What I really Thought of : NXT Takeover New Orleans
Where it all Went Wrong
The North America Championship is a brilliant idea. NXT has needed another title for quite some time to help elevate and give the spotlight to those big-time names who may not get their hands on the NXT Championship as soon as we would like or if ever at all. The six superstars added to the ladder match this past Sunday all deserved to be in that match. Velveteen Dream, Killian Dane, Lars Sullivan, Adam Cole as well as new stars EC3 and Richocet all initially felt as though they fitted the bill perfectly and it was clear they would all be able to put on a match that could very easily be noted as one of the best over Mania weekend and lets not take anything away from this, they did just that. The match was strong and many did come up on top, however, what became very apparent very early on into the match was the simple fact this didn't need to be a six-person ladder match and instead, a fatal four way may have been better suited. Talent like Lars Sullivan really did shine here in this match but it was the likes of Killian Dane and unfortunately Velveteen Dream who got lost in the shuffle. Richoet was another name that didn't have as good of a night as expected and I do feel as though this wasn't the right booking decision for him and instead a singles match against the Velveteen Dream may have gone down a lot better for both stars.The match, however, was strong and a good start to the show, however, a fatal four way between Lars Sullivan, EC3, Adam Cole, and possibly Killian Dane may have worked better and resulted in a better night for individual superstars.
A weak night for the Women's Divison
There is no denying that the NXT women's division right now is having a tough time. Shayna Baszler vs Ember Moon really struggled to generate fan interest thanks to the weak build and poor matches the pair competed in. The crowd was rather quiet throughout and Twitter didn't respond half as strongly as it did for other matches on the card. Now, I don't believe the current state of the division will stay like this for a long time. NXT has the names and the numbers it's just a matter of reshuffling, new storylines, and a fresh start. Baszler walking out as the new NXT Women's champion was, of course, the right move. It was time for Ember to drop the title, however, more importantly, it was time for Baszler to have gold around her waist to match what she says week in and week out. It's clear Shayna still has a lot of work to do in order to truly win over the fans especially in the ring but her character is so convincing and I do believe she will turn things around and have a strong title run however, NXT Takeover New Orleans was not a good night for the women's division. The poor reaction and the weak quality of the match done no favors and in the coming months, we do really need to see things change.Lars Sullivan has Arrived... where is the Respect?
One of the standout stars of the night this past Saturday was without a shadow of a doubt, Lars Sullivan. Working what was clearly a breakout performance he showed great potential and had me really excited about his future. On the night he looked more dominant than ever, he was the one consistent performer of the night and he kept us entertained. However, the reaction he got on the night just wasn't great to see. Sullivan earned respect on Saturday and so it was disappointing to see the crowd still booing him despite his fantastic performance. Watching, I can honestly say I felt as though he could have got the win and it would have made sense, worked, and I wouldn't have been mad at the booking decision. I do really hope to see things change for Lars in terms of crowd/fan reactions. His performance at Takeover was easily his best to date and he really did prove himself. All he needs now is more character development which is something I will be talking about in another blog post!The Moment of the Night
While this was, in my opinion, one of the weakest Takeover shows the moment that really saved the night and had me marking out was the moment we saw Roderick Strong turn on Pete Dunne and join The Undisputed Era. For anyone that read my prediction post, you would have seen me express my disliking towards the idea of Strong and Dunne working as a tag team and I'm so frustrated yet happy about the fact that I didn't see the turn coming. Strong has needed something like this for months and hardcore fans have been waiting for him to turn heel for a long time. It's in this role Strong shines the brightest as we have seen on the indie scene and how everything was booked on Saturday night was simply perfect. It was the moment that got the biggest crowd reaction of the whole night and rightfully so. The timing was perfect and very satisfying. As predicted, NXT Takeover New Orleans was a brilliant night for the Undisputed Era and I'm super excited to see what awaits these guys next!It was Just Too Long
The Decision to make Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa the main event for NXT Takeover New Orleans was one hundred percent the right one. There was nothing I could fault in terms of the build with a brilliant story really captivating the NXT universe; there really was nothing else that should have closed the show. The pair has brilliant chemistry and on Saturday hands down put on the best match of the night and of the best matches of the entire weekend. However, I did have a couple of issues, the first being the length. I could watch Gargano and Ciampa wrestle for a long time. Both have worked lengthy matches that have gone down as some of the best of all time, however, this one just felt like it was overdone and at least ten minutes should have been knocked off. There were plenty of times throughout the match where it felt as though it was the perfect moment to finish things up and that brings me to the only other problem I had which was the closing moments. It was done way too quickly. This was an intense, physical, and personal match up and all those points were missing during those closing moments and it was such a shame. However, apart from those two points, the match was fantastic and while I didn't agree with who walked out the winner, the match was satisfying and very very entertaining making it a sure standout of twenty eighteen.And that was NXT Takeover: New Orleans. As I mentioned in the post, I did feel as though this was one of the weakest Takeover events however, we did get some brilliant moments, strong matches, and brand new champions which all have me excited for the coming months down in NXT. As always, any recent blog post will be linked below including both Wrestlemania posts and my RAW and Smackdown LIVE highlights of the week! Finally, you can get involved and tell me what you thought of both NXT Takeover and Wrestlemania by leaving a comment below or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.
Recent Blog Posts:
Smackdown LIVE after Wrestlemania: It's All about the Women
RAW After Mania: What Went Down
Six Wrestlemania 34 Mistakes
Comments
Post a Comment