WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2026 Predictions: Wrestling Inc. Picks The Winners

It's once again time for "WWE NXT" to Stand & Deliver, and this time it's not happening on WrestleMania weekend — it's happening this Saturday! Five championships are on the line, one friendship will complete the process of being totally destroyed, and also there's a match on the pre-show! Get hyped, St. Louis!

As always, there's only one real question heading into an event of this magnitude: Who will emerge victorious? And as always, the Wrestling Inc. staff are here to make our collective predictions. Now, did we do super great with our AEW Revolution picks last month? Not so much! However, we did nail the last "NXT" PLE, Vengeance Day, so we're pretty irrationally confident in our ability to guess how booker Shawn Michaels is thinking here — though admittedly, like Revolution, it's not the easiest card to predict. Who do we see coming out on top at "NXT's" biggest show of the year? Let's get to the picks!

Birthright, WWE's new stable, would look pretty silly if they lost their first big match on an "NXT" PLE. Granted, this is a group that includes Lexis King, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, and El Hija Del Santino Marella already looks pretty silly to begin with. After all, this is a group of second-generation stars, where not a single wrestler gets to use their family name due to trademark reasons, but that's why it is especially important that they get the win at Stand & Deliver.

The show has often been the coming out party for NXT stars, and 93% of the staff agree that it just feels right for Birthright to stand victorious in St. Louis. Hank, Tank, Shiloh, and the rest are a motley crew of "NXT" faithful, but they don't appear cohesive enough to best the newest heel stable. While there isn't a single member that I'd trust with the NXT title yet, Birthright is loaded with midcard "NXT" talent, who could dominate the Tuesday night show for the next year, and it feels very likely that they will start that momentum at Stand & Deliver.

Written by Ross Berman

In one of the tightest WINC prediction races, former friends and tag team partners Sol Ruca will collide with one another in an "WWE NXT" Stand & Deliver grudge match.

Heading into the big event, Ruca has a clear advantage on paper. After all, she's already proven herself as a championship-level talent through her reigns as NXT Women's North American and WWE Women's Speed Champion. She's also challenged for two other coveted straps of gold — the TNA Knockouts and WWE Women's United States Titles — and emerged as an Iron Woman and third place finisher in the 2026 Women's Royal Rumble.

It's this very success that tells 57% of Wrestling Inc. staff that Ruca doesn't need to beat Zaria at Stand & Deliver. Zaria, however, needs a win over Ruca.

Coming into "NXT" in late 2024, Zaria presented herself as a force that could likely plow through the entire division. Her nickname as the "The Adelaide Powerhouse" even supported that idea. Still, she's often took a backseat to Ruca.

Yes, ZaRuca cemented themselves as contenders for tag team gold in WWE and TNA, together. In singles action, though, Ruca primarily occupied the spotlight, hence her numerous opportunities as both a champion and challenger. This sentiment especially rang true when Ruca and Zaria competed alongside one another in a February 2026 tag bout where the person behind the winning pinfall would earn an NXT Women's Championship match. Zaria was evidently on track to clinch that opportunity, but an inadvertent tag resulted in Ruca seizing it instead. This proved to be Zaria's breaking point as she derailed Ruca's title match with a spear and an F5 just two weeks later, effectively putting their partnership to an end.

A win at Stand & Deliver would arguably mark the biggest win of Zaria's WWE career so far, and hopefully, set her up for proper success on the brand. Considering that Ruca is also reportedly set for a main roster call-up, the slight majority of us are in favor of her putting over her former ally on the way out.

Written by Ella Jay

The Vanity Project, Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor, are set to defend the NXT Championships against Los Americanos, and a total of 77% of us believe the former EVOLVE stars are emerging victorious from their first-ever Stand & Deliver. While they could take the titles to the main roster and even AAA, we don't think Rayo and Bravo are getting the job done over these new, fresh stars.

The tournament to determine the number one contenders to the tag titles was slightly snake bitten, with now-former WWE Speed Champion Elio LeFleur getting injured earlier on in the competition, leaving him on the shelf and his tag partner, Eli Knight, seemingly sidelined as well. WWE had to add in a new team to the tournament somewhat last minute, and the writers chose to bring in the decisive Americanos, who do seem to get a good reaction on "NXT." Even more than that, WWE chose to have them win the entire tournament to go on to Stand & Deliver.

While Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are excellent workers, we don't think they need the NXT tag titles under their current comedy gimmick. They will, however, lead Smokes and Baylor to a great match on a big stage. If plans were changed due to the injury to LeFleur, this matchup is probably the best option for Vanity Project.

Jackson Drake will also be at ringside, which will even the odds against El Grande Americano. And, alongside Drake, Smokes and Baylor are up-and-coming heels on an "NXT" roster that isn't exactly full of strong male talent who aren't immediately destined for the main roster. Here at WINC, 77% of us believe Vanity Project is retaining the NXT Tag Team Championships in St. Louis, as they need the win to keep looking strong.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Myles Borne might have the most momentum of anyone who isn't in the four-way NXT title match. After ending the historic reign of Ethan Page, Borne has been on fire. While I would love to say that the staff believes his opponent, the despondent Johnny Gargano, could win the match, it just doesn't feel likely.

I don't doubt that Gargano will find one more great match in him, likely willed on by the "NXT" fans, but this is a man whose shadow knows his story and feels AEW-bound at any second. Defeating Gargano would be a major feather in Borne's cap, and it would be one last gift to the "NXT" roster from the former NXT Champion, who would be making Borne a made man on his way out of the company.

Borne feels ready for greatness thanks to the simplicity of looking like Randy Orton and wrestling like Dolph Ziggler. While Borne might not go for the easy inspirational angle often, his success in WWE as its first deaf champion also adds a certain sentimentality to his reign. He's just, simply, someone the WWE fans can root for, wholeheartedly, and 93% of the staff thinks that WWE won't squander that for a nearly-catatonic Johnny Gargano.

Written by Ross Berman

Stand & Deliver will mark Blake Monroe's first opportunity to win the Women's North American Championship back since she lost the title to Thea Hail last December, but with Tatum Paxley's reign being just under 30 days long, 71% of our staff believe the current champ will retain on Saturday.

Firstly, Paxley became NXT Women's Champion last year, but her reign only lasted 24 days, and if she were to lose another title within a short period of time, it could be damaging to the strength of her character and be an indication that the brand doesn't view her a star who can carry gold long-term. Furthermore, Monroe has been rumored to be called up to the main roster since the beginning of the year, and it would make sense if she were to debut on "WWE Raw" or "WWE SmackDown" shortly after Stand & Deliver, or more likely, after WrestleMania 42. Monroe has also already been Women's North American Champion and doesn't need to have another reign at the expense of Paxley, especially if her call up to the main roster is on the horizon.

Two weeks ago, Monroe kickstarted her feud with Paxley when she shockingly dragged her underneath the entrance ramp following the 29-year-old's Steel Cage title defence against Izzi Dame. Therefore, a win for Paxley would not only be the logical choice due to Monroe already having a previous reign with the title and her call up to the main roster looming, but would also complete the story by giving the babyface in the feud the revenge she's been looking for.

Written by Julien D'Alessandro

Traditionally, a triple threat match would equate to each competitor having a 33.3% chance of winning. When one of them has an obvious investment backing them, though, their odds increase. Amongst Wrestling Inc. staff, Kendal Grey's odds of capturing the NXT Women's Championship have upped to 43%, with Lola Vice and defending champion Jacy Jayne lowering to 27% each.

From the moment Grey claimed the WWE Evolve Women's Championship, then simultaneously performed on the "WWE NXT" brand, it's been clear that WWE trusts in her potential as a star in the company. Fans got a glimmer of Grey's star-worthiness when she outmaneuvered four "NXT" veterans to earn the title of Women's Iron Survivor and a future shot at the NXT Women's Championship last December. And despite falling short in her initial attempt at the title, Grey still looked strong coming out of it.

Given that Grey already held the Women's EVOLVE Title at the time of her first major NXT title match, we imagine that WWE didn't want to produce yet another case of a double champion (Stephanie Vaquer, Sol Ruca, and Jacy Jayne all did that in 2025). This time around, however, Grey is titleless, having recently vacated her EVOLVE belt in order for her to enjoy a full-time run on "NXT."

It's not often that talents willingly relinquish a championship, so the fact that Grey did tells many of us that another, bigger one is likely in her future. What better way is there to make that a reality than by capturing it at "NXT's" biggest event of the year: Stand & Deliver?

Written by Ella Jay

While it's not an easy match to predict due to its four-way status, half of us believe that Joe Hendry will retain the NXT Championship on the Stand & Deliver stage. It's his first Stand & Deliver as champion, which is yet another big deal for the viral sensation, and 50% of us who cast our votes believe he's hanging on to the gold as the fan-favorite, despite the best efforts of Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, and Tony D'Angelo.

Page and Saints are both already one-time NXT Champions, and both (albeit, like Hendry) are main roster-ready and feel like they could be called up at any time. Even if they aren't called up, the pair are running a storyline together, best described as "frenemies," as Page decided he also wanted to challenge for the top title once again after losing his North American Championship, much to the chagrin of his friend, Saints. The "Absolute" one is tolerating Page, but the pair are on a crash course to a feud of their own, and we don't think either one is taking the NXT Championship along with them.

As for D'Angelo, it almost feels like his story isn't as fleshed out as it could be, but that could also be the fact he was thrown into this four-way match. While it's good he's on the Stand & Deliver card, the former "Don" of "NXT" could benefit greatly from a singles feud, leading to a match where he captures the title from Hendry. That feels like the likely next step, which may require D'Angelo going heel again, but it's one of the many reasons half of us convinced Hendry retains the title at Stand & Deliver. As for the other half, 43% of the WINC crew see it as finally being Tony D'Angelo's day in the sun, while 7% believe "NXT" is gearing up for another title reign for Ethan Page.

Written by Daisy Ruth