WWE NXT
Episode 447
#WWENXT
Original Air Date: May 2, 2018
Event Date: April 11, 2018
(available on the WWE Network)
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson
Ring Announcer: Kayla Braxton
Backstage
The Undisputed Era hangs out with their title belts. Adam Cole says they are givers. After all, Cole gave Lorcan a title shot. Kyle O’Reilly dares Danny Burch to try to interfere in UE business again. Bobby Fish concurs. Roderick Strong says what he did to Pete Dunne at Takeover will pale in comparison to what he does to him tonight.
Intro Video
“Resistance” by Powerflo
Match 1
Kairi Sane vs Shazza McKenzie
(referee: Tom Castor)
Result: Kairi Sane wins via pinfall after the Insane Elbow
Time: 1:50
Match Thoughts
This was kind of a squash, but it was fun. Kairi hit her big moves and and had a little fun with Shazza, catching a blown kiss from Shazza and setting it free.
Ring Area
Lacey Evans heads to the ring after the match. Evans apologizes to Kairi Sane. She says Kairi does belong in NXT and extends her hand. Instead of waiting for Kairi to return a handshake, Lacey punches Kairi in the face. Kairi falls to the mat as Lacey gloats.
Backstage
Cathy Kelley asks Candice LeRae how Johnny Gargano is after the attack from Tommaso Ciampa. Visibly shaken, LeRae talks about her frustrations. She begins to cry as she tries to talk about Gargano’s condition.
Video
Lars Sullivan is a monstrous freak embarking on an era of destruction.
Match 2
Street Profits vs TM61
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Shane Thorne pins Montex Ford with a prawn hold and his feet on the ropes
Time: 3:12
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. I think the best part of this was the finish and what it means for TM61. Hopefully both of these teams are headed into a good summer. They both need one, and this match is a good starting place.
Video
Clips of the burgeoning rivalry between War Raiders and Heavy Machinery.
Video
Kona Reeves is coming up next.
Backstage
Cathy Kelley asks Kassius Ohno about Ciampa and Gargano. Ohno knows that Tommaso Ciampa needs to feel as helpless as he made Gargano feel.
Match 3
Patrick Scott vs Kona Reeves
(referee: Darryl Sharma)
Result: Kona Reeves wins via pinfall with a Hawaiian Drop
Time: 2:02
Match Thoughts
An okay squash. It felt like Reeves was more concerned with yelling and making sure his face looked intense than wrestling a great match. He was fine, but this was just an average introduction.
Video
When talking about his upcoming second match in NXT, EC3 claims the sequel is always better than the original.
Outside the Venue
Earlier today, Dakota Kai talks about how well the NXT women are doing. She’s asked if she’s intimidated by Shayna Baszler, but she doesn’t want to respond. Vanessa Borne walks up and says Dakota Kai is pathetic. Borne would’ve just slapped Baszler because Borne isn’t scared of anyone. Kai isn’t scared of Borne.
Match 4
Candice LeRae vs Bianca Belair
(referee: Tom Castor)
Result: Bianca Belair wins via pinfall after an alley-oop
Time: 3:30
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. LeRae was visibly distracted and wasn’t completely in this match. Belair showed some very impressive strength, though at times it felt too much like LeRae was waiting for Belair to get ready to perform a coupld of her moves. This was good for the most part though, and I think it’s good for the stories of both women.
Match 5
Pete Dunne (UK Champ) vs Roderick Strong (NXT Tag Champ) w/ Adam Cole (NA Champ), Kyle O’Reilly (NXT Tag Champ)
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Pete Dunne wins via DQ after Cole and O’Reilly attack
Time: 9:04
Match Thoughts
This was quite a good match despite an unsatisfying ending. Clearly they wan to continue this feud, and I have no problem with that. In this match, I liked how Dunne started quickly, showing his anger. Strong took over and dominated most of the match though. Strong hit some very punishing moves on Dunne, causing Dunne to wrestle like a babyface for a lot of the match. It was interesting.
Ring Area
The Undisputed Era continues their attack on Dunne after the match. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch run down and clear Cole and O’Reilly from the ring. Dunne then does the same to Strong.
Show Impressions
I liked the show and that there were five matches, but most of the matches weren’t very competitive. This seemed to be a show about establishing characters and setting up story lines. For that, it was fine.
Match of the Night
Pete Dunne vs Roderick Strong
They’ve had better and will probably have better again, but this was good. The finish of course keeps it from being great, but it was done for a purpose, so that’s fine.
Official Results: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/2018-05-02