2/21/18 WWE NXT Recap: Dream vs. Jose; Cross vs. Borne; Almas’s Title vs. Gargano’s Career

Feb 21, 2018 - by Michael Riba

NXT opens with a recap of the feud between Andrade “Cien” Almas and Johnny Gargano, which culminates tonight in a Title vs. Career Match. We then see the opening credits and then head into Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia where Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinneess, and Percy Watson welcome us to the show.

Match #1 – Singles Match: The Velveteen Dream vs. No Way Jose
They lock up and Dream drops Jose to the mat and then delivers a few European uppercuts and beats him down in the corner. Dream mocks Jose and dances a bit, but Jose comes back and drops him with a clothesline. Jose delivers an uppercut in the corner and charges, but Dream catches him with a back elbow. Jose comes back with a double ax-handle and then drops him with a back body drop. Jose tosses Dream to the floor and then delivers a baseball slide dropkick. Jose takes Dream down with a cross-body from the apron as we head to a break.
Back from the break, Dream delivers a kick and then drapes Jose over the top rope. Dream drops Jose with a swinging neck-breaker and then goes up top. Dream goes for the Purple Rainmaker, but Jose gets his boots up. Jose rolls Dream up, but Dream kicks out at two. Jose backs Dream into the corner with right hands and then tosses him across the ring. Jose delivers body shots in the corner and then tosses Dream the other way. Jose goes back to the body shots and then slams him into the corner. Jose goes for the pop-up punch, but Dream counters with a dropkick. Dream delivers a rolling Death Valley Driver and then goes up top. Dream connects with the Purple Rainmaker and gets the pin fall.
Winner: The Velveteen Dream.
After the match, Dream says he actually won all of the 2017 Year-End Awards and says no one cares about Aleister Black, Asuka, and Tyler Bate. He says his name is on the tips of everyone’s tongue and if you can’t see that, he doesn’t have time for you.

We are reminded of tonight’s main event: Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Johnny Gargano in a Title vs. Career Match.

We join William Regal in his office. He says 2018 will be a year for tag teams in NXT and in two weeks, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will return, and the winners will not only win the Dusty Cup, but will also face the NXT Tag Team Champions at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.

We see that Nikki Cross vs. Vanessa Borne is up next as we head to a break.

Match #2 – Singles Match: Vanessa Borne vs. Nikki Cross
Cross backs Borne into the corner with forearms and then stomps her into the mat. Cross applies a sleeper hold, but Borne gets her down to the mat. Borne slams Cross down with a 360 slam and goes for the cover, but Cross kicks out at two. Borne goes for another quick cover, but Cross kicks out again. Borne stomps away on Cross against the ropes and then chokes her over the middle rope. Borne delivers a snap suplex and goes for the cover, but Cross kicks out at two. Borne slams Cross to the mat and delivers a right hand, but Cross fired up and delivers a cross-body and then a series of forearms. Cross smashes Borne in the corner and goes up top and delivers a cross-body. Cross delivers The Purge and gets the pin fall.
Nikki Cross.

We see footage from last weeks episode on the confrontation between Aleister Black and Killian Dain.

We see Johnny Gargano with his wife, Candice LeRae, mentally preparing for his match backstage as we head to a break.

Back from the break, we see a tweet from Shane Thorne that says he and Nick Miller will win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic this year.

We see footage from last week of the match between Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler, in which Kairi Sane returned and attacked Baszler. We are informed that Sane and Baszler will go one-on-one on next week’s episode.

Match #3 – NXT Championship Title vs. Career Match: Andrade “Cien” Almas (w/Zelina Vega) vs. Johnny Gargano (w/Candice LeRae)
Almas goes for a quick roll-up, but Gargano counters and rolls to the floor and they stare each other down as we head to a break.
Back from the break, Almas delivers a back elbow shot to Gargano. Almas sends Gargano to the corner, but Gargano counters and delivers a step-up enzuiguri and then a leg lariat. Gargano sends Almas to the floor and goes for a suicide dive, but Zelina Vega gets in front of Almas. Candice LeRae takes Vega out with a suicide dive and Gargano takes Almas out with a cannonball senton. LeRae beats Vega up the ramp and backstage and Gargano tosses Almas back into the ring. Gargano goes for the slingshot DDT, but Almas cuts him off and slams him down onto the apron. Almas goes for the cover, but Gargano kicks out at two. Almas works over Gargano’s arm and continues to beat him down on the mat. Almas slams Gargano shoulder-first into the turnbuckle and stomps away on him. Almas wraps Gargano’s arm around the bottom rope and works it over again as the referee counts. Almas slams Gargano into the corner again and goes for another cover, but Gargano kicks out at two as we head to a break.
Back from the break, Almas is still in control and delivers knee strikes to Gargano. Gargano comes back with a kick to Almas’s head and then chops him in the corner. Gargano kicks Almas in the face and takes him down with a head scissors. Gargano delivers the slingshot spear and goes for the cover, but Almas kicks out at two. Gargano goes or a super kick, but Almas counters him and delivers the Buckle Bomb. Almas delivers double knees in the corner and goes for the cover, but Gargano kicks out at two. Almas sets up for the hammer-lock DDT, but Gargano backs him into the corner. Almas slams Gargano shoulder-first into the ring post, but Gargano comes back with a kick to the face. Almas and Gargano exchange forearm shots and chops on the apron and Gargano gets Almas back into the ring. Gargano goes for the slingshot spear again, but Almas turns it into an arm-bar. Gargano counters into a roll-up, but Almas kicks out at two.
Almas and Gargano exchange quick roll ups and then Almas slams Gargano into the corner. Almas delivers double knees in the corner again and goes for the cover, but Gargano kicks out at two. Almas puts Gargano on the top rope and goes or the hammer-lock DDT, but Gargano fights free. Almas chops Gargano’s knee and climbs up top. Gargano gets free and shoves Almas down to the floor. Gargano delivers the tornado DDT through the ropes and tosses Almas back into the ring. Gargano delivers the slingshot DDT and goes for the cover, but Almas kicks out at two.
Almas and Gargano exchange rights and lefts on the mat and fight to their feet. Almas delivers a big slap, but Gargano comes back with a superkick. Almas goes after Gargano again, but Gargano moves and Almas hits the referee. Gargano locks in the Gargano Escape, but Tommaso Ciampa gets into the ring and hits Gargano with his crutch. Almas grabs Gargano and drops him with the hammer-lock DDT and gets the pin fall.
Winner and still NXT Champion: Andrade “Cien” Almas.
After the match, Zelina Vega comes back to the ring and stands over Gargano with Almas. Vega and Almas leave the ring as Gargano is left lying in the ring. Gargano sits up in the ring as Candice LeRae comes back and the crowd chants “Thank you, Johnny.” The ring announcer gets back on the mic and reminds us that, per the stipulation of the match, Gargano must now leave NXT. Gargano and Candice leave the ring as the crowd gives him a standing ovation. Tommaso Ciampa looks on from the crowd and waves goodbye to Gargano as the show comes to a close.

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