1/17/18 WWE NXT Recap: Strong vs. Aichner; AOP vs. Street Profits; TakeOver Philly Takes Shape

We see the NXT opening video and then go into Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Percy Watson welcome us to the show. Watson reminds us of the match between The Authors of Pain and The Street Profits tonight, where the winners will move on to NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia and challenge The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

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Match #1 – Tag Team Match: Heavy Machinery (Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic) vs. Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss
Dozovic and Sabbatelli start with a collar and elbow tie up and Dozovic shoves Sabbatelli to the mat. Sabbatelli comes back with a dropkick and sends Dozovic to the corner. Dozovic comes back with a shoulder block and then slams Sabbatelli down to the mat. Dozovic smashes Sabbatelli in the corner and Knight tags in. Knight delivers a senton and gets a one count. Knight swings Sabbatelli around, but Sabbatelli tags in Moss. Moss connects with a right hand to the midsection, but Knight takes him down to the mat. Knight swings Moss around and Dozovic tags in. They smash Moss in the middle of the ring and then Dozovic connects with the Caterpillar. Dozovic goes for the cover, but Sabbatelli breaks it up.
Sabbatelli tags in and beats Dozovic down on the mat. Moss tags back in and beats down Dozovic in the corner. Moss clubs Dozovic across the neck and then applies rear chin-lock. Dozovic counters with a belly-to-back suplex and tags in Knight. Knight drops Moss with shoulder tackles and then a hip toss. Knight delivers a dropkick now and smashes Moss in the corner. Knight delivers a hip toss to Sabbatelli, but Moss rolls him up from behind with his feet on the ropes and gets the pin fall.
Winners: Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli.

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We see The Undisputed Era backstage. Adam Cole says TakeOver is their event and has been since they joined NXT. Cole says there is a million-and-one ways for him to beat and embarrass Aleister Black in their Extreme Rules Match. Kyle O’Reilly says everyone wants a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship, but they all fail to realize that they are all living in the Undisputed Era’s era. Bobby Fish said they are all lining up just to be dropped by them.

We see that Roderick Strong will go one-on-one with Fabian Aichner up next.

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We are reminded that Asking Alexandria’s “When the Lights Come On” is one of the official theme songs for NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia.

We take a look back to last week’s show and see the attack on Aleister Black that was laid down by Th Undisputed Era.

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Match #2 – Singles Match: Roderick Strong vs. Fabian Aichner
Strong reverses Aichner’s hammer-lock into one of his own. Aichner turns it around and drops Strong with a shoulder tackle. Strong comes back and drops Aichner with a dropkick and gets a two count. Aichner comes back with a knee and sends Strong to the corner, but Strong counters with a back elbow. Aichner slams Strong down to the mat as we head to a break.
We’re back and Aichner has Strong in an abdominal stretch, Strong breaks free and comes off the ropes, but Aichner power slams him down to the mat. Aichner goes for the cover, but Strong kicks out at two. Aichner slams Strong into the corner and stomps away on him. Aichner goes for a power bomb, but Strong counters and chops Aichner against the ropes. Strong delivers a clothesline and then drives his shoulder into Aichner in the corner. Strong goes for the Olympic Slam, but Aichner counters with an arm drag. Strong comes back and delivers a back-breaker and goes for the cover, but Aichner kicks out at two.
Strong picks Aichner up, but Aichner gets free and delivers an uppercut. Aichner delivers a back-breaker of his own and goes to the ropes. Strong catches him and delivers a half-Nelson back-breaker. Strong locks in the Strong Hold and Aichner taps out.
Winner: Roderick Strong.
After the match, Strong says someone came out last week looking for a fight. He says he feels the exact the same. He says he has ran through all of his competition in NXT, just like the other guy. Strong says he stepped into the ring with a force that he has never felt before, and that brings him joy. Strong says he is talking to Lars Sullivan and then drops the mic and leaves the ring.

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We see a vignette with Nick Miller and Shane Thorne, TM-61. They joke around for a bit and then we see a sit down interview with them and it focuses on their journeys of wrestling all over the world. We see that Part 2 of “Who are TM-61?” will are on next week’s show.

We are reminded of tonight’s main event: The Authors of Pain vs. The Street Profits.

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Match #3 – Singles Match: Aliyah vs. Lacey Evans
They lock up and Evans applies a wrist-lock. Aliyah turns it into one of her own, but Evans counters right back. Evans slams Aliyah to the mat and then grabs her by the hair. Aliyah shoves her away and goes for a quick pin, but Evans kicks out at two. Aliyah connects with a forearm and goes for another roll-up, but Evans kicks out at two. Aliyah puts Evans on the apron, but Evans drags her down it. Evans delivers a slingshot elbow drop and goes for the cover, but Aliyah kicks out at two. Evans slams Aliyah into the corner and then chokes her over the top rope. Evans delivers a buster in the corner and goes for the cover, but Aliyah kicks out. Aliyah fights back with an uppercut and a clothesline from the second rope. Aliyah delivers a suplex and goes for the cover, but Evans kicks out at two.
Evans comes back with a jaw-breaker and then decks Aliyah with a right hand and gets the pin fall.
Winner: Lacey Evans.
After the match, Evans gets a mic. She asks how Mr. Regal can let the lowest forms of societal trash walk around the NXT Women’s Division. She says it is time for a sophisticated women like herself to clean house. She says she thinks she will start with the psychos like Nikki Cross, the confused Ember Moon, or the pirate. Shayne Baszler walks out and Evans leaves. Baszler gets into the ring and attacks Aliyah and chokes her out. Ember Moon rushes to the ring and Baszler escapes before Moon gets there. Moon grabs a mic and says if Baszler wants to bully someone, she dares her to try it with her. Moon challenges her to get back into the ring, but Baszler says she doesn’t have her gear and will do it when it’s for the title. Moon tells her to name the time and the place and she will bring her title. She tells Baszler to bring her gear, because she will beat her ass. Baszler tells her she will see her in Philadelphia.

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We see that the voting for the 2017 NXT Year-End Awards is now open on WWE.com

We go backstage and see William Regal in his office. He says Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler is official for NXT Women’s Champion. Zelina Vega walks in. She says everyone knows Johnny Gargano has zero chance at winning the NXT Championship in Philadelphia. Vega says Velveteen Dream made a good point last week when he said he deserved the title match over Gargano. Vega says Gargano needs to put his number one contendership on the line against Dream, but Regal says he will not advise it. Vega says they will embarrass Gargano and will be happy doing so.

We see No Way Jose backstage. He says 2017 was full of ups and downs, but 2018 will be the year of No Way Jose and it starts next week.

we rejoin the announcers at ringside, but Johnny Gargano makes his way to the ring. Gargano says he just saw Regal’s conversation with Zelina Vega. He says he hears what everyone says behind his back and Vega, Dream, and Regal doubt his ability to beat Andrade “Cien” Almas. He says he is done being doubted. He says he is not a broken man and not a loser. He says this is not a fluke and this is his time and his opportunity. Gargano says he accepts Dream’s challenge and the match will take place next week. Gargan says for the first time in a long time, he knows he is Johnny Freakin’ Wrestling, and he is the next NXT Champion.

We take a look back at last week’s show and see SAnitY being beaten down by The Undisputed Era, which left SAnitY unable to compete for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

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Match #4 – #1 Contender’s (NXT Tag Team Championship) Match: The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) (w/Paul Ellering)
Akam and Ford start the match and Akam slams Ford down to the mat quickly. Ford nips up, but Akam drops him again. Ford comes back for a cross body, but Akam catches him and Rezar tags in. They double team Ford for a bit and Rezar goes for the cover, but Ford kicks out at two. Akam tags back in and nails Ford in the midsection. Akam delivers another right hand and them applies a full Nelson submission. Akam slams Ford down to the mat and goes for the cover, but Ford kicks out at two. Rezar tags back in and stomps down onto Ford. Rezar clubs Ford across the back and tags Akam back in. Akam applies a modified arm-bar submission down on the mat as we head to a break.
We’re back and Akam is clubbing away on Ford. Akam goes for the cover, but Ford kicks out at two. Rezar tags back in and applies a front face-lock to Ford. Rezar drives a knee into Ford’s head and keeps the front face-lock applied. Ford fights to his feet and tags in Dawkins. Dawkins dropkicks Akam to the outside and then drops Rezar with a series of clotheslines. Dawkins splashes Rezar in the corner and tags in Ford. Ford takes Rezar down with a dropkick and goes for the cover, but Akam breaks it up. AOP smash the Profits together with the Super Collider and then hit Ford with the Last Chapter and Rezar gets the pin fall.
Winners and Number One Contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship: The Authors of Pain.