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Why is it that all NXT Takeovers are always so good?
NXT is loaded with talent again in 2018. The New Orleans show lived up to its unbelievable expectations. I didn’t think that would be possible. From one of the most brutal ladder matches of all time to multiple title changes, a shocking heel turn and a truly emotional main event, NXT delivered a very special night in New Orleans.
With all of this in mind after my favorite Takeover ever, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE Takeover: New Orleans:
#5 Shayna Baszler wins the title
What a tough spot to be on this Takeover card. The NXT Women’s Title has the “honor” of going right after an unbelievable ladder match. It took quite a while for the crowd to get into the Moon-Baszler championship match. It helped that the story Baszler told was a fantastic one.
Baszler had to surprisingly play the underdog to win her first Women’s title. She had to overcome Moon performing her own move on her and overcome Moon injuring her shoulder.
Then Baszler violently smashing her shoulder into the ring post to “pop” it back into place was a fantastic bit of psychology. It was a surprising finish to watch a one-armed Baszler make Ember Moon pass out to her submission. It is about time for Shayna to carry the women’s division going forward.
#4 Roderick Strong turns heel
I guess Strong just needed some time to finally consider the Undisputed Era’s offer from a few months ago. I didn’t expected him to finally join them on Saturday.
I am not going to lie. I didn’t expect Roderick Strong to turn heel on Pete Dunne and cost them the NXT Tag Title Championship match. Strong has been portrayed as such a sympathetic babyface.
Then to watch Strong turn on the generally heel Dunne was a pretty shocking moment. It really set up the Undisputed Era as extremely powerful faction going forward and it gives the entire WWE UK division a meaningful storyline going forward. It was a shocking moment that leads to some really fun things going forward.
#3 Black wins the NXT title after a lot of interference
You know you are in for a good night when Almas versus Black is your third best match of the night. They put on a good show with only a fast-paced fifteen-minute match to work with. It was surprising to see the NXT Championship not be in the main event but it made sense with the emotional main event that would come later in the night.
The most surprising part of the NXT Championship was the physical involvement of Zelina Vega on multiple occasions.
Whether it was putting Almas’ foot on the rope, an attempted crossbody or multiple hurricanranas, Vega was physically involved in an Almas match like never before. It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort on her part that finally cost Cien Almas his NXT Championship. It will be fun to see where Aleister Black’s title reign goes from here.
#2 A Ladder match that exceeded its high expectations
I firmly believe that Ricochet isn’t human. You shouldn’t be able to fly around the ring and defy gravity like he does. He is going to be a star for a long time.
I expected the ladder match for the new NXT North American Championship to be good but I was shocked to have one of the best ladder matches of all time. It was a completely brutal match with some of the most unique ladder spots you will ever possibly see.
You could list the amazing spots for a long time. The Velveteen Dream doing an elbow drop from the top of a ladder. Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain destroying the other four through multiple ladders.
Ricochet turning a fall off a ladder into a moonsault mid-fall. Adam Cole may have won the NXT North American Championship but all six stole the night and maybe clinched the match of the year honors already.
#1 The most emotional main event in NXT History
There is heel heat and then there is Tommaso Ciampa heel heat. I have never seen a heel have everyone against him from the get-go. Having him come out to no music and have the crowd scream the worse possible language at him was an impressive feat of true heel heat.
The crowd was truly invested in the main event which was deservingly Gargano vs Ciampa. It held the attention of the rowdy New Orleans crowd for nearly forty minutes.
The feud has been set up perfectly. It played on the emotions of their real-life friendship and through a variety of factors have built this emotional feud over the course of years on NXT television. Just watching the promo video before the match gave me chills.
The match itself was fantastic. It was a textbook example of how to be violent without needing blood. It had many painful looking spots and believable near falls. But it was the emotion that sold it. It ended with Gargano having second thoughts about taking out his friend with the crutch.
Gargano gave Ciampa one chance to do the right thing. Ciampa naturally did not and was quickly defeated. You will have a hard time finding a better face and heel feud in the WWE in the last decade. It was surprising to see it place off so perfectly. I am ready for Gargano-Ciampa matches for years to come.
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