WWE NXT
Episode 430
#WWENXT
Original Air Date: January 17, 2018
Event Date: January 4, 2018
City: Atlanta, GA
Venue: Center Stage Theater
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcer: Kayla Braxton
Intro Video
“Resistance” by Powerflo
Match 1
Heavy Machinery vs Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Riddick Moss pins Tucker Knight with a schoolboy and his feet on the ropes
Time: 4:37
Match Thoughts
Good match. Heavy Machinery dominated a lot of this match with their strength, but as Nigel pointed out, they weren’t very careful with what they were doing in the ring. They would get big moves, but then they’d let Moss and Sabbatelli tag or regroup. That happened a few times during the match, and it cost Knight and Dozovic.
Backstage
The Undisputed Era says that Takeover: Philadelphia is theirs. Cole will destroy Black, and Fish and O’Reilly will turn away whoever wins tonight’s number one contender match.
Video
Clips of Adam Cole and Aleister Black leading up to their Extreme Rules match.
Match 2
Roderick Strong vs Fabian Aichner
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Roderick Strong wins via submission with the Strong Hold
Time: 3:55 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Aichner was strong and fast, and he pushed Strong to be even stronger and faster. This match could have been longer, but I quite enjoyed the fast-paced action with punctuations of strong moves.
Ring Area
After the match, Strong says he’s run through all of his competition since being in NXT. He’s still looking for a fight, and he has his sites set on Lars Sullivan.
Video
TM61 sit down and talk about starting out in pro wrestling in Australia. After coming together as a tag team, they went to America and trained with Harley Race. After trying out for WWE and not getting signed, they went to Japan and trained as young boys. They worked their way up and won tag titles in Japan.
To be continued…
Match 3
Aliyah vs Lacey Evans
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Lacey Evans wins via pinfall after a punch to the face
Time: 3:17
Match Thoughts
This was okay. They both seemed to struggle a little with each other early in the match, but it was fine. They had some pretty good exchanges, and I liked how Lacey Evans started fighting dirty as the match went on.
Ring Area
After the match, Lacey Evans wonders why trash is allowed to walk around in the NXT women’s division. It’s time for a proper woman to clean house. She starts listing some women she’d like to get rid of when Shayna Baszler walks out to the stage.
Evans runs away, so Baszler heads to the ring and chokes out Aliyah. Baszler won’t release the hold, so Ember Moon runs to the ring. Baszler leaves the ring and walks away before Moon can get to her. Moon gets on the mic and dares Baszler to try bullying her. Baszler says she doesn’t have her gear, and she’d rather fight for the title anyway. Moon tells Baszler to name the time and place, so Baszler challenges Moon to a title match in Philadelphia.
Backstage
Christy St. Cloud asks William Regal for a reaction to what just happened in the ring. Regal says it’s against his better judgment, but if Ember Moon wants to put her title on the line against Baszler in Philadelphia, then she’ll get the match.
Zelina Vega walks up and says Velveteen Dream deserves a title match more than Johnny Gargano, so Gargano should put his title shot on the line against Dream. Regal would advise against Gargano doing that. Vega isn’t pleased with Regal’s reaction, but she didn’t expect anything different from him. She says Andrade Almas is going to embarrass Gargano in Philadelphia.
Video
No Way Jose Guarantees that 2018 is going to be his year. The conga line to the top starts next week.
Ring Area
Johnny Gargano heads to the ring. He knows people are talking behind his back. Everyone is doubting him, but Johnny is done being doubted in NXT. If Velveteen Dream wants Gargano to put his title shot on the line, then he’ll get that match next week. Gargano plans to win that match before taking the NXT Title in Philadelphia.
Match 4
NXT Tag Team Title Number One Contender Match
Street Profits vs Authors of Pain w/ Paul Ellering
(referee: Tom Castor)
Result: Rezar pins Montez Ford after The Last Chapter
Time: 6:00 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
This wasn’t a squash, but except for a short burst of offense from Angelo Dawkins, AOP dominated this match. Montez Ford got beat up nearly the entire time, and the winners of this were never really in question. It was a fine match, and it made AOP look strong going into a title match, but I probably won’t ever watch it again.
Show Impressions
This was a fine show. The matches were fine, the stories were fine. It was fine.
Match of the Night
Roderick Strong vs Fabian Aichner
All the matches were about the same length, but Strong and Aichner seemed to fit a lot more action into the time they were given. This could have been a great match had it been longer, but as it is, it’s good.