Original Air Date: January 24, 2018
Event Date: January 4, 2018
City: Atlanta, GA
Venue: Center Stage Theater
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Video
Velveteen Dream says it isn’t time for Gargano to be champ. Not while the Velveteen Dream is around. Gargano’s dream is about to be over.
Intro Video
“Resistance” by Powerflo
Match 1
No Way Jose vs Cezar Bononi
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: No Way Jose wins via pinfall after The Pitch
Time: 3:19
Match Thoughts
An okay match. This was a pretty good return for Jose, but the match seemed fairly basic. Not bad, just a little rudimentary. It did what it needed to do and not much more.
Video
Chronicling the converging paths of Aleister Black and Adam Cole.
Match 2
Latoya Allsopp vs Bianca Belair
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Bianca Belair wins via pinfall after a reverse powerbomb
Time: 3:37
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. This was a nice exhibition for Belair. It showed her strength and a lot of her attitude. I think it’s a good step for her, even if the match wasn’t much more than a squash.
Backstage
Percy Watson sat down with Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler earlier today. Moon thinks Baszler is bully who has to take shortcuts. Baszler said she went after everyone in order to get the attention of the champ, and it worked. Moon says she knew what Baszler was doing, but she needs to learn how to act properly. Baszler says Moon might have achieved her dream, but when she wakes up after Takeover, she’s going to see her dream walk away with Baszler.
** I know this was pre-recorded so it was likely edited down, but I thought this was a great promo from Baszler. She’s kind of soft-spoken, but it works. It feels natural and real. **
Video
TM61 talks about their path to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes classic, and of Shane Thorne’s knee injury.
Ring Area
The Authors of Pain head to the ring for a match against Damien Smith and Catch Chase Brown, but they just attack and destroy them instead. They then cream into the mic as Paul Ellering looks on. After speaking, they hit Brown and Smith with a Super Collider.
Match 3
Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream
(referee: Drake Wuertz; stipulation: if Gargano loses, Velveteen Dream will take his place in the NXT Title match at Takeover: Phliadelphia)
Result: Johnny Gargano wins via submission with the Gargano Escape
Time: 12:15 (2 breaks)
Match Thoughts
Great match. Ever the underdog, Gargano took a lot of punishment, but he dealt a lot as well. This was a great way to give Gargano a lot of believability heading into the big title match, and it was just a great match period.
Ring Area
Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega come out to the ring after the match. Almas swings at Gargano, the two brawl for a moment, and Almas gets the better of the situation. Almas throws Gargano out of the ring and holds the NXT Title in the air. Gargano climbs up to the ring apron and kicks Almas as he appraoches. Gargano then hits Almas with a slingshot DDT before holding up the NXT Title himself.
Show Impressions
The undercard wasn’t great, but the main event was. You could just watch the second half of this show and be fine. You wouldn’t have really missed anything, and you would have been a lot more satisfied with the action in the ring.
Match of the Night
Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream
One of the better NXT matches in a while.