On Saturday, March 7th, NXT returned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL, for its final big event before “Stand & Deliver,” “Vengeance Day.” The event was headlined by Joe Hendry putting his NXT Championship on the line against Ricky Saints, who is trying to become the NXT Champion for the second time.
We also saw an NXT Underground match between Lola Vice and Kelani Jordan, Izzi Dame put her NXT North American Championship on the line against Tatum Paxley, Tony D’Angelo battled the leader of DarkState, Dion Lennox, and Blake Monroe beat Jaida Parker in a Street Fight. So, what were the top three moments on the final big stop on the way to “Stand & Deliver”?
3. Tony D’Angelo Finishes Off Phase One
When Tony D’Angelo made his return to NXT after missing a hefty amount of time, he did so with two goals in mind. The first goal he shared with the audience was to take out the entire faction of DarkState. The second goal, he said, he would share with the audience when phase one was truly complete. At Saturday’s NXT Vengeance Day, he had the chance to finish off phase one, as he went one-on-one with the leader of DarkState, Dion Lennox.
Following a five-month absence, we saw a brand new Tony D’Angelo return to NXT. The Don of NXT, the leader of the D’Angelo Family, was nowhere to be found. Instead, we saw this silent, killer type of persona. D’Angelo has made it his mission to take out DarkState, and over the weeks, he has achieved that dream with the culmination coming at “NXT Vengeance Day.”
This match, if you want to call it that, was truly insane. This was a fight from the very start. These two kicked things off in the NXT parking lot, which is not the safest place in the world. After that, they fought through the back, making their way out to the ringside. The match finally got underway, and this remained a fight, not a wrestling match. In the end, D’Angelo hit a massive spear, followed up by his finishing move, Dead to Rites, on Lennox and pinned him for the three-count. It appears DarkState is now in the rearview window for D’Angelo. Now, there’s only one question left for D’Angelo to answer: What is his second goal?
2. Tatum Paxley Wins The NXT Women’s North American Championship
In one of the night’s biggest marquee matches, we saw Izzi Dame put her NXT Women’s North American Championship on the line against Tatum Paxley. This is a rivalry that has become very personal over the months. Following Paxley’s falling out with Gigi Dolin and Shotzi Blackheart, who were released from WWE, Dame finally recruited Paxley into her group, helping her have a “family again.”
Paxley reached the top of the mountain with Dame by her side. She defeated Jacy Jayne at “Halloween Havoc” in 2025 to finally call herself the NXT Women’s Champion. Unfortunately, it was a very short-lived reign as Izzi Dame would turn her back on Paxley, costing her the NXT Women’s Championship. Now, Paxley had a new goal in mind, taking everything from Izzi, starting with the NXT Women’s North American Championship.
This was an excellent match from the onset. These two women continue to show that whether they’re partners or opponents, the chemistry they have in the ring together is truly unmatched. There was a great spot in the match where Tatum Paxley hit a sunset flip powerbomb onto Dame from the ring onto the floor. Just amazing stuff. In the end, Paxley hits the Cemetery Drive on Dame to win the match and the NXT Women’s North American Championship. A very well-deserved win for Paxley.
1. Joe Hendry Retains, Ethan Page – Ricky Saints Miscommunication
The main event of the show saw Joe Hendry put his NXT Championship on the line against Ricky Saints. Saints was seeking to become the NXT Champion for the second time in his career, looking to dethrone the newly-crowned Hendry. Hendry won the title in a seven-man ladder match on February 3rd after Oba Femi relinquished the title. This marked Hendry’s first major singles title win in WWE. However, his good times were short-lived.
On the very next episode of NXT, Saints attacked Hendry from behind, making his presence known. He wants the NXT Championship back. Over the next few weeks, blood boiled between the two men, with Hendry getting his lick back, and the match became official. Most recently, they both had separate concerts in front of the NXT faithful, with Hendry’s much more well-received and Saints’ much more comedic.
This was an absolute banger of a main event. We even saw a moment teased where Ethan Page was slow to give the belt to Saints, before sliding it past him towards Hendry. Both Saints and Hendry had a tug of war with the belt before the referee stepped in. When the referee turned his back, Saints low-blowed him and hit his finisher for just a two-count. In the end, Hendry low-blowed Saints behind the referee’s back getting his revenge and hit a standing ovation for the three-count. Hendry looked great in his title defense, and I’m very interested in seeing what happens with Page and Saints.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next time
– Scott Mitchell
You can follow me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @Scott44Mitchell
