Patience was the theme of this year’s Stand & Deliver, particularly in terms of the two new champions crowned on the show. It’s especially clear in the case of Tony D’Angelo, who has been on the developmental brand since the days of “NXT 2.0” and who, after years of watching his peers get called up to the main roster, finally captured the NXT Championship on Saturday. We’re talking almost five full years of waiting for D’Angelo; the man competed at NXT WarGames 2021 alongside Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes. For him to finally capture the gold at Stand & Deliver (against three men who were newer to the promotion than he was, but who had all managed a run with the top title before D’Angelo) was a massive win for the concept of waiting for your turn.

Similarly, Lola Vice has been part of “NXT” since 2022 and has been positioned as a women’s title contender since 2024. She’s had numerous shots at the belt, but could never seem to capture it. In fact, she’s been in contention long enough for a younger phenomenon to emerge in Kendal Grey, who could easily have been the one to end Jacy Jayne’s reign. Instead, it’s finally Vice’s time. On a night she could have been skipped over by a rising talent from the next generation of “NXT” stars, she instead made good on her years of waiting and is finally on top of the deepest division in wrestling.

Saturday night, the primary sentiment I heard from fans about Stand & Deliver was “good for Lola and good for Tony.” It’s a sentiment I share. Their patience paid off.