Date: 03/15	7:00 PM
Views: 349

Nickolye's WWE NXT recap for March 15, 2022 at 8 PM ET! Last week, the unthinkable happened - Dolph Ziggler has become the new NXT Champion! Tonight, another unthinkable thing will happen when Ziggler gets interviewed on a special edition of MizTV! With The Miz making a rare NXT appearance, and Dolph Ziggler being the new champion, what will the landscape of NXT 2.0 be heading into Stand & Deliver? NXT has a makeover in 2.0 fashion. Hit F5 or refresh as often as you like for the latest updates!

R.I.P. SCOTT HALL.

We get clips from NXT 2.0 last week when Dolph Ziggler defeated Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa to become the new NXT Champion. The Miz opens the show for the first time to host a special NXT 2.0 MizTV.

* MizTV w/ NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler 

The Miz says WrestleMania weekend will feel good when he teams with Logan Paul to take on the Mysterios at 'Mania. He mentions that his guest tonight has requested him to come to NXT 2.0 to host an exclusive interview. Out comes NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler accompanied by Robert Roode. After being asked how it feels to be NXT Champion, Ziggler says that it feels right then officially welcomes Miz to NXT calling it HIS show. Miz says Bron Breakker will not come in and destroy MizTV because earlier Breakker was a roaming maniac in the parking lot looking for Ziggler until Matt Bloom and the coaching staff told him to leave. Miz, Ziggler and Roode all joke and mock him for being a "sore loser" after Breakker's the one who made the triple threat challenge. Ziggler calls himself a fighting champion because he loves wrestling, and he's got a lot of money, but...

Before Ziggler can finish, out comes LA Knight! "Let me talk to ya!" Knight reminds them that he told them to come to Tuesday, and Ziggler did just that to become the NXT Champion. If Breakker can't be here, then LA Knight wants to challenge him. "Yeah!" Ziggler says he is a fighting champion but only fights superstars. Miz agrees with him and credits Knight's abilities but tells him he's not ready for this. Knight responds saying he's not a superstar - he's a megastar! Knight wants Ziggler to show him that it's his show, not just tell him. Ziggler: "The NXT Champ only wrestles in the main event, and the day you figure out where that is, that's where you'll find me." The Miz hypes up tonight's main event, Ziggler vs. Knight! "And it will be AWESOME!"

Cameron Grimes and Santos Escobar are ready for their qualifying match. The holder of the championship they are qualifying for, Carmelo Hayes, heads to the ring with Trick Williams before our first commercial break.

When we come back, Cora Jade gets interviewed about attacking Mandy Rose last week after Toxic Attraction attacked Raquel Gonzalez. Cora says that Raquel is out for six weeks, so she was sending a message to Mandy for that. Cora knows that Toxic Attraction will be looking for her, because she has all of their championship titles in her possession!

* Qualifying Match for Ladder Match at Stand & Deliver: Santos Escobar vs. Cameron Grimes

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are on commentary, and Legado Del Fantasma are at ringside for this match. Escobar takes control of the match for a while here and hits a basement dropkick to the jaw. Grimes comes back with a running hurricanrana, but Legado interfere with a distraction before a commercial break.

We get picture-in-picture here as Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde mock Grimes as he's laid out on the ground, before Escobar brings him back into the ring to continue the offense. Grimes pulls him in an inside cradle for 2 but Escobar takes him down by an arm wresch and puts him in a hammerlock. Escobar does a running armbar, gets a 2-count, then puts him in a chinlock with an armbar.

When we come back full-screen, Grimes battles back but Escobar kicks him in the shoulder followed by a diving axe handle for 2. Grimes hits a jumping hurricanrana, clotheslines him out the ring in front of the announce table, and dives over Mendoza and Wilde to hit a running cannonball onto Escobar! But then Escobar hits a lungblower to counter a diving crossbody and gets a near-fall. Grimes hits the flipping powerslam, covers for his own near-fall, Escobar hits a jumping knee, Grimes avoids the Phanton Driver, roundhouse kick, and superkicks him. Grimes points towards Hayes, Escobar counters the Cave-In to hit the Phanton Driver, and gets the 3-count! WINNER: SANTOS ESCOBAR!

We get words from Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray talking about the finals of the tournament and they plan to win to become the next contenders for the Women's Tag Team Champions. Wendy Choo and Dakota discuss the finals facing Io and KLR in the locker room, when Toxic Attraction show up looking for their titles and Cora Jade. They promise to injure Cora like they did to Raquel last week. Dakota stands up against their attack on Raquel saying that they could've won the match without their help, but Toxic Attraction want the thanks for it. Mandy tells the others to split up and find Cora, and leave a piece left for the other two when they find her. Wendy: "They're hot, but they're kinda weird."

Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett hype up NXT: Stand & Deliver, then we get a video package hyping up A-Kid. Breaktime.

* A-Kid vs. Kushida

Ikemen Jiro is at ringside in Kushida's corner for this match, and the winner of this match faces Grayson Waller in a qualifying match for Stand & Deliver. Kushida takes him down at the start, A-Kid counters out with a head scissors, Kushida reverses to a front facelock, spins on his back, A-Kid picks the leg, springboard armdrag, and dropkicks him. They wrestle and counter and counter the counters back-and-forth. Kushida body slams him, applies the Boston crab, A-Kid grabs the bottom rope, they trade chops and forearms, Kushida with a hiptoss, cartwheels to a basement dropkick, and gets a 2-count. A-Kid ducks the palm strike, hits a German suplex, kips up, and does a northern lights suplex with bridge for 2. Kushida kicks his arm off the ropes, A-Kid hits an enzuigiri, Kushida continues to work the arm, A-Kid hits a top rope moonsault DDT, and covers for 3! WINNER: A-KID!

Next week, A-Kid faces Grayson Waller in a qualifying match. Speaking of, we get words from the winner of the earlier qualifying match, Santos Escobar. He says he is the greatest luchador of all time, and at Stand & Deliver it's his time to become the new North American Champion. SPEAKING OF LUCHADORES, DOMINIK AND REY MYSTERIO ARE HERE IN NXT! Escobar welcomes the Mysterios to NXT, but they have a difference of opinion on who will be the greatest luchador after Rey. Dominik says he didn't come to NXT to talk, and challenges only one of Legado, so Raul Mendoza answers the challenge. Escobar: "You just made a big big mistake." Breaktime.

We get a video package highlighting Tiffany Stratton attacking Sarray two weeks ago, and Sarray costing Stratton her match last week, leading up to this next match. Sarray walks backstage to get ready to make her entrance, but Stratton jumps her from behind! Stratton rips off Sarray's necklace and beats her up down the entranceway, not allowing her to change her appearance. Stratton gets Sarray in the ring and the match gets officially started.

* Sarray vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton beats her down in a corner, Sarray hits a drop toehold into the turnbuckle, but Stratton avoids the sunset dropkick, does a cartwheel backflipping avalanche, hits the springboard corkscrew splash, and covers for 3. WINNER: TIFFANY STRATTON!

Backstage in the locker room, Gunther approaches LA Knight for talking himself into a title match and for that he doesn't respect it. Knight tells him that he can be the first challenger when we wins the title, but Gunther calls it an embarrassment to the sport. Knight tells him to look for charisma, says he is sports entertainment, and leaves to get ready for his match. Coming up next after the break, Tommaso Ciampa will address the NXT Universe.

Jacy Jayne is searching backstage, spots her NXT Women's Tag Team Championship hanging, and as she lowers it the door behind her slams shut and Cora Jade locks her in like a caged animal!

Tommaso Ciampa heads to the ring solemnly, does a nod to Scott Hall, and slowly walks ringside and into the ring. The crowd chants "Ciampa's house" as he sits on the top turnbuckle. Tommaso Ciampa: "You know guys, tonight I wanna take an opportunity -- I love you too. I'd like to take this opportunity tonight to talk about gratitude. Sometimes I still to this day looka round and take it all in. This is my life, this has been my life. I've been doing this now for 17 years, and I remember the entire time on the independents I always wanted to find a place I could call home. I wanted a place that would believe in me. I wanted somebody to say 'That guy right there, I'm gonna give him the opportunity to prove that he can be the guy.' And it's hard to explain it, man. I've always had this deep down inner feeling if I had that one chance to run with the ball, damn man would I run with that ball. And lucky for me that opportunity came in NXT under WWE, for the largest freakin' company on the planet! Guys, that right there, that's gratitude. And I know y'all already know this, since coming to NXT success wasn't something that came immediately. It certainly did not come easy. I've been here now since 2015 and together we've been from..." The crowd cuts him off to chant "Thank you Ciampa!" and Ciampa steps down from the turnbuckle to take it in. "If we recap seven years in a nutshell you go from DIY underdog to the Glorious Bombs to the NXT Tag Team Champion to the Black Heart to the single greatest NXT Champion of all time! I would love to call it some sort of do-it-yourself story, but the truth is guys, this never was about doing it yourself. I never had to do it myself because I always had y'all to do it with me. I always had you to cheer me on, and I always had you to boo me at my best. I still think back to TakeOver: New Orleans once in a while, walking out that ramp with no music to a chorus of boos and profanities and guys in that very moment y'all knew it and I knew it, we were doing something special. We were creating a star, we were telling everybody, 'Yeah, Tommaso Ciampa can be the guy!' Guys, it's been a crazy long journey of ups and downs and setbacks and surgeries and black-and-gold to 2.0, but one thing remained the same guys. I never left, and you never left, and that right there is gratitude." The crowd chants "Please don't go" and that has Ciampa looking gracious. "Now here me out, please do hear me out, because this is where I don't quite know exactly where I do go. Um... For the last seven years in NXT, I always thought to myself if this chapter ever was to close, then I would know. Over the last couple months, I thought moreso than any time before that, man I would love to know what my perfect fairytale ending is. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and walking into a show like Stand & Deliver WrestleMania weekend on the biggest stage of them all as NXT Champion, to me that sounds like a perfect fairytale ending. But the fact of the matter is, I had that opportunity last week to right the wrongs because three years ago I was supposed to walk into New York WrestleMania weekend with the NXT Title, and that got taken away from me when I had to relinquish the title for neck surgery. I had a chance to right that wrong. I had a chance to come full circle. Last week I had a chance to get back that title, to have my perfect fairytale ending, but I lost. And now these last seven days I just keep thinking to myself, what's next then? Is there a perfect way to close this chapter out?" The crowd chants for one more match, in NXT presumably. "Guys, I'll tell you this right now, I don't have that answer. I wish I did, but what I do know is that not often in life do you get the opportunity to say thank you before it's too late, and right here tonight, this is my opportunity and I ain't gonna miss it. Guys, I mean this from the bottom of my heart, for the last seven years to you, you, you, you, and everybody watching at home - THANK YOU." The crowd chants "Thank you Ciampa!"

Tony D'Angelo shows up behind Ciampa, and he knows he's there. D'Angelo has a big crowbar in his hand but he doesn't use it and tosses it aside. Tony D'Angelo: "Tommaso Ciampa, you see I could've hit you in the back of the head with a crowbar. But this is different, see I respect you. I respect you enough to come in this ring, face-to-face, man-to-man, and I've been thinking to myself for a couple of weeks. Who do I gotta beat to put Tony D'Angelo in the history books? Who can make me the man in NXT? Who do I gott abeat? And here I stand in front of that guy. Now, you been the face of NXT for a while now, and I think it would be an honor for the family if you would throw hands with Tony D'Angelo at NXT: Stand & Deliver. What do you say?" D'Angelo extends for a handshake, the crowd does the "Yes" chant for this challenge, and Ciampa accepts. D'Angelo knees him in the groin, laughs about it, then shouts that it was always him and gives him a kiss of death of the cheek. Two friends compete against each other next! Breaktime.

* Indi Hartwell vs. Persia Pirotta

Oddly enough, both Hartwell and Pirotta make their entrance together while trying to out-pose one another before their match. The bell dings, they shake hands, and they shove each other. Pirotta has the power over her, big boot to the chin, covers for 2, snake eyes in the corner, avalanche, and another cover for 2. Persia tries to take over Indi's wedding ring, Hartwell gets mad at her, fights back with a clothesline in a corner followed by a bulldog for 2, Pirotta tosses her onto the apron, and Indi hits a shoulder to the midsection. Duke Hudson shows up to distract Indi, Pirotta picks her up, Dexter Lumis pops up from under the ring next to Duke, and Persia freezes when she notices allowing Indi to counter with a sunset flip for 3! WINNER: INDI HARTWELL!

Indi jumps into Dexter's arms, Duke checks on Persia, Dexter and Indi slither into the ring, and they all stand there. Persia makes out with Duke, Indi and Dexter make out, and the women try to out-do each other by jumping on their men and tonguing their mouths in the ring.

Gigi Dolin is scouring the parking lot, spots her NXT Women's Tag Team Championship leaning on a dumpster, disgustedly hops in and retrieves it. Suddenly a forklift pushes the lids shut and Cora jade steps out after placing the forks on top of the dumpster, trapping Gigi inside! Cora mocks her saying "Are you talking to me? I didn't know trash could speak! Two down, one to go." Breaktime.

* Raul Mendoza vs. Dominik Mysterio

Dominik and Mendoza trade lucha libre moves, counters, springboards, and Dominik dropkicks him. Mendoza pulls him off the turnbuckles then puts him in an arm-trap chinlock until Dom counters, hits a springboard crossbody, and does a flying headscissors. As he goes up top, Elektra Lopez distracts him allowing Mendoza to kick him in the head. Elektra remains on the apron until Fallon Henley pulls her down! Santos Escobar and Joaquin Wilde confront her, but then Briggs & Jensen show up as back-up. Rey Mysterio clocks Santos Escobar at ringside! Dominik sends Mendoza onto the ropes, hits the 619, and hits the diving frog splash for 3! WINNER: DOMINIK MYSTERIO!

The Mysterios, Fallon Henley, Josh Brooks and Briggs Jensen all celebreate on the apron. Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett share some thoughts before we get a video montage to highlight the life and career of Scott Hall. R.I.P.

After the break, Cora Jade heads outside and spots Mandy Rose's new white Range Rover while holding the NXT Women's Championship and spraypaint. Cora really wants the title, so she drops the spraypaint, gets in the car with the title, and Mandy was waiting in the back seat. Mandy and Cora start brawling in the parking lot, Mandy talks trash while she kicks her ass, and says she'll fight her for the title, then takes the spraypaint and sprays on Cora's back. "Game over, bitch." Gigi and Jacy reunite with Mandy and Toxic Attraction stand together over Cora Jade.

As Vic and Wade start commentating about it, The Creed Brother show up to hijack the show. They say last week they were attacked before they could fight for the titles, but it doesn't matter who did it because they're ready to fight anyone! MSK come down, and Wade Barrett is claiming he knew it was them all along. MSK say they didn't do it (sorry Wade, although he calls them liars, and the crowd chants bullshit) and they complain that the brothers interrupted their title match. Malcolm Bivens reminds them that they were beaten in the tournament, and The Creed Brothers deserve the title match. Out come the champions Imperium on the balcony laughing at the two teams unable to defeat them. Bivens wants his boys to get the match, MSK wants their opportunity as well, but Imperium disagree. They will put their NXT Tag Team Titles on the line in a triple threat match at NXT: Stand & Deliver! "Imperium fears NO ONE! See you at Stand & Deliver."

Cameron Grimes is disappointed that he didn't win his match, so now he's going to be home during Stand & Deliver when he wants to compete for the title. Breaktime.

When we come back, Malcolm Bivens wants to know who attacked The Creed Brothers last week. Edris Enofé and Malik Blade say they don't get down like that, but they did attack the waiters last week just to get close to Mandy Rose. The Grizzled Young Veterans take offense for the accusation, and The Creed Brothers show up to confront them. The challenge is laid down, and it'll be Creed vs. GVY next week! We get the a short rundown of confirmed matches for NXT: Stand & Deliver as it stands right now.

• NXT Tag Team Championship: Imperium {C} vs. The Creed Brothers vs. MSK
• Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tony D'Angelo
• NXT Women's Championship: Mandy Rose {C} vs. Cora Jade

* NXT Championship: LA Knight vs. Dolph Ziggler {C}

Robert Roode comes out to accompany his Dirty Dawgs tag team partner. The bell dings, they lock up, Knight with a side headlock and hits a shoulder block. Ziggler picks the leg, Knight with a front chancery, Ziggler kicks him in the midsection, takes him down for a headlock, and hits a shoulder block. Knight knocks him down with a back elbow, Ziggler fights back, Knight shoves him into the turnbuckles and hits a neckbreaker for a 2-count. Ziggler rolls him up for 2, Knight clotheslines him out the ring, and Roode checks on him. Knight delivers a powerslam, covers for 2, and we take our final commercial break.

We get picture-in-picture for this important match, and Ziggler tries to regroup outside the ring. Ziggler rams his back into the edge of the ring, throws him back in, Ziggler fights back, but Ziggler keeps him down and grinds his boot into Knight's midsection, then holds him down in a chinlock. 

When we come back, Ziggler has the chinlock applied with his legs wrapped around him. Knight breaks free, counters the Famouser, throws haymakers, stomps him down in the corner, and hits the tilt-a-whirl powerslam. Knight hits an elbow drop, covers for 2, and Bron Breakker just showed up in the parking lot and enters the building! Knight backs him into the corner, sits him on the top, Ziggler blocks the superplex, Knight falls down, but he pops up to the top for the superplex and covers for 2.5! Roode tries to distract him, Knight side-steps the superkick, hits the burning hammer, and Ziggler gets his leg on the boottom rope. Ziggler blocks BFT, Knight blocks the Zig Zag, Ziggler side-steps him in a corner, hits the superkick, and covers for 1-2-3 to retain! WINNER and STILL NXT Champion: DOLPH ZIGGLER!

Bron Breakker storms to the ring post-match and gets in Ziggler's face. Bron Breakker: "Screw it, I'm not gonna wait. I want my rematch for the championship at Stand & Deliver!" Roode steps up, gets clocked, and Breakker asks the champ what he thinks. Ziggler reaches his championship and tells him anytime, anywhere. That's all for NXT!