It seems like the same song and dance for all the NXT Takeovers thus far. Great wrestling, great storytelling, excellent booking; wash, rinse, and repeat. NXT Takeover: New Orleans, was no different. There’s only so many ways I can say that NXT is awesome, but NXT is without a doubt the best source of WWE television at the moment. Every match has purpose and meaning. Every storyline makes sense and is clear. NXT is far from perfect, but its definitely close to being so.
The 6-way ladder match was off the charts good for a safe ladder match. Granted, I wanted crazier flips, dives, and anything my wacky imagination can think of when a guy like Ricochet is in the match, but I’m happy with what we got last night.
Speaking of Ricochet, he was definitely the star of the match. Sadly, EC3 didn’t make as much of an impact as I hoped he would. I know how great EC3 is as I’ve watched Impact Wrestling during his reign as world champion, so I’m not worried about his future. Adam Cole winning was definitely the right call.
Ember Moon/Shayna Baszler had the tough task to follow the ladder match and the crowd never seemed to get into the match despite the strong storytelling and wrestling involved. Baszler using the ring post to pop her shoulder back in was such an awesome and bad ass moment. Baszler winning was definitely the right call. I hope Moon stays down in NXT for a bit. She’s a talented wrestler, but she’s still in need of a defined character. If the writers and Moon can fix that then she’ll be a very compelling, well rounded wrestler.
The Triple Threat Tag Team match was fun and the Roderick Strong turn was well executed. I question this a bit as Strong was clicking as a babyface, but there’s no doubt that the story was there and the oddball pairing of Dunne and Strong makes even more sense. I will say though, I am disappointed that Dunne is a babyface as he was such a strong heel; however, I understand the reasoning.
The NXT championship match was simply fantastic. It wasn’t Gargano/Almas good, but it was still a strong match ring and story wise. My only minor nitpick was that this match should have gone on last. Yes, Gargano/Ciampa was the match everyone was looking forward too, but this is the top title for the NXT brand. I always feel that top titles should close the show, but that’s just a nitpick from me personally. Black winning was no surprise as Almas seems main roster bound soon. Hopefully, Zelina Vega joins him on the main roster as his manager.
And Last, but certainly not least; Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Look, I wanted this to be a bloody, gory, intense match; but this is the PG era now and I have to learn that Quentin Tarantino like moments in wrestling just won’t work. My gore filled expectations aside, this was a fantastic match to cap off a phenomenal feud. The storytelling was superb and so was the wrestling. Apart of me thinks Ciampa should have won to make him a strong heel. NXT doesn’t need Gargano. He’s main roster ready, but I understand them going with the happy ending. Creative can always build Ciampa back up.
WrestleMania has its work cut out for them to top NXT Takeover; however, there are several matches on the card that can be potential five-star classics. If you missed Takeover, see it. Not just one match, every match. Appreciate the fine storytelling and wrestling; and more importantly, see why NXT will make you a proud wrestling fan.