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What’s the story?
During tonight’s NXT TV tapings from Center Stage in Atlanta, two matches were confirmed for the next NXT Takeover, that is, Takeover: New Orleans which takes place during Wrestlemania 34 week.
Following the latest NXT tapings in Atlanta, it has now been confirmed that at the next Takeover event, NXT Takeover: New Orleans, current NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas will be defending his title against Aleister Black, who will get his first shot at NXT’s top prize for the first time since making his debut for the promotion back in 2016.
Coincidently, Black’s first match in NXT was also against Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT Takeover: Orlando, when the Dutch superstar initially began his undefeated run in NXT.
In case you didn’t know…
The recently concluded NXT Takeover: Philadelphia was another historic event in the history of the Takeover series, capped off with a brilliant five-star match between Johnny Gargano and Andrade “Cien” Almas for the NXT Championship.
Other than the NXT Title match, the Philly crowd was also treated to a brutal match between Aleister Black and Adam Cole, and the debut of Shayna Baszler, who competed in the NXT Women’s Championship match against Ember Moon.
The heart of the matter
Following her shocking loss to Ember Moon at Takeover: Philadelphia, Shayna Baszler is slated to receive another shot at the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Takeover: New Orleans. “The Queen of Spades” recently avenged her Mae Young Classic final loss against Kairi Sane, when she defeated “The Pirate Princess” during the latest NXT tapings, and as of right now, we can confirm the news that Baszler will have the opportunity to become the new NXT Women’s Champion come April 7 in New Orleans.
Additionally, it can also be assumed that Candice LeRae could make her Takeover debut when she steps into the ring Zelina Vega and fans could witness another potential dream match between Adam Cole and Roderick Strong at the Smoothie King Center during Wrestlemania week.
Cole’s fellow Undisputed Era stablemates and current NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly are also most likely to defend their NXT Tag Titles, whereas, the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament is also scheduled to take place at Takeover: New Orleans.
What’s next?
It should be noted that as of right now this match card hasn’t been confirmed yet by WWE, other than the exception of Almas vs Black and Ember vs Baszler II. But, as mentioned above, it is certainly safe to assume that all of these mentioned matches will be taking place in New Orleans during Wrestlemania week.
Author’s take
This match card looks absolutely brilliant, however, I believe that NXT should add the likes of Ricochet, War Machine, Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa, and maybe even EC3 to the Takeover: New Orleans match card.
