NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver was a 2021 two-part professional wrestling event produced by WWE, held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. It was the 34th NXT TakeOver event and the inaugural Stand & Deliver, and it was broadcast as a television special on Night 1 and via pay-per-view (PPV) on Night 2, with both nights simulcast on WWE's livestreaming platforms. The event took place during WrestleMania 37 week on Wednesday, April 7, and Thursday, April 8, 2021, from the Capitol Wrestling Center, a bio-secure bubble that was hosted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
This was WWE's first in-ring event to livestream on Peacock in the United States after the shutdown of the standalone American version of the WWE Network on April 4; at the time, other countries maintained the WWE Network. The first night was simulcast as a special episode of NXT on the USA Network in the United States, making it the only TakeOver to air on television as well as the final NXT broadcast on Wednesdays before moving to Tuesdays on April 13, while the second night was simulcast on traditional PPV. This was the first and only TakeOver, as well as the only major NXT livestreaming event, to be held as a two-night event. While still taking precautions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, seating capacity was increased and the plexiglass walls that previously separated fans were removed.
The card consisted of 12 matches evenly divided across both nights, including one match on the pre-show for each night. In the main event for Night 1, Raquel González defeated Io Shirai to win the NXT Women's Championship. Other prominent matches included Walter defeating Tommaso Ciampa to retain the NXT United Kingdom Championship and MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) and Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) to win the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship. Two matches were promoted as main event matches for Night 2. In what was the final match on the card, Kyle O'Reilly defeated Adam Cole in an unsanctioned match. In the penultimate match that was promoted as the other main event match, Karrion Kross defeated Finn Bálor to win the NXT Championship. In another prominent match on the undercard which opened the event, interim champion Santos Escobar defeated lineal champion Jordan Devlin in a ladder match to determine the undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
While the TakeOver series was discontinued in September, Stand & Deliver continued on, becoming NXT's biggest annual event of the year. It would also continue to be held during WrestleMania week until 2026 when it was held two weeks before WrestleMania 42 that year. This would be the only Stand & Deliver to air as a television special, as well as the only to air on PPV, as it became solely a livestreaming event beginning in 2022 as WWE ceased broadcasting NXT's major events on traditional PPV following WarGames in December.
Production Background
TakeOver was a series of professional wrestling events that began in May 2014, as WWE's NXT brand held its second WWE Network-exclusive livestreaming event, billed as TakeOver. The "TakeOver" moniker subsequently became the branding for all of NXT's major events held periodically throughout the year. While originally exclusive to the WWE Network, TakeOver events also became available on traditional pay-per-view (PPV) beginning with TakeOver 31 in October 2020.
Announced during the March 10, 2021, episode of NXT, Stand & Deliver was scheduled as the 34th TakeOver event, and the first-ever two-night TakeOver, taking place on April 7 and 8, 2021, during the week of WrestleMania 37, subsequently being the only TakeOver to be held on a Wednesday and Thursday night. Both nights were broadcast on WWE's livestreaming platforms, Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network internationally, which made it WWE's first in-ring event to livestream on Peacock after the shutdown of the standalone American version of the WWE Network on April 4. The first night was also simulcast in NXTs normal timeslot on the USA Network, making it the only TakeOver to air on USA and on cable television. This was also the final NXT event to air in the Wednesday night timeslot, as NXT began airing on Tuesdays on April 13. The second night also aired on traditional PPV. Guitarist Nita Strauss performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" on Night 1, while musician Poppy performed her song "Say Cheese" on Night 2.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that began affecting the industry in mid-March 2020, WWE had to present the majority of its programming from a behind closed doors set. NXT's programming was initially held at NXT's home venue at the time, Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. In October 2020, NXT's events were moved to the Capitol Wrestling Center, a bio-secure bubble that was hosted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Like the WWE ThunderDome utilized for Raw and SmackDown's programming, LED boards were placed around the Performance Center so that fans could attend virtually, while additionally and unlike the ThunderDome, friends and family members of the wrestlers were in attendance, along with a limited number of actual live fans, divided from each other by plexiglass walls.
For TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, seating capacity was increased at the Capitol Wrestling Center, with extra rows of seats being added, and the plexiglass dividers being removed. Fans, however, were still required to wear masks, and were given free COVID tests prior to entering, with a negative test needed to enter.
Storylines The card comprised a total of 12 matches evenly divided between the two nights, which included one pre-show match each night. The matches resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT.
Main event matches At TakeOver XXX on August 22, 2020, Karrion Kross won the NXT Championship; however, during the match, he suffered a legitimate shoulder injury, requiring him to relinquish the title. Finn Bálor then won the vacant championship at NXT: Super Tuesday II on September 8. Kross then made his return from injury in December. Following Bálor's title defense on the March 10, 2021, episode of NXT, he was finally confronted by Kross over the championship. Bálor was subsequently scheduled to defend the NXT Championship against Kross at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, which was scheduled as the main event of Night 2.
At TakeOver: Vengeance Day, after Finn Bálor's NXT Championship defense against Pete Dunne, he was attacked by Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong) came to Bálor's aid to fend off Dunne, Burch, and Lorcan. Bálor and The Undisputed Era then stood together until Cole delivered a superkick to Bálor. O'Reilly then began to question Cole and Cole also superkicked O'Reilly. This ultimately led to The Undisputed Era disbanding, with Cole and O'Reilly feuding due to Cole wanting the NXT Championship which O'Reilly had also been contending for. On the March 24 episode of NXT, an unsanctioned match between Cole and O'Reilly was scheduled for TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 2.
At TakeOver: WarGames in December 2020, Raquel González's team defeated NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai's team in a WarGames match, with González pinning Shirai. Over the coming weeks, González continued to set her sights on the title and on the March 10, 2021, episode of NXT, González and her partner, Dakota Kai, were confronted by Shirai, who challenged González to a match. The following week, after Kai won her match, Shirai appeared and walked past Kai to go face-to-face with González and challenge her to a match, while shoving a contract at her. Later that night, González accepted the challenge. On March 20, the match was confirmed to take place in the main event of Night 1 of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Undercard matches As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin was unable to travel to the United States. An interim champion was then crowned to serve as titleholder in the U.S. until Devlin could return. Santos Escobar became the interim champion, and over the course of the following year, Devlin defended the lineal title on NXT UK (when shows resumed in September 2020) while Escobar defended the interim title on NXT. After the travel ban was lifted in March 2021, Devlin made his return to the U.S. on the March 17 episode of NXT and confronted Escobar over who the real champion was. Escobar then challenged Devlin to a match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to determine the undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion. The following week, the championship unification match was scheduled as a ladder match for Night 2.
As a result of Danny Burch getting injured during his match on the March 17 episode of NXT, NXT General Manager William Regal vacated the NXT Tag Team Championship, which Burch had held with Oney Lorcan. On the March 24 episode, Regal scheduled a triple threat tag team match for the vacant championship for Night 1 of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver between MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter), Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson), and Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde).
On the March 24 episode of NXT, a six-man Gauntlet Eliminator match was scheduled for TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 1 with the winner receiving an NXT North American Championship match against Johnny Gargano on Night 2. The six participants for the gauntlet match were determined by a 12-man battle royal the following week. Leon Ruff, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, and LA Knight qualified for the Gauntlet Eliminator match, entering in that order.
On the March 17 episode of NXT, after Tommaso Ciampa defeated Marcel Barthel (accompanied by Fabian Aichner), NXT United Kingdom Champion Walter appeared and, along with Imperium (Aichner and Barthel), laid out Ciampa. The following week, after Walter won his match, Ciampa appeared and challenged Walter for the NXT UK Championship at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Following this, Imperium laid out Ciampa, after which, Walter accepted the challenge and the match was scheduled for Night 1.
On the March 10 episode of NXT, after Pete Dunne won his match, Dunne stated that he was the best technical wrestler in the world and dared anyone to try to prove him wrong. During this time, Kushida began setting his sights on a match against Dunne. On the March 31 episode, Kushida was interviewed backstage, but was interrupted by Dunne, who told Kushida that the previous week, he called himself the best technical wrestler in NXT, and Dunne stated that he held that crown. Kushida then told Dunne something in Japanese, and later that night, a match between the two was made official for Night 1 of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
On the February 10 episode of NXT, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart defeated The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) in a semifinals match of the inaugural women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The following week, Moon and Blackheart defeated The Way in a rematch after Johnny Gargano brought out Austin Theory to the stage, causing LeRae to check on Theory. On the March 10 episode, Moon and Blackheart won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. Two weeks later, after Moon and Blackheart's successful title defense, they were confronted by The Way backstage, with Hartwell and LeRae stating that the champions needed real competition. On the March 31 episode, after The Way won their match, they challenged Moon and Blackheart to a title match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, and the champions accepted. The match was subsequently scheduled for Night 2.