WWE NXT Results – April 18th, 2018

  NXT came back to Full Sail University this week after wrapping up one of their most successful tours ever in New Orleans, Louisiana over WrestleMania weekend. Now that Takeover has come to an end, it’s business as usual in NXT. However, some brand new faces have arrived to freshen up the show while some older talents are clearly experiencing their last days with WWE’s developmental brand. One familiar NXT Superstar is Johnny Gargano. The recently rehired wrestler came down to the ring with his wife to kick off this week’s show.
  Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae both came down to the ring to a great reaction from the crowd in Orlando. Of course, Gargano was reinstated as a member of the NXT roster after defeating Tommaso Ciampa in an Unsactioned Match at Takeover a few weeks ago.
  Gargano said that he had been defined by Ciampa for far too long and that he couldn’t so much as say his name for the longest time as the image of his best friend turning on him still rang through his mind constantly. However, Gargano says that he is now back in NXT where he belongs. After thanking the fans, he turned to his wife and thanked her for sticking by his side through all of the turmoil that they have experienced over the past year. Now eager to move on with both of their careers, Candice LeRae said that she has unfinished business with Zelina Vega and will be facing her in the main event of the program. Gargano also added that he wants a shot at the NXT Championship as soon as Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega are finally dealt with.

  Killian Dain appeared outside of Full Sail and promised to bring the chaos in his match against Lars Sullivan later in the night without the assistance of any of his SAnitY teammates.
Ricochet vs. Fabian Aichner –
  Making his in-ring debut in Full Sail University, Ricochet was given a chance to shine against NXT’s Fabian Aichner. It started off with Ricochet showing off some of the agility that fans have come to expect from the young wrestler as he managed to dodge every move that Aichner came after him with. Fabian did eventually manage to get some strikes in and gain the upper hand for a bit.
  Ricochet took a knee to the abdominal area before Aichner connected with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. This was not enough to put away one of NXT’s brightest stars. Aichner then decided to apply a bear hug, which did do a successful enough job of wearing Ricochet down. He was obviously able to eventually power out of the move, but Fabian still had control of the match. He gave Ricochet a few European uppercuts in the corner of the ring before whipping him into the opposite corner of the ring. Aichner charged after Ricochet, but the latter was able to move out of the way just in time to send Fabian crashing into the post.

  “The One and Only” finally started getting some shots of his own in on Fabian Aichner. Ricochet sent his opponent into the ring ropes before delivering a 619, then following that up with a springboard European uppercut. Ricochet hit a standing Shooting Star Press, but still was unable to defeat Aichner. Ricochet then immediately went to the top of one of the corner ring posts, but Fabian stopped him from leaping off the post. He attempted to deliver a Superplex, but Ricochet sent Aichner crashing down to the canvas. Ricochet then hit the 630 to get the win in his first match ever in Full Sail University.
Winner: Ricochet
  Before he headed to the back, Ricochet was interviewed on the ramp by Kayla Braxton. Ricochet said that he was happy to make his in-ring debut in Full Sail as the venue saw people like Sami Zayn, Bayley, and Seth Rollins all make names for themselves there before establishing themselves as top WWE Superstars. However, Ricochet said that he has arrived to make a name for himself in NXT and he hopes to prove to the fans that he is truly “The One and Only” Ricochet.

  A brief video package for EC3 highlighting the new NXT Superstar’s in-ring work and “top one percent” lifestyle was shown.
  Lars Sullivan cut a brief promo backstage in the darkness and guaranteed that he will do whatever comes to his mind during his match against Killian Dain later during the show since it will be a no-disqualification match. Fans will get the chance to see why Lars Sullivan is a freak of nature.
The War Raiders vs. JC & Chris –
  Between the face paint and battle gear that the War Raiders had and the “greaser” appearances of JC and Chris, this was certainly a unique looking tag team match. This was also the second new NXT in-ring debut of the night as this marked the first televised match for Rowe and Hanson.
  After debuting in dominant fashion last week, Rowe and Hanson teamed up to decimate the local enhancement talents known as JC and Chris. Rowe attacked both men early on before giving his tag team partner a chance to shine. Hanson laid out one of the men with a knee before continuing the attack on his unfortunate tag team partner. Hanson got aggravated after being hit by a slap, leading to an even more brutal beatdown. Rowe tagged back in and essentially decided to simply end the match.
  The team of JC and Chris were not able to defeat the team formerly known as War Machine. Instead, the two men barely got any offense in at all. The War Raiders quickly and soundly defeated the greasers after hitting the Fallout.
Winner: The War Raiders
  Fresh off of winning the NXT Women’s Championship, Shanya Baszler entered the women’s locker room in the Performance Center and quickly tried to establish dominance over all of the other female talents. She ripped off Ember Moon’s name from her locker now that she is no longer part of the brand, and she also stated that the rules will begin to change now that she is champion. Dakota Kai walked out of the room and brushed right past Shayna. Unfazed, Baszler reiterated that all of the women in NXT are going to have to get behind her as the new leader of the division.
  A vignette for Kona Reeves aired, and it appears that he is calling himself “The Finest.” Reeves will be appearing on NXT programming in two weeks.
  Pete Dunne was asked outside of Full Sail what his thoughts were about Roderick Strong turning on him at NXT Takeover: New Orleans. Dunne said that he would be returning to the United States in two weeks and promised to rip Strong’s head off.
Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan in a No Disqualification Match –
  These two behemoths went at it once again during this week’s NXT show, but there were no set rules for the match this time. It was time to figure out who is truly the biggest and baddest member of NXT. It started off with Killian Dain tossing Lars Sullivan out of the ring. Sullivan quickly swept his opponent’s feet and they proceeded to brawl around the ringside area.
  Lars then got Dain back in the ring and began to get some shots in. Sullivan gave Dain a massive German Suplex, causing “The Beast of Belfast” to roll out of the ring in order to recover. Lars went up to the top of one of the corner posts and leapt onto Dain outside of the ring. Lars Sullivan was now completely in control of the match.
  Before reentering the ring, Lars made sure to dump several steel chairs into the ring. The fans desperately wanted tables, but did not receive them just yet. Sullivan did hit Dain right in the gut with a chair before delivering a few more big punches. Dain powered out and recovered with some strikes of his own. He performed a splash from the top rope for a two count. Frustrated, Dain left the ring in search of weapons. The bloodthirsty Full Sail University fans finally got a table placed in the ring.
  Killian went on to set up the table in the corner of the ring. He and Lars both made sure to exchange chairshots before Lars took over. After placing a chair on Dain’s body as he laid motionless in the ring, Sullivan went up to the top of one of the corner ring posts and attempted to hit a headbutt. Dain got out of the way just in time, but it looked like Sullivan’s head still hit the chair. Regardless, this made Sullivan stand on wobbly legs.
  Dain tried to charge after him in order to send Sullivan through the table that he had set up in the corner of the ring. Sullivan dodged Killian and fell back down to the ground. Finally, the SAnitY member booted Dain towards the table and splashed him right through it. Dain’s next plan was to head up to the top of the corner ring post. Sullivan again caught him and tried to charge after him with a chair, but Dain countered with a kick.
  Unfortunately for Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan had enough ring awareness to dodge him once again. He gave Dain one last chairshot before then giving him the Freak Accident onto a pile of chairs in order to secure himself a hard-fought victory.
Winner: Lars Sullivan
  A quick video package once again introducing Candice LeRae to fans was shown right before her match against Zelina Vega.
  The Undisputed Era snickered and laughed backstage as they took part in a photo shoot with all of their championship gold. The group will be back on NXT next week with Roderick Strong promising to explain why he decided to join the stable.
  Adam Cole will be defending his North American Championship against Oney Lorcan on NXT next week as well.
Candice LeRae vs. Zelina Vega –
  Two more in-ring debuts took place during this NXT main event as Zelina Vega competed on NXT television for the first time ever, and this was also Candice LeRae’s first match as a contracted member of the NXT roster. This was the blowoff to months of feuding between herself and Vega, as well as between Johnny Gargano, and Andrade “Cien” Almas.
  LeRae laid out Vega quickly and immediately tried to climb up to the top of one of the ring posts in the corner. It did not take too long for Andrade “Cien” Almas to emerge and stand on the apron to cause a brief distraction. This brought out Johnny Gargano in order to help even the odds in this match.
  Much like her client, Vega charged after Candice with double knees in the corner. Interestingly, she never hit a hurricanrana. She then also tried to end the match by using Almas’ Hammerlock DDT, but LeRae fought out of the move and began to hit some strikes on Zelina in the corner.
  Candice LeRae went up top once again and was able to land a successful dropkick on Vega this time around. She locked her in the Gargano Escape, which prompted Almas to enter the ring, but Gargano stopped Almas by instantly locking him in the Gargano Escape as well. Almas and Vega submitted at the exact same time, giving the Candice a dominant win in her first official match as an NXT Superstar.
Winner: Candice LeRae
  The Garganos both celebrated in the ring as Almas and Vega disappeared to the back. Johnny Gargano grabbed a microphone and stated that as much as he enjoyed finally delivering justice to his rivals with his wife by his side, he still has unfinished business to take care of. He then outright challenged Aleister Black for the NXT Championship. Black appeared on the stage and agreed to have the match next week. It’s great that Black accepted Gargano’s request as quickly as he did. He probably would have put his NXT career on the line again if he waited just a few moments longer. 
  It looks this may have marked the final NXT appearances for Andrade “Cien” Almas, Zelina Vega, and Killian Dain, as all three of them were announced to join the Smackdown roster earlier this week. On the bright side, next week’s show will be stacked with a North American Championship match and an NXT Championship against two of the best stars that WWE’s developmental brand has to offer right now. Could Black lose the title already now that Gargano has been reinstated? The result will be revealed soon enough. I’ll see you NXT time!