8 Ups And 2 Downs From NXT TakeOver: New Orleans

1. Gargano, Ciampa Raise The Bar

As great as the opening ladder match was, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa blew right past it with their main event war.

The feud between the two has been perfectly executed, as Gargano is the extremely likable hero, and Ciampa is the despicable villain who turned on his friend and cost him a title match and his career.

Fans were absolutely molten during the entire match, with Ciampa brutally attacking Johnny Wrestling over and over, using cheap tactics to gain control, trying to suplex him onto exposed concrete, and using crutches to batter his former tag partner. He mocked Gargano and their former DIY finisher along the way, just to tweak the fans even more.

They had numerous near-falls, including a Project Ciampa from the second rope that had fans believing that Gargano’s career was over. Johnny also had several near-falls of his own, including a series of superkicks after lawn-darting Tommaso into an exposed turnbuckle.

The ending of the match was brilliant, as a battered Ciampa basically begged off, and Gargano went to sit next to his former friend. Sensing it, Gargano ducked an attack with Tommaso’s knee brace and locked Ciampa in an STF using the brace for the tapout.

WrestleMania, good luck topping this one.