The 2024 Spring Breakin' was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

for its

developmental brand In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

NXT. It was the third annual Spring Breakin' for the brand and aired as a two-part special episode of '' NXT'' on the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

. The event took place on April 23 and April 30, 2024, at the

WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. Ten matches were contested on Week 1 of the event, including six televised matches and four taped for future episodes of '' NXT Level Up''. In the televised main event,

Trick Williams Matrick Mondre Belton (born May 26, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its NXT brand, under the ring name Trick Williams. He also makes appearances in WWE's partner promotion Total Nonstop Acti ...

defeated

Ilja Dragunov Ilja Rukober (; born 10 October 1993), known by his ring name Ilja Dragunov (), is a Russian-born, German- naturalised professional wrestler. As of January 2019, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inacti ...

to win the

NXT Championship The NXT Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended as the top men's championship of NXT (WWE brand), NXT, the promotion's Farm team, de ...

in a match where if Williams lost, he would have had to leave NXT. In another prominent match,

Roxanne Perez Carla Gonzalez (born November 5, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. , she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Roxanne Perez. She is a former two-time NXT Women's Champion, and a former NXT Women' ...

defeated

Lyra Valkyria Aoife Cusack (born 23 October 1996) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. She is a former one-time and the inaugural W ...

and Tatum Paxley in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

to retain the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champion is Jacy Jayne, who is in her fi ...

in the opening bout. Week 1 was also notable for being the last NXT event to feature

Baron Corbin Thomas Pestock (born September 14, 1984) is an American professional wrestler, Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner, former professional football player and former amateur boxer. He is wrestling as a freelancer under the ring name Bishop Dyer, appea ...

Blair Davenport Beatrice St. Claire Terry (née Priestley, born 22 March 1996) is an English-New Zealander professional wrestler. She is a freelancer, performing for various promotions such as New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). She previously performed in WWE und ...

, Ilja Dragunov, and Lyra Valkyria as they would all be called up to the main roster in the 2024 WWE Draft. Ten matches were contested on Week 2 of the event, including four taped for future episodes of '' NXT Level Up''. In the televised main event,

Lola Vice Valerie Loureda (born July 19, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lola Vice. As a mixed martial artist, she competed in the wo ...

defeated Raw's Natalya in the first ever women's NXT Underground match. In other prominent matches,

Axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

and

Nathan Frazer Benjamin Timms (born 23 July 1998) is a British professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nathan Frazer. He is a former one-time NXT Heritage Cup Champion and a two-time NXT Tag Te ...

defeated SmackDown's

Authors of Pain The Authors of Pain (AOP) are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Akam and Rezar, with Paul Ellering as their manager. They are best known for their tenure in WWE, where they were former one-time Raw Tag Team Champions and one-time ...

( Akam and

Rezar } Gzim Selmani (born 16 June 1994) is a Dutch professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Rezar. After signing with WWE in 2015, Rezar has since teamed with ...

) to retain the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's Professional wrestling championship, professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT ...

and, in the opening bout,

Oba Femi Isaac Odugbesan (born April 22, 1998) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former shot putter. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Oba Femi and is the current NXT C ...

defeated Raw's

Ivar Ivar (Old Norse ''Ívarr'') is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Another variant of the name is Iver, which is more common in Norway. The Old Norse name has several possible etymologies. In North Germanic phonology, several of the elements c ...

to retain the

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champi ...

. Week 2 also notably featured the return of

Wes Lee Deveon Everhart Aikens (born November 2, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT and Evolve brands under the ring name Wes Lee and is the leader of The High Ryze stable. He is a former one-t ...

, who had been sidelined with a back injury since December 2023.

Production

Background

Spring Breakin' is an annual

produced by

for its

NXT. The event was established in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and airs as a special episode of '' NXT''. On April 9, 2024, it was announced that the third Spring Breakin' would take place on April 23 and 30, 2024, at NXT's home base of the

, expanding the event to a two-part special on the

Storylines

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, ''NXT'', and the supplementary online streaming show, '' Level Up''. At Vengeance Day on February 4,

, who was accompanied by

Carmelo Hayes Christian Brigham (born August 1, 1994) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Carmelo Hayes. He ...

, failed to win the

from

. After the match, Hayes attacked Williams with a steel chair, ending their partnership and turning

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

in the process. At

Roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: * Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events * Police chase *Robbery * Sobriety checkpoint * Protests In peaceful ...

, The D'Angelo Family's

Tony D'Angelo Joseph Ariola (born June 9, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Tony D'Angelo. Working with a American Mafia, mafia gimmick ...

defeated Hayes to become the #1 contender to the NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver. After the match, Williams made his return and attacked Hayes in the ring. The following week on ''NXT'', Williams challenged Hayes to a match at Stand & Deliver. At Stand & Deliver on April 6, Dragunov successfully defended his title while Williams defeated Hayes. On the following episode of ''NXT'', Williams called out Dragunov to challenge him for the NXT Championship. Dragunov agreed to a title match at Week 1 of Spring Breakin' on the condition that Williams leave NXT if he lose, which Williams accepted. In December 2023, Tatum Paxley developed a deranged obsession with then-

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT (WWE brand), NXT, th ...

. Over the next few months, Tatum interfered in Valkyria's matches, even helping Valkyria retain the title at Vengeance Day in a triple threat match also involving

. At Stand & Deliver on April 6, Perez defeated Valkyria to win the title despite interference from Paxley. On the following episode of ''NXT'', Valkyria confronted Perez and demanded a rematch later that night, only for Paxley to toss her into the steel steps, ending their partnership and turning Paxley heel in the process. On the April 16 episode in a cinematic vignette, Paxley said that she wanted to be close to Valkyria and that she was being a good girl by helping Valkyria remain champion, but after losing her title, Valkyria meant nothing to Paxley, who expressed her desire to become champion. After Paxley's match with Thea Hail, Valkyria attacked Paxley. In a backstage segment later that night, NXT General Manager Ava announced that Perez will defend her title against Valkyria and Paxley in a

at Week 1 of Spring Breakin'. In early 2023, an unidentified person was behind the attacks that left several members of the women's division on the shelf. One of the victims of the attacks was Sol Ruca, and footage of the attack was shown at Spring Breakin' 2023 on the April 25 episode of ''NXT''. On the May 30 episode, the attacker was revealed to be

. At

on March 5, 2024, after an 11-month hiatus, Ruca returned from injury and attacked Davenport, costing her a match against Fallon Henley. One month later on the April 2 episode of ''NXT'', Ruca defeated Davenport in a singles match. Two weeks later, Davenport knocked Ruca off the top rope, costing her a match against

. Later that night backstage, Ruca demanded NXT General Manager Ava to schedule a

No Disqualification match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

against Davenport at Week 1 of Spring Breakin'. Ava accepted the demand, and scheduled the match as a Beach Brawl. On the April 9 episode of ''NXT'', members of

No Quarter Catch Crew No Quarter Catch Crew (NQCC) is an American professional wrestling stable that performs in WWE on the NXT brand. The group currently consists of Charlie Dempsey, Tavion Heights, and Wren Sinclair. Dempsey is a former two-time NXT Heritage Cup ...

(NQCC;

Charlie Dempsey Charles John Dempsey (4 March 1921 – 24 June 2008) was a Scottish-born New Zealand association football administrator. Early life Dempsey was a builder and emigrated with his wife to New Zealand in 1952. Career Dempsey was President o ...

Damon Kemp Robert Steveson Jr. (born March 20, 1999) is an American professional wrestler known in his time in the WWE under the ring name Damon Kemp. He is a former collegiate wrestler who competed at the University of Minnesota, where he is a former Nati ...

, and

Myles Borne David Bostian III (born May 25, 1999) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Myles Borne on the NXT brand. He is the only partially deaf wrestler to be employed by WWE. Early life Bostian ...

) were challenged by members of The D'Angelo Family ( Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo,

Luca Crusifino Roman Macek (born November 16, 2000) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT and Evolve (WWE brand), Evolve WWE brand extension, brands under the ...

, and Adriana Rizzo) to a

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

, where The D'Angelo Family (Lorenzo and Crusifino) defeated NQCC (Kemp and Borne). The following week, The D'Angelo Family leader

revealed that they were hired by NQCC to (

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

) eliminate fellow member

Drew Gulak Drew Gulak (born April 28, 1987) is an American professional wrestler currently performing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a former one-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion and eight-time WWE 24/7 Ch ...

. D'Angelo demanded payment from NQCC for the job and insinuated that the NQCC's NXT Heritage Cup be given as payment. Dempsey vehemently refused which led to the two teams brawling. A

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

between The D'Angelo Family and NQCC was then scheduled for Week 1 of Spring Breakin'. On the March 26 episode of ''NXT'',

issued an open challenge, which was answered by Raw's Natalya, who defeated Vice. Two weeks later, Vice attacked Natalya, costing her the NXT Women's Championship. Later that night, Natalya retaliated and attacked Vice backstage. One week later, Natalya challenged Vice to the first-ever women's NXT Underground match, which was scheduled for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'. On the April 9 episode of ''NXT'', NXT North American Champion Oba Femi celebrated his successful title defense against

Josh Briggs Joshua Bruns (born March 5, 1993) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Josh Briggs. He is signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. He was a one-time and the final NXT UK Tag Team Champion. Bruns previou ...

and Dijak in a triple threat match at Stand & Deliver and claimed that he will remain champion for a long time. Raw's

of The Viking Raiders appeared and challenged Femi for the title, which was made official for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'. On the August 15, 2023 episode of ''NXT'',

Jacy Jayne Taylor Grado (born June 2, 1996) is an American professional wrestler. , she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Jacy Jayne, and is the current NXT Women's Champion in he ...

defeated Chase University's Thea Hail. Backstage after the match, Jayne gave praise to Hail and subsequently became a mentor to Hail, turning face for the first time since 2021, with Jayne eventually joining Chase University. Around January 2024, Jayne took on a new protégé, Jazmyn Nyx, who would help Jayne win matches by cheating which Hail refused to do. On the March 12, 2024 episode of ''NXT'', Hail disavowed her friendship with Jayne, and Jayne (with Nyx) turned on Chase University the following week, turning both women heel in the process. At Stand & Deliver, Hail, Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan defeated Jayne, Kiana James and

Izzi Dame Franki Carissa Strefling (born July 13, 1999) is an American professional wrestler and former professional volleyball player. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Izzi Dame and is a member of The Culling ...

in a six-woman tag team match. On the April 16 episode of ''NXT'', Tatum Paxley defeated Hail after interference from Jayne and Nyx. A match between Hail and Jayne was then made official for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'. In late 2023,

and

formed a tag team partnership. On the April 2, 2024 episode of ''NXT'', Axiom and Frazer won the NXT Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament to face

NXT Tag Team Champions The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champions are Hank and Tank (Han ...

and

Bron Breakker Bronson Rechsteiner (born October 24, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bron Breakker. He is a former two-time WWE Intercontinenta ...

for the titles at Stand & Deliver but failed to win the match. In a rematch on the following episode of ''NXT'', Axiom and Frazer defeated Corbin and Breakker to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. After the match, SmackDown's

of The Final Testament appeared and attacked Axiom and Frazer. A title match was then made official for Week 2 of Spring Breakin'.

Results

Notes

References

External links

* {{WWE NXT events WWE NXT 2024 in professional wrestling in Florida Events in Orlando, Florida April 2024 in the United States Professional wrestling in Orlando, Florida