the referee didn’t have a typical referee shirt on, but rather all in black.
Cole hit a neck breaker on a chair for a near fall. Cole was placed in a chair at ringside so he could dive off the ring apron with a drop kick. Kyle used a chain around his knee and bashed in the face of Cole. Also, Cole locked in a figure four leg lock and it was broken when they clashed heads. Cole even used the chain as a clothesline. O’Reilly hit a suplex to Cole onto the announce table. Cole hit Kyle in the ear with pliers. A brutal moment came when Kyle had him in a triangle choke, but Cole hit him in the ribs with a tire iron.
Cole took out the referee then hit a Canadian destroyer off the middle rope and then got upset that the referee wouldn’t get up. Kyle put him in a guillotine choke, which led to Cole sending them flying through the ramp. O’Reilly hit a running knee strike to the back of the head of Cole for a near fall towards the end of the match.
Finally, O’Reilly put a chair on the throat of Cole then wrapped a chain around his knee and hit a knee drop off the middle rope for the win. Post-match, Cole was carried out on a stretcher.
WWE NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed was exactly what it needed to be.
Reed earned this title match opportunity by winning a Battle Royal the previous night when he outlasted Leon Ruff (first participant), Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (second participant), Cameron Grimes (fourth participant), Dexter Lumis (fifth participant) and LA Knight (final participant). He entered the match third.
Reed got the early advantage. Gargano worked over the ribs of Reed after sending him into the corner of the announce table. At one point, Reed went for a suplex off the middle rope, but, Gargano reversed it and hit a backbreaker.
There was a nice spot where Reed hit Razor’s Edge from the entrance ramp into the ring. They did a cool near fall spot where Reed missed a splash off the top rope and Gargano caught him with a superkick for a near fall. Reed hit a powerbomb and went for the cover, but Theory put Gargano’s foot on the bottom rope.
Finally, Reed missed a moonsault off the top rope, which allowed Gargano to hit his spring board DDT finisher for the win.
WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae and Indie Heartwell took place.
The build to this match had been a bit lackluster and it was positioned as just another one on the card. These ladies worked hard throughout the match. They did a tower of doom spot in the corner. The heels dominated the majority of the bout.
There was a spot where Shotzi dove through the middle rope to take out the heels and landed badly. Moon did a dive off the turnbuckle to the floor.
There was a nice double-team move for a near fall by Moon and Blackheart. The finish saw Moon hit a double eclipse then Shotzi with a backsplash off the top rope for the win.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross was the co-main event of this show and rightfully so. It was an interesting choice as WWE previously announced this would be the headliner, but for whatever reason, the decision was changed.
It was a slow start to the match. Kross did miss a spear and ate the ring post, which allowed Balor to get a short lived advantage, but Kross took over.
The story of the match was how Balor would get some offense and work over the left shoulder of Kross, but was cut down by Kross. In the middle of the match, there was a span of several minutes where Kross sold. Kross did a series of moves that resulted in a powerbomb for a near fall. Balor also worked over the ribs of Kross.
Finally, Kross made a comeback with a series of moves including a suplex. A nice near fall saw Balor hit his finisher. The downfall of Balor came when Kross mounted him and landed a series of strikes. Kross hit his signature moves and then finisher for the win.
The highly anticipated fight between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly seemed to live up to expectations based on feedback from fans on social media.
The two stars battled in an Unsanctioned Match where there were no rules nor liability on the part of WWE at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver – Night 2 event.
The fight saw them use various weapons such as chairs and a chain. Towards the end, O’Reilly hit a suplex to Cole onto the announce table, which didn’t break. Cole sent both of them through the ramp. In the end, the finish witnessed O’Reilly putting a chair on the throat of Cole then wrapped a chain around his knee and hit a knee drop off the middle rope. After the match, Cole was carried out on a stretcher.
This feud started when Cole turned against O\’Reilly at TakeOver: Vengeance Day in February. Since then, they\’ve each attacked each other and have gotten into multiple altercations.
The more notable angles were done when O\’Reilly tried to run Cole off the road and police got involved as well as Cole confronting O\’Reilly while O\’Reilly was taking part in a jiu-jitsu training class. The reason for the unsanctioned stipulation was due to O’Reilly not being cleared to compete because Cole gave him a brainbuster on the steel steps in February on an episode of NXT.
Once Cole and O\’Reilly signed the contract for the match, they acknowledged that NXT isn\’t responsible for anything that happens to them.
WWE had fans wait to see what would happen when Karrion Kross would challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Title and it didn’t disappoint.
This title match served as the co-main event of WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver event on Thursday night. A last-minute decision to put this in the co-headliner spot was made. The match had a slow build and increasingly picked up the action. Throughout it, Balor got small bursts of offense and when he did, he targeted the left shoulder of Kross.
There was a span of several minutes where Kross sold. In the end, it was Kross standing tall with the NXT Title after hitting his forearm strike finisher.
They had a confrontation that set up this contest. WWE later booked them as a tag team for a one-off as they challenged NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, but when Balor knocked Scarlett off the apron, things took a turn for the worse as Kross attacked Balor as a result.
This gave Kross the chance to reclaim the title that he never lost as he had beat Keith Lee to win the NXT Championship at TakeOver XXX last August. Unfortunately, Kross suffered a separated shoulder during the match and had to relinquish the title.
WWE needed to crown a new champion so there was a fatal 4-way match that resulted in Balor pinning Adam Cole last September to win the vacant NXT Championship.
Johnny Gargano defended the North American Title against Bronson Reed at Thursday’s WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver – Night 2 event from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on Peacock.
The match saw Gargano work over the ribs of the big man throughout it. Somehow, Gargano hit a reverse hurricanrana at one point. After Reed missed a moonsault off the top rope, Gargano connected with his finisher for the win.
Reed earned this title match by working the Gauntlet Eliminator match on Wednesday night against Leon Ruff (first participant), Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (second participant), Cameron Grimes (fourth participant), Dexter Lumis (fifth participant) and LA Knight (final participant).
Gargano’s title reign began back on December 7, 2020 at the NXT TakeOver: WarGames special when he beat Leon Ruff and Damien Priest in a triple threat match. Ruff shockingly won the title from Gargano on NXT TV just a few weeks before this special last year after getting help from Priest distracting Gargano.
WWE holds the fallout episode from this show on NXT on Tuesday. It will be interesting to see if WWE continues this feud or goes in a different direction. Either way, they put on one heck of a match that delivered.
Fans finally got to witness who is the rightful WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion as Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin battled it out in a unification ladder match at the TakeOver: Stand & Deliver event.
The match opened the show. Early on, Devlin did an impressive springboard moonsault off the middle rope to take out Escobar on the floor. Later on, Devlin hit a moonsault off the top of a ladder. Towards the end, Legado Del Fantasma members ran out and pushed Devlin off a ladder before leaving. The finish featured Escobar pushing Devlin off a ladder and crashing him through another.
Devlin won the NXT Cruiserweight Championship at Worlds Collide in January of last year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic started in March, which forced Delvin from traveling and defending his title due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, WWE had to come up with a tournament to crown an interim champion, which was later dropped and a new champion was crowned.
Escobar won his version of the NXT Cruiserweight Championship by winning the tournament as he beat Drake Maverick in the tournament finals. Devlin retained his NXT Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Trent Seven in his previous title defense.
On the March 17th edition of NXT, WWE had Devlin return to confront Esobcar and told Escobar to take his \”replica title\” and throw it in the trash because he’s the real champion.
The April 7, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Pete Dunne def. Kushida
Bronson Reed Wins Gauntlet Eliminator Match
WWE NXT UK Champion WALTER def Tommaso Ciampa
MSK def. Grizzled Young Veterans & Legado del Fantasma to win NXT Tag Team Titles
Raquel Gonzalez def. Io Shirai to win NXT Women’s Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Gauntlet Eliminator Match
WWE booked Bronson Reed, Dexter Lumis, Cameron Grimes, Isaiah \”Swerve\” Scott, Leon Ruff, and LA Knight in a Gauntlet Eliminator Match.
Scott and Ruff started things off. Reed entered the match third and caught Ruff, who attempted a dive during his entrance, but he tossed him into the ring. Grimes was out at #4. As Lumis was making his entrance, Ruff got eliminated by Scott.
Knight eliminated Lumis. Reed hit a backsplash to Knight for the elimination. Grimes was eliminated before Reed hit his finisher to Scott for the win.
As a result, he has earned the right to challenge North American Champion Johnny Gargano for the title on the second night of TakeOver, which is tomorrow.
Pete Dunne vs. Kushida took place in a singles match. It was an excellent choice for an opener. Dunne won with the Bitter End after injuring the hands of his opponent.
Last week on NXT TV, Dunne and Kushida worked the battle royal to determine the participants for the Gauntlet Eliminator match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one.
This is where Dunne and Kushida simultaneously eliminated each other from the match. After the eliminations, Kushida put him in the Hoverboard Lock but refused to let go of it until he was forced to do so.
Earlier in this show, Dunne interrupted an interview with Kushida because he took exception to Kushida calling himself the best technical wrestler in the world. Dunne stated that he holds that crown and dared Kushida to answer his challenge and try to prove him wrong.
WWE NXT UK Champion WALTER vs. Tommaso Ciampa aired on this show.
Ciampa was telling the story of his old self being back as he went back to wearing trunks and shaved his head again so he doesn’t like a 60-year-old man as he had been with hair. The match was just as advertised, a hard-hitting bout. These guys brought it.
Throughout the match, Ciampa was working over the right hand of the champ after he missed a chop on the announce table. A back and forth match with Ciampa hitting near fall spots towards the end. WALTER hit a big chop for the finish.
WALTER will defend the NXT UK Title against Rampage Brown at NXT UK: Prelude on Thursday.
MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado del Fantasma in a Triple Threat Match for the vacant NXT Tag Team Titles.
Of course, the titles were declared vacant once Danny Burch suffered a separated shoulder while teaming with Oney Lorcan against Finn Balor & Karrion Kross in the main event.
These were the top three injury free teams and so it made sense for them to battle it out to see who should become the new champions.
The match had a wild start with MSK getting the majority of the offense. There was a brilliant spot where Lee’s hand was placed in the turnbuckle and Drake hit a drop kick in the corner. Of course, Lee previously hurt his hand. The finish came down to MSK hitting a double cutter to Drake and a tag team move out of the corner to Gibson for the win.
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez was the main event of this show.
First off, this was the perfect match to headline the first night. Io is one of the best workers in NXT and not just in the women’s division. Coming into this bout, Raquel was someone that fans could buy in and think was a real contender and someone who could dethrone Io as the champion.
Io got the early advantage before there was some outside interference by Dakota Kai, who ended up getting ejected from ringside. This was a sprint and no downtime whatsoever.
Io made a comeback after being dominated. Io hit a moonsault off the top rope to the floor then a running knee strike. Near the end, Io hit a dive off the skull, which was part of the stage. Raquel hit her finisher for the win.
Io Shirai made her latest defense as WWE NXT Women’s Champion against Raquel Gonzalez at Wednesday’s (April 7, 2021) WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
The match featured an early attack by Io. When Dakota Kai attacked Io, she was ejected from ringside, and allowed Raquel to dominate. At one point, Shirai hit a dive off the skull, which was part of the stage. Raquel hit her finisher for the win.
On the March 14th edition of NXT, Shirai retained her NXT Women\’s Championship against Toni Storm. Later that night, Shirai confronted Gonzalez and declared that she wanted to face Gonzalez next. The following week, Shirai told Raquel to sign a contract to make it happen, which she did.
This feud goes back to the NXT TakeOver: WarGames event where Gonzalez pinned Shirai to get the win in the women\’s WarGames match as Gonzalez was part of Team Candice with Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Storm while Shirai was part of Team Shotzi with Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon & Rhea Ripley.
Shirai became the NXT Women\’s Champion when she beat Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match at TakeOver: In Your House in June of last year.
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