NXT Takeover: New Orleans Review 04/07/2018

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my NXT Takeover: New Orleans review. I was there live and it was an event I’ll never forget. The card top to bottom was amazing. NXT Takeover has never really let me down and this was no different. I was out in a position where I had to choose between ROH and NXT this past weekend. I had tickets for free waiting for me when it came to ROH and I had to buy tickets for NXT. I chose NXT just because I remember my experience at the NXT Takeover: Dallas. Also there were only like three appealing matches to me personally on the ROH Card whereas NXT top to bottom had me intrigued. Following the show, I knew I made the right decision. There was athleticism, drama, big moments, storytelling, twists and turns all along the way. After every NXT Takeover, I feel like I need more NXT. Lets get to my review.

Image via WWE.com

NXT Takeover: New Orleans comes to us from the Smoothie King Centre in New Orleans, LA.

– Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuiness and Percy Watson are on commentary for this event.

6-Man Ladder Match
NXT North American Championship
Adam Cole def. EC3, Ricochet, Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan & Velveteen Dream
in 31:24 by retrieving the championship title
In this match you had the returning EC3, two monsters in Sullivan and Dain, an over the top rising star in Velveteen Dream, a high flying spectacle in Ricochet and a fan favourite Adam Cole. This was everything a ladder match should be involving six men. It also made the brand new North American Championship seem very important as these six men busted their asses to try to win it to become the first ever NXT superstar to earn that title. In the end of this match every single superstar involved looked more over. The pacing and layout of this match was executed perfectly as well. Dain and Sullivan were the monsters in the match by obliterating their opponents and over powering them when necessary. They had some spots where they crushed their opponents through ladders that showed their dominance. Dream continued to shine and play towards his growing character. Adam Cole continued to control the crowd and thrive in a gimmick match. EC3 looked like a WWE homegrown star even though he spent years in TNA. Ricochet continued to do Ricochet things, which was surprising because I was worried he would have to change his style when he showed up in the WWE. In the past 18 years since the first Money in the Bank ladder match we have seen a ton of six-man ladder matches and due to the saturation of the matches, many of them have fallen off to become forgettable. This match was definitely not forgettable and it felt fresh. It was one of the best ladder matches I’ve seen in years.
Rating – *****

NXT Women’s Championship
Shayna Baszler def. Ember Moon (C)
in 12:56 by submission
This was rematch from the last Takeover and that match was good. This was just the same. Personally, Ember Moons entire run on NXT has fallen flat for me. I’ve never really been able to get behind her character and haven’t been the biggest fan of her in-ring work. Moon also wasn’t able to beat Asuka for the title after countless attempts but won the championship after Asuka had to relinquish championship once moving to the main roster. It all hurt her in my opinion. Shayna Baszler has received a lot of shit from WWE fans, simply labeled as “Ronda’s friend,” she’s never given any credit during her run. I think she plays her character very well, and comes across as a legit bad ass, that still has a lot of top shelf potential match wise, judging from what I’ve seen from her outside of WWE. This match told a great story and this was definitely better than their last match. The Eclipse to the outside was pretty cool. I was hoping Baszler would have finished Moon faster to show dominance but this match went a bit longer. I like the drama that existed in the final sequence because Baszler had the Kirifuda Clutch locked in there for a few minutes and Moon tried to fight it off, but she couldn’t do it. Moon passed out rather than tapping out which makes Baszler seem like a bigger threat to the rest of the NXT Women’s roster. Imagine her gimmick being that she doesn’t make women tap, she knocks them unconscious.  That would be badass.
Rating – ***1/4

Triple Threat
NXT Tag Team Champions/Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Trophy
Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Kyle O’ Reilly) (C) def. AOP & Roderick Strong/Pete Dunne
in 11:38 by pinfall
Bobby Fish is injured so Adam Cole is playing double duty here filling in for him as Kyle O’ Reilly’s partner. For long time ROH fans this is pretty cool to see. Strong and Dunn have not been partners for a long time nor do they have much of a history. The favourites here would have to be AOP but there was a part of me that believes they’ve really accomplished all they need to accomplish on NXT. It started out as a tornado tag match for the first half, they obeyed the tag team rules for some of it and then it broke down again. Authors of Pain were booked strong like usual by not having one of them take the pin and they got the most offence in the match. They targeted Adam Cole focusing on his injuries from the previous ladder match earlier in the day. Dunne and Strong started to run wild near the end, Dunne would hit Bitter End, but Strong broke up the pin, and hit the end of heartache, as Strong allowed for his old ROH pals to retain, and then joined them. The look of shock on Adam Cole and Kyle O’ Reilly’s faces were great and really sold the heel turn. I assumed AOP would be heading to the main roster which they did as they showed up on Raw the next night. I like the addition of Strong to the Undisputed Era while Fish in injured. He did feel as relevant as he did when he first came and I think this really will help bring him to relevancy. If this leads to Pete Dunne bringing Moustache Mountain together to face off against the Undisputed Era, this has the potential to be great.
Rating – ****

NXT Championship
Aleister Black def. Andrade “Cien” Almas (C) w/ Zelina Vega
in 18:30 by pinfall
This was an awesome match as well. Thus far every match on the card was solid. Alma has been an amazing champion and has had an awesome run. Alma has been the star we all expected him to be when he made his debut since he aligned with Zelina Vega. It brought the main event star out of Almas. Black has had one of the most dominant runs in NXT history going undefeated for months.He’s been made to look important, has delivered, and the title shot made complete sense and was coming at the right time. Ironically, last year at the NXT before Wrestlemania he defeated Almas. These two delivered once again on a Takeover, continuing their streaks of great matches. They worked a great match with really great pacing, laying out the ups and downs really well while mixing in great athleticism and drama. It was no surprise to see Vega get involved. It was expected.  Almas has won a lot of his matches due to the interference of Vega so it only made sense that her interference would eventually cause him to lose. It felt like the right time for a title change and the Wrestlemania Takeover crowd was the perfect one to give it to. If Almas and Vega aren’t called up to the main roster, I definitely do see a rematch down the road.
Rating – ****1/2

Unsanctioned Match
Johnny Gargano def. Tomasso Ciampa
in 32:19 by pinfall
If Gargano wins he gets his NXT job back, but if Gargano loses he is gone from NXT forever. A great wrestling match will always be great wrestling match. A great wrestling matched along with an emotional story that a company has been invested in for nearly a year to keeps the wrestling fans intrigued and build anticipation usually leads to an amazing wrestling match. I think that it’s absolutely possible to have excellent matches based purely on skill and ring work as long as you can make the crowd hot for the action, but I think to achieve pure greatness, you need to have a great story and emotional hook. This match had it all. This will be one of those matches that people will be talking about when it comes down to debating the MOTY for 2018. Thus far, Johnny Gargano has two matches that could be near the top of the list. They dont call him Johnny Wrestling for nothing. The special thing about Gargano’s matches is that they all have great backstories and build-up’s that are filled emotion that get you excited for the match. The match started off slow but once it picked up it never slowed down. It really felt like two former best friends really trying to hurt each other. One of them is the chosen one by the fans who they have this emotional connection with because he comes off as the ultimate nice guy underdog. Ciampa has become this dastardly asshole who has no rendering qualities to make you want to root for him. Also, Ciampa seemed to try to ruin Gargano’s life at every opportunity he got. There were call backs to their moves as a tag team and their match during the CWC match. It really felt like a blow-off to their rivalry. We all knew Gargano was going to win, but it was a question of how. What I loved so much about the match were the incredible nearfalls for both guys that made it look like it could end at any time. It was also violent with some hard bumps on the floor like that Powerbomb on the cement which sounded brutal. There were no lengthy rest holds or head locks. Their endurance was impressive because it didn’t look like either guy got tired the entire time. The ending was perfect with Gargano getting a hold of the knee brace and pulling back on Ciampa’s neck for the win. There has to be some praise for Ciampa too who had been on the shelf for nearly a year, only to come back to put on a 40-minute classic. I loved how Gargano, while celebrating with his wife, took a second look behind him to make sure there wasn’t a sneak attack from Ciampa. Everything about this match from the story, to the in ring action, all the callbacks, the drama and passion from both men was epic. It reminded me of why I love wrestling.
Rating – *****

Final Thoughts
This had to be one of the best Takeover’s of all time. I absolutely loved every moment of it and I’m proud to be able to say I was there life. I definitely did not make the wrong decision to go to NXT over ROH. I have zero regrets. If you haven’t watched this event yet or you decided to skip it due to the bazillion hours of wrestling we had this past weekend, go back and watch it now. The shows goes by quickly and thats because it was that good. I feel like I always say this in my NXT reviews but they always do remind me of why I love professional wrestling. The ladder match was a great way to kick off the show and fun as hell. The women’s match was my least favourite match and thats saying a lot because it was really good. The tag match was executed perfectly with a surprising finish. Almas and Black both had an amazing year in NXT this past year and they put on a match that had you believe it could go either way. I dont know what else I can say about Gargano and Ciampa that I havent already, but it was truly a spectacle for all wrestling fans who have followed their story. From top to bottom, NXT Takeover: New Orleans was epic. MUST WATCH FOR ANY WRESTLING FAN. Check it out.
Final Rating – 10/10

What were your final thoughts on NXT Takeover: New Orleans? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.