WALTER vs. Ciampa UK title match added to NXT TakeOver

The NXT United Kingdom Championship will officially be on the line at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.

WWE has announced that WALTER will defend his NXT United Kingdom Championship against Tommaso Ciampa at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one. The match was made official after a challenge that was issued by Ciampa on NXT tonight.

WALTER and Ciampa’s feud began when Ciampa mentioned WALTER on NXT two weeks ago. After Imperium invited Timothy Thatcher to join them and said that he could bring Ciampa along too, Ciampa told Thatcher that he’s not interested in joining Imperium. But Ciampa said he was interested in facing Imperium’s general. Ciampa said WALTER was sitting safely across the pond holding onto the NXT United Kingdom Championship while the rest of Imperium did his dirty work.

On last week’s NXT, WALTER returned to the show for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. After Ciampa defeated Marcel Barthel, WALTER confronted Ciampa and then laid him out after Ciampa was attacked by Barthel and Fabian Aichner.

WALTER quickly defeated Drake Maverick by referee stoppage on NXT tonight. Ciampa then came to the ring and addressed WALTER. Ciampa said he misspoke when he said WALTER intrigues him. Ciampa said what actually intrigues him is WALTER’s NXT United Kingdom Championship. Ciampa challenged WALTER to a title match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, but WALTER initially dismissed him.

Ciampa then slapped WALTER as he was leaving the ring. Ciampa was held down by Barthel and Aichner but kept fighting back. The segment ended with WALTER chopping Ciampa and accepting his challenge for TakeOver.

Thatcher hasn’t appeared on NXT either of the past two weeks.

WALTER has been NXT United Kingdom Champion since April 2019. He also has a title defense against Rampage Brown that’s been announced for NXT UK: Prelude. That show will air the day after TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one.

TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one is airing live on the USA Network on Wednesday, April 7. On Thursday, April 8, night two will be live on Peacock in the United States and live on the WWE Network everywhere else. Here are the updated cards for the event:

TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one —
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai defends against Raquel Gonzalez
NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER defends against Tommaso Ciampa
Triple threat match for the vacant NXT Tag Team titles: MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) vs, The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde)
Gauntlet Eliminator match to determine NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano’s challenger for TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two (a 12-man battle royal on next week’s NXT will determine the six participants for the Gauntlet Eliminator match)
TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two —
NXT Champion Finn Balor defends against Karrion Kross
Unsanctioned match: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Ladder match to determine undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion: Jordan Devlin vs. Santos Escobar
NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano defends against winner of Gauntlet Eliminator match from night one