NXT Takeover: New Orleans

NXT Takeover: New Orleans

New Orleans, LA - April 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the NXT Championship is held by Andres Almas, the NXT Women's Champion is Ember Moon, and the NXT Tag Team Titles are held by the Undisputed Era's Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish.

COMMENTATORS: Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, and Nigel McGuiness

After some shit metal band played, it was time for our opening contest - a 6-way Ladder Match for the brand new NXT North American Championship: EC3 vs. Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dane vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Ricochet. This was EC3 and Ricochet's in-ring debut for  NXT, so they got fairly prominent positions in the entrance line-up. Before the match could even start, a "This is Awesome" chant started. Ricochet hit a springboard shooting star early to pop the crowd. An uncooperative ladder nearly derailed the first major in-ring exchange between the Dream and Ricochet, but Ricochet is smooth and energetic, there was no way his first showcase could be denied. Killian Dane got some showcase moments next, taking out Cole and EC3 with some power moves before hitting a suicide dive on Sullivan to the outside. With everyone in the ring, Sullivan showed his viciousness by tossing a ladder into the fray in a cool spot. He followed it up with another cool moment, guerilla pressing the Dream and dropping him chest first onto a ladder. Ricochet, EC3, and Cole combined their efforts to sunset flip powerbomb Lars off the ladder, but before Cole could grab the gold, Dane pulled him off. Great back body drop onto a ladder from Dane to Ricochet. Cool partnership spots out of EC3 and Cole as they worked to take the monsters out of this match. As most predicted, we got Adam Cole superkicking the taste out of 4 guys mouth before exclaiming his catchprhase in a crowd-pleasing moment. Velveteen Dream, who had been fairly quiet in this match, hit a series of big elbows, but doing a really nice job of selling the damage of the match the whole time - maybe better than anyone else, including some of the guys with considerably more experience. The Dream hit a HUGE elbow drop from the top of the ladder, drawing loud "Velveteen!" chants in the process. Before he could grab the ladder, though, EC3 powerbombed him off the ladder into another ladder. EC3 and Cole did some fighting on the ladder, both eventually hitting the mat after an EC3 fireman's carry neckbreaker. Again EC3 went for the gold, only to get ripped down by Dane. Dane hit a nasty, ladder-assisted senton on EC3 but before he could do it again off the ropes, Cole came along and jumped on his back. Dane got out of this one, though, with a Vader Bomb onto the ladder-covered EC3! That had to hurt. Absolutely awesome sequence between Lars and Dane where they both tossed Ricochet across the ring. Lars Sullivan somehow caught Dane when he attempted to hit him with a running crossbody in a very impressive show of strength. Sullivan went for the title, but Ricochet caught him with a superkick. Ricochet went up ladder himself, but Dane started to tilt the ladder. Instead of going down with it, though, Ricochet hit an insane moonsault to the outside. Back in the ring he went to hit a shooting star press onto EC3 (who was on a ladder) in the next big spot of the match. Before he could grab the gold, the Dream caught him with a huge right hand. Dream then assembled a ladder catwalk in the corner, setting up a super risky spot in which the Dream hit a Rolling Death Valley Driver on the ladder. Just a minute or so later we got another "holy shit" moment as Dane sidewalk-slammd EC3 off the apron onto Velveteen Dream, who was laid across a ladder held up by the apron and the announce table. Dane then put Ricochet on another ladder and in another great mirror spot, brought Adam Cole through it too with a leg drop onto Ricochet. Having tired of chanting "This is Awesome," the crowd then started chanting "Fight Forever" before booing as Lars Sullivan made his way to the championship. Dane followed him up, though, and then EC3 and Cole also made their way into the ring, all 4 men climbing their way towards the gold. The Dream came in next, with a third ladder in tow. Really great sequence with all 6 guys fighting for the gold. Cole took EC3 out wih a russian leg sweep off the ladder and then Ricochet pulled The Dream off with a neckbreaker. Sullivan slammed Dane off the middle ladder too with a chokeslam, but before he could grab the gold for himself, Ricochet made yet another save! Then it was Cole's turn to play spoiler, shoving the ladder over and sending Ricochet to the mat before grabbing the title for himself. Personally, I would've put Cole in the bottom half of the list of guys I would've liked to see win this match, but I understand why his versatility as a performer makes him a good guy to put the title on. This match was a ton of a fun and featured great spotlight moments for everyone, including EC3, who may not be as flashy a performer as some of the other guys in this bout, but has a strong ability to put his obnoxious heel character into his matches. I'm not sure I've ever seen a multi-man match where, afterwards, I wanted desperately to see so many 1-on-1 contests involving the same guys. Honestly, if there was any worry about the direction of NXT in 2018 or 2019, this match proved they have more than enough guys on their roster to carry this brand even higher than its arguable peaks in 2015 or 2016 or 2017. Tremendous ladder match. (4/5)

I really liked the video package before the NXT Women's Championship match. As others have pointed out, the irony of the WWE signing Rousey to a huge deal while Shayna Baszler is tearing it up as the MMA badass on NXT and excelling in the role isn't lost on me. The reigning champ, Ember Moon, got an extra special entrance featuring live guitar-shredding by the band Halestorm, while Baszler got a "no frills" intro. Rousey and Jessamyn Duke were shown in the audience, cheering on Baszler. It was going to be somewhat tough to keep the crowd's involvement up after the ladder match, but these two came out poised and ready to tell a story. After hitting a great-looking big knee in the corner, Baszler struggled a bit with a gutwrench suplex before slowing things down a touch with a bow-and-arrow. Moon got out of it an equally not-so-hot head scissors, but eventually fell prey to a beautiful knee strike to the face. After a really nice start to the match, imprecise spacing and pacing quieted the crowd down and both performers seemed a bit exposed (Ember Moon's kip-up, for example, just didn't have the energy that it needed to have to establish as a "revitalization" moment). Baszler went to break Moon's arm, but Moon escaped and ending up putting Baszler in the same precarious position, dropping her foot down with nasty force. Moon then went for her finish, but Baszler crotched her on the top turnbuckle (all the while selling serious arm damage). Baszler's selling was really strong, but using the ring post to pop her shoulder back into place may have just been a hair overdramatic (especially when it was clear that her shoulder wasn't really dislocated). Moon then hit her frontflip neckbreaker finisher to the outside in a huge spot that put both women on the floor for 6. Back into the ring they climbed, but as Ember attempted to do some more damage, Baszler locked in a submission. Great sequence leading to Ember Moon lifting her up from a triangle choke position to a powerbomb. At this point, the crowd was alive again, going crazy for Baszler reversing the Eclipse into a clutch. Baszler then modified the move by pulling her own hair so she wouldn't have to use her damaged arm. Moon fought and fought but Baszler rolled back into the center of the ring. They worked the closing moment as best they could, but the crowd wanted something more definitive it seemed, booing at the finish. This match had too many ups-and-downs for me, with some really good sequences and some that were far from perfect. Baszler is really, really good already. (3/5)

Eww, god. Paige does not look good...and either does this movie if that is a real scene from it. I want to believe that Stephen Merchant wouldn't be involved in such a stinker, but I might be way wrong with this one.

Next up, a Tag Match for a whole bunch of marbles, with The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole, subbing in for an injury Bobby Fish) defending the titles against the finalists of the Dusty Classic Tournament, The Authors of Pain and the team of Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne. Before the match began, Dustin Rhodes and recent Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Jarrett were shown in the crowd. In a sense, these three teams had an even tougher job than Baszler and Moon as this match had just as many moving parts as the opener. The AOP hit a double sidewalk slam on Adam Cole through a table to effectively neutralize him early, leaving O'Reilly to basically fight on his own for awhile. Like the ladder match, this one also seemed to be wrestled with "tornado tag" rules - no legal man, no real structure, just 6 guys delivering signature offense and trying to score a win. Cool spot with O'Reilly locking Strong in a triangle choke and then grabbing one of the AOP's foot and applying an ankle lock before the other AOP powerbombed Dunne onto them to break up the move. At this point, the match did finally transition into an actual tag team match, though it remained rather loose, with Kyle O'Reilly coming in and out at will. Speaking of O'Reilly, he did a great update of the Flair flop at one point, eating a german suplex, popping back up and flexing, only to fall back down through the ropes. Building up Dunne for a hot tag seemed a bit odd in the context of a match where it seemed like tags were non-required. O'Reilly and Dunne traded nasty, stiff shots to eachother before one of the AOP delivered a dual clothesline to take out both men. They hit their Power Collider but didn't make the cover for some reason, allowing Strong the opportunity he needed to make the save. Strong and Dunne combined their efforts to take out O'Reilly on the apron before going after Rezar. Dunne hit his finisher, but just as he was about to win the match, Roderick Strong stopped the count and turned on his partner! I'm not sure this made 100% sense, but it did give us a very dramatic finish and definitely helps further cement the Undisputed Era as a legitimately dominant stable (maybe the NXT version of Bullet Club?). While not up to the caliber of matches that the AOP had with #DIY and The Revival, this was still an above-average match for sure, hurt a bit by the fact that the 6-man match set an impossibly high bar for this to follow without throwing in even more weapon-based carnage (table spots, chairs, etc.). (3/5)

The NXT Championship was on the line next with Andres "Cien" Almas defending the gold against Aleister Black. If I'm not mistaken, this was one of the lengthier Aleister Black matches we've had, at least on a Takeover special, as this one went close to 20 minutes. Black didn't do as much "schtick" (there was no "Sitting Indian Style" moment) and, unlike against Adam Cole or Velveteen Dream, where Black's intimidation factor was woven into the match consistently, Almas showed no fear. This did Black no favors as he did not come across nearly as strong a character as he had in those prior bouts. Almas, and his manager Zelina Vega, outshined him considerably, with even Almas' offense looking more sadistic and impactful than Black's respectable striking. At one point, Almas hit Black with double-knees into the ringpost on the apron and it looked like it just about murdered the guy. I loved all the old school interference by Vega throughout the match - this is what wrestling writers and critics mean when they say how a good manager works just as hard as the performers in the ring. The finishing stretch saw Black and Almas really shift it into a higher gear, building towards an excellent finish that saw Vega's interference finally backfire. Personally, I would've extended the feud a little bit as Almas has been absolute fire as the NXT Champion and could've held that title for months to come, but who knows? Maybe Vince is ready to call him up and give him the push that Alberto Del Rio didn't do much with? I'd support it. Another really strong match out of Almas, but just not quite a "must see" match. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa in an Unsanctioned Match. Expectations were super high for this match and I'm not sure they met them, though, that wouldn't be due to a lack of effort, storytelling, or crowd enthusiasm. As has become an unfortunate characteristic of so many of these "unsanctioned" matches, the footing always feels a touch off. Things started out tremendously, with Ciampa coming out to no music and just basking in the mega-heat. But then Gargano got a full entrance? The match started off hot enough, with Gargano and Ciampa just mercilessly going at it and brawling in and out of the ring. The intensity of the match really picked up with the first major table spot, Gargano clearing out the announcers by sending Ciampa hard into their table. The crowd was fully with them as the match continued and Ciampa regained the momentum, stomping on Gargano's head off the apron at one point. Ciampa got even more heat by grabbing crutches from an injured fan, the symbolism of his usage of them being a nice touch. To be sure, there were all sorts of call backs sprinkled into this match - from finisher stealing, to Ciampa using #DIY trademarks to insult his former teammate, to Gargano targeting Ciampa's damaged knee. Unfortunately, despite Gargano and Ciampa giving us everything they had, there were elements missing from what many expected - specifically blood and, as the fans pointed out at one point, more furniture damage. While its unfair to criticize competitors for what they didn't do rather than strictly speak about what was accomplished, the expectation for this match was that it would be one of the most brutal matches of all time. It just didn't hit that mark. While it was certainly an emotional, intense, and highly physical bout (any match that features a powerbomb from the apron to an exposed concrete floor can't be considered "soft"), this could never be mistaken for the rasslin' grudge matches of the past. The final 10 minutes were some of the most dramatic minutes in wrestling I've ever seen, Ciampa and Gargano both delivering some of their sharpest, stiffest offense yet and each telling their own emotional story through brilliant facial expressions and pacing. For Ciampa, this meant showing the crowd that, in the end, his hatred and rage was not enough to make him the better man. For Gargano, it was all about recognizing that enacting "eye for an eye" revenge, stabbing Ciampa with half a crutch to end his career the way Ciampa wanted to end Gargano's, would mean becoming that which he hated. Still, as good as this match was during its best moments, I'm not sure I have much desire to watch it again or gush over it the way I did the #DIY matches or even the Gargano/Almas match from earlier this year. This was a great match and a "must watch" for modern wrestling fans,  especially those that have been attentive for this bout's incredible build, but it might've needed a little bit of editing (it ran over 35 minutes) and, I daresay, some "color" and a table spot or two to have made it live up to the incredible hype. (4/5)


Once again, NXT delivered a show that will be almost impossible to top by the main rosters stars and producers. Every match was given ample time (maybe too ample, honestly) and there was not a single match that didn't have the crowd's attention by its conclusion. Speaking of the crowd, their boisterous chants made everyone featured seem like a huge star, a very important factor in helping make the brand a sustainable touring act. With a Kwang Score of 3.5-out-of-5, this show was about as consistently great as any wrestling show I've ever seen, all killer-no filler, and ridiculously easy to get through. That being said, it was imperfect at times and lacked the variety that made previous installments unique and broad, if not as good match-for-match. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It