January 2, 2019 WWE NXT Recap: Ohno vs. Riddle and the 2018 NXT Awards

Jan 2, 2019 - by Michael Riba

The opening credits roll and then Mauro Ranello, Nigel McGuinness, and Percy Watson welcome us to the show. They inform us that Kassius Ohno and Matt Riddle will go one-on-one later tonight. We then join Cathy Kelley in the control center, where she will recap 2018 NXT and the 2018 NXT Award nominees will be revealed. The first match to be recapped is the Six-Man Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans featuring Velveteen Dream, Lars Sullivan, EC3, Adam Cole, Ricochet, and Killian Dain, in which Cole became the inaugural NXT North American Champion. We then see a quick clip of Ricochet winning the title from Cole at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4.

The nominees for NXT Breakout Star of the Year are: Ricochet, Dakota Kai, Lars Sullivan, Rhea Ripley, War Raiders, Lacey Evans, EC3, and Bianca Belair.

We are then reminded that Ohno and Riddle will go one-on-one later tonight.

The next match in this recap episode is the Unsanctioned Match between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa from NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, which was won by Gargano. This was followed by a quick recap of the Chicago Street Fight between the two, which Ciampa won. We then take a look back to the NXT Championship Match between Andrade “Cien” Almas and Aleister Black from NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, which Black won.

The recap show then focuses on the July 25 NXT, when Ciampa won the NXT Championship from Black. Next, we look back at the “Who Attacked Aleister Black?” storyline

We take a look back at the match between Matt Riddle and Kassius Ohno from NXT TakeOver: WarGames II, which Riddle won in seven seconds, and then Ohno attacking Riddle on an episode of NXT in December, which set up the rematch for tonight. We then see Ohno warming up backstage.

We then see the nominees for NXT Tag Team of the Year: Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan, The Street Profits, Heavy Machinery, Moustache Mountain, War Raiders, and Undisputed ERA. We then take a look back at the NXT Tag Team Championship Match between Undisputed ERA and Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan from NXT TakeOver: Chicago II in June, which was won by Undisputed ERA.

We see the nominees for Future Star of the Year: Matt Riddle, Mia Yim, Keith Lee, Forgotten Sons, Candice LeRae, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, Kona Reeves, Dominik Dijakovic, and Io Shirai.

They then run down the nominees for Match of the Year and Rivalry of the Year very quickly.

We take a look back at the match between Bianca Belair and Deonna Purrazzo from the August 22 NXT episode. We are then reminded that Belair will challenge Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix.

We are then reminded once more that Ohno and Riddle will go one-on-one later tonight.

We are reminded that Aleister Black will challenge Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix. We then take a look back at the match between Black and Gargano from NXT TakeOver: WarGames II, which was won by Black. We then take a look back at the Steel Cage Match between the two from December, which was won by Gargano with help from Ciampa. We then see an interview with Gargano. Gargano says he is such a good guy because he absolved Black of all his sins. Gargano dodges questions about Ciampa and says the plan is to continue being Johnny Wrestling.

We see Riddle warming up backstage as we head to a break.

We see the nominees for Competitors of the Year, both male and female: Adam Cole, Pete Dunne, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black, Tommaso Ciampa, Ember Moon, Nikki Cross, Kairi Sane, Bianca Belair, and Shayna Baszler.

Up next is the match between Riddle and Ohno.

We see that “Holding My Breath” by Alien Weaponry is one of the official theme songs for NXT TakeOver: Phoenix.

Match #1 – Singles Match: Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle
Riddle goes for the knee strike, but Ohno dodges it. Riddle takes Ohno to the corner and delivers a series of kicks and then connects with running forearms. Riddle delivers a suplex and then connects with a running senton. Riddle drives his knee into Ohno’s ribs and then kicks him for good measure. Riddle delivers another knee and then delivers a few chops. Ohno comes back with a right hand and then tosses Riddle across the ring with a suplex. Ohno delivers a right hand in the corner and then stomps Riddle down. Ohno kicks Riddle in the face and then connects with a rolling senton. Ohno goes for the cover, but Riddle kicks out at two. Riddle comes back with a chop, but Ohno kicks him in the face. Ohno delivers an atomic drop and then wrenches Riddle’s neck. Ohno slings Riddle to the mat from the ropes and then they exchange chops and strikes.
Riddle delivers a German suplex and goes for the cover, but Ohno kicks out at two. Riddle kicks Ohno in the chest a few times, but Ohno blocks the last one. Ohno connects with a jumping knee strike and then delivers a cyclone kick to the face. Ohno goes for the cover, but Riddle kicks out at two. Ohno stomps Riddle down on the mat and then stands on his throat. Ohno clubs Riddle across the back, but Riddle fires back with a chop. Riddle delivers a series of strikes and a kick to the face. Riddle runs the ropes, but Ohno counters with a kick to the face. Ohno delivers a couple senton splashes, but Riddle counters a third and locks in the Bromission and Ohno taps out.
Winner: Matt Riddle
-After the match, Riddle offers a fist-bump to Ohno. Ohno turns and walks away instead of accepting it. Ohno turns back and gets into the ring. Ohno drops to a knee and offers a fist bump to Riddle. Riddle accepts, but Ohno stops him and slams him into the ring post. Ohno slams Riddle into the ring post again and then slams him into the steps. Ohno slams Riddle into the steps again and then delivers the rolling elbow and Riddle falls into the steps. Ohno grabs Riddle’s hand and gives him a fist bump as he is lying on the ground.

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