5 NXT stars who deserve a match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
In addition to two nights of WrestleMania, NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will also be a two-night affair. Prior TakeOver events have taken place on a single night with a card of approximately five matches.
With four titles on the brand, it often meant that at least one titleholder would not make the card. The creation of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships pushes that total to five titles on the black-and-gold brand.
With the switch to a two-night TakeOver, it means that every title on the black-and-gold brand will be defended.
Having two back-to-back nights for TakeOver isn't necessarily a bad idea. NXT has arguably one of the best rosters in all of professional wrestling. NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will allow the bookers to highlight more talent from the NXT roster in different types of matches.
Over the last two weeks, several matches for the event have either been announced or alluded to on television. Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross is already booked for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. LA Knight and Bronson Reed have been circling each other ever since the former showed up on NXT. Io Shirai will defend her title in the main event of Night 1.
Dexter Lumis will likely challenge Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship while Tommaso Ciampa will battle Imperium in some form. There will also be an NXT Cruiserweight Championship unification match between Jordan Devlin and Santos Escobar.
With two nights of a showcase, NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver has the opportunity to highlight many stars of the black-and-gold brand. All of the titles should be defended, but the challengers are not all set in stone.
Since the likes of Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly have been staples of NXT, they'll likely wrestle at the pay-per-view. Here are five other NXT Superstars who deserve a match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
#5 Candice LeRae could finally win gold at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
Once Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships from Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez, the women's roster was shown celebrating backstage. That was, however, with the exception of Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell.
LeRae has been one of the top women in NXT for the better part of four years. She's had fantastic efforts in matches against Io Shirai (twice) and both of her WarGames appearances. With all of those efforts, however, she hasn't yet captured a title in NXT.
NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver is a significant showcase where Candice LeRae could finally accomplish that goal. While it would be strange to have another quick title swap, LeRae deserves a title victory. She's been an integral part of NXT and has helped everyone else look better on the black-and-gold brand.