NXT Takeover New Orleans: Young stars steal the show in epic contest ahead of WWE Wrestlemania

A number of matches were candidate for match of the night on an evening full of action and talking points – the biggest being a win for Johnny Gargano against Tommaso Ciampa

The boys getting down to business (WWE)

WWE’s stars of the future well and truly raised the bar ahead of Sunday’s Wrestlemania after an incredible night at NXT: Takeover New Orleans.

Staged the night prior to the industry’s biggest annual event, Takeover shows are the chance for WWE’s developmental division to show what they can do and, once again, they delivered in breathtaking style.

A number of matches were candidate for the match of the night on an evening full of action and talking points – the biggest perhaps being a win for Johnny Gargano against former best friend Tommaso Ciampa. The story of the bout was as such that Gargano needed the win to secure his job in NXT or risk being banished for good, and the two put on an instant classic to play the tale out to its fullest conclusion.

It looked as though Gargano’s heart would cost him the bout – he stopped short of delivering a killer blow to his one-time partner in what looked to be a show of mercy, before being wise to yet another double-cross from Ciampa to eventually pick up the win via a submission. It was 40 minutes of expertly-delivered action that will be hard to top on Sunday night.

That was far from the only headline to come out of New Orleans, however. The 14,000 strong crowd saw the crowning of a new NXT Champion in Aleister Black as he overcame the odds to defeat Andrade Almas. That may well have been an NXT swansong for Almas ahead of a call-up to the WWE main roster, but the Mexican ensured he went out on a high if that is the case with a stellar performance against the tough-striking Dutchman who will now be charged with leading the popular roster.

Elsewhere, the night ended badly for Birmingham’s Pete Dunne, the WWE UK Champion. He teamed with Roderick Strong against the Authors of Pain and the Undisputed Era in a quest to win both the NXT tag titles and the Dusty Cup – a tag team tournament.

Dunne looked to have done enough to pick up a victory before Strong, previously a fan favourite, revealed himself as the villain of the piece, turning on Dunne to the shock – and delight – of the live audience. The Undisputed Era, with Strong now in their ranks, retained their titles.

It was a great night for the leader of the Undisputed Era, Adam Cole – he had to pull double duty and wrestle in two matches owning to an injury to another of the faction. Before the tag team win, he was crowned the inaugural NXT North American Champion with a breathless win over the likes of Velveteen Dream and Lars Sullivan in a ladder match.

We also have a new NXT Women’s Champion. Cheered on by Ronda Rousey who makes her WWE in-ring debut at Wrestlemania, fellow former UFC star Shayna Blaszler was crowned with the gold after defeating Ember Moon.

Whereas Wrestlemania is a celebration of all things sports entertainment – a mammoth show of entrances, lights, music and chatter with some in-ring action thrown in, NXT Takeover was a classic night of wrestling that will be hard to match.