The John Report: WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2024 Review

This is WWE NXT Stand & Deliver featuring Trick Williams against Carmelo Hayes, plus Roxanne Perez faces Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women’s Title and more.

NXT Stand & Deliver took place on WrestleMania Saturday in the afternoon. I didn’t see it any of it because even though I was in Philadelphia, I was out doing other things on Saturday. I haven’t seen any of this show until right now several days later on Wednesday.

It’s the second WWE NXT PLE of 2024 and the fourth year that NXT has used the Stand & Deliver name.

There was a Kickoff Show match with Joe Gacy beating Shawn Spears. Let’s get to it.

NXT Stand & Deliver
From Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 6, 2024

There was an opening video featuring Noam Dar’s Meta-Four group with Oro Mensah, Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson talking about the NXT Stand & Deliver card.

Noam Dar and Meta-Four were by the entrance to welcome us to Stand & Deliver.

The commentary team of Vic Joseph, Booker T and Wade Barrett welcomed us to the show. I like Wade being part of the broadcast. The Spanish commentary team was at ringside too.

NXT Tag Team Championships: Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin vs. Axiom & Nathan Frazer

Axiom and Frazer dove onto the champions as soon as they got to the ringside area. Axiom hit an impressive moonsault off the middle rope onto both opponents on the floor. Axiom hit a jumping kick on Corbin. Frazer was legal against Corbin with a DDT for a two count. Corbin got some offense going with a running clothesline. Frazer hit Corbin with a kick to the head. Axiom tagged in leading to a double team superkick on Corbin. Axiom jumped onto Corbin, who hit a slam off the shoulders and Corbin hit a vertical suplex for two. Bron tagged in leading to some fast running and that led right into a clothesline on Axiom, who did a great flip bump. Bron remained in control for his team with a back elbow followed by some pushups like his uncle Scott Steiner. Bron ran the ropes leading to Axiom hitting a Spanish Fly slam. Frazer tagged in with a springboard dropkick on Corbin, who was legal. Frazer hit a reverse DDT on Corbin followed by a standing Shooting Star Press for two. Corbin punched Axiom and hit a spinning slam on Frazer. Bron was back in as Corbin gave Axiom a Powerbomb. Bron charged at Axiom, who hit a Golden Ratio kick for two. Wow. That was a great kick that sounded good and was a believable nearfall. The fans chanted “NXT” for the great action.

Axiom went to the turnbuckle where Bron met him with a knee to the head. Bron gave Axiom a Frankensteiner off the ropes and that led to a slam by Cobrin (I think) for a two count because Frazer broke up the pin. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for the crazy action. Corbin slammed Axiom into the turnbuckle. Frazer kicked Corbin and then Bron hit a gutbuster on Frazer. Bron went to the turnbuckle where Axiom met him with a jumping kick to the head. Axiom hit a Spanish Fly off the top. Frazer got the tag and hit a 450 Splash off the top on Bron for a two count. Frazer went up top again where Bron stopped him with a punch. Corbin hit a sidewalk slam on Axiom in the middle of the ring. Bron suplexed Frazer off the top and Frazer did a back flip bump to sell it. Corbin was the legal man who went up top, which is rare for him and he hit a Superfly Splash onto Frazer for two. Bron left the ring where he charged at Frazer, but Axiom pulled his partner out of the way. Corbin shoved his smaller opponents, but Axiom & Frazer jumped onto Corbin. Back in the ring, Axiom hit a Golden Ratio kick and Frazer hit a Phoenix Splash for one…two…and no because Bron made the save. Axiom kicked Bron twice, but then Corbin hit End of Days on Axiom. Bron went for End of Days on Frazer, who got out of it and Bron was there for a Spear. Corbin covered Frazer for the pinfall win at 11:14.

Winners by pinfall: Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin

Analysis: ***3/4 That was an excellent tag team match full of action. They didn’t get that much time, but the action never stopped the whole way. I thought there was too much illegal offense and guys being in the ring too long when they weren’t legal, but it was still a very entertaining match. There were a few moments where it looked like Frazer & Axiom might win. I thought it was a possibility for sure. The finish was set up well with Corbin unable to do the End of Days to Frazer, but Breakker was right there to hit the Spear for the win. Awesome match to open the show.

There were clips shown of Trick Williams and Carmelo arriving earlier in the day. That’s the main event.

Meta-Four was shown backstage wearing Dallas Cowboys gear to get heat from the Philly crowd. Dar wanted Mensah to interview NXT North American Champion Oba Femi. The interview didn’t work because Femi walked out of the room and the door knocked down Mensah. That was funny.

NXT North American Championship: Oba Femi vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs

A WWE triple threat match is one fall to the finish with no disqualifications and no countouts. Everybody in this match is at least 6’6” and 270 pounds, so they are some big dudes.

Femi blocked kicks from both opponents leading to Femi flipping them over. Dijak and Briggs hit Femi with about ten shoulder tackles on Femi as they managed to send Femi out of the ring. Dijak jumped onto Femi on the floor, Femi caught Dijak and Femi knocked down Briggs. Femi press slammed Dijak onto Briggs on the floor. Femi tossed Dijak over the commentary table and threw a chair at Briggs. Dijak superkicked Femi onto a leather chair. Briggs got a hold of Dijak on the top rope and Briggs tossed Dijak onto a seated Femi! Wow! The fans chanted “holy shit” for that. Back in the ring, Briggs hit two running kicks on Femi. Briggs jumped off the turnbuckle, but Femi was there to chop him in the chest. Dijak got back into the ring leading to a double Chokeslam by Briggs & Dijak on Femi for a two count for both guys. Femi recovered with a double spinebuster on both opponents. Briggs slammed Femi on the ring apron. Dijak tried to jump onto Briggs, who blocked the attack with a boot to the face. Femi was knocked off the apron to the floor. Briggs clotheslined Dijak off the top rope leading to a two count due to Dijak getting his foot on the bottom rope. Dijak unloaded on both opponents with chops to the chest. Dijak superkicked Briggs, then Briggs booted Dijak, Dijak kicked Femi and Briggs kicked Dijak. Briggs clotheslined Femi out of the ring and Dijak hit a spinning kick on Briggs for a two count. Dijak and Briggs exchanged chops. Dijak hit a sitout Chokeslam for just a one count. Briggs knocked down Dijak with a boot. Dijak flipped over Briggs and hit a Canadian Destroyer! Wow. That’s not an easy move for anybody to do, but here’s a huge guy doing it and it’s so impressive to witness. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for them.

Dijak lifted up Briggs onto the top turnbuckle. Dijak climbed up the ropes with Briggs on his shoulders, but Femi walked up behind them and had Dijak on his shoulders. Femi slammed Dijak down so Dijak slammed Briggs. Femi got a two count on Briggs out of that. The fans popped huge for that while chanting “NXT” also. Femi lifted up Dijak for a Powerbomb, but Dijak slipped out of it and Dijak hit a boot to the face. Dijak hit a spinning boot to Femi’s face. Dijak hit the Feast Your Eyes knee to the face for one because Briggs jumped off the top with a moonsault so Briggs landed on Femi because Dijak moved. Dijak kicked Briggs out of the ring. Dijak hit the Feast Your Eyes knee on Femi for one…two…and Briggs pulled the referee out to stop the count. The fans booed that because they wanted Dijak to win. Dijak did a somersault dive over the top onto Briggs on the floor. Dijak shoved Femi into the ring post. Briggs ran over Femi on the floor with a Spear through the barricade. Dijak hit the Feast Your Eyes knee on Briggs on the floor. Dijak hit the Feast Your Eyes knee on Briggs in the ring for a two count because Femi broke it up. That was a great nearfall. Femi gave Dijak a Powerbomb onto Briggs and Femi covered Briggs for the pinfall win at 15:01.

Winner by pinfall: Oba Femi

Analysis: ****1/4 This was awesome! These guys worked so well together and showed off their athleticism throughout the match. Dijak and Briggs are experienced veterans while Femi has still wrestled less than 20 matches on television, yet he continues to impress every time he’s out there. Dijak has had the most great matches out of these three and he was fantastic as usual, but Briggs kept up with him and had an impressive performance too. I think Dijak was the best of the three guys in this match although Femi and Briggs did a fantastic job throughout the match too. That nearfall for Dijak after FYE nearly got him the win, but that’s when Femi got back up to finish off both guys for the win.

Tony D’Angelo was shown getting ready in the locker room with The Family joining him.

Noam Dar and Meta-Four tried to get an interview with Fallon Henley, Kelani Jordan & Thea Hail. Chase U didn’t think that was a good idea. Dar asked Hail if she really thought Jacy Jayne was her friend so Hail put Dar in an armbar. Hail’s friends broke it up.

Fallon Henley, Thea Hail & Kelani Jordan (w/Andre Chase, Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne) vs. Kiana James, Izzi Dame & Jacy Jayne (w/Jazmyn Nyx)

The six women started brawling right away with the three heels in control. The bell rang with Dame sending Henley into the turnbuckle repeatedly along with a backbreaker. James hit a running kick on Henley. Jordan saved Henley from a double team. Hail got the tag and hit a cross body block off the top. Jordan hit an impressive dive on the floor. Hail went for a slingshot attack on Jayne, but Jayne avoided it and Hail landed on Riley on the floor. Jayne worked over Hail in the heel corner. Dame went for a suplex on Hail, but Hail came back with a jawbreaker. Jordan tagged in against Jayne with a handspring back elbow. Jordan hit a spinning kick on Jayne along with a dropkick on Dame. Jordan connected with a flatliner on Jayne. The referee was distracted, so Dame tossed Jordan off the top. Dame did a hiptoss to send Jordan across the ring. James worked over Jordan with shoulder tackles to the ribs along with a running shoulder tackle. Jayne hit a cannonball splash on Jordan for two. James was back in with a knee to the ribs. Jordan got a rollup on James for two. Dame knocked down Jordan with a boot to the face. Dame hit Jordan with a backbreaker. Henley got the tag with a leaping clothesline and an impressive kick. Henley did a hair pull takedown on Jayne. Henley hit a jumping side kick on Dame. Henley hit a suplex out of the corner for two. Henley went up top, but James met her there and James hit a Spanish Fly off the top for a two count. Dame with a flapjack, James with a 401K neckbreaker and Jayne hit a knee attack for two because Hail made the save. Hail nailed James with a DDT on James. Dame tossed Hail out of the ring and Hudson caught Hail. Jordan knocked Dame out of the ring leading to Jordan hitting a moonsault onto Jayne & Dame on the floor. Nyx hit a spinning kick on Jordan, which the referee didn’t see.

Hail tagged in with a crotch chop against Jayne, who had nobody else to tag in. Hail and Jayne had a slugfest where they exchanged strikes. Jayne shoved Hail back leading to a pump kick. Hail unloaded on Jayne with punches. Hail hit an Exploder Suplex on Jayne, but Jayne managed to send Hail into the turnbuckle. Jayne sent Hail to the apron leading to James pulling Hail off the apron. Dame tagged in and went for a kick, but Hail avoided it. Hail applied the Kimura Lock on Dame, who tapped out. It went 11:41.

Winners by submission: Fallon Henley, Thea Hail & Kelani Jordan

Analysis: **3/4 The match was solid. It was a traditional tag where the heels were in control for most of the match before the babyfaces made the comeback. The crowd really got into it when Hail battled Jayne. This story was about Hail getting some revenge on Jacy Jayne for being mean to her, but Hail beat Dame rather than Jayne, so they could go back to the Hail-Jayne story in the future.

The NXT GM Ava was shown on camera talking about how great the tag team match. Ava announced that soon, NXT will be crowning the first-ever NXT Women’s North American Champion. The fans in the arena cheered.

Analysis: I love that. The NXT women’s division is strong and can certainly support another women’s title. The women on the main roster should get another title too.

A video package aired about the NXT Women’s Title match between Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez, who turned heel recently.

They showed new WWE signee Giulia at ringside. She was a star in the Stardom promotion for a few years. I don’t watch Stardom much, but I know she’s very talented. She was beside William Regal and former Stardom boss Rossy Ogawa. Giulia should be a big factor in NXT soon.

NXT Women’s Championship: Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez

Lyra had a brace on her left arm to sell the previous attacks from Perez. Lyra went for a move off her shoulders, but Perez avoided it and Lyra went for a spin kick that didn’t connect since Perez ducked it. Perez knocked down Lyra with a shoulder tackle and a headscissors, but Lyra did a cartwheel to get out of it. Lyra knocked down Perez with a back elbow. Lyra sent Perez out of the ring and Lyra hit a running dropkick to knock Perez down. Back in the ring, Lyra dropkicked Perez into the turnbuckle. Perez came back with a stomp to the left arm. Perez hit a running uppercut and a Russian legsweep for two. Perez rammed Lyra’s left hand into the mat followed by Perez doing a knee drop on the left arm. Perez did an armbar takedown and tried a stomp on the arm, but Lyra got a rollup. Perez tripped up Lyra leading to Perez pulling back on the left arm to try to hyperextend the arm. Perez hit a floatover suplex for two. Perez was pulling on the left arm to try to get Lyra to submit, but Lyra kept on fighting back. Perez rammed Lyra into the turnbuckle. Lyra sent Perez into the turnbuckle. Lyra rolled up Perez for a two count. Perez countered a cross body block attempt by grabbing the arm again, but Lyra avoided a knee drop. Lyra hit a back body drop. Lyra ran the ropes leading to a double cross body block spot.

Lyra fought back with punches and kicks to the lower body. Lyra hit two straight Northern Lights Suplexes. Lyra tried a lift, but she let Perez go due to the arm injury. Lyra drove Perez face first into the knee. Lyra hit a Fisherman’s Buster for two. They battled on the turnbuckle where slaps were exchanged. Lyra hit a running sitout Powerbomb for a two count. Perez was on the floor, she nailed Lyra with a forearm. Perez jumped onto Lyra on the floor with a DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Perez hit her Pop Rox finisher for a two count. Perez sent Lyra shoulder-first into the ring post two times in a row. Perez took the padding off the steel turnbuckle. Tatum Paxley jumped onto the apron and tried to help Lyra, but Perez punched Paxley down. Lyra avoided a stomp on the arm and Lyra sent Perez into the ring post. Perez sent a charging Lyra into a Paxley on the floor. Perez rammed Lyra’s arm against the ring post. Perez took down Lyra in the ring with a Crossface submission, but Lyra countered for two. Lyra hit a spin kick to the head for two. Lyra went up top and jumped off with a splash, but Perez avoided it. They each got a couple of nearfalls. Lyra caught Perez leading to a German Suplex across the ring. Perez countered a move with a Poison Rana and Pop Rox. Perez applied the Crossface submission as the fans got loud. Lyra was near the ropes, but Perez rolled away from the ropes. Lyra tried to get out of the submission, but she was unable to do it and she tapped out. Perez wins at 16:19.

Winner by submission AND NEW NXT Women’s Champion: Roxanne Perez

Analysis: ***1/2 A classic technical wrestling match where Perez relentlessly worked over Lyra’s left arm throughout the match and eventually wore her down enough to get the win. I liked the intensity of Perez throughout the match. The crowd was into some of it, but they also had moments where they didn’t react much. It’s tough when you do a technical wrestling match sometimes because the fans aren’t going to get into all the submissions the way they will for the nearfalls as we saw in other matches. I thought Perez was going to win the title to give her some momentum as a heel, so I like the title change here.

Roxanne Perez celebrated with the NXT Women’s Title.

Analysis: I’m happy for Perez. She has developed into an entertaining heel character and I think it was the right time for her to win the title.

A video package aired about NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov and challenger Tony D’Angelo aka The Don of NXT.

NXT Championships: Ilja Dragunov vs. Tony D’Angelo (w/Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Luca Crusifino & Adrianna Rizzo)

They did a suplex spot over the top to the floor. Tony D picked up Ilja and tackled him over the top to the floor. Back in the ring, they ran the ropes leading to a double clothesline. Ilja got a hold of Tony leading to two German Suplexes. Ilja was selling the right hand injury that he was dealing with as Tony D stomped on the hand and hit a forearm to the hand for two. They exchanged strikes by the turnbuckle leading to strikes that sent both guys to the floor. Ilja rammed Tony into the ring post. Ilja went for a chop, Tony avoided it and Ilja chopped the ring post. Ouch. Tony sent Ilja back-first into the steel ring post. Tony went back into the ring to break the count, then back out and Ilja slammed Tony into the barricade. Back in the ring, Ilja hit two German Suplexes and a jumping kick to the head. Ilja hit a running knee smash to knock Tony down. Ilja hit a running clothesline for a two count. Ilja was on the turnbuckle, he flipped over Tony hit a running Powerbomb. Tony D stopped a charging attack by kicking Ilja back. Stacks gave Tony some brass knuckles, but Tony didn’t want to do that. Ilja stomped on Stacks’ hand. Ilja worked over Tony D with repeated chops. Tony tried a spinebuster, but Ilja countered it with a DDT for two. Ilja delivered forearm smashes to the back. Stacks went on the apron, Tony told him to stop and Tony said it was his fight. Ilja gave Tony a kiss of death on the cheek, so Tony nailed Ilja with a headbutt. Tony tackled Ilja followed by punches. Tony hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex across the ring. Tony hit a belly-to-belly slam. Ilja delivered a kick to the head, but when he ran the ropes, Tony D came back with a stiff lariat. Tony hit a German Suplex for a two count. The battle continued by the turnbuckle where Tony hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex off the top, which sent Ilja rolling out of the ring. Ilja and Tony each cleared off the Spanish announce table. They got into a slugfest on the floor, which led to cheers. Tony wanted a Powerbomb, but Ilja fought out of that and Ilja hit an H-Bomb forearm to the head. They were well over ten seconds on the floor, but the referee was being lenient with the count. Ilja jumped off the barricade with an H-Bomb forearm to drive Tony through the table.

They went back into the ring as Ilja went up top and hit a senton bomb on Tony for a two count. Ilja went up top with nothing as Tony caught him leading to a Powerbomb by Tony for two. Tony stomped on the back of the neck along with a kick to the head and Tony hit a big spinebuster for a two count. Ilja countered a suplex into an inside cradle for two. Ilja headbutted Tony D followed by the Torpedo Moscow headbutt/forearm to the back. Ilja went up top and hit the H-Bomb forearm smash for the pinfall win at 17:06.

Winner by pinfall: Ilja Dragunov

Analysis: ***1/2 A very good match that I rated the same as the Women’s Title match. I like Tony D as a character, but in terms of matches, I don’t recall many matches that really got to that four-star level when he was in a singles match. There were multiple instances where Tony D refused help from Stacks. My guess is that in the future, Tony goes fully heel and embraces the help in the future because it will help him win. I think the match could have used more moments where it looked like Tony D might get the win. Ilja wore Tony down and pulled off the impressive win just like he’s done many times before.

A video aired about Je’Von Evans, who is a fantastic 19-year-old athlete set to make his NXT television debut. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do in NXT.

It was announced by Noam Dar and Meta-Four that they broke the NXT all-time attendance record. The announced number was 16,545 people at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.

There was a video package for the main event between former best friends Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. The story is that Trick was a loyal friend for two years, but when Trick was on the rise, Melo attacked him and turned on him. That set up this match.

Carmelo Hayes made his entrance first. Melo has been in many main events over the past two years. Melo started as a heel in NXT in September 2021, then he turned face over the last year and now he’s back in a heel role again.

Trick Williams got a huge ovation for his entrance while the arena chanted “Whoop That Trick” during his catchy entrance song. Booker T was silent at the start, but then he joined in with his adlibs throughout the entrance. Trick was very popular with the fans as usual.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams

The smaller Melo used his speed to jump over Trick followed by a slap to the head. Melo slapped Trick again, so Trick came back with punches. They left the ring where Trick sent Melo into the barricade. Trick sent Melo over the barricade. The referee went with them into the crowd as the announcers talked about how the referee was told be lenient so there could be a winner. Melo knocked down Trick on the floor leading to Melo jumping onto Trick on the floor. Melo knocked the hat off of somebody from Trick’s family, so Trick fought back and sent Melo back to the ringside area. Melo got back into the ring, Trick charged and Melo hit a springboard cross body block. Melo removed the padding from the steel by the turnbuckle. Trick sent Melo face first into the turnbuckle. Trick teased a suplex by the turnbuckle, Melo got out of that and kicked Trick’s left leg to knock him down. Melo sent Trick ribs first into the ring apron. Back in the ring, Melo stomped on Trick’s ribs. Melo stomped on Trick a few more times along with a running dropkick. Trick came back with a punch. Melo went for a springboard attack, but Trick hit him with an uppercut punch. They ran at eachother leading to a double dropkick knocking both guys down.

They got back up with Trick blocking a kick and delivering some punches. Trick delivered some jumping side kicks along with a flapjack. Melo countered a move with a headscissors takedown. Melo went up top, Trick caught him and Trick hit a jumping neckbreaker. Trick hit a spinning big boot to the head for a two count. They left the ring where Melo stunned Trick with a strike and then Trick hit a springboard clothesline onto Trick on the floor. Back in the ring, Melo hit a Frog Splash off the top for a two count. Melo hit a Codebreaker on a charging Trick for a two count. Melo used his wrist tape to try to choke Trick, but Trick got out of that. Trick went for a corner splash, Melo moved and Trick splashed the referee against the turnbuckle. Melo did a chop block to the back of the left knee. Melo brought a steel chair into the ring because the referee was bumped. Trick hit Melo in the ribs with the chair and Trick smashed Melo with multiple chair shots to the back. The referee was back up to take the chair away. Melo kicked Trick in the groin (the referee never saw it) for a two count. Trick slapped Melo in the face. Melo charged, Trick avoided it and Melo hit the referee. Melo went up top and hit the Nothing But Net leg drop off the top leading to the second official counting the pin for a two count. Melo wanted to use a chair, the referee took it away. Trick went for a spinning kick, Melo avoided it and Trick hit the jumping lefty knee for the pinfall win at 14:47.

Winner by pinfall: Trick Williams

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a good match, but it never felt like a great match. The two matches before it were slightly better, in my opinion. Melo was on offense for a lot of it and having Trick come back to win was the right way to book this. I liked that spot where Melo got a nearfall after a low blow that the referee didn’t see. That worked perfectly as a nearfall spot. The second referee bump led to Melo getting a nearfall for the win. Trick barely got any offense in the final few minutes and all it took was that jumping left knee for the win. I thought they could have built up the finish better instead of having Trick win with one knee smash. It should take more than that to put Melo away.

Trick Williams celebrated the win while the fans chanted “Whoop That Trick” for him during his song. Trick continued to celebrate.

Analysis: I think it’s pretty obvious that Trick is going to be a future NXT Champion. Beating Carmelo Hayes sets him up on that path.

This event had a runtime of 2:45:21 on WWE Network/Peacock.

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Five Stars of the Show

1. Oba Femi/Dijak/Josh Briggs
2. Ilja Dragunov
3. Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin/Axiom & Nathan Frazer
4. Roxanne Perez
5. Trick Williams/Carmelo Hayes

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Final Thoughts

I’m going 7.75 out of 10.

A good show from the NXT crew. I liked the Tag Team Title match a lot with Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin beating Axiom & Nathan Frazer in an exciting match. The North American Title match was the best one on the show. That match was so much fun with three big dudes hitting eachother hard and doing some incredible spots. Dijak really stood out in that match, but the champion Oba Femi and Josh Briggs did well too. It’s incredible how athletic some of these big dudes are.

I’m happy for Roxanne Perez winning the NXT Women’s Title because she has thrived as a heel. Lyra Valkyria held the title for about six months, so it was time for a title change. I liked how methodical Roxanne was in working over the left arm throughout the match. Ilja Dragunov keeping his title over Tony D’Angelo was the right call since it should be Trick Williams who wins the NXT Title.

While Trick Williams beating Carmelo Hayes was the obvious result, it didn’t feel like a great match in the main event. It was fine. I just thought the finish could have been built up better. I still liked the show quite a bit. No major complaints here.

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John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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