6 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE NXT (Apr 18)

God bless Mr. & Mrs. Wrestling.

Johnny Gargano
WWE.com

TakeOver: New Orleans was a resounding success.

Recency bias is real, and it's easy to throw phrases like "best show ever" around when such a monumental card comes along. Regardless, 12 days later, it's still clear that we witnessed something special on April 7th. Gargano vs. Ciampa was a stunning piece of dramatic in-ring storytelling, the show-opening ladder match was as spectacular as any Money In The Bank spotfest, and everything else was nothing less than great.

The follow-up show, as usual, revolved around highlight packages, but NXT clicked back into gear last night. This was another strong offering from a brand that has done nothing but soar in 2018, with faces and old and new plotting courses for the upcoming arc.

Much of the night revolved around Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, who bookended the show. Elsewhere, we saw Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain collide in a colossal hoss fight, Ricochet wow the Full Sail crowd for the very first time, and War Raiders establish dominance in the wide open tag division.

There was but a single valley on this night of peaks, so let's dive into it...

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.