[Music]
[Crowd cheering]
[Music]
I tried to run and run but
paranoia waits for me.
My clock is counting down and
time won't give it back to me.
The iron fist of danger, always
smiling, never sleeps.
The hand of doom resides inside
my own worst enemy.
I drag you like a ball and
chain, it's calling my name.
I'm a magnet, I attract it.
Everywhere I go you know trouble
follows.
I'm just a magnet for pain.
I'm a magnet, I attract it.
Everywhere I go you know trouble follows.
I'm just a magnet for pain. Pain.
They say I'm born to lose but
nothing gold has ever stayed.
I've nothing left to offer but
this gift of misery.
I know that's what you wanted,
such dramatic agony.
The fever breaks again, I can
feel it following.
And it's calling my name.
I'm a magnet, I attract it.
Everywhere I go you know trouble follows.
I'm just a magnet for pain.
I'm a magnet, I attract it.
Everywhere I go you know trouble
follows.
I'm just a magnet for pain.
Pain.
I'm a magnet, I attract it.
Everywhere I go you know trouble follows.
I'm just a magnet for pain.
I'm a magnet for pain.
I'm a magnet, I attract it.
Everywhere I go you know trouble follows.
I'm just a magnet for pain.
[Crowd cheering]
And now, Rocket League and
5-hour Energy present, NXT TakeOver: New Orleans
takeover New Orleans
[music]
New Orleans' own cane hill
ushers in the biggest NXT
takeover event in history.
From the Smoothie King Center in
New Orleans, we are sold out,
13,955 in attendance for NXT
Takeover New Orleans.
The following contest is a ladder match
[crowd cheering]
In this match, there will be no pin falls and no disqualifications
The first superstar to climb the ladder and retrieve the title
will become the winner and the first-ever NXT North-American champion
[Crowd cheering]
I am in the top 1%
What a way to kick off NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
We are about to make history.
[Music]
This is a man when he says is a top 1%, he means it.
This guy comes from a family of wealth
His family owns a number, a string of restaurants
a land developer of commercial property
This guy has it all.
Introducing first, from Pall Springs, California, weighting at 221 pounds
EC3
EC3 says he's everyone's favorite.
One percent of the NXT universe feels about EC3 the way they feel about having
one percent left on their phone battery power, Nigel
For many of the E stands for entitlement
Well, that's one way of describing him
Certainly entitled, certainly arrogant,
Self-effacing as well, but he is very capable.
And for the first time here tonight will be our first look at EC3 in an NXT ring.
Let's not forget about smug and pompous.
This man has never had to work a day of his life.
Let me put it to you like this,
On his 18th birthday, his parents bought him a franchise.
Two days later, he sold it, makes $62,000
And went backpacking to Europe for two months.
Percy, take a look at his body, I think this guy works very hard.
[Music]
Representing Sanity, Killian Dain
The beast of Belfast always rises to the occasion
on the biggest stages in NXT.
Who can forget his MVP performance in Wargames?
Let's not forget about the tornado rule six-man tag match.
He was absolutely relentless toward the end of that match.
He cleared the ring and got the pin and the win for his team.
Well, let's not forget about last week as well
Where it was Dain and Sullivan, the two biggest men in the match
who squared off. It was just three days ago.
Eventually, all the other competitors ran in and now, we have a palpable excitement
for what comes ahead.
[Music]
But you have to wonder how excited Adam Cole is
about the fact that he has to do double duty tonight.
[Music]
Representing the undisputed era, Adam Cole.
Look, Adam Cole is not excited.
He's upset he's got to do battle. He's gonna pull double duty here tonight.
There's a conflated look on the face of Adam Cole.
There's confidence there but there's doubt as well
because he has got a big test ahead of him tonight.
And remember guys, he told us on the preshow that it is outrageous
that he has to compete in a ladder match to begin NXT takeover New Orleans
and then compete in an equally high-stakes tag team match.
[Music]
From Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, weighing in at 227 pounds,
The Velveteen Dream.
Dripping in finesse and attitude,
the Velveteen Dream has certainly proved he's tough enough.
This dude's got star written all over him.
This is the can't-miss kid. This is what the Dream lives for
To compete in front of thousands and to share the experience
with as many as possible.
This dude lives for the spotlight.
Nigel, he's a non-apologetic non-conformist,
following the footsteps of Gorgeous George,
Adrian Street, "Adorable" Adrian, Adonis, Goldust,
and the exoticos of Lucha Libre but he is so unique
And at age 22, his future is so incredibly bright.
Without a doubt, it's not just the reason why he's wearing those shades,
everything is possible for this man.
[Music]
From the rocky mountains, weighing 303 pounds, Lars Sullivan
How do you prepare to face a man like Lars Sullivan?
This is a man who trained by carrying broken trees and boulders
from one side of Sloan Lake to the other.
This man's a monster.
A freakishly intense demeanor,
with a massively rich vocabulary, he says he has the mind of a professor,
the body of a gorilla.
And let's face it, in the past ladder matches having always favored
the big, the powerful, the people like Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain.
But let's not forget Dain once won, once won a Money in the Bank ladder match.
Well, absolutely, the thing you got to think,
If you're a big man, 300 pounds that's a long way up to get that belt.
[Crowd cheering]
[Music]
And their opponent, from Paducah, Kentucky, weighing 190 pounds,
The Ricochet.
My Twitter timeline has been inundated with anticipation,
the pre-eminent high flyer in sports entertainment, the uniquely gifted
Ricochet, the one and only is in NXT
And what a way to make his first impression by making history
By becoming the first NXT North American champion.
Of course, he has five other superstars who want to do the same thing.
And this is the man who started wrestling at the age of 14 in his friend's backyard,
in a boxing ring.
At the age of 16, he could finally afford to get his very own wrestling ring
and that was the beginning of Ricochet.
This is the man who may prove Isaac Newton wrong.
He can claim that championship.
Fourth ladder match under the NXT banner, all six superstars will be going at it.
No disqualification, no count out.
The only way you can win is by climbing the ladder and securing history,
securing the NXT North American championship.
Man, just look around at all these guys,
this is an all-star team in this ring right now.
We're watching history, fellows.
Everybody poised. Everything is a game.
[Bell ringing] Here we go.
[Crowd cheering]
So many divergent styles.
[Crowd cheering]
Like no surprise, two to three can
Oh, and Adam Cole, ever the opportunist, attacking Ricochet.
Whoa.
And dispatching the high-flyer as things break down in a hurry
just like many of you watching around the world on the WWE Network
with that six-pack, and here it is
Oh, boy.
Irresistible force versus the immovable mass.
Let's go.
EC3 egging them on against each other.
That was a mistake.
Oh, and no way to go.
Unfinished business between Dain and Sullivan
And should [indistinct] the outside.
If we're talking strategy in match, it's like the English phrase…
Can be really summed up, "even in a hero's heart…
Oh, Ricochet… Hold on.
from the top. Whoa.
Oh, my goodness, oh goodness.
Springboard Shooting Star Press.
[Crowd cheering]
He is the one and only. Oh, boy.
Will he be the one to make history? He has the ladder.
Check out Ricochet right here, putting it all on the line early.
But that's what it takes when you wanna join the elite-- whoa.
He wants to join the likes of Buddy Rogers, Pat Patterson, Paige.
Those who-- wait.
Oh, but here comes Velveteen Dream.
Getting close.
Ricochet was looking to become the first NXT North American champion
but Velveteen Dream had less than flattering things to say about Ricochet
on social media, is now feeling the wrath of Ricochet.
[grunts]
Simple reverse, look out. Flashy Ricochet moves.
Beautiful.
Fluidity.
Athleticism.
Ricochet Sports Entertainment Skywalker, who is always higher up than Canada.
Check out Velveteen Dream on dream street.
Oh, I've got my favorite it's that man there.
Oh.
Velveteen Dream though, well-scouted, using the real estate to derail Ricochet,
and now Velveteen Dream is climbing the ladder.
But Adam Cole knocks him off the ladder, and rocks him with a forearm.
How smart, he lied in wait, he took his time.
He wasn't gonna risk anything, and he absolutely had to.
Oh.
What did you say?
That's an Enzuigiri by Cole on Killian Dain
And obviously Adam Cole, not being conservative in the least.
Whoa.
Cole said he's here to make history, and if he wins this match tonight
He will be in the record books.
And he's looking to make history right now.
He has to also move onto that tag team match, but now--oh.
EC3 taking care of Adam Cole.
EC3 drives Sullivan off the ropes.
And there's a stinger splash by the top one percenter.
[Audience] EC3, EC3
Rolling slapped by EC3.
[Audience] EC3, EC3
Impressive how quick he-- oh.
Oh, talk about impressive.
[grunts]
"The Mammoth" Lars Sullivan.
Ah.
Oh my goodness.
What a show of strength by Sullivan, the humongous, and again.
And again.
Powerslam on EC3.
How will you even compete with the power of Lars Sullivan?
Well, Killian Dain could certainly compete with the power--
Oh, my goodness. Of Lars Sullivan.
Topé Suicida, Killian Dain…
What were you saying?
Taking to the sky with that suicide dive.
What were you guys saying about big guys
not being able to perform in a ladder match? Oh.
Didn't say that at all. Just said that it's usually the more agile…
Check yourself right here. Oh.
…athletic who are favored, but Dain and Sullivan are adamant.
[grunts]
Wow.
Oh, no.
Look at this, Dain attracting Velveteen Dream and Ricochet
like a moth to a flame.
Ough.
But Adam Cole ends up burning them all.
But Cole's being smart in this match so far.
He's laid-back until he absolutely needed to.
Yeah, he could have picked those spots.
Ough.
[Crowd chatter]
Such a dangerous match now, hands flying all over the place,
Boots as well.
What a way to kick off NXT Takeover: New Orleans
This historic first ever NXT North American ladder match,
six NXT superstars putting it all on the line.
EC3 attacking anyone into this vicinity.
Well, six independent-- what's going on now?
Wow.
Lars Sullivan about to introduce another ladder
And he said he wasn't gonna use the ladder to climb to victory.
Oh, my.
He was going to use it as a device of destruction,
just like he did right there.
[Crowd chatter]
Here he comes again.
Battering ram into the midsection of Killian Dain.
Oh.
Sullivan looks like Donkey Kong out there.
Lars said it earlier, there's no opponents, just victims.
Oh, as far as Sullivan is concerned, it is on like Donkey Kong
as he's using the ladder to wipe out the rest of the field.
Sullivan tweeted earlier this week. He wants to leave his opponent
decimated, and emasculated, and if we take a look in the ring now
he's doing a very good job by doing just that.
[Crowd chatter]
Velveteen Dream doesn't realize where he is right now.
He's in the grips of Lars Sullivan.
The power of Sullivan.
Gorilla Press, sending Velveteen Dream stomach first
into that unforgiving ladder.
Velveteen Dream could attack the rib
That will send all the air out of his body.
From a device of destruction to a device that he can use
To become the first-ever NXT North American champion.
This is what it's about right here.
Sullivan scaling the ladders but so, too, is Ricochet.
We talked earlier about the disadvantage of being a bigger man.
We saw it there, Sullivan taking longer to get to the top.
Wow. Oh.
Oh, Ricochet looking for the Sunset Flip Powerbomb,
Sullivan hanging on for dear life.
And now they're from…
In comes the troops.
The alliance right here.
Oh, and Adam Cole, ever the opportunist.
Ahg.
Sullivan crashing hard to the canvas.
Look at Adam Cole. Look at Cole, look at Cole.
He realizes, this is it. He's by himself.
That golden opportunity, but he can't reach.
Who do you think you are, you punk? Huh? Who do you think you are?
Oh.
Well, his name is the "Beast of Belfast" Killian Dain.
Killian Dain said, let me show you who I am.
I don't know if that was too smart for Dain.
Oh, and again sends Ricochet
crashing into the ladder, but Dain needs the ladder to secure the title, Nigel.
[Nigel] Well, that's why he prepped it now, and picked it up.
Here's the interesting strategy.
Let's take a look at how he backdrops the smaller man, wham, into that ladder.
[commentator] Oh, EC3 now looking for an opportunity
to be the first one up the ladder. Oh
EC3 with the face first.
[Nigel] Landed on… [commentator] Killian Dain.
[Nigel] Landed on his hip as well though.
[commentator] Cole and EC3
struggling for control of the ladder.
Oh, what-- a temporary alliance has been formed.
[grunts] [audience] Ooh!
[commentator] Adam Cole
And EC3 forging a temporary alliance
to try to get rid of the "big man" Lars Sullivan.
[commentator 2] Remember, Adam Cole, he'll hitches
Just [indistinct] any wagon that will bring him success.
[Crowd chatter]
[Nigel] Well, let's see, what these guys are gonna have to do,
they're gonna have to team up against the bigger opponents.
[commentator] I'm telling you, man… [commentator 2] They're build--they're
building a bridge…
[commentator] We're talking about Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain.
Between the broadcast table and the ring.
[commentator] They are the X-factors in this match.
[Nigel] But they have to remember there can only be one--oh,
Killian Dain crashes into the ladder.
He may have suffered more than one rib injury with that impact.
[commentator] And what about Adam Cole and EC3?
[Nigel] What an incredible collusion. Here we go. Oh.
[commentator] And again they stabbed Sullivan with the ladder
and they even exchanged high fives.
[Nigel] Nearly cutting Sullivan
in half, nearly decapitating… Dain on the outside.
EC3, baby.
[audience] Woo.
[commentator] Oh. Totally like that.
[audience] Woo!
Adam Cole taking umbrage to get a good grip of
[indistinct] by EC3.
[commentator] Oh.
Fireman's Carry and a slam into the ladder,
and Cole-- [commentator] Oh, my
[commentator] And a Superkick
On Velveteen Dream.
[audience] Ooh!
And there ain't no party like a superkick party for Adam Cole.
Dishing them out. Oh, my goodness.
Oh.
Oh, Ricochet.
[Nigel] What timing by Adam Cole.
Wait for it.
[Nigel] A kind of timing that makes a metronome envious.
[audience] Adam Cole, bay-bay.
[Crowd cheering]
-Look at that timing on this. -Wow, man. And on the bottom.
[Nigel] And Adam Cole with the rest of the field writhing in pain.
Adam Cole with the stairway to heaven.
Adam Cole with the stairway to history.
[commentator] You talked about it earlier. Will he join the likes of Pat Patterson?
-Oh, no.
[Nigel] Lars Sullivan makes sure that Adam Cole will not make history
at this time as Velveteen Dream
Using the ladder to his advantage.
[commentator] Just getting brutal now,
everybody using the ladders to their own advantage.
This isn't what a ladder is designed for. It's not what it's built for. It hurts.
[commentator] Human demolition derby
In the Purple Rainmaker Elbow.
[commentator] Dream just cleaned half the ring.
[commentator] Velveteen Dream in pain, not at a hundred percent,
but willing to put it all
on the line for a chance to make history, dropping elbows
Like DJs drop the needles.
[Nigel] One of these men will be known
as the very first North American champion.
Will it be the Dream?
[commentator] And a Purple Rainmaker elbow to the back of Ricochet,
But at what cost?
[commentator] It is clear that Velveteen Dream is struggling
to put that ladder up.
[Crowd cheering]
You talk about a struggle, guys.
It is highly unlikely
that Velveteen Dream would win a test of strength
against Lars Sullivan.
[commentator] Sullivan has Velveteen Dream pinned to the corner.
Oh, wow, wow. No.
Oh.
[commentator] Great awareness by Velveteen
as a way to stop a giant right there.
[Nigel] Big mistake from the gargantuan Sullivan.
[commentator] This could be it for Velveteen.
[commentator] Velveteen Dream involved at the 2017 rivalry of the year
here in NXT with Aleister Black, but now he wants to make his own,
-But he's, he's not… -[commentator] He's not close enough.
-[commentator] No.
[commentator] What's he thinking.
He's not--no way. [commentator] Oh my god, Velveteen Dream
is at the very top of the ladder.
[audience] Whoa.
-[commentator] Whoa. -[commentator] Oh my god.
From the very top of the ladder. -[commentator] Oh, wow.
[Crowd cheering]
[audience] Velveteen, Velveteen.
-[commentator] Look at this. Look at the height
and more importantly the position.
[commentator] Velveteen Dream almost driving his elbow
right through the anatomy of Lars Sullivan.
[Nigel] He seemed to notice the damage done to himself but somehow…
[commentator] Here it goes. Here it goes.
[Nigel] Velveteen Dream up the ladder.
-[commentator] He's got it. -[Nigel] He's got the--he's got
The north American championship,
but EC3 has a hold of Velveteen Dream.
-[commentator] Oh, no. [Nigel] Oh, powerbomb on the ladder.
Powerbomb on the ladder by EC3
and the dream has just become a nightmare for the 22-year-old.
[audience] EC3, EC3
[Nigel] But the path to the title is right there
in front there of EC3.
[commentator] He's struggling to stand up.
Look at this Velveteen Dream being Powerbombed into the ladder.
[commentator] Oh my goodness.
[Nigel] Back to action,
the Beast of Belfast trying to get the advantage, but it's EC3 who does so.
-[commentator] Oh.
[Nigel] A momentary lull in the action.
Can EC3 do this now?
There's no one else… -[commentator] He is all alone.
[Nigel] And EC3 climbing the rungs of the ladder. Adam Cole
short circuiting that attempt,
And he says, "No, it's mine, it's all mine".
[commentator] EC3 says, "not so fast, mister. Our alliance is in the past."
[commentator] You got to be kidding me.
-[commentator] What… -[commentator] Fireman's carrying…
[audience] Oh.
[commentator] Tko by EC3.
[audience] EC3, EC3, EC3.
[Nigel] But how much damage
was done to him as well?
[commentator] You are watching the first ever
NXT North America championship match,
Six NXT superstars
vying to make history.
Will it be EC3
in his first match on NXT TV?
[commentator] He's nearly to the top.
[commentator] So close.
[commentator] The beast of Belfast
-[commentator] Oh. -[commentator] Oh, bicycle kick.
[commentator] What impact by Dain.
[commentator] And will Killian Dain now seize the opportunity?
Remember, we've seen Kane
win a ladder match.
Probably the most memorable ladder match of WWE history,
Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon,
But now it's Adam Cole
attacking the body of Dain.
But then Dain deposits Cole into the corner.
[commentator] Well, that's always gonna be the strategy in this match.
Do I try for the ladder and the title or do I have to inflict
more damage to my opponents? That's the big question.
Is always gonna be in this match.
[commentator] Killian Dain picking up a ladder
Dropping it on EC3 before
he positions EC3 for an even more devastating drop
in the form of a senton.
-[commentator] You talk -[commentator] Yeah, I think that
[commentator] …about a pyrrhic move
[commentator] You guys think that hurt Killian Dain just as much as it hurt EC3?
[commentator] Hence the word pyrrhic.
Well, he's gonna--
Is he gonna try it again?
[commentator] Killian Dain on the second turnbuckle.
Adam Cole explodes into the corner.
[Cole and Dain fighting]
[commentator] Both Cole and Dain in a precarious position.
Cole trying to sap the strength out of Killian Dain.
[crowd] Oh.
[commentator] Wow, a Vader Bomb
with Cole on his back.
The always innovative
Beast of Belfast, Killian Dain.
[Percy] EC3 may never get up again.
We're gonna have to scrape him off of the mat.
[commentator] You find that amusing, Percy?
[Percy] Not at all, but look at this--look at this impact.
-[audience] Ooh! [Percy] Double weight onto EC3.
[Nigel] That's nearly 500-pound driving through the ladder.
[Mauro] And EC3 probably feels he's at one percent right now.
Killian Dain struggling back up to a vertical base.
Now has his sights set on Lars Sullivan, unfinished business
from this past week on NXT TV.
Ricochet enters the fray.
Ough.
[Mauro] Oh. Bicycle kick by the one and only, Ricochet, stick and move.
[Percy] You got to keep it going.
[Nigel] He has got a tough job ahead of him if he's gonna stay in
with these two behemoths.
[Percy] Oh, no.
Agh.
Whoa.
[Nigel] Monster Biel by Lars Sullivan.
[Percy] I'm talking about Ricochet
just got launched from one corner of the ring to the other
At the feet of Killian Dain.
[Nigel] Sullivan has feasted on his competition.
[Crowd cheering]
[Nigel] And of course feast on po' boy sandwiches,
The NXT universe were asking for it and they got it.
Dain with a mega Biel of his own.
[Percy] It was a shot putting Ricochet back and forth across the ring.
[Mauro] King Kong meets Godzilla.
-Agh. -Iugh.
[Percy] I don't think Lars Sullivan
forgot about being tossed
to our announce desk by Killian Dain.
[Mauro] Got put through our table by Killian Dain
In that fatal four-way
for the number one contender for the NXT championship
But tonight
it's all about becoming
the first ever NXT North American champion
And Killian Dane putting down Lars Sullivan.
[Nigel] The two biggest men in this match are expending a lot of energy
and a lot of fury.
[commentators and crowd] Whoa.
[Mauro] Well, that's a first time
that the divide had been caught.
Unbelievable.
Lars Sullivan just caught over 330 pounds of Killian Dain
And put him
on the canvas with authority.
That has never happened before, Nigel.
[Nigel] Absolutely incredible Hulk catch, but now can Hulk climb
And get that title, that championship now?
[Percy] Lars Sullivan has gotta move quick
while he has the ring to himself.
[Nigel] From day one, Sullivan has considered himself the Man in NXT.
Is he going to be the first man to hold the NXT North American championship?
Not if Ricochet has anything that say about it.
[Sullivan and Ricochet fighting]
[Percy] Uh.
[Mauro] What about the heart of Ricochet
fully on display here
in his NXT coming-out party?
And what a party it would be on Bourbon Street should Ricochet
win that NXT North American championship.
[Percy] Oh, no.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] Talk about turning a negative into a positive.
Ricochet is a gift that keeps on giving.
[Crowd cheering]
[Percy] I mean for the average man, this would have turned out poorly
but for Ricochet, this turns into an offensive maneuver.
[Nigel] Ricochet knew that he was in trouble,
He knew he was gonna get pushed off that ladder
so he turned it into an offensive maneuver and Ricochet [indistinct] his opponents.
[Mauro] Whoa. Ricochet loves the adrenaline in his veins
and he is feeling
the adrenaline right now. But EC3 takes out his wheel
and EC3 now manhandling Ricochet in the corner.
What a way to kick off NXT
Takeover New Orleans.
[Nigel] Every one of these six men
want to be known as the very first North American champion.
[Mauro] Oh.
Ricochet where he's most comfortable, in the high-rent district.
[Percy] King of the sky, baby, here we go.
[Mauro] Shooting Star Press, EC3 on the ladder.
[audience cheering and applauding]
[Nigel] The damage done
to the midsection of Ricochet as well.
[Mauro] You know, Ricochet said that this is a big match with powerhouses,
guys that think they're the smartest, or the most charismatic,
but he says he's been all of those types of guys before.
He says there's only one Ricochet
And he is looking to be the one to make history tonight.
[Percy] Here's Dream.
[Crowd and commentators] Oh.
[Mauro] How the hell is Velveteen Dream back in this match
after being busted open?
[Nigel] Oh, missed that by a mile.
[Mauro] Oh, but Ricochet didn't miss
That right hand, popping it like a cork.
[Percy] Nigel, you try swinging a ladder.
[commentators] Oh. -[Mauro] Nope, didn't get that.
[Nigel] Just think about what you've said, Percy,
Because you bring up a very [indistinct] Point. These ladders…
are not normally used
for this type of occasion.
And when skin,
when human flesh meets those ladders, just think about the damage.
[Percy] I can only imagine the amount of pain felt when the body
crashes down one of those ladders.
[Nigel] Imagine the pain Ricochet's about to feel
If Velveteen Dream has his way.
[Percy] Hm-hm.
[Maurol] But Ricochet quick backed up to his feet
but still both of them in a precarious spot.
[Nigel] Both men perilously close to the top of that ladder.
Oh, this is very dangerous. Very dangerous.
[Crowd cheering]
[Mauro] The future is now in NXT,
Velveteen Dream, Ricochet with the double-leg takedown
On the ladder.
[Percy] Oh, boy, this looks dangerous.
It's all about the right to be called "the first."
[Nigel] Oh.
[Mauro] Forget about a bridge over troubled waters,
a bridge over this troubled squared circle featuring six NXT superstars,
And right now Velveteen Dream
trying to take out Ricochet,
and Dream was in trouble there momentarily. Oh no.
[Nigel] Oh, my god. He's gotta be going for
-[Mauro] Don't tell me. -[Nigel] If his legs slip through this,
[Mauro] No, no,
[Nigel] Be care--please be careful.
[Mauro] Velveteen Dream.
[commentators] Oh my god.
[Mauro] A rolling Death Valley Driver on the ladder.
[Crowd cheering and applauding]
[Mauro] Did that just happen?
[Crowd cheering]
[Mauro] There is only one Velveteen Dream
and he just wiped out Ricochet with this incredible maneuver.
[Nigel] Oh, it happened all right. Look at that.
[Mauro] Oh, my god.
[Nigel] All the pressure, the damage to himself as well.
[Percy] I can't believe that just happened.
You got to think all these competitors in this ring have got to be spent.
[Mauro] We are bearing witness to the Velveteen Dream experience,
We're also bearing witness to a human demolition derby for NXT's…
[Percy] Oh, my god.
[Mauro] …North American champion, what a lethal lariat by Lars Sullivan.
Sullivan the leviathan logophile.
[Nigel] A big smile across his face.
[Mauro] He knows words that are longer than most of his matches
and now he gingerly places Velveteen Dream
on the top of another ladder.
[Nigel] He's looking over this way, boys.
[Percy] I don't think we should be here.
[Mauro] I think Velveteen Dream
feels the same way.
Oh, EC3 and Lars Sullivan
with a swivel for a head.
Velveteen Dream still
in a precarious position but now Lars Sullivan has--no, no
EC3 don't tell me. Don't tell me.
-[Percy] No. -[all] Whoa.
[Percy] Oh, my god.
[Mauro] Are you kidding me?
[Crowd cheering]
[Mauro] A stupendous freak accident.
[Crowd cheering]
[Nigel] Is he good?
[Mauro] The ladder snapped in half.
I'm surprised that Velveteen Dream and EC3 are both still in one piece.
What a freak accident.
[Percy] One more time, look at this.
Oh.
[Crowd cheering]
[Mauro] You're damn right.
And we are just getting started. Can you believe it, guys?
The first of what is going to be an incredible night of action,
The NXT North American championship still hanging over the ring.
Meanwhile -[Percy] Oh, no.
Killian Dain has now put Ricochet on the ladder.
[Percy] Look, if this keeps up,
there aren't gonna be any ladders left
to climb to the top to get the North American championship.
[Mauro] Have to go to a hardware store.
[Nigel] Yeah, there's one nearby
because these ladders are being treated well
like the superstars are treating each other.
Dain picking up Adam Cole.
[Percy] Oh, no.
[all] Oh.
-[Percy] Whoa. -[Mauro] There are no words.
[Crowd cheering]
[Crowd chatter]
[Mauro] Another ladder snapped in half.
How important is it for these six NXT superstars
to become the first-ever NXT North American champion?
[Crowd cheering]
[Percy] I mean more, but did you expect anything less?
I mean, take a look at this. An opportunity to become the first
to become the inaugural, to become an elite superstar,
to achieve greatness by claiming the North American championship.
[Mauro] Nigel, these six superstars have gone for both.
I am shocked that nothing's been broken.
[Nigel] I put--really don't know. That may have been, at this point,
An absolute cacophony of destruction.
[Mauro] And you know what? The NXT universe chanting,
"fight forever."
This is the NXT version
of the Infinity War but it's not about the six Infinity Stones.
It's about these six superstars with the stones to go through hell
to make history.
And there is the mad titan, Thanos, standing.
Will NXTs Thanos, Lars Sullivan win the NXT North American championship?
[Percy] This might be it right here. Every other competitor is down.
[Nigel] Sullivan rising deep "profundus"
from the very depths.
[Mauro] From the very first day in NXT,
Lars Sullivan said he was going to be the man.
He is climbing that ladder, but he has been through hell
-[Nigel] And-- there. -[Mauro] And--
-[Nigel] Absolutely exhausted -[Mauro] Sullivan's almost there.
Sullivan reaching for the NXT…
[Percy] Oh, he's almost got it.
[Mauro] North American championship.
He has his fingernails on it.
Oh, but here comes Dain.
[Crowd cheering]
[Mauro] A war of attrition,
the two biggest superstars in the match
vying for the opportunity
to secure the championship.
[Crowd] Oh.
[Nigel] Catching him in the quadricep
lower back.
[Crowd cheering]
[Mauro] Both Dain and Sullivan still on the ladder
but feeling the effects of that heinous assault by EC3.
[Nigel] Well, they're hanging on for their dear life.
They don't wanna go back down
then have to come back up.
[Mauro] Oh, now Adam Cole, EC3,
Sullivan, Dain, all four
are within reach.
They have to continue to climb the ladder.
Who is going to
be able to finally
snatch that NXT North American championship?
Here comes the Velveteen Dream.
Dain, desperately reaching out for the NXT North American championship.
Velveteen Dream introducing yet
another ladder.
[Wrestlers fighting]
Six NXT superstars, three ladders, one NXT North American championship.
[Nigel] Come on EC3, furthest away.
[Percy] We have about three guys on the ladder there
that are arm lengths away.
[Mauro] Adam Cole needs to climb a couple of more rungs.
Not the tallest man.
[Percy] Dream's on his own ladder now.
[Mauro] And, oh, Ricochet all cinched
And are now on ladders.
Adam Cole's been knocked off.
[Percy] It's about will at this point.
Who wants it more?
[Wrestlers fighting]
[Mauro] Each NXT super--Wow.
[All] Whoa.
[Nigel] Cole and EC3 crashed to the canvas.
[Percy] I don't think people realize how far down that is
until you get on top of the ladder.
[Mauro] Oh, Velveteen Dream… Velveteen Dream just made contact
with the NXT North American championship
but now he exchanges punches
with Ricochet.
[Nigel] I think in [indistinct]
with Ricochet,
he's got the title surely.
[Mauro] Oh, Ricochet
Avoids that right hand.
[Percy] Oh, my god.
[Mauro] Preeminent high-flyer.
[Percy] No way.
[Mauro] Ricochet with an Avalanche Neckbreaker.
[coughs]
[Mauro] Incredible action
to kick off NXT TakeOver New Orleans,
one of these two behemoths
could become the first NXT North American champion.
Dain,
reaching up for the championship.
Lars Sullivan though has him in his grasp.
Sullivan with a freak accident
on Dain.
I'm surprised he didn't go through the ring.
[Nigel] What an incredible display from every one of these six competitors.
[Mauro] And this is just the first match of the night.
[Crowd cheering and applauding]
[Percy] This is Lars Sullivan's opportunity right here. This is his shot.
[Nigel] Lars Sullivan…methodically
making his way up the ladder.
King Kong is climbing the Empire State…
-[Percy] Whoa. -[Nigel] …Building.
[Percy] Oh, my god.
[Nigel] And here comes the cavalry, Ricochet wiping out Sullivan.
[Percy] Oh, my.
[Nigel] Ricochet like a drone out of nowhere, knocking Sullivan off the ladder.
And will Ricochet now seize the opportunity.
The NXT universe has been waiting
with bated breath for the arrival of one of the best high-flyer…
-[Percy] Look at Ricochet. -[Nigel] And ricochet's got his hands…
-[Percy] Oh, no. Whoa. -[Nigel] Oh, oh, hang out to dry
[indistinct] Adam Cole.
Adam Cole is on the clasp.
Adam Cole is reaching out. Adam Cole…
[Percy] Will he get [indistinct] of his own?
[Nigel] …has his hands on the NXT North--
[Percy] Oh, my god.
-[Bell ringing] -[Mauro] Adam Cole.
[Percy] Oh, my…
[WWE music]
[Mauro] History made.
Here is your--and the first ever NXT North American champion,
Adam Cole.
[Mauro] Like a thief in the night,
Adam Cole able to secure history.
Adam Cole is the first ever NXT North American Champion.
Bay Bay!
[Percy] You're talking about shocking the system,
Adam Cole and Era had taken over the system.
Adam Cole now has hardware of his own.
[Mauro] This match was a--
This match was a shock to everyone's system
and yet Adam Cole's celebration while he will be forced to be muted
because he still has to compete in another match tonight.
[Nigel] Well, Adam, this is only half the job
but he got the job done here.
So who's to say he can't do it again?
Let's take a look again at this incredible match-up.
[Percy] I mean, look at this.
This is what it took to remove Lars Sullivan from the equation
but only temporarily.
Now, I cannot believe the height of the Velveteen Dream
and look at this. Oh, my--
Elbow right to the heart of "The Freak" Lars Sullivan.
Now, again, for most men, I'm not sure how this would've ended
but the great talent of Ricochet, the great athleticism,
was able to take out Killian Dain and Adam Cole.
[Nigel] Here off the bottom of the ladder, a huge freak accident,
driving Dain to the mat and outside.
And here's when it come down to the wire, Ricochet inches away,
but no, it would be the leader of the Undisputed Era
who would be undisputed in his quest to become
the North American Champion.
[Mauro] Adam Cole's ring IQ on display,
posing a Harvard blackboard-level problem for the rest of the field.
And that is Adam Cole's MO,
sneak in, sneak out.
Adam Cole making the most of this opportunity.
Adam Cole making history.
And in NXT TakeOver: New Orleans
we have a new NXT North American Champion.
His name is Adam Cole.
[Nigel] Bay Bay!
[crowd cheering]
Adam Cole, Bay Bay!
[rock music playing]
Brock Lesnar didn't show up for work today.
What kind of penalty is there gonna be for him, huh?
There's not gonna be, because he's Vince's boy.
Does Brock have special privileges? He does.
I don't respect Brock Lesnar…
but you just make sure that he comes dressed for a fight.
[commentator] Brock Lesnar defends his Universal Championship
against Roman Reigns.
[Brock] You're not taking this title from Brock Lesnar.
There's a fine line between business and respect.
Roman Reigns has been temporarily suspended.
-That is Roman Reigns. -What's the big dog doing here?
Roman's completely lost it.
[shouting] Well, want some, huh?
[commentator] Brock's here. The Beast is here.
[Brock] Roman Reigns isn't man enough to take another beating.
[commentator] Oh, my god.
A defiant Roman Reigns unloading on Lesnar.
Just a downright massacre.
This is shaping up to be one of the most brutal smash-mouth battles
in the history of WrestleMania.
[dramatic music playing]
[Mauro] What a way to start the weekend here at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
Tomorrow it is the showcase of The Immortals.
The challenge goes at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome,
home of WrestleMania.
[Nigel] Well, with the North American champion crowned,
we have the NXT champion, strategizing with Zelina Vega.
Looks to hold on to his title tonight
when he faces the man who viciously attacked him
just two weeks ago.
"El Idolo" defends his title tonight.
[Mauro] Also coming up tonight, speaking of titles,
Ember Moon, the NXT Women's Champion,
barely survived her first title defense against Shayna Baszler.
Can The Queen of Spades for the third time be the harm
against Ember Moon?
Moon says as long as she's standing, Baszler will not be champion.
[rock music playing]
[Mauro] I can't understand how Ember Moon is able to withstand
this kind of pain.
[Mauro exclaim indistinctly]
Moon does it! Oh, my god!
[announcer] Here's your winner, and still the NXT Women's Champion,
Ember Moon.
[tense music playing]
[Mauro] Oh, my god! Shayna Baszler from behind!
We need help out here.
[Percy] Shayna's trying to end Ember's career.
[Shayna] Who really won the match? Ember didn't beat me, she survived.
[Mauro] Shayna Baszler is proving that she will not play by your rules.
She'll play by her own.
[rock music playing]
Who's the bigger fool?
The one who makes the system or the one who follows it?
Ember Moon got in line, she came up through the system.
Is there a rulebook that says you have to do that?
This is what everyone thinks. Most people are fools.
I did exactly what I needed to do.
I pushed all of Ember Moon's buttons,
get under her skin enough that she challenged me.
That's not me skipping a line, that's me playing the game.
TakeOver: New Orleans isn't gonna be a wrestling match,
it's going to be a fight.
I am ready for a fight.
[rock music playing]
[screams]
Shayna attacked me from behind. She almost broke me.
I fought through the pain,
because I refuse to sit on the sidelines again.
Shayna walks around like she owns the place,
like she deserves to be handed everything on a silver platter.
Shayna, keep it cool.
That's not how you get respect.
I don't care what your background is, Shayna.
I don't care where you came from. I don't care what you did.
This is NXT
and I'm the NXT Women's Champion.
I am going to break you. I am going to hurt you.
But most of all, I am going to embarrass you
and show the world that you are not worthy of the NXT Women's Championship.
You started this war, Shayna,
and at TakeOver: New Orleans, I'm gonna end it.
After NXT TakeOver: New Orleans,
they're going to call me the champion.
Shayna will never be champion
as long as I am standing.
[crowd cheering]
["Free the Flame" playing]
♪ Seek the truth And let the wildfire set you free ♪
♪ Don't you remember ♪
♪ One ember sparks a fire ♪
♪ One ember frees the flame ♪
♪ Now burn, burn, yeah ♪
♪ Seek the real And let your heart burn to believe ♪
♪ Always remember ♪
♪ One ember sparks a fire ♪
♪ One ember frees the flame ♪
♪ Now burn, burn, yeah ♪
[guitar solo]
[Mauro speaks indistinctly]
…of the vocalist of the multi-platinum band,
Halestorm, Lzzy Hale.
Won a Grammy for best hard rock metal performance.
First female from a band to be nominated for and win this award.
[Mauro] And of course…
She's certainly the NXT Women's Champion,
Ember Moon.
[crowd cheering]
[Percy] Guys, you better believe Ember Moon is ready for a fight.
She said she's gonna break Shayna and she plans to end the war tonight.
[rock music start playing]
[Nigel] There she stands, The Queen of Spades,
The Submission Magician.
This woman is as capable as she said,
I've seen her first hand and so has Ember Moon.
She has to know what's in store for her tonight.
[Mauro speaks indistinctly]
"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey along with fellow Four Horsewomen,
Jessamyn Duke.
Ronda Rousey, she'll be making her in ring WWE debut
at WrestleMania tomorrow,
and they are both here to cheer on Shayna Baszler
in her quest to finally become NXT Women's Champion.
She has come so very close.
[Percy] Tonight might be the night. Guys, keep in mind,
out of Shayna Baszler's 15 MMA wins,
13 were by submission.
So you know what she likes. You know what she's going for.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[bell ringing]
The following contest, scheduled for one fall,
it's for the NXT Women's Championship.
[crowd cheering]
Introducing the challenger,
from Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
Shayna Baszler.
[crowd cheering]
And her opponent,
from Dallas, Texas,
she is the NXT Women's Champion,
Ember Moon.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] Here at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans,
it is time for the NXT Women's Championship.
In NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, in January, Ember Moon barely escaped with the title
against Shayna Baszler.
Baszler then defeated Ember Moon via disqualification on NXT TV, so…
Here they go!
Oh, and immediately Ember Moon looking to drop--
Wow, what a right hand by Shayna.
[Percy] Man, look at the face of Shayna Baszler like,
"You gotta be better than that."
[Mauro] Baszler's seen that movie before, Nigel.
[Nigel] Hold on a second.
Tried the dropkick there.
[Mauro] She did that the last time they met.
And this time, she was cold-cocked by Shayna Baszler.
But then it's Ember Moon driving her knees into Baszler
on the outside.
[Nigel] This is what Moon has gotta do. She's gotta keep this aggression up.
[Mauro] Champion's advantage, remember.
[Mauro] Oh!
-[Nigel] Beautiful. -[Mauro] Ember Moon goes for the cover.
[Mauro] Quickly and gets a two-count.
[Nigel] I think that might be Moon's best chance in this match,
try to win it early.
[Mauro] Moon looking for a submission on Baszler.
Baszler, scrambling.
If you wanna become a part of this conversation on social media
it's #womenschampionship.
[Percy] That's just the smart thing to do by Moon.
If you can get rid of Shayna and win this match as quickly as you can,
do so. There's no need to spin…
[Mauro] Moon stalking Baszler on the apron.
And she was looking for that kick, and Baszler sends Moon
face first on the apron, before Moon crashes to the outside
but again, Baszler needs to put Moon back in the ring
if she wants to emerge as NXT Women's Champ.
[Nigel] Can't win the championship on the outside.
[referee] Get in the ring.
[Mauro exclaims] Oh!
[Percy] Look at this, Baszler just stopped Moon on her tracks
and made her go face first into the apron, the hardest part of the mat.
[Mauro] Baszler goes for the cover, Moon able to slip out.
And Baszler working on that left arm.
A great escape by Ember Moon.
They say that favor fortunes the-- favors the bold,
and no one bolder than Shayna Baszler.
Showing off her strength.
Gut-wrench Suplex by The Queen of Spades,
and a vicious kick between the shoulder blades.
Lateral press.
Moon powers out.
[Nigel] Moon had the right idea there,
trying to create some separation, some distance,
because that's what she has to do.
If you're in there with a submission specialist,
someone that that's their bread and butter, get away from them.
[Mauro] Wrestling specialist, Shayna Baszler,
with the bow and arrow,
driving the knee into the back of Ember Moon.
Moon, the sixth NXT Women's Champion…
trying to escape the clutches of Baszler.
Beautiful athleticism.
Nice escape by Ember Moon.
[Nigel] For a second there,
Baszler thought about getting to the outside.
[Percy] She got to find a way to engage in some offense right here,
this might be what she needs, right here.
[Nigel] That was a leaping palm strike, perhaps.
[Mauro] But Baszler follows her into the opposite corner
with a high-knee strike.
And a roll-up here by Moon for a quick two count.
[Nigel] Right around, looking for another strike perhaps.
[Mauro] And Baszler exploding with the knee.
[Percy] Ember might be out.
[Mauro] No. She's able to just kick out at a two,
much to the frustration of Shayna Baszler,
who goes about her statistics business without ever showing an iota of remorse.
[Nigel] That's the thing about Shayna, no wasted motion.
She keeps going, as soon as she has the advantage.
Look at that knee strike to the side, and look how quickly she follows up.
[Mauro] Moon with a kick to the face of Baszler.
Matchbook cover by the NXT Women's Champion.
-[Mauro] Only for a two-count. -[Percy] Whoa, whoa.
[Mauro] …transitions into that Kirifuda Clutch.
-[Percy] How quick was that? -[Mauro] Looking for the Kirifuda Clutch.
[Mauro] Moon doing what's necessary to try to escape.
But that Baszler grip is like a pistachio nut, it is so hard to open.
But Moon doing whatever is necessary.
[Nigel] A smart way to get out of it, reversing the momentum,
getting all their weight down across Baszler,
forcing to break the hold.
[Mauro] You can hear Ronda Rousey at the ringside,
exhorting Shayna Baszler.
Rousey preparing for her in-ring at WWE debut,
that she will team with Kurt Angle, to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon,
in one of the highly anticipated matches at WrestleMania, tomorrow,
only on the WWE Network.
[Percy] If Ember wants to retain her title tonight,
she's got to find a way to be able to stay up
and compete with the brutality, just like Shayna Baszler.
She's got to meet that intensity.
[Mauro] And this is where Moon is trying to show Shayna Baszler
that she can strike with the best of them.
But I wonder if that behooves her in the long run against
someone as decorated a striker as Shayna Baszler,
as Moon takes her over.
[crowd cheering]
And the athletic Ember Moon with the kip-up.
[Nigel] Look at that.
[Mauro] Moon driving Baszler face first to the canvas.
Back press, hooks the leg and…
Baszler gets that right shoulder up just in time.
[Nigel] And to your point, Percy, I think the longer this match goes,
the more it favors Baszler.
Moon has got to end it quickly.
[Mauro] At NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia,
Shayna Baszler… mercilessly attacking Ember Moon,
and it looked like she was going to force Ember Moon to tap out.
But Moon missing there with the diving crossbody,
as Shayna Baszler now looks to take-- Uh-oh.
-[Percy] Oh, no. -[Mauro] We've seen this.
[Mauro] We've seen this horror movie before.
[Percy] This almost took Ember out of Philadelphia.
[Mauro] It took Dakota Kai out.
Oh, but Moon able to escape again.
Nicely done there, as Moon sweeps Baszler to the canvas.
-[Nigel] Wait a second. -[Mauro] Turnabout is fair play.
[Percy] And the tides have turned.
[Mauro] Wait, look at the fear on Baszler's face.
We've never seen this look before.
[Nigel] She knows what's coming now.
[Percy] She's definitely on the wrong side of things now.
[Mauro] …fully cognizant of what to expect.
Her hand trapped under the boot.
-[Percy exclaims] Oh! -[Shayna groans]
[Percy] I have never seen-- Shayna Baszler looks so scared.
[Mauro] Baszler screaming in anguish.
And again, Moon wrenching that arm to the canvas.
Shoulders down for a two count.
[Nigel] She may have dislocated that shoulder.
That left shoulder of Baszler may have been popped out of the joint.
I don't know.
[Mauro] Moon giving Baszler a dose of her bad medicine,
here as the NXT Women's Championship hangs in the balance.
[Nigel] And, of course, now with an injured arm,
is she gonna be able to apply the Kirifuda Clutch?
[Mauro] We know what Ember has on her mind,
as she ascends to the top turnbuckle.
She would love to vanquish Shayna.
But Baszler ends up crashing Moon in the top turnbuckle.
Come on. Back it up.
[Nigel] Just vicious, nasty kicks.
-Back it up. -[Nigel] Right to the front of the head…
[Mauro] Oh, what a kick to the back of Ember Moon's neck.
And a corner dropkick.
So Shayna Baszler may have injured her left arm,
but she is making the most of her other weapons.
[Nigel] What's going through her mind now? Is that--
that left arm looks limp, looks broke.
[Mauro] This is the first time we have seen Shayna Baszler
this vulnerable.
[Percy] I tell you what, Moon is in a very compromising position.
[Mauro exclaims] Oh, what the--
[Nigel] Trying to force that shoulder. [Percy] Was it out?
[Mauro] She just popped her shoulder--
-[Mauro] No. -[Shayna screams]
[Mauro] I've never seen that before.
[Nigel] Well, when you dislocate your shoulder, you try to pop it back in.
[Mauro] I've never seen it in a match,
and I've never seen someone use a corner ring post to do it.
That Shayna Baszler is at another level,
knowing that the NXT Women's Championship is in her sights.
[Percy] And then be able to continue to fight through all that.
[Mauro] Well, you talk about a high threshold for pain.
Ember Moon… And the number-one trend worldwide, no surprise,
#NXTtakeover,
the biggest weekend in sports entertainment
with the biggest NXT TakeOver event here in the Big Easy.
[Nigel] Willing to take the biggest chance.
[Mauro] An eclipse to the outside by Ember Moon.
But she's got to get her back in the ring.
[Percy] Ember is remembering what she's fighting for,
not just the NXT Women's Championship, but the integrity of the women's division.
[Mauro] And all of the frustration,
all of the anger that has been pent up by Ember Moon…
coming out in the form of that high-risk eclipse.
And the referee now will started ministering the 10 count.
[Nigel] Well, both women down, withdrawn.
[Percy] Guys, could you imagine what would happen if Shayna
took over the women's…
[Mauro] No, no. It's more dire straits right now for Shayna
if the referee counts to 10.
Ember Moon still retains the NXT Women's Championship.
[Nigel] He's up to eight perhaps.
[Mauro] Oh, they just beat the count.
That will behoove Shayna Baszler or will it?
She is writhing in pain.
[Nigel] She may have put that shoulder back in,
but there's still an intense amount of pain.
[Mauro] And she needs that arm to put in the Kirifuda Clutch.
Ember well up-- Oh!
[Percy] Whoa, whoa!
[Mauro] Oh, my god! What a transition into the Kirifuda Clutch!
Shayna Baszler has Ember Moon!
[Percy] Oh!
[Mauro] And again, Moon attacking the injured arm of Baszler.
Amazing ring awareness by Ember Moon,
who now administers some ground and pound.
[Nigel] And she pulls it into a triangle instead though.
-[Percy] How creative is Shayna. -[Mauro] What a gutsy effort by Baszler.
[Nigel] Trying to push that arm across her hips to apply more pressure.
[Mauro] Whoa! Ember Moon showcasing her brute strength,
and the powerbomb. Textbook cover!
Ember Moon almost retained the NXT Women's title right there.
She got a little too close to Shayna Baszler,
but made the most of that opportunity
and almost vanquished this ruthless challenger.
[Percy] This is the worst I have ever seen Shayna.
I don't know exactly how bad that arm of hers is.
But you got to think, it is nowhere near fully functional.
[Mauro] Shayna Baszler thought she could walk into NXT
and immediately take over,
taking liberties at the performance center,
taking liberties with other members of the NXT Women's Division,
trying to take liberties at Moon's expense.
Ember looking for the eclipse! Oh, my god!
-[Mauro] Oh, wow! It's been… -[Percy] Oh, my god!
[Mauro] That has never happened before! No one has ever countered the eclipse.
Asuka kicked out of it, but no one has ever countered.
And Moon trying to break the grip.
[Nigel] Well, look how she's changed the hold now.
She's holding her own hair,
because she can't use the injured left arm.
[Mauro] Incredible ingenuity by Shayna Baszler.
A modified version of that Kirifuda Clutch.
[Nigel] That's the experience that Ember may experience.
[Mauro] Will Ember be forced to tap?
[Percy] If she can just get to that bottom rope.
[Mauro] Baszler preventing Ember Moon…
from trying to escape the clutches of the Kirifuda Clutch.
-[Percy] Ember's trying to get free. -[Mauro] Oh, no, Ember…
It looks like… no, she's still fighting.
She's has the heart and will of a champion.
Ember Moon's struggling to stay conscious.
[Mauro] Oh.
[Nigel] Just grazed it, didn't get there.
-[Percy] No! -[Mauro] Oh, but now Shayna…
[Mauro] Ember Moon… Ember Moon is…
She's fading here, guys.
[Nigel] Fading fast. The elbow underneath the jaw.
[Mauro] Moon, one last gasp in trying to break
the grip of the Kirifuda Clutch.
Moon sees her title reign flashing before her eyes.
[Percy] Shayna does not care about pain.
You see Ember trying to Jack that left arm of Shayna,
but it does not seem enough.
[Mauro] Ember Moon is fading.
-[Mauro] Ember Moon is… -[Percy] No.
[Mauro] Ember Moon's…
She looks like she's unconscious. Nope. She's still in it.
Man, Baszler, how much more does she have?
How much strength does she have? This is expending so much energy.
[Nigel] This is incredible. Like a big boa constrictor.
[Mauro] Oh, no, Moon just went…
-[Mauro] Moon is out! -[bell ringing]
[Mauro] We have a new NXT Women's Champion!
[Nigel] It's over!
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] A huge shock here in New Orleans.
[announcer] Here is your winner, and the new NXT Women's Champion,
Shayna Baszler!
[Mauro] The former mix martial artist has done it.
Shayna Baszler meteoric rise
culminates with her first reign as NXT Women's Champion.
And, boy, she had to travel through Hades to capture the gold.
[Nigel] Well, earlier Moon said as long as she was standing,
Baszler would never be Women's Champion.
Well, she's not standing anymore.
[Mauro] I don't even think Ember realizes that…
she is no longer the NXT Women's Champion.
[Percy] I'm just trying to imagine the women's division
under the reign of Shayna Baszler.
[Nigel] What a dominating showing from Baszler.
[Percy] You've never seen Shayna on this side of things.
A little taste of her own medicine.
[Nigel] Well, Moon had a great style, a great strategy
to take out the left shoulder, and would try to employ that.
Baszler would use her experience to try to pop that shoulder back in.
We learned a lot about Baszler in this match.
The length she was willing to go.
Here, a triangle attempt,
but the strength of Moon to powerbomb her opponent
and finally get a pinfall attempt.
[Percy] But this is where it all came crashing down
for the former NXT Women's Champion, Ember Moon.
Once that Kirifuda Clutch is put on… she was trying to fight,
but she could just not stay in it.
[Mauro] Shayna Baszler quoted wwe.com
and all the keyboard warriors better gather together and bring tissues
because, here at TakeOver,
their hero, Ember Moon, would lose her title. Well…
Shayna Baszler, a prophet.
[Percy] Shayna also said…
[Mauro] And Shayna now celebrating with other members of The Four Horsewomen,
Ronda Rousey and Jessamyn Duke.
Baszler said, "It isn't a bandwagon. It's a war wagon.
And no one will be able to hop on because you're going to get run over."
What a message Shayna Baszler had said
to the rest of the NXT Women's Division.
[Percy] Baszler said that she was either gonna leave with Ember's arm
or the NXT Women's Championship.
I guess, she settled for the NXT Women's title.
[Mauro] And remember, Ember Moon said as long as she is standing,
Shayna Baszler would not be champion.
Well, Ember Moon was out cold on her back,
the victim of the Kirifuda Clutch.
-I told you… -[Mauro] We have new NXT Women's Champion.
I'm the best wrestler you've seen in forever.
[rock music playing]
Paige here.
And I'm extremely excited to show you a sneak peak
at the new movie based on my life,
called Fighting with my family.
This scene, where my brother and I are backstage at WWE
for the very first time,
features some incredible actors playing us,
and some guy I know that you might have heard of.
[rock music playing]
-Oh. -Sorry about that.
-Rock, Rock, Rock. -We're huge fans.
Thank you so much.
We've been fans since you had hair.
Oh, thank you. Hey, it's a choice.
A damn good one too.
See you, guys.
Rock, Rock, Rock.
-Yo. -We're wrestlers as well actually.
-We're actually doing the tryouts today. -Oh, cool.
What advice would you give us if we wanna…
-Win over the crown. -…win over the crown?
-What are your names again? -My name…
It doesn't matter what your names are!
You walk around here interrupting The Rock.
You, like you haven't the sun in 20 years.
You, like you just stepped out of Oliver Twist.
[British accent] "Please, sir, may I have some more advice, sir."
Want some advice? Here's The Rock's advice. Shut your mouth.
What you want? What you want?
How about what The Rock wants? The Rock wants you to go out there
and take the no prisoners, have no regrets, have no fear,
lay it all out on the line.
Because if you don't do that, The Rock is gonna find your friend Mary Poppins.
He's gonna take her umbrella. He's gonna shine it up really nice.
He's gonna turn that sonuvabitch sideways and send it straight up your candy asses.
There's your advice, straight out of the jabroni beating,
pie eating, trail-blazin', eyebrow raisin',
entertaining the globe never hotter talking to two rejects from Harry Potter.
-So that's how you win over the crowd. -Yeah.
[narrator] Fighting with my family. Coming soon.
-This is worse… -Relax.
How am I supposed to relax? What do you mean relax?
[Nigel] Well, there is the newly-crowned American Champion--
North American Champion.
What is he gonna have left when he has to defend those titles tonight?
This Tag Team title defense, I don't know.
Can you cancel it?
Wow, you just heard Adam Cole say,
"Hey, this Tag Team title defense, I don't know."
Kyle O'Reilly saying, "Can you cancel it?"
Hey, as decreed by NXT General Manager, William Regal,
who is not with us tonight, because he's under the weather.
We wish him a speedy recovery.
But Adam Cole must compete in the Tag Team Triple Threat match
that is not only for the NXT Tag Team titles,
but also for the coveted Dusty Rhodes company,
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
[rock music playing]
[Percy] Well, this is the opportunity that Aleister has been waiting for.
In the great city of New Orleans and in front of the NXT Universe,
he looks to dethrone the champion, Andrade "Cien" Almas.
[Nigel] Well, with Bobby Fish injured, and as we just saw,
Adam exhausted from winning the North American title earlier tonight,
the odds are now stacked heavily against the Undisputed Era.
But be that as it may, if they win tonight,
the Era, not only retain the NXT Tag Team titles,
they win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic as well.
The Triple Threat Tag Team match is next.
2018 is shaping up to be an incredible year
for the NXT Tag Team division.
It is my honor and privilege to announce the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
This Tag Team tournament honors the memory of WWE Hall of Fame,
the godfather of NXT, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.
Get a dream, hold on to it, and shoot for the sky!
I've always loved the competitiveness of the great Tag Teams of the past,
and now we look for Tag Teams of the future.
Opportunity knocks,
and let's get down and dirty, and get on with it, baby.
[Nigel] Not only will this year's winners win the Dusty Cup,
but they will also face the NXT Tag Team Champions
at TakeOver: New Orleans.
[Mauro] We begin the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
[Nigel] These two men have won it before,
and can history repeat itself again?
[Mauro] And the Authors of Pain advance to the finals.
Roderick Strong is in the tournament.
Let's find out who his partners is.
[Nigel] Oh!
[Percy] Something in me is [indistinct] the team of Pete and Roderick.
[Mauro] The Cinderella story continues to the finals.
NXT does not realize what they have.
Bobby, with you being out and injured, we're trying to find any way possible
to make sure we keep our Tag Team Championships.
[Mauro] A tremendous final in the 2018 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
AOP looking to take advantage early.
[Percy] AOP is clearly the favorite,
but Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong have to feel unstoppable.
[Mauro] Incredible match here with so much at stake.
[crowd cheering]
-[Mauro] Oh, no! -[Percy] Come on!
[Nigel] The Undisputed Era putting a brutal attack.
[woman] The referee has ruled this as a double disqualification.
[Mauro] Who wins the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic?
[tense music playing]
[Nigel] At TakeOver: New Orleans, it will be Undisputed Era…
-We are untouchable. -Unstoppable.
And we are going to retain…
[Nigel] …Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne…
If you think that we can't get the job done, you must be mad.
[Nigel] …and the Authors of Pain…
The Tag Team division belongs to us.
[Nigel] …in a Triple Threat match.
The winner of that match will be the winner of the Dusty Cup
and the new NXT Tag Team Champions.
[Nigel] NXT TakeOver: New Orleans just go bigger.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[bell ringing]
[announcer] The following contest is a Triple Threat match
scheduled for one fall.
And it is the final match
of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament
for the NXT Tag Team Championship.
Winner take all.
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music playing]
[rock music playing]
[crowd shouting]
[Nigel] Here they come being led out by the erudite Paul Ellering,
my picks to win tonight as a dominating team
are the Authors of Pain.
[announcer] Introducing first, accompanied to the ring by Paul Ellering,
at a combined weight of 615 pounds,
Akam, Rezar,
the Authors of Pain.
[Percy] I've heard some eerie tweets from Paul Ellering as of late stating,
"New Orleans, are you ready to face the doomsday?
The angel Gabriel comes. It's judgment day."
[Nigel] But how can you be ready for these two behemoths?
They've won the titles before, they've won the Dusty Classic before.
[Mauro] The most dominant team in NXT history
looking to become two-time NXT Tag Team Champions,
looking to become two-time Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament Champs,
Akam and Rezar.
You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't bite Beyoncé,
and you don't anger the Authors of Pain.
[Nigel] They're always angry.
[Percy] Better believe that these guys are not gonna forget
that Era's the reason they gotta compete in The Triple Threat match.
They won't forget that they lost to Era at WarGames.
It's going down tonight.
[rock music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] From Birmingham, England, weighing 205 pounds,
he is the United Kingdom Champion,
"The Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne.
He would love to add the Dusty Rhodes Cup to his hardware collection.
It was at TakeOver in Chicago last year
when he was involved in the match of the year,
when he became the WWE United Kingdom Champion
beating Tyler Bate.
And now, he and Roderick Strong…
looking to go from a footnote to the lead paragraph in this tournament.
[crowd cheering]
[Percy] You talk about the Dusty Rhodes Cup.
How about the Tag Team Championship?
If Pete and Roderick win here tonight,
Pete Dunne will be the highest decorated superstar we have.
United Kingdom title, the Tag Team Championship,
the Dusty Rhodes… the Dusty Cup.
[announcer] And his Tag Team partner, from Tampa, Florida, weighing 200 pounds,
Roderick Strong!
[Nigel] Well, I've known this man all his career. He is determined.
I know he wants to make every opportunity count.
Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the final
of the Cruiserweight Tournament match.
But he's here tonight, and he's ready to make it work tonight.
[crowd cheering]
Yeah!
[Mauro] NXT TakeOver is brought to you by Rocket League.
Get two free WWE in-game items now.
Select Redeem code from the express menu with code WrestleMania.
And by 5-hour Energy shots.
When your battery is running low, grab a 5-hour Energy shot
and get back to 100%.
[Nigel] And champions certainly are not at 100%.
[rock music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] And their opponents, representing the Undisputed Era,
they are your NXT Tag Team Champions,
Kyle O' Reilly and Adam Cole.
[crowd cheering]
[Percy] Two guys who should be celebrating the fact
that Adam Cole made history as the first NXT North American Champion.
Instead, they are ruing the decision by WWE NXT GM William Regal
to make Adam Cole compete twice tonight, replacing the injured Bobby Fish.
[Percy] And he didn't really have any options,
it was either… it was either compete with Kyle O' Reilly,
forfeiting the North American championship.
[Nigel] Well, talking about celebrating, Jeff Jarrett along with Dustin Rhodes,
two of the greatest second-generation wrestlers of all time.
It was Jarrett just inducted into the Hall of Fame last night.
Congratulations, Jeff Jarrett.
[rock music playing]
[Mauro] Adam Cole, NXT North American Champion.
Undisputed Era looking to retain the NXT Tag Team titles
under less than perfect conditions.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Mauro] So this Triple Threat match, three men in the ring at all times,
no disqualification or count out.
Only way to win is via pinfall or submission.
Winner take all here at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
For the first time ever, the NXT Tag Team Championships
are being defended in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
[Nigel] As you said, winner take all
and that means the Era could retain the titles
and at the same time win that prestigious cup.
Without actually really competing in the tournament.
[Mauro] Akam and Rezar immediately attacking the Undisputed Era
knowing that Cole is at less than 100%,
ground -and-pound, right for Cole's ribs.
[Nigel] I guarantee you, that strategy came from Ellering--
Nice hip toss.
[Percy] Oh! What a boot by Akam.
-[Percy] That was smart by AOP. -[Mauro] Kyle O' Reilly…
[Mauro] …hanging onto that top rope before he gets tagged by Rezar.
So Akam and Rezar laying waste
and what a hip toss to Dunne, throwing him outside.
[screams indistinctly]
Primal battle cries from Akam and Rezar.
[Mauro] Combination offense, neckbreaker.
This could be it.
[Nigel] This could be over quickly, fellas.
The AOP are absolutely dominating.
[Mauro] There have been 13 different NXT Tag Team Championship teams,
as Adam Cole is unceremoniously thrown out of the ring.
[crowd cheering]
-[Percy] Oh, boy. -[Mauro] Wow.
[Mauro] That Spanish broadcast table about to be used as a weapon
by the Authors of Pain, or is it?
-[Percy] Oh! -[Mauro] Strong and Dunne.
[Mauro] Oh. Akam and Rezar!
Oh, Adam Cole desperately trying to escape the clutches.
-[Percy] No! -[Mauro] Oh, my god!
[Mauro] My god, Adam Cole just got put through the table!
[Percy] Oh, my god!
[Mauro] Kyle O' Reilly
running off the apron with the vicious knee strike
and you could see Kyle O' Reilly not fully aware
that he may have to be a one-man team here without Cole.
[Nigel] Reilly is on his own now. He has gotta hit and move, hold on.
[Mauro] I can't see Cole being a factor in this match. He's done for the night.
[Nigel] Double wristlock in the middle of the ring.
But O'Reilly knows how to get out of that transition into the armbar.
[Mauro] The cross armbreaker by Kyle O'Reilly, as he and Dunne grapple.
O'Reilly well-versed in mixed martial arts and submissions.
And he's putting on a striking clinic.
Not to be outdone is Roderick Strong.
-[Percy] Wait. -[Mauro] Catches O'Reilly…
[Mauro] …and on the side of the backbreaker.
Oh, and what a knee to one-half of the Authors of Pain.
That was Akam here, as Rezar eats a dropkick.
Roderick Strong has made it clear, all he wants is gold around his waist.
This is supposed to be a Tag Team match.
But it has been…
…chaos.
[Nigel] Absolute chaos from the start,
because Ellering had his men primed for action.
[Mauro] Fireman's carry by Strong…
[Nigel] Looking for a guillotine.
[Mauro] O'Reilly's looking for that guillotine.
[Nigel] Gotta watch his shoulders, though.
Beautiful the way it transitions into a triangle now,
pushing the arm across the hips and again…
[Mauro] He has it fixed in. He has that triangle fixed in.
[Percy] Bad news for Strong.
[Nigel] Oh, no…
[Percy] Are you kidding me?
[Mauro] A yeoman's effort here, Kyle O'Reilly fully realizing…
his partner has been put out of commission at ringside.
-[Nigel] Oh, no. -[Mauro] "Oh, no" is right.
[Mauro] Powerbomb, Dunne on O'Reilly.
This is absolutely insane.
[Nigel] Well, O'Reilly had no way of protecting himself there.
All of his limbs were used to applying submission and holds.
[Nigel] So when Dunne got piled on into him…
[Mauro] I was told this would be a Tag Team match.
This is every man for himself.
Referee trying to maintain law and order.
[Percy] Which is O'Reilly happens to be alone,
he's without Adam.
[Mauro] Strong being pinned in the corner by the Authors of Pain.
Again, Strong fared well in the 205 Live Cruiserweight
title tournament, has come close to becoming NXT Champion.
Has vied before for the NXT Tag Team titles
in a makeshift team with Aleister.
Now, he's with Pete Dunne.
And they hope to be the Cinderella story of this tournament.
[Nigel] Let's remember, Strong also teamed up with AOP
at TakeOver: WarGames,
and not taking any lighter on him because of it.
[Percy] You gotta wonder if he's picked up anything from AOP,
because it'll definitely come in use now.
[Mauro] Rezar with the lateral press and Strong able to escape,
but Rezar, no slouch when it comes to mixed martial arts training as…
…he looks to secure Roderick Strong,
keeping him grounded.
[Nigel] And an arm clutch applying pressure to the carotid artery.
Could get a tap out here.
[Percy] Think about what Strong has wasted in…
Trying to get himself out of this position.
[Nigel] Dunne's up in the corner, if he can get over there
and make the tag, that's what he needs to do.
[Mauro] Series of back elbows by Strong, momentarily breaking the grip.
Overhead belly-to-belly suplex by Rezar
and now Kyle O'Reilly with his ferocious striking,
trying to shut down the bigger half of Authors of Pain.
[Nigel] Look at that. Well, you saw it right away,
the size difference, O'Reilly giving up 50 pounds.
[Mauro] The problem is there is Kyle O'Reilly's Tag Team partner
Adam Cole,
who went through…
Oh, what a beautiful…
[Percy] how was he still going?
[Mauro] Kyle O'Reilly, wow!
[crowd applauding]
[Mauro] Just too much
for the decorated striker and submission artist from Canada.
And this has been all Authors of Pain.
And going into this match, they had to be heavily favored
when you look at the rest of the landscape of this field.
[Percy] these guys are just too dominant.
[Mauro] Strong and Dunne had never teamed before this tournament.
We have Cole who's been put on a commission,
Kyle O'Reilly trying to regroup on the outside.
This is the Authors of Pain match to lose
as they want to secure their legacy of dominance.
[Percy] If O'Reilly could just find a way to get to his partner.
[Nigel] And again as we take a look on the outside,
Adam Cole nowhere close to getting up.
[Mauro] Neither is Roderick Strong.
[Nigel] Pete there didn't look too eager to get in to make the tag.
You gotta think with Dunne being the United Kingdom Champion,
maybe at some point in this match, he says, "You know what?
I'll cut my losses."
[Mauro] Akam with a vicious knee into the ribcage of Roderick
and now toying with Strong, taunting Pete Dunne.
And this is where the Authors of Pain have to be careful.
[Percy] Nigel, I hear what you're saying, but I just don't believe that.
I think Pete Dunne will wrap up as many championships as he can.
[Mauro] Here comes O'Reilly jumping on the back.
And there goes Kyle O'Reilly falling off the back.
What a kick by Strong,
and another Enzuigiri by Roderick Strong.
Will this give him the opportunity to make his way to his corner
and tag at Pete Dunne?
[Nigel] O'Reilly was there to stop him.
[Mauro] Strong kicks O'Reilly and the tag is made!
In comes "The Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne,
and a volley of strikes.
What a forearm shiver by Dunne.
-[Nigel speaks indistinctly] -[crowd exclaiming]
[Mauro] What a knee to the midsection by O'Reilly, Dunne sent into the corner.
The athletic, agile Dunne lands on his feet.
Standing switch by O' Reilly.
German suplex. Dunne lands on his feet,
and he just clocked O'Reilly with the kick on the neck.
-[Mauro] Oh, and Rezar! -[Percy] Whoa.
[Mauro] Swinging slam, but Dunne turns it
into an opportunity and a pinfall.
[Nigel] Oh.
Dunne making the most of having the most energy
of everybody left in the match.
He's gonna try and get into it, he's realized after using…
joint manipulation with the strikes, look at that.
[Mauro] What a roundhouse kick by O'Reilly followed by the scintillating strikes,
and now Dunne and O'Reilly…
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] Fists flying. Gotta be careful they don't break them.
[Mauro] Pete, double-collar tie…
[Percy and Mauro] Palm strike.
[Mauro] Oh! Inside low kick by O'Reilly.
Listen to the impact of those strikes. Oh!
Akam just wiped out both Dunne and O' Reilly
with those running lariats.
[Nigel] Things look very good for the AOP right now.
[Mauro] AOP about… on the verge of becoming
the only two-time Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners,
and on top of that, looking to become two-time NXT Tag Team Champs.
[Nigel] Kyle O' Reilly is dead white at this point.
[Mauro] He's like a sacrificial lamb.
Oh! Authors of Pain! Authors of Pain!
Oh, wait a minute, Roderick…
…kept this match going.
[Nigel speaks indistinctly]
…but Strong was there to save the match.
[Mauro] It wasn't the final chapter in this Triple Threat Tag Team match.
Adam Cole barely stirring here at ringside,
Roderick Strong finally back up to the apron and now…
Oh, yes, we're done.
Bending those digits like Beckham, and he just snapped the fingers.
[Nigel] Like he just couldn't get him up.
[Mauro exclaims] Oh!
[Mauro] Strong avoids Rezar.
Rezar doesn't avoid that high knee strike by Strong.
[Mauro exclaims indistinctly]
…with an Olympic slam.
-[Mauro] Goes for the side press. -One, two.
[Percy] Oh!
[Mauro] I almost said, "Yes, Virginia, there is a UMCB in NXT",
but we had the Authors of Pain kicking out
and this Triple Threat Tag team match continues.
Tag is made.
Pete Dunne, the legal man.
[Percy] That was as close as it gets.
[Nigel] Hold on!
[Mauro] Oh!
Back first on the apron
and Pete Dunne with the double foot stomp.
Kyle O'Reilly…
laying in a supine position at ringside and…
a driving knee by Roderick Strong.
[Nigel] Now, the impromptu team of Strong and Dunne
pushing the advantage. This is their biggest opportunity yet.
[Mauro] Will they make the most of it? Pete Dunne with the cover.
And Akam in to save his partner.
Oh, Strong low-bridges.
Akam, Strong.
Full head of steam, misses with that wrecking ball dropkick,
but then sidesteps Akam.
Akam crashes into the ring steps.
Pete misses with that step-up Enzuigiri.
Axe, and…
Oh, an Enzuigiri counter by Dunne.
[Nigel] This could be it.
[Percy] Bitter end.
[Mauro] Will it be the bitter end for O'Reilly?
What the hell?
What the hell is Roderick doing?
[Percy] What?
[crows shouting indistinctly]
[Mauro] End of heartache on his partner Pete.
[Percy] They had it won.
What the hell is this?
[Mauro] Oh, my god.
-[bell ringing] -[Mauro] Oh, my god.
[rock music playing]
[announcer] Here are your winners and still the NXT Tag Team Champions,
Kyle O' Reilly and Adam Cole.
[Mauro] Nigel, I know I wear glasses. What the hell just happened?
[Nigel] Roderick Strong has made a decision.
When the Undisputed Era came to NXT,
they gave Roderick Strong the chance to team with them.
Well now fellas,
it looks like he's taking it.
[Mauro] Well, Strong,
Adam Cole, Kyle O' Reilly, have a shared history.
Roderick Strong making history tonight.
O' Reilly and Cole had no idea that this just happened,
they can't believe what they've just seen.
They are as shocked as the rest of us, talk about a shock to the system.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] Wow.
Roderick Strong…
has joined the Undisputed Era?
[Percy] I cannot believe what I had just seen.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] Roderick Strong
has always desired to be a champion in NXT.
Well, he's now affiliated with the championship faction
in the Undisputed Era.
I can't believe what went down in New Orleans tonight.
Roderick Strong joins the Undisputed Era.
[Nigel] What an incredible moment.
Here we are in the closing moments of the match.
His Tag Team partner hooked O'Reilly up and hit the bitter end in the center.
You would have to think he would win at this point
if it was not for Roderick Strong…
turning around and hitting End of Heartache on Pete Dunne…
putting O'Reilly on top for the pin
and securing the victory and the Tag Team Championships
for the Undisputed Era.
[rock music playing]
[Mauro] A definite shock to the system here at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
Bobby Fish with a knee injury comes out to celebrate.
The Undisputed Era has grown by one.
Roderick Strong showing his true colors in New Orleans.
[Percy] I just still can't get over this.
You gotta imagine the mind state of Pete Dunne right now.
[Nigel] What does this mean for the future of The Tag Team Division?
Roderick Strong is part of the Undisputed Era.
[Mauro] What does this mean for the future of NXT, period?
I love you very, very much.
[Ronda] The moment you thought would never happen.
I am here.
-What? -The rumors are true.
Ronda Rousey is here.
Triple H and Stephanie, they couldn't wait to have you here,
because they want to manipulate you.
[woman] Ronda now reports to me.
[Ronda] I am no one's property.
I get to choose my opponent for WrestleMania.
You.
WrestleMania.
It's gonna be Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
versus Ronda Rousey and me!
[crowd cheering]
[Ronda] The moment you thought would never happen.
["It Follows" by Cane Hill playing]
[Mauro] Our special thanks to the band that kicks off NXT TakeOver: New Orleans,
Cane Hill, for "It Follows",
one of the official theme songs of NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
It's from the self-titled album "Too Far Gone",
available now on itunes and Spotify.
And you know the NXT Universe's still in shock
thinking that maybe Roderick Strong went too far.
Well, we're not far away from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
In fact, we're next door.
Tomorrow it's the Showcase of the Immortals, WrestleMania,
only on the WWE Network.
[rock music playing]
[Nigel] There she is, guitarist Nita Strauss
enjoying herself like everybody else in attendance here at TakeOver.
[Mauro] She's Alice Cooper's guitarist,
considered one of the best female guitarists on the planet.
[Percy] Fellas, tonight the NXT Championship is up for grabs.
Tonight at TakeOver: New Orleans, WrestleMania weekend,
the biggest match at stake for Aleister Black.
Will he defeat the reigning champion Andrade "Cien" Almas
and get the devil off his back by putting the NXT title on his waist?
[tense music playing]
I think the ego…
Money, fame, power.
…can convince you of invalid truths.
[Zelina] The greatest champion in NXT history,
Andrade "Cien" Almas.
I am "El Idolo".
[Aleister] Andrade has risen to the top in NXT.
The NXT title is a path that I set myself upon arriving.
There is a devil on my back
and that devil is the NXT Championship.
[Nigel] Every time somebody has stepped in his way,
he's knocked them down with that black mass spinning heel kick.
[dramatic music playing]
[Aleister] Andrade "Cien" Almas,
the NXT Championship will be mine at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
[crowd cheering] Aleister! Aleister!
Aleister Black got into our heads.
But now, were gonna take him out.
[in Spanish]
[Mauro] I understand there's an altercation going on
outside the parking lot.
Hit him, Andrade, come on!
-[Mauro] Oh, my god. -[Andrade speaking in Spanish]
Show him what a champion is!
Aleister Black is going to see the monster behind the man.
This devil has come to collect the NXT title.
[Mauro] Andrade "Cien" Almas feeling disrespected by Black.
[speaking in Spanish]
This was just the beginning.
[crowd cheering]
[rock music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] In a word, Aleister Black's entrance is entrancing.
The eternal wanderer does not subscribe to a lot of society norms
and tonight, he hopes that history will repeat itself.
It was one year ago in NXT TakeOver: Orlando,
where Aleister Black made his NXT debut
and defeated, you guessed it, Andrade "Cien" Almas.
[Nigel] Well, Mauro, this is a very different Andrade "Cien" Almas.
He is the NXT Champion now, and he is being guided by Zelina Vega.
[Percy] Well, all I could say is…
all I could say is, fellas, what difference a year makes.
[rock music playing]
[Nigel] Black has been on an almost unstoppable tear
since he arrived here.
[Mauro] He was vying for an opportunity at the NXT Championship
in that fatal four-way, where he suffered his first pinfall loss.
In one-on-one competition, he has yet to be defeated in an NXT ring.
[Nigel] But did you see the way Almas absolutely, physically decimated Black
when he attacked him?
I've never seen Black suffer so much.
[Percy] And you better believe Aleister is going to make Andrade pay tonight.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] "El Idolo."
[music playing]
[man speaks in Spanish]
[Mauro] What a difference a year makes for "El Idolo",
Andrade "Cien" Almas…
paying tribute to his Lucha Libre history, third-generation superstar.
Last night at the WWE… there you see…
Aleister Black can't wait to get his hands on the champion.
The most decorated luchador, El Santo,
went into the legacy portion of the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday.
Andrade "Cien" Almas, if he keeps this up,
he's guaranteed a spot beside El Santo one day
because as NXT Champion, he has been [speaks in Spanish]
[Nigel] He has carved out a niche for himself,
as one of the most dominant champions we've seen in recent times here.
[Percy] Nigel, you touched on this, Zelina is the key component
to Andrade's success.
She does whatever is necessary
and she does not mind getting her hands dirty.
We've seen in the case of Drew McIntyre, Johnny Gargano,
and I don't think she'll hesitate here if she has to.
[Mauro] They say you're only as good as your last performance.
Well, at the last TakeOver in Philadelphia,
Andrade "Cien" Almas defended the title against Johnny Gargano
in what is being hailed as one of the greatest matches
in NXT history.
Of course, Johnny Gargano has the biggest match of his life
coming up still here at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
But right now, it is all about the NXT title.
[music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
The following contest scheduled for one fall
is for the NXT Championship.
[crowd cheering]
Introducing the challenger from Amsterdam, Holland,
weighing in at 215 pounds,
Aleister Black.
[crowd cheering]
And his opponent, accompanied to the ring by Zelina Vega,
from Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico, weighing in at 215 pounds,
he is the NXT Champion,
Andrade "Cien" Almas.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] In front of the sold-out crowd, Smoothie King Center in New Orleans,
we are set for the NXT Championship.
And immediately, Aleister Black exploding on the attack.
[Mauro] Did you see the intensity in the eyes of Aleister?
[Mauro] And you wanna be a part of the conversation on social media,
#NXTchampionship,
as these two already treating each other like Twitter troglodytes,
and the striking machine from the Netherlands
putting it on the NXT Champion.
[crowd applauding]
[Mauro] Black wasting little time in…
-[Percy] Whoa! -[Mauro] …to Andrade "Cien" Almas.
[Percy] Aleister did not forget about that ambush,
that sneak attack by the champion, Andrade.
[Mauro] And almost has his radar working for him,
quickly turned around, noticed that Zelina Vega was in his path.
[Nigel] Take a look at this.
Took one look over his shoulder and landed it perfectly.
[Mauro] God! What a chop by Almas.
I'm surprised Aleister Black didn't crumble to the floor
and turn into a pile of coals with that kind of shot.
[Nigel] Almas doing his best to stop Black there,
as soon as he got back in the ring.
It does not take long for Aleister Black to get back on top usually.
[Mauro] Aleister looking for that crucifix.
Oh, now has that modified version of the octopus hold here.
Now look, you know, Black is on Almas' back
and Black refers to the NXT title as the devil on his back,
shoulders down.
[Nigel] But just couldn't get his ankles across the shoulders of Almas.
[Mauro] Black prepared to go to hell and back
in order to procure one of the most coveted titles in sports entertainment.
[Zelina] Come on, Andrade!
[Nigel] He won't do it on the outside, that's for sure,
but he can apply a lot of damage.
[Mauro] Champion's advantage.
Black has to put Almas back in… Oh, there's Zelina up on the apron!
Vega sends Black into the ring steps,
advantage Almas.
[Percy] This is what she does.
[Mauro] Vega proved to be the catalyst that sent Almas to the championship.
Almas looking to retain right here.
Ground-and-pound from el campeon de NXT.
Nothing tranquilo about Almas tonight.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] Vega is certainly earning her money on the outside.
What a game changer in this match.
[Percy] She's earned her money for over a year out here,
whatever she can do to propel her client Andrade "Cien" Almas.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
Can you continue?
[Nigel] Black said that the ego could convince you of invalid truths.
I don't know, looking at Almas now,
I think everything he believes is a hundred percent true.
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
[Mauro] NXT Universe with dueling chants,
appreciating the talents of both the champion Andrade "Cien" Almas
and the challenger Aleister Black.
[Percy] Oh.
[Mauro] Back press. Both legs are hooked. Black is able to just escape
in the nick of time.
[Nigel] Smart move for hooking both legs so it didn't hook the rope.
[Percy] One thing I've noticed about Andrade, there is no more cockiness,
he's all business.
[Nigel] Almas looking for a hold on the outside.
Caught in a triangle.
-[Mauro] Draping armbar… -One, two, three, four…
[Mauro] Working on that left arm of Aleister Black, softening Black up.
[Percy] Black loses use of that left arm--
[Mauro] Springboard dropkick by Almas.
Back press, hooks the leg, and Black able to kick out.
Now of course, Almas is targeting that arm
because he hopes to use it in order to, well,
deliver that hammerlock DDT.
[Nigel] Absolutely, that's one way of fighting out of it,
is preventing him in getting the hammerlock in the first place.
[Percy] Now Andrade is focused on trying to take the air
out of the lungs of Aleister Black, switching this over.
[Nigel] There's a chin bar on now, applying to the left shoulder.
Look at the striation of the muscles and the deltoid.
It'll wear you down quickly.
[crowd applauding]
Black's gonna fight and try get that hand off of the chin.
[crowd cheering]
-[Nigel] One way to escape it. -[Percy] Creating space right there.
[Nigel] Again, Almas keeping it on.
[Mauro] Almas quickly transitions to a chin lock
while maintaining the armbar,
but Black now backs the champion into the corner
creating that separation.
Now looking to pick up some momentum off the ropes.
But instead Almas,
with that sleeper on Aleister Black momentarily.
Oh, what a back elbow, Almas walked right into that one.
And then Black walks right into the boot.
[Nigel] Tit for tat.
Up we go.
This could be, we've seen this before.
But so would Aleister, he had it scouted.
[Mauro] Oh, immediately Almas again, draping
but this time, the weight of Aleister Black
is weighed over the top rope and…
Almas unable to really secure that draping armbar
the way he usually does.
Springboard-- oh!
What carnage on that counter attack by Aleister Black.
[Percy] That knee was just out of sheer instinct,
catching Andrade sheer on the jaw.
[Nigel] And can Aleister Black capitalize now?
There's money in being the NXT Champion.
And again Almas,
but he didn't turn into a pile of coins.
These-- Both players wanna do already for the NXT Championship here tonight.
[Percy] Look at this spring move but is stopped short by Aleister Black.
[Nigel] It was perfect timing for Black,
lying in wait to the exact moment to strike.
Now more strikes.
[Mauro] And this is-- The advantage goes to Aleister Black.
[Nigel] But Black has that kick boxing background.
Some of the very best kick boxers in the world come from Amsterdam.
[Mauro] Vicious strike by Aleister Black.
[Percy] Aleister's gotta keep the momentum going, pedal to the metal.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] Here he comes.
Nice forearm, follows it up quickly.
[Mauro] Sternum-first into the corner.
-[Percy] There it is! -[Mauro] The quebrada.
[Mauro] Black now has Almas' shoulders down but only for two,
much to the relief of Zelina Vega at ring side.
[Nigel] The way Black landed that, he just couldn't shift his weight
to get enough body weight across the shoulders.
[Mauro] Vega extremely concerned at ringside.
This is Aleister Black's wheelhouse. But hey, we--
I don't know if I've ever seen Aleister go to the top turnbuckle.
And this time he pays as Almas cuts him off in the pass.
[Nigel] There is a lot on the line, the NXT Championship.
[Percy] Can't blame a man for trying to be creative
when something like this, the NXT title is on the line.
[Mauro] And on this, the biggest weekend in sports entertainment,
by far the biggest match in the respective careers
of Andrade "Cien" Almas and Aleister Black.
[Nigel] Hold on, look at this.
Sunset, trying for the powerbomb, didn't get it.
Trying for the knee, he's missed them, too.
[Mauro] Aleister Black doing his homework on Andrade "Cien" Almas
in preparation for this NXT Championship match.
What a German suplex by Almas.
[Nigel] Snap German and Black dropped down hard.
Go, go, let's go!
[Nigel] Vega imploring his man onto the top rope, here we go.
[Mauro] Almas, wow…
landing on his feet the fourth time, another standing moonsault
and Black just escapes.
-[Percy] Oh, my goodness. -[Mauro] What a move by Andrade.
[Mauro] That is why he is the NXT Champion.
[Nigel] What presence of mind to know that his opponent was moving
while he was doing a moonsault to land it and hit a second,
that's incredible.
[Mauro] Showcasing his mensa level ring IQ
but Aleister Black now finds himself in the clutches,
there is a forearm counter by Black
and this is where Almas has to be careful,
he does not wanna get caught up in a striking exchange,
with a guy with a pedigree of Aleister Black.
[Percy] On a flip side, Andrade's a guy who doesn't know how to back down.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] Nice break, more strikes coming in.
[Mauro] Oh, Almas, making me eat my words with a couple of--
a series of forearms,
doing a good job of evading the--
What a strike by Andrade "Cien" Almas!
[Percy] Miss one, take one--
[Mauro] Man, Almas caught Black with the point of the elbow.
-[Mauro] Oh, wow. -[Nigel] He kicked out on one.
[Mauro] High-octane high impact. Do we have a-- No.
Black was unable to get all of that strike
and that is the only reason I believe Almas was able to kick out, Nigel.
[Nigel] Perhaps so,
but Black is absolutely furious again.
I think he remembers the beating that he took.
I've never seen him this aggressive, almost apoplectic.
[Percy] But this ring of awareness by Andrade is almost uncanny.
[Mauro] Oh.
[Mauro] Oh, wow.
[crowd applauding]
[Mauro] Shots fired.
What impact
as both challenger and champion find themselves in their back
trying to find their second win.
A critical moment in this match up, Nigel.
[Nigel] Both men had the same idea.
Kicks at the same time, landing at the same time.
But the question becomes now,
who is the best strategy at this point,
who has enough left in the tank to get back up.
[Percy] Look at Zelina now, coaching Andrade.
Telling him to get back up on his feet. This is his time.
[Mauro] Yeah, Zelina Vega, really just pleading with Almas to…
to get back up and easier said than done.
It's up to eight…
-Six! -[Mauro] …or excuse me, six.
I wasn't at school that day they taught us to count to 10, Nigel.
[Nogel] You learn other things I'm sure, but as this match progresses,
both men are really nearly devoured of energy.
[Mauro] What a move by Almas,
using Black's momentum against him, Percy.
[Percy] I got to give it to Andrade. He is operating at a whole another level,
trying to keep his title intact.
[Mauro] Oh, but Black intercepts Almas,
catches the kick, delivers a left roundhouse kick.
Oh, and then Almas following Black
and jumping unceremoniously over the top rope.
[Nigel] Well, almost certainly done his homework.
He knew what he was looking for.
[Percy] Almas has been one step ahead this entire match-- Whoa!
[Mauro] Corkscrew plancha.
Andrade "Cien" Almas quickly goes for the cover. Back press.
[Percy] Oh, my good… But that was smart by Andrade.
He didn't waste up one second after he hit that offensive maneuver
and got Aleister back in the ring for the cover.
[Nigel] It was likely but watching him fast forward,
how quick Almas was following it up.
He knows that he's got Black hurt, he knows that Black is in danger,
he knows this is his opportunity to beat him.
[Mauro] What's Zelina Vega doing?
She rip the NXT Championship off the hands of the timekeeper. What--
This match isn't over.
And the referee quickly taking the title away.
[Nigel] Smart move by the referee, playing his part,
doing the right thing making sure this match continues.
-[Mauro] What the…! -[Percy] Come on!
[Mauro] Spike Rana by Vega! What the hell?
-[Mauro] The referee… -One, two…
[Mauro] No!
Black able to kick out and…
Zelina Vega desperately trying to earn her keep
and tried to keep the NXT Championship around the waist of Almas.
[Nigel] A genius move of Zelina Vega
making sure the referee was distracted so she could come in.
[Percy] But Zelina thought that was it. She's beside herself right now.
[Nigel] Here it is, we saw the referee trying to put the title on the outside
and using that opportunity to spike Almas' opponent.
[Zelina cheering in Spanish]
[Percy] Aleister is as tough as they come, where is he finding the resiliency…
[Mauro] Look, that hammerlock DDT.
But well scouted by, Almas' shoulders were down.
-[everyone shouting] -[Mauro] And that's a Black Mass!
[Mauro] Black Mass! What the hell?
-[Percy] Come on! -[Mauro] …for the third time tonight.
[Mauro] Vega just put Almas' foot on the rope.
Zelina Vega…
proving to be the fly in the ointment of Aleister Black.
Vega.
[Percy] If Almas wins tonight you better believe Zelina has a bonus
coming her way.
[Mauro] Andrade "Cien" Almas became NXT Champion
when he conscripted Zelina Vega to become his business associate.
And now-- Whoa, here comes Aleister Black
and there's Zelina Vega again!
Black on the second turnbuckle-- Oh, gets crushed by Almas.
-[Mauro] That is the fourth time. -[Zelina] Come one!
[Zelina] Go get him! Come on!
[Mauro] Vega's apoplectic.
She's sending the NXT Universe into the same state
with her constant interference.
[Nigel] As long as Zelina is on the outside.
This is gonna be two versus one for Aleister Black.
He may have injured his knee, his legs someway.
[Mauro] Black trying to hold on.
Meanwhile, Almas going all the way to the top turnbuckle.
-[Percy] Black is trapped. -[Mauro] Black is in trouble.
[Mauro] Oh, the double stomp on the deltoid
on the right deltoid of Aleister Black.
Will this be enough for Almas to leave new Orleans NXT Champion still?
-[Nigel] Almas follows up. -[Mauro] Oh, running knee.
[Mauro] And that's a dead man press.
[Percy] Oh my goodness.
[Mauro] And her… Zelina Vega's reaction says it all.
[Percy] Aleister Black just will not go away.
[Nigel] Andrade has got to be wondering, what is he gonna do to beat Aleister Black
to stave off this, this is a good start.
Beaut double stomp to the injured deltoid,
quickly trying to follow up.
[Nigel] But to answer your question, he better figure it out quick
because if he let Aleister Black stay in this match
Andrade may lose that title tonight.
[Mauro] How psychologically damaged is Black by the simple fact
that Almas kicked out of the Black Mass.
[Nigel] It got inside his head.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] Nonetheless a lot of damage was done for that,
look how slow Almas is trying to hit the hammerlock DDT.
[Mauro] Looking for that piece de resistance again.
Look at Aleister though, putting him on his shoulders momentarily.
Black avoids the kick of Almas.
Oh, wow. He didn't avoid that.
What a shot by Almas.
[Nigel] Black was trying for the Black Mass.
Almas got him right in the back of the skull.
Black is seriously hurt.
Take a look at this.
[Nigel] You see how his back was turned when that dropkick landed.
No way to protect yourself, no way he knew what was coming.
[Percy] You got to give it to Almas.
He's been one step ahead the majority of this match.
He's clearly done his homework against Aleister Black.
[Nigel] He is certainly deserving of the title.
[Mauro] And you know that in the back of Almas' mind,
he does have retribution for what Aleister Black did to him
in Black's NXT debut one year ago at TakeOver: Orlando,
as Almas lighting up Black with that chop.
[Nigel] What's going through Almas' mind now?
[Mauro] Wait a minute.
-[Nigel] The knee! -[Mauro] Oh, my!
-[Percy] Against the steel post. -[Mauro] Unbelievable impact.
-Aleister, can you continue? -Yes.
[Nigel] Referee asking Black if he could continue.
-[Nigel] I don't know. -[Percy] I didn't see him respond.
[Mauro] His eyes look glazed
as Almas pulling out all the stops and that high impact offense on display.
[Percy] Look at the speed and the force,
just driving Aleister Black into the steel post.
[Nigel] One knee into the shoulder, the other to the front of the face.
[Mauro] Looking for that draping hammerlock DDT.
This is how he won the NXT Championship, how he defeated Gargano.
But this time Aleister Black able to back body drop Almas
to the outside.
A huge, huge opportunity here for Black to buy himself some time.
Unbelievable because that maneuver spell the end for the likes of both
Drew McIntyre and Johnny Gargano in the past.
[Percy] But not Aleister Black.
[Mauro] Black coming off the ropes.
[Percy] Whoa!
[Mauro] Tope con giro by Black!
[Nigel] And look how quick he is to follow up.
[Mauro] But Almas quick to his feet.
Hammerlock DDT!
[Percy] Oh, my god!
-[Percy] Oh! -[Mauro] Black kicks out!
[Mauro] Black kicks out.
Black's title hopes remain alive at New Orleans.
[Percy] Andrade cannot believe what's happening.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] What incredible show of guts and fortitude
from Aleister Black.
[Mauro] Almas has thrown everything at Black. Vega--
[Percy] Wait, wait, look at Vega.
[Mauro] And she tried to do it right there this time.
[Percy] Got it! Black got it!
-[Mauro] Black Mass! -[crowd] One, two, three.
-[Percy] Yes! -[Mauro] And a new champion.
[announcer] Here's your winner and the new NXT Champion,
Aleister Black.
[Percy] Zelina went to the well one too many times it backfired.
And Andrade "Cien" Almas paid for it.
[Mauro] Only fitting that Aleister Black has become
the 13th different NXT Champion
and he did it courtesy of Black Mass
as Andrade "Cien" Almas' title reign fades to black
at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
[Nigel] What a monumental journey for this man.
[Mauro] The biggest win in Aleister Black's career
on the biggest night in NXT history.
New Orleans serves up another instant classic
when it comes to championship matches.
Remember it was here that Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair
had a classic almost 30 years ago.
Tonight it's Aleister Black becoming the new NXT Champion.
[Nigel] Look at that, pure elation on the face of Aleister Black.
Let's take a look now. The closing moments of this match,
Aleister Black hitting the tope con giro on the inside,
but look how quickly turning things around to hit that hammerlock DDT,
somehow Black managed to kick out.
And as the match would continue
it was Vega off the top who would again try to interfere
but in the end would cost the match to her man,
and we would see a new NXT Champion.
[Percy] And just look at the frustration and disbelief
in the face of Zelina Vega.
[Mauro] Vega did everything she could, but it wasn't enough.
Black refers to the NXT title as he--
devil on his back, well give the devil his due,
Aleister Black is finally NXT Champion.
[Percy] The legend and the reign of Andrade "Cien" Almas is no more.
[rock music playing]
[Nigel] What a night for Aleister Black.
We have a new NXT Champion and a new era in NXT.
-Oh. -Sorry about that.
-Rock, Rock, Rock. -We're huge fans.
Thank you so much.
We've been fans since you had hair.
Oh, thank you. Hey, it's a choice.
A damn good one too.
See you, guys.
Rock, Rock, Rock.
-Yo. -We're wrestlers as well actually.
-We're actually doing the tryouts today. -Oh, cool.
What advice would you give us if we wanna…
-Win over the crown. -…win over the crown?
-What are your names again? -My name…
It doesn't matter what your names are!
You walk around here interrupting The Rock.
You, like you haven't the sun in 20 years.
You, like you just stepped out of Oliver Twist.
[British accent] Please, sir, may I have some more advice, sir.
You want some advice? Here's The Rock's advice. Shut your mouth.
What you want? What you want?
How about what The Rock wants? The Rock wants you to go out there
and take the no prisoners, have no regrets, have no fear,
lay it all out on the line.
Because if you don't do that, The Rock is gonna find your friend Mary Poppins.
He's gonna take her umbrella. He's gonna shine it up really nice.
He's gonna turn that sonuvabitch sideways and send it straight up your candy asses.
There's your advice, straight out of the jabroni beating,
pie eating, trail-blazin', eyebrow raisin',
entertaining the globe never hotter talking to two rejects from Harry Potter.
So that's how you win over the crowd.
Yeah.
[narrator] Fighting with my family. Coming soon.
[Mauro] Shinsuke Nakamura is going to WrestleMania.
You've now won the right to face the champion of your choosing.
Have you made a decision?
AJ…
Styles.
[commentator laughs] Yes.
Nakamura and Styles for the WWE Championship.
I could not be more excited.
I want my WrestleMania moment.
I want Shinsuke Nakamura on the grandest stage of them all.
[commentator] A dream match
and it would be nothing short of phenomenal.
[Nigel] There's so much going on already tonight.
One person to pick that I would love to know
is the man who created NXT Triple H.
[Nigel speaks indistinctly]
And it is an exclusive interview
directly off to take up New Orleans on Facebook live.
[Mauro] As we mentioned earlier, NXT general manager William Regal
not here tonight due to illness. So Triple H is in charge.
He's reminding Johnny Gargano that he signed the hold harmless agreement
no matter what happens in this unsanctioned match tonight.
Gargano cannot sue the WWE
or hold the company responsible for what happens.
When you think about rivalry, you think about the Red Sox and the Yankees.
You think about what it takes to really be the best that you can be
at the expense of another.
Tonight, we have best friends turn into bitter enemies,
the most intense rivalry in NXT history.
And tonight it will be Johnny Gargano
and Tommaso Ciampa,
former NXT Tag Team Champions, former best friends,
but tonight, it is not about championships.
It is about Johnny Gargano's livelihood.
If he wins, he's back on the NXT roster.
If Johnny Wrestling loses, he's gone?
Well, yes, of course.
This is as personal as it gets.
[rock music playing]
[soft music playing]
We are DIY…
and we…
we'll have our moment.
[bell ringing]
This is like everything that we've ever worked for.
Over 12 years.
NXT Tag Team titles,
match of the year now, dream come true.
We've traveled the world together for the last 12 years.
DIY is us together.
[soft music still playing]
[crowd cheering] DIY! DIY!
It's gonna be our moment.
This is my moment.
Why?
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd exclaims]
I saw you as my brother, my best friend,
and I didn't think that was something you were even capable of.
You want answers?
You did it to yourself, Johnny,
because you're selfish,
because you're selfish!
Are we even gonna talk about the fact that I tore my damn ACL on that match.
DIY was carried by me.
It's always been about you though. It's never been about us.
I think that's something you conjured up on your sick deluded mind,
but DIY was something special.
I decided finally this isn't our moment.
This is my moment.
When I return, I will be the most dangerous son of a bitch
in all of NXT.
And then, you weren't there.
I need to be Johnny Gargano again.
I need to be Johnny freaking Wrestling.
I thought I had it all figured out
but I didn't.
That thought, it kept coming up.
And then bam!
TakeOver: Philadelphia was just the start.
You're stupid enough to put your career on the line.
If I can't win the NXT Championship, I'll leave NXT.
You're selfish.
And I wanted you to have your moment
and I wanted to rip it straight from your heart.
-[bell ringing] -You cost me my NXT career.
You've taken everything away from me.
[crowd chanting] Johnny Wrestling!
As a man you could strike me down.
He's gone, gone!
But as a symbol…
I will live forever.
My job is on the line.
if I beat you, I get reinstated in NXT.
The reason that this match is unsanctioned
is because NXT knows what I'm going to do to you.
I don't care what happens to me anymore.
I'm coming to New Orleans to beat the hell out of you.
At TakeOver: New Orleans, I take your spirit,
your soul, your heart,
Johnny Wrestling and everything it stands for…
ends.
And I will finally have my moment.
This is my moment.
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
[announcer] The following contest is an unsanctioned match.
Both competitors have signed a hold harmless agreement
stating that there will be no rules.
They will adhere to the jurisdiction of the referee
and the only way to win is by pinfall or submission.
Introducing first
from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, weighing in at 210 pounds,
Tommaso Ciampa.
[crowd booing]
[Mauro] There is no love and no love for this man, Tommaso Ciampa.
322 days ago…
he turned his back on his Tag Team partner
and his best friend.
[crowd chanting] Asshole! Asshole!
[crowd booing]
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[crowd booing]
[crowd chanting] You suck! You suck!
[crowd booing]
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
I am done with this shit.
It's always been my show.
This is my moment!
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
-[rock music start playing] -[crowd cheering]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] And his opponent from Cleveland, Ohio,
weighing in at 199 pounds,
Johnny Gargano.
[Percy] Better believe Johnny only had one thing on his mind
and that's retribution, that's payback.
He looked at Tommaso Ciampa as a brother, a best friend.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Mauro] And it has all come down to this, an unsanctioned match
between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano.
Gargano tweeted earlier tonight, "Everything has led to this."
Not only did Ciampa ruin a former NXT Tag Team Championship duo
but he is trying to take away Johnny Gargano's livelihood.
-Ring the bell! -[bell ringing]
[Mauro] And with the bell this unsanctioned match begins.
Anything goes.
The only way-- The only reason the referee is there is to count three.
[Nigel] You got to remember, with that hold harmless agreement,
Ciampa has a key to do whatever he wants to Johnny Gargano
without any repercussions.
[Mauro] The tension palpable here at the Smoothie King Center
in New Orleans.
[Percy] You got to think too whatever happens at the end for Tommaso,
he'll be here tomorrow…
[Mauro] Ciampa and Gargano staring daggers into each other
before they unleash their wrath upon each other.
Gargano all over Ciampa,
Thesz press, ground-and-pound.
[Nigel] Gargano is furious.
[Mauro] And remember, this is not--
Oh! Slingshot spear.
This is a fight.
[Nigel] This is gonna be brutal.
Of victory only Ciampa,
revengeful Gargano.
[Mauro] And the southpaw Gargano putting the boots now to Tommaso Ciampa.
Unleashing 322 days of pent up rage.
[Percy] Oh, my goodness.
[Mauro] No rules.
The referee letting Johnny Gargano get his pound of flesh
because again, the ref only to be there to determine the winner,
via pinfall or submission.
And so far Gargano a step ahead
of his former best friend turned arch-Nemesis Tommaso Ciampa.
Gargano willing to do whatever it takes
including wiping out Ciampa with that tope suicida.
[Percy] Again, 10 months later,
nowhere to run, nowhere to hide,
once that bell rings, Tommaso Ciampa is all his.
[Nigel] Here it is the aggression of Gargano early in the match.
[crowd chanting] Johnny Wrestling!
[Nigel] He has the aggressive advantage right now, Percy.
But as this match goes on,
like I said, any brutal thought that Tommaso Ciampa has,
he could enact without any repercussion.
[Mauro] The vitriol for one another, that closes through each other's veins,
that's what has powered this ultimate beef,
and now Ciampa…
beginning to beat down Johnny Gargano.
Gargano with the reversal!
And he sends Ciampa into what will surely be
an inhospitable NXT universe for the Sicilian psychopath.
Wow, Gargano wiping out Ciampa.
Gargano knows this is his last opportunity…
to get back into NXT to continue to live his childhood dream.
[Nigel] Well, let's be honest, Mauro, how many opportunities he had thus far
and let's be honest, he's failed every time.
[Percy] But how hard does Johnny work to keep coming back and coming back.
If anybody deserving of it, it's him.
[Mauro] Speaking of Gargano and back, his back gets smashed into the barricade
by Ciampa.
Oh no, Ciampa--
Oh! Dropping Gargano across the barricade.
Listen to this sickening thuds.
[Nigel] Look at the face of Ciampa, look how angry he is.
Absolutely furious.
[Mauro] Whatever you think about Tommaso Ciampa,
make no mistake about it.
He is one of the most dangerous superstars in NXT.
[Nigel] And is in a match where he can do whatever he wants
without anybody stopping him.
It doesn't matter how much damage, it doesn't matter how hurt
Johnny Gargano is, they can't stop the match.
[Mauro] Oh!
Devastating backbreaker by Ciampa on Gargano.
Do something you piece of garbage!
[Nigel] He was begging Gargano to do something.
[Mauro] Ciampa has a license to brutalize in this unsanctioned match
and he is looking to make the most of it.
He tweeted out that in Gargano's absence,
he wants everyone to learn that Gargano's selfishness
does indeed come with a price.
Oh, but Gargano…
giving Ciampa receipt momentarily before he eats that kick
and look at Ciampa, guys, exposing that concrete.
[Nigel] Trying to up the ante here. Do you think--
Here's a question, perhaps Gargano burned himself out,
he had to be so angry, so full of energy coming into this match.
[Mauro] The proverbial adrenaline dump but Ciampa unloading that right hand.
Oh, man.
With that exposed concrete staring Johnny Gargano in the face.
[Percy] Don't do this.
[Mauro] Gargano fights off the suplex attempt.
[Nigel] Kicking his legs to try and bring that momentum down.
[Mauro] Oh, Gargano lands on his feet.
Gets up on the apron.
Oh, and a kick right to the side of Tommaso Ciampa's head
as Johnny Gargano fights his way back into this unsanctioned match.
-[Mauro] Oh god! -[Nigel] Watch out!
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
[man shouting indistinctly]
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] I don't know if we're still on…
but Johnny Gargano is on with very bad intentions.
He hates Tommaso Ciampa.
Who do you hate more than a friend who stabs you in the back.
And now he's got the chance like Oscar Wilde says,
"A true friend stabs you in the front."
Fighting back and forth.
Trying to use the TV monitor to his advantage.
Someone is gonna get hurt badly.
[Percy] Oh, my god!
[Nigel] This is hard to watch.
A huge suplex to the floor.
Ciampa landed with the back of his head.
[crowd chanting] Johnny Wrestling!
[Nigel] What are both these men willing to do to win this match?
[Mauro] Nigel, we are trying to restore order
here at the broadcast table, great job in documenting the barbarism
as we revisit what just transpired here on our broadcast table.
Tommaso Ciampa suplexing Johnny Gargano off the table.
Unsanctioned match, no rules.
The enmity has reached an all-time high between Gargano and Ciampa.
[crowd booing]
[Nigel] I got to be honest.
I am scared for Johnny Gargano right now.
[Mauro] Oh man.
-[Mauro] Tommaso Ciampa… -[Percy] Oh, come on. Oh!
[Mauro] Ciampa driving Johnny Gargano through part of the broadcast table.
[crowd booing]
[Nigel] Tommaso Ciampa has taken over.
He will not be stopped.
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
[Mauro] The NXT universe, making their feelings first.
Tommaso Ciampa…
known for the entire world.
Ciampa taking glee in this amount of punishment
that he's meeting out to someone he used to call a brother.
-[Percy] Oh. -[Mauro] And wow, he's…
treating him like cane tree today.
Unsanctioned matches degenerated into bedlam, Nigel.
[Nigel] A sick smile on the face of the sadistic Ciampa.
[Percy] How much more of this can Johnny take,
every ounce of rage and hatred is being felt by Tommaso Ciampa.
[Nigel] It doesn't matter.
-[Percy] Oh! -[Mauro] Oh, god.
[Nigel] Tommaso Ciampa is in control of when this match ends.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Nigel] We heard the referee Drake Wuertz talk before about perhaps
making the wrong call before he was asked if it comes down to it.
Can you make the right call again?
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Nigel] Just stomping on the hand now.
He is decimating Johnny Gargano.
[crowd chanting] Asshole! Asshole!
[Mauro] A Ciampa Tsunami tearing through NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
And the referee cannot stop this match.
Johnny Gargano signed on for this.
He signed the release and he is now paying what could be the ultimate price.
Remember, if Ciampa defeats Gargano,
Johnny Wrestling is gone from NXT for good.
[Nigel] Look at Gargano flung into the corner.
That's really incredible.
[Mauro] Johnny Gargano showcasing that…
fortitude, that guile,
trying to get back into this match but Ciampa one step ahead.
One diabolical step ahead.
Gargano's career almost went up in smoke right there.
[Percy] With all the punishment Gargano's taking,
he just kicked out at one.
You have to think that's gonna infuriate Tommaso.
[Mauro] Gargano desperately reaching for the beard of Ciampa!
Ciampa with those piston-like right hands.
[Nigel] Trying for the clover hedge--
cloverleaf, if he can step over.
[Mauro] And Johnny needs a four leaf clover right now.
His luck has to change in this unsanctioned match.
[Nigel] It is a pinfall or a submission
but there is no way Johnny Gargano is going to quit.
Not in this match, not to Tommaso Ciampa.
[Mauro] Johnny fell in love with sports entertainment
at the age of eight.
He has scratched, and clawed, and worked judiciously
to get here to NXT.
He and Ciampa found success as the Tag Team DIY
but for the last year, Johnny Gargano has had to look in his rear view mirror.
The rebel heart facing the black card here at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
And Ciampa…
Look, Gargano has made it to the rope but the referee can't break it.
Johnny, Johnny, there's no rope break.
What do you say, Johnny?
[Mauro] Gargano finally able to break free
but, Nigel, talk about the psychological toll
that Ciampa took on Johnny Gargano--
…just stomping on him.
-[Percy] Oh, my god. -[Mauro] Ciampa.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] Brutal.
[Percy] Tommaso Ciampa is absolutely sick.
[Mauro] They don't call him the Sicilian psychopath for nothing
and he is on a path of destruction here in this unsanctioned match.
He wants to eliminate Johnny Gargano from his life
and from the NXT roster for good.
[Percy] You can clearly see by the look on Ciampa's face
that he's enjoying what he's doing to Johnny Gargano.
[Mauro] I'm sure that Tommaso Ciampa spent many nights
visualizing this specific scenario
and relishing the hell that he is putting Johnny Gargano through.
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
[Mauro] Johnny Gargano can't even get up to his feet, you guys.
Oh, and Tommaso Ciampa with a running knee lift!
Striking Gargano on the side of his head.
[Nigel] You heard Ciampa asking the referee, "Did you move it?"
Clearly had something under the ring.
Oh, look at that.
[Mauro] Ciampa. Now…
That's… that's reaching a whole new level down.
[Nigel] He just took that poor guy's crutches.
[Mauro] And Ciampa has been leaning on those crutches for a year.
Now, waving bye-bye sadistically to Johnny Gargano.
[Nigel] The question is, what is Gargano saying goodbye to?
[Mauro] And remember
the crutch is what Ciampa used to attack Johnny Gargano,
when Ciampa reemerged at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia
after Gargano gave it all against Andrade "Cien" Almas
and then with Gargano's NXT career up for grabs,
Ciampa attacked him again.
Will this be the final nail in the proverbial coffin
of one of NXT's most popular superstars?
Ciampa wants Gargano to look him in the eye.
No, come on. Oh!
Gargano avoids it.
Oh, and that time Ciampa missed.
Johnny Gargano fired up.
[Nigel] Somehow, Gargano able to avoid…
[Mauro] But Gargano took his eye off Ciampa for a split second,
eyeing the crutch, and almost paid for it.
Oh! But it was Ciampa who paid for his dirty deeds
with that vicious kick.
[Nigel] Did you hear that?
Right on the side of the jaw and the ear.
[crowd chanting] Johnny Wrestling! Johnny Wrestling!
[Nigel] But Gargano has got to enact a lot of punishment
to get equal with Ciampa at this point.
[Mauro] NXT Universe sold out, Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Rallying behind Johnny Wrestling,
Gargano has an opportunity now to meet out his own brand of punishment.
How many hours has Gargano laid awake at night,
thinking about this scenario?
[Percy] Now he's in the fight of his life, trying to protect his career.
[Mauro] He knocks Ciampa off his feet.
-[Percy] Oh! -[Mauro] Oh, but Ciampa…
[Mauro] …able to buy some time to recover.
[Nigel] This is gonna get dirty now.
The more tired these competitors get, they just put out all the stops,
whatever every dirty trick they can use,
they're gonna do it to get the advantage.
[Mauro] Gargano going from an instinct classic against Andrade
at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia
to the fight of his life here against Tommaso Ciampa
and this unsanctioned match, at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
And Gargano connects with that kick.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Nigel] Bad intentions.
[Mauro] Sling shot.
Ciampa fighting off--
Look at the strength of Tommaso Ciampa.
[Nigel] Oh no.
-[Nigel] He's already been… -[Percy] Come on, man, no.
-[Percy] No! -[Mauro] Oh, my god.
[Mauro] Oh, Gargano able to escape. Gargano now looking for…
revenge on Ciampa.
[Percy exclaims] Oh!
[Mauro] Oh, my god.
Under that exposed concrete.
[Percy] Did you hear the thud?
[Mauro] Ciampa's back got splat on the concrete.
NXT Universe is stunned by what they've just seen.
[crowd chanting] You deserve it!
[Percy] Talk about…
talk about a momentum shift, take a look at this,
Tommaso Ciampa, back forced into the concrete.
[Mauro] And Nigel, we try to stay as unbiased as we can
but I have to echo the sentiments of the NXT Universe.
Tommaso Ciampa deserves that.
[Nigel] I don't know if I can agree with that.
Did you hear the sound, the splat of his back…
the back of his cranium.
[Mauro] How many times have we heard the sick thud of the crutch
crushing Johnny Gargano's back.
Johnny Gargano doing what he has waited a long time to do,
322 days.
[Nigel] All I can say is, as a former competitor,
I just want this match to be over as soon as possible.
[Mauro] It definitely isn't for the faint of heart
nor was it expected to be, especially with the stipulation
that this is an unsanctioned match.
Again, Johnny Gargano…
just signed the document…
that he would not hold WWE responsible
for what transpired in this unsanctioned match.
And again, Johnny is still not a member of the NXT roster.
Should he exorcise the demon that is Tommaso Ciampa,
he would regain employment
but should Ciampa put Johnny Gargano out of his misery,
Gargano would be gone.
Oh, they're both going for the crutch.
And a tug-of-war ensues.
[Nigel] Oh, the irony…
the significant of that crutch.
[Mauro] Who wins this tug-of-war could very well emerge victorious
in this unsanctioned match.
[Nigel] A clear metaphor with a conflict.
[Mauro] And Johnny Gargano…
has the crutch in his possession.
Ciampa!
And he waylays him. Here comes Johnny Wrestling.
[Percy] Swinging for the fences on Tommaso.
[Mauro] Crushing Ciampa with the crutch.
[Nigel] There is nothing metaphorical about that.
[Percy] How's that feel, Ciampa?
[Nigel] At his injured knee.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] He went for the previously injured knee.
[Mauro] Oh, Ciampa deposits Gargano to the outside,
allowing himself an opportunity…
to get the blood flowing back into his right leg,
his bad knee feeling the effects of that attack.
[crowd exclaims]
[Mauro] What a shot.
Crutch to the cranium.
Slingshot DDT, slingshot DDT.
-[Mauro] Is Johnny back in NXT? -[Percy] Johnny's in!
[Mauro exclaims] Oh!
Wow, so close.
Man, Johnny Gargano,
you have to wonder what he is thinking about.
His family having to go through this with him,
his wife Candice LeRae,
and the legion of fans that he has here in NXT.
[Nigel] This is hard enough for me to watch.
[Percy] It's all about his future.
And if he has one, if he wins here tonight.
[crowd chanting] Johnny Wrestling! Johnny Wrestling!
[Mauro] Oh, wow, Johnny Gargano exposing the turnbuckle.
And he is now serving notice to Tommaso Ciampa
that two can play the brutal game.
[Percy] Hey, desperate times calls for desperate measures.
[Mauro] An exposed turnbuckle.
Will Tommas… Tommaso Ciampa be…
introduced?
-[Nigel] Oh, no. -[Mauro] Wow.
[Mauro] Gargano looking for the lawn dart and stand-- Oh!
Gargano goes face first into the top turnbuckle.
[Nigel] What's he gonna…
[Mauro] Gargano able to break free on the apron.
Ciampa blocks that kick.
[Mauro exclaims] Oh!
Oh, wow, that elbow right to the jaw.
[Nigel] I think I saw a tooth fly.
[Mauro] Just a brutal contest,
the number one trend worldwide
#NXTtakeover.
Wherever you may be watching around the world on the WWE Network,
I wanted to say we hope you're enjoying this unsanctioned match…
But how can you enjoy this level of brutality?
Oh!
[Mauro speaks indistinctly]
Johnny's career can be over right there.
Now, he gets out, he gets out.
[crowd applauding]
[Mauro] Man, does Johnny Gargano have heart
with a capital H in?
Say what you will about the tactics of Tommaso Ciampa…
but there is a reason he is feared.
And we are seeing that here tonight.
[Nigel] A strong knee from Ciampa and following it up quickly.
But you talked about it, Mauro, the heart of Gargano somehow kicked out.
This man refuses to say quit.
[Mauro] Every time Ciampa pins Gargano's shoulders to the mat,
we are potentially three seconds away of saying good bye to Johnny forever.
[crowd booing]
-[Nigel] What? -[Mauro] What a…
[Percy] Come on.
[Mauro] Wow, there's Ciampa bringing back…
a mannerism of the Tag Team DIY.
And now locking to put him away. Is this it for Johnny Gargano?
God, no!
Ciampa.
There is no… no depth that he is willing to…
to just reach in order to try to get the best of Johnny Gargano.
[Percy] How is Gargano staying alive?
How is he continuing to fight in this match?
[Mauro] There's a reason he's called Johnny Wrestling.
I've… I've said it time and time again and it bears repeating here.
His DNA needs to be checked because Johnny is not your regular human being,
then again, neither is Tommaso Ciampa.
[Nigel] If this match continues, they may have to check his pulse.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Mauro] Ciampa back to his feet,
Gargano having trouble to do the same thing.
[Nigel] Ciampa adjusting that knee brace, perhaps thinking of using it
as an offensive weapon.
Both men just exhausted.
[Mauro] A physically taxing battle in this unsanctioned match
to culminate what has been a tremendous night of action
here at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans…
on the eve of WrestleMania.
Tommaso Ciampa looking to finally seal Johnny Gargano's fate.
Johnny Gargano with an escape.
-[Mauro] Oh, man. -[Percy] Tommaso's still up on his feet.
[Mauro] Punishing clothesline.
Whacked Gargano with a hold of the beard. Wow.
[Nigel] This is just incredible.
[Mauro] Oh, Gargano with the reversal.
-[Percy] Oh! -[Mauro] Oh, my.
Ciampa almost taking Gargano's head over that clothesline, now, has him up.
Gargano reverses it,
ducks under the right hand.
Oh, my, Gargano!
[Nigel] Tried for the Reverse Rana but he didn't get all of it.
-[Nigel] He got enough. -[Mauro] But he spiked Ciampa.
[Mauro] And Gargano comes off the ropes.
And Gargano now looking for the Garga-no escape!
-[Nigel] Come and get it! -[Mauro] Johnny Gargano's future in NXT.
-[Percy] Tommaso is gonna tap. -[Mauro] Is Ciampa gonna tap?
[Mauro] Is there no escape for Tommaso Ciampa?
[Nigel] What must be going through Ciampa's head now?
[Mauro] You wonder what's going through the mind of Johnny,
knowing he's one tap away from being, once again, gainfully employed.
[Nigel] The humiliation for having to quit.
[Mauro] After repeated brutal assaults, heinous attacks,
Johnny Gargano now within reach.
But then, so is Ciampa.
Ciampa's within reach but remember…
[Percy] It does not matter.
[Mauro] The referee cannot break it and Ciampa is still in the clutches
of that Garga-no escape.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Mauro] Ciampa on the verge of tapping.
[Percy] Oh, oh!
[Mauro] Ciampa digging away at the eyes of Johnny Gargano.
What a sadistic son of a bitch.
[Nigel] Whatever it takes, Mauro. whatever it takes.
[Percy] At that point of match, well, Tommaso was all about survival.
[Mauro] Johnny Gargano had Tommaso Ciampa on the verge of tapping.
Ciampa wanting to dig Gargano's eyes out of his skull.
[Percy] Take the man's career, ruin his life? Will he take his sight too?
[Mauro] Hostilities like we've never seen here in an NXT ring
between again two gentlemen who…
achieved greatness as an NXT Tag Team.
But then… Oh, and Ciampa feeling the effects
of what has been…
an incredible battle.
[Nigel] Why do you suppose he's taking that wrist tape off?
[Mauro] He probably wants to use the tape to try to neutralize Johnny Gargano.
And that's exactly what he's going to do.
-[Mauro] Oh, man. -[Percy] This is dirty.
[Mauro] Well, Gargano doing a good job of valiantly trying to keep Ciampa
from wrapping that tape around his throat
and now Gargano unleashing left hands.
Ciampa trying to come back.
[Nigel] Both men are handcuffed together now.
[Mauro] And talk about irony,
talk about a metaphor there.
These two used to be joined together in DIY, that Tag Team now DOA.
And well, Gargano's future could be the same
if he's unable to vanquish Ciampa tonight.
[Nigel] Well, as you see, it's just incredible.
[Mauro] I can't believe the amount of punishment
that both Ciampa and Gargano are absorbing, closed fists,
all of it legal in this unsanctioned match.
[Percy] I do not understand how both competitors are still on their feet.
[Mauro exclaims] Oh!
Big left hand by Gargano.
It's about Johnny Gargano's livelihood. It's about his career.
With every punch he lands, he knows he gets one step closer
but then Ciampa meeting him punch for punch, or is he?
Gargano…
Gargano building momentum.
[Nigel] He's going up.
-[Nigel] Oh, kicked him low. -[Mauro] Wow, low blow.
[Mauro] Ciampa nails Gargano's self to the equator.
Would you expect anything less?
-[Percy] Oh! -[Mauro] Oh, my god.
[Mauro] What a shot with the crutch
and Ciampa has Gargano up.
-[Percy] Oh, my… -[crowd exclaims]
[Mauro] The career maybe over for Johnny Gargano.
[Percy] Oh, my goodness.
Oh, my goodness.
[Mauro] How the hell is Johnny Wrestling still in this match?
If he is going out tonight,
if his career is over,
he intends to go out in a blaze of glory.
[Nigel] There was no way he was going to let Ciampa beat him
with a move that he always used to use as a singles competitor.
Ciampa signified, "The Tag Team was done,
the friendship was done. I'm back to a singles competitor."
Gargano says, "Fair enough, so am I."
[crowd chatting indistinctly]
[Mauro] The silence deafening.
Sense of discomfort here, watching…
these two warriors.
[crowd chatting indistinctly]
This…
this is my moment.
[Mauro] Oh!
Ciampa thought that this was his moment while instead it's Gargano's moment.
Oh, my god.
Waiting up, Gargano--
A superkick by Johnny Wrestling!
Gargano with the resilience,
the tenacity.
Gargano has Ciampa up,
over shoulders, and now…
-[Mauro shouts indistinctly] -[crowd exclaims]
Ciampa just went face first into that exposed turnbuckle.
Superkick, Gargano.
[Percy] Do what you got to do. Way to go home.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] Oh, and it's Gargano's turn now.
Oh!
-[Mauro] Back press. -[crowd] One, two…
[Percy] Oh, my…
[Mauro] Tommaso Ciampa.
What a kick out by Tommaso Ciampa.
[Percy] Oh, man.
[Mauro] The NXT Universe enthralled,
in shock, in disbelief
by what they are witnessing in this unsanctioned match.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] They both got to be going on empty.
[crowd applauding]
[Mauro] Johnny Gargano…
climbing the turnbuckle.
Ciampa lunging at his foot
to try to keep him from getting all the way to the top.
Both physically spent…
…mentally fatigued,
and yet this unsanctioned match rages on.
They could come down to fatigue
costing either Tommaso Ciampa or Johnny Gargano.
Ciampa has Gargano in a [indistinct] position.
-[Mauro] Oh, no. -[Percy] Oh, boy.
[Mauro] Oh, god.
No.
Gargano desperately trying to avoid being on the receiving end
of that high-risk maneuver.
[crowd cheering]
[Nigel] I am stunned by the brutality.
[Mauro] Oh, wow.
[crowd cheering]
[Mauro] Both Gargano and Ciampa's faces are swollen messes,
and yet…
Ciampa!
Mamma mia, on the injured knee.
Ciampa willing to absorb the pain…
[Percy] Kick out!
[Mauro] Oh, wow, I thought it was over.
I thought Johnny Gargano's NXT career was done,
so did Ciampa.
[Percy] How does Johnny continue to do this?
[crowd cheering]
[Percy] Ciampa's trying to undo… trying to come out of that knee brace.
[Mauro] Ciampa feeling the effects…
in that surgically-repaired right knee.
The injury that kept him on the sidelines for almost a year.
But a year in which he became an expert troll on social media.
His target Johnny Gargano.
And now Ciampa exposing the knee.
No protection for him or Johnny Wrestling.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Mauro] No.
Oh! Johnny Gargano using the brace.
Johnny Gargano just used Ciampa's brace on Tommaso Ciampa.
Gargano waylaying Ciampa's knee with the brace
and now Gargano has the crutch.
He could probably use it to help himself get up,
but now instead, he positions it in the corner.
He's now bending that crutch,
breaking apart that crutch,
very much like he would love to do to Tommaso Ciampa.
What is going through the mind of Johnny Gargano?
-[Mauro] Oh! -[Nigel] Wait.
[Mauro] Oh, I thought he was gonna…
-[Percy] Why'd he stop? -[Mauro] I thought he was gonna…
[Percy] Why'd he stop?
[Mauro] What the--
Why is he stopping?
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Mauro] Gargano and Ciampa met at the opening round
of the Cruiserweight Classic.
There was a moment in that match where Ciampa had an opportunity
to put away Gargano in similar fashion.
He refused to do so, it cost them the match. And now…
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
-[Percy] Does he have any mercy? -[Mauro] I can't believe what I'm seeing.
[Percy] Oh, oh!
[Mauro] Gargano with the Garga-no escape as Ciampa was trying to sucker punch him
with that brace.
Is Ciampa gonna be forced to tap?
[Nigel speaks indistinctly]
[Mauro] Oh, an STF.
STF with the knee brace!
-[Mauro] And he's tapping! -[bell ringing]
[rock music starts playing]
[announcer] Here is your winner, by submission,
who is now reinstated to NXT,
Johnny Gargano.
[Mauro] How symbolic is it that Johnny used Tommaso Ciampa's brace
to help Johnny Gargano regain employment in NXT.
I have never seen anything like we've just witnessed
in this unsanctioned match.
And Johnny Gargano now will get to celebrate
with his loving wife, Candice LeRae.
They have been put through hell by Tommaso Ciampa.
That is all now behind them.
[Nigel] A show of brutality and aggression.
Arguably [indistinct] I have never seen before.
[Mauro] An emotional release here for Gargano and his wife Candice.
And Johnny Gargano's never felt better than he feels right now,
the biggest win of his career.
[Nigel] What an incredible display for both individuals.
Ciampa willing to do whatever it took to gain the advantage.
He's used it before and he used it again, a crutch to the back.
A match would continue.
He used to do it, crutch at Ciampa.
Powerbomb into the double knees,
everybody thought this was the end of Gargano's career,
but it was not.
[Mauro] Gargano was able to project his heart and his fortitude on Ciampa.
[Nigel] Projecting his boot through the jaw of Ciampa,
but Ciampa again would not say quit.
And here trying to [indistinct]
Powerbomb double knees from the middle rope.
And Gargano refused to kick yet again.
Fellas, I can barely talk.
These guys must have been so absolutely exhausted.
And finally Gargano with the brace to the injured knee of Ciampa,
using it for added leverage for the STF.
And by the grace of god, this war was over.
[Mauro] And Johnny Gargano's purgatory has ended.
[rock music playing]
[Mauro] An emotional Johnny Wrestling
as it all begins to set in…
after being physically and mentally tormented
by Tommaso Ciampa.
Johnny Gargano has exorcised his demon.
Johnny Gargano is once again an NXT superstar.
And the good times will continue to roll
tomorrow at WrestleMania.
[rock music playing]
Subtitles: Camila Hernandez inue to roll