WWE NXT
Episode 446
(available on the WWE Network)
#WWENXT
Original Air Date: April 24, 2018
Event Date: April 11, 2018
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson
Ring Announcer: Kayla Braxton
Intro Video
“Resistance” by Powerflo
Ring Area
Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Adam Cole, and Roderick Strong head to the ring. Cole says NXT has been fighting to prevent the Undisputed Era from succeeding, but here they stand with gold. Fish says the Undisputed Era always stays a step ahead. Strong won’t pat himself on the back, but he finally did something for himself by joining the Undisputed Era. O’Reilly says they are done being backed into a corner.
Adam Cole will prove how dominant the Undisputed Era is by defending his title against Oney Lorcan right now. And he’ll do it all by himself. Cole ask Strong, O’Reilly, and Fish to head to the back before the next match.
Match 1
North American Title Match
Oney Lorcan vs Adam Cole (NA Champ)
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Adam Cole wins via pinfall after a Last Shot (and some interference from Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly)
Time: 5:51
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Cole had his ribs taped up because of the damage he sustained during the ladder match at Takeover, so Lorcan wisely focused on Cole’s midsection. Lorncan controlled a lot of the match until some shenanigans took place involving Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong. If nothing else, this match showed the strong teamwork of the Undisputed Era.
Ring Area
Strong and O’Reilly attack Lorcan after the match. After a few seconds, Danny Burch runs down to help his tag parter, but Burch gets a superkick from Cole. The Undisputed Era stands tall.
Video
A package promo for Shayna Baszler.
Video
A package promo for Bianca Belair.
Match 2
Heavy Machinery vs Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli
(referee: DA Brewer)
Result: Otis Dozovic pins Riddick Moss after a Compactor
Time: 4:02
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Heavy Machinery dominated, and they were fun to watch. The takeaway here was the rift between Moss and Sabbatelli, but I’m not too interested in that. Dozovic and Knight continue to be a fun team though.
Ring Area
After the match, Heavy Machinery calls out the War Raiders. They say the Raiders will not make a name for themselves by attacking Heavy Machinery.
Video
Nikki Cross, Aliyah, and Kairi Sane are looking to take down Shayna Baszler.
Backstage
Cathy Kelley asks Dakota Kai about what happened between her and Baszler at the Performance Center. Kai explains that she doesn’t want to talk about it as Baszler walks up. Baszler tells Kai that a women’s division run by Baszler is Kai’s worst nightmare.
Video
Kona Reeves is the finest, and he’s coming soon to NXT.
Video
Lacey Evans, Vanessa Borne, and Candice LeRae also want to defeat Shayna Baszler.
Ring Area
Johnny Gargano heads to the ring for an NXT Title match, but Tommaso Ciampa attacks him from behind. Ciampa drags Gargano onto the announce table, but Gargano fight back with a superkick and a dive. They fight back up to the stage where Ciampa hits Gargano with a low blow. Ciampa then kicks Gargano head into one of the LED boards on the stage before sending Gargano through a table with a diving air raid crash.
Ciampa leaves. Candice LeRae joins the medical staff as Gargano is strapped to a stretcher and wheeled away from the ring. Kassius Ohno and Aleister Black look on as Gargano and LeRae leave in an ambulance. Ciampa is also watching from atop a truck.
Aleister Black heads to the ring and grabs a mic. Black beings to call out Ciampa when SAnitY interrupts. Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain head to the ring. Young says chaos took Gargano away, but out of the chaos, they will find SAnitY. Black doesn’t want to talk. He wants to fight.
Match 3
Eric Young w/ Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe vs Aleister Black (NXT Champ)
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Aleister Black wins via pinfall after Black Mass
Time: 8:51
Match Thoughts
Good match. I loved the impromptu nature of it, and the match delivered some good excitement. It was unclear if they were fighting for the NXT Title or not, but regardless, this was a nice main event for the night.
Ring Area
Dain and Wolfe rush Black after the match, but Black puts them both down with a pair of Black Mass kicks.
Show Impressions
This was a really good show. I liked how the first couple of segments flowed together with the Undisputed Era taking up the first third of the show. I also really liked how the last few segments flowed together with Gargano getting attacked which led to Eric Young replacing him. I don’t think anyone thought Young would win since SAnitY is moving over to SmackDown Live, but it was a good match and a very memorable few segments. I don’t care about Sabbatelli and Moss breaking up, but Heavy Machinery made even that segment fun to watch.
Match of the Night
Aleister Black vs Eric Young
Black versus Gargano is going to be great when they get to it, but this was a nice replacement for the night. I think it was good that they had this match. It didn’t allow Ciampa to derail another show and get the last word, and it will likely add fuel to Ciampa’s anger since he wasn’t able to close the show with his attack.
Official Results: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/2018-04-25