NXT TakeOver New Orleans Results: Almas vs. Black and Top Highlights, Low Points
While some may say Brooklyn, New York, has become the home of the biggest TakeOver events, there's no arguing that come WrestleMania weekend, NXT wanted to represent the brand in full force at TakeOver: New Orleans.
Heading into Saturday's show, the card had tons of promise behind it.
Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler were engaged in a bitter feud over the NXT Women's Championship.
Even more personal was the rivalry between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, scheduled for an unsanctioned match with career implications.
A brand-new belt was set to debut, with six of NXT's brightest vying to climb the ladder and become the brand's first North American champion.
Andrade "Cien" Almas boasted an ego just as dangerous as Aleister Black's brutal kicks in the hopes of retaining the NXT Championship, and both the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy and the NXT tag team titles were on the line in a Triple Threat match.
On paper, that seemed amazing, sounding like a great pitch for people to tune in and get their fill of perhaps NXT's best card of the year for.
With TakeOver: New Orleans behind us and the dust settled, what ended up being the positives and the negatives of the event?
It's time to look back on what transpired to pinpoint what was worth the hype and what was disappointing.
Presented in order of appearance, here are the standout segments of NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, for better or worse.
Low Point: Pre-Show Kickoff Hour
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It's standard operating procedure to consider the pre-show one of the worst parts of a TakeOver event because of two primary factors: the shows are normally rather great and this is never something that contributes to events.
As always, if you're the type of person who needs to be refreshed about the storylines and can't just watch the video packages before the matches themselves, then this is for you. But if you don't take much out of hearing the panel give their analysis, skipping it just means you saved yourself an hour's time.
One thing to call attention to was Pat McAfee, who had his first go at being on the broadcast team.
Admittedly, he brought an unbridled enthusiasm to the role, and it was fun to see he was so excited and energetic, but coupled with that came this befuddled nature that got in the way of some of the conversational flow and kept it from being as smooth as it should have been.
In a way, it was almost as if his reaction was the same as what most of us would do, with him being too nervous about taking part in the festivities that he was like a kid in a candy store.
That was off-putting but still nowhere near as awkward as the ending of the Candice LeRae segment, which was clearly some kind of communication error.
Whether LeRae was supposed to say something and forgot her line or more questions were supposed to be asked that weren't being put out there for her to respond to, the dead air and confusion was palpable.
Thankfully, the pre-show is superfluous, so despite offering the first impression of the night, it was the rare bad thing to talk about before the show started to fire on all cylinders.
Highlight: NXT North American Championship Ladder Match
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What a way to debut a title. This match was the perfect way to start the night, with exactly the right buzz and payoff for that hype.
Even before a single move had been made, the crowd was chanting "this is awesome" at full volume just to show how much interest there was in seeing these six men perform.
Those wrestlers did everything justice, as this match was a nonstop thrill wherein every person had a chance to make a name for himself.
Obviously, Ricochet was one of the early ones for that, showing off his athleticism with a frenzy of flips any opportunity he had.
The two powerhouses, Killian Dain and Lars Sullivan, weren't just the anchors for the ladders but took part in the spots themselves, such as their one-upmanship in taking out their four opponents.
While they were taking care of the strength, everyone else exhibited speed and finesse to high levels.
The Velveteen Dream's elbow drop from the top of the ladder on to Sullivan and his rolling Death Valley Driver on Ricochet were major highlights.
At the end of this, it was The Undisputed Era's Adam Cole with the victory—something the crowd reveled in but also something that put in question what would happen later in the evening during his second match.
This was a glorious spot-fest and an amazing way to crown an inaugural champion.
Highlight: Storytelling in Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler
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While a comparison between the NXT Women's Championship match and some others on the card could put it in a dimmer light just by the virtue of other things shining even brighter, the positives of this segment shouldn't be ignored.
The first encounter between Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler had plenty of flaws, and the feud that followed seemed like a bit of an afterthought. Yet somehow in Saturday's match, there was more attention to detail than anything that preceded it.
One element that was useful in telling this story was Baszler's use of the ring post to pop her shoulder back into place and consequent inability to fully grasp her finisher on Moon because of the injuries she had suffered.
That was such a simple yet effective method of convincing the audience that what everybody is watching is supposed to be two people beating each other up until one of them outlasts the other.
In this case, it was dominant Queen of Spades who came out on top—as she should have, to start what is sure to be a destructive title reign.
Highlight: Roderick Strong Turns Heel
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The lay of the land for the NXT Tag Team Championships match was rather chaotic, as the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final was also mixed in, the United Kingdom champion was part of the match and the newly crowned North American champion was filling in for his injured tag team partner.
As if that weren't confusing enough, this match also saw someone turn on his teammate in order to help out the stable he was feuding with and had previously turned down joining in the past.
All of that seems convoluted, but instead of being a mess, it was the best thing to happen to all parties involved.
Roderick Strong has had little momentum, so turning him heel should help give him something else to do.
Putting him in The Undisputed Era as the replacement for Bobby Fish gives the stable more foundation and doesn't require double duty from Cole, who will need to focus on the North American Championship going forward.
The surprise of the turn was a great shock too, which cannot be understated.
It also gives a worthwhile explanation for how The Authors of Pain and Pete Dunne could lose without looking bad in the process.
This was such a smart play, with WWE taking a negative in Fish's injury and turning it into a positive—not just for The Undisputed Era and this card but also for Strong's future in the company.
Highlight: Andrade 'Cien' Almas vs. Aleister Black
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There aren't as many specific things to pinpoint as far as the NXT Championship match's pros go, but there were few, if any, cons to bring any attention to, either.
As far as Andrade "Cien" Almas and Aleister Black go, the two of them went out there and had a textbook great match.
The heel champion looked like a capable fighter who had no problems skirting the rules, while the babyface challenger overcame those odds and proved he was the better man.
What is there to complain about in a scenario like that?
Zelina Vega had her time to shine, and her interference was even instrumental in the match's conclusion, showing how it can cost you if you go to the well one too many times instead of being the difference-maker in your favor.
With their performances, Almas sealed the deal as someone who can't be ignored as a future star, Black has started what is sure to be a solid title reign and Vega further illustrated how she is perhaps the best manager in WWE, rivaling even Paul Heyman.
Also, a special mention to Almas' moonsault, which was a beautiful thing to watch.
Highlight: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
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In what is arguably a contender for the match of the year, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa tore the house down with their unsanctioned fight to cap off the night.
This was something the WWE Universe knew was coming, but it's so rewarding to see something follow through with the hype and even exceed it in many ways.
If you went into this hoping for brutality, you got it, with a suplex from the announce table, a powerbomb on to the concrete and a flurry of smashmouth moves.
On the other hand, if you wanted a bitter rivalry between best friends who became brothers before their heartbreaking split, you got the necessary storytelling elements required to satiate that.
There were big, sweeping motions like introducing crutches by having Ciampa steal them from someone in the audience as well as little touches, such as referencing their Cruiserweight Classic match.
Those in the audience were part of this narrative just as much, hitting Ciampa with the type of heat any heel in the industry should be envious of, as they belted out expletive-laden chants from his music-less entrance until the end of the match and tried to round up support for Gargano.
Even the finish with the knee brace was a fitting end to the nearly 40-minute affair, which never once tested the audience's patience despite near-fall after near-fall.
This was inspiring and the type of match that even the men and women on the main roster performing at WrestleMania on Sunday should take notes on and try to learn from.
There is a solid chance this goes down as the best match of WrestleMania weekend and possibly even 2018.
All in all, this was an extremely likable pay-per-view with so few low points that this article mostly serves to point out how NXT did nearly everything right.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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