If you watch indy wrestling, chances are you have been able to sit through a long match. Chances are if it was a long match, maybe 30-to-45 minutes, you saw a lot of action. If you saw a lot of action, you probably saw some wrestling, some high spots, some big impact spots, and chances are, if you saw all that, you’ll be able to say you saw a gorgeous tale unfold before your very eyes.
Also, Johnny Gargano. You know, “Johnny Wrestling.” Does it surprise anyone he shows up more than once for Match of the Year? The guy busts his tuchas every match. EVERY. MATCH. Whether it’s mid-card, high-card, low-card, or Main-Freakin’-Event, he delivers. He always delivers, and this is what we have come to expect. We don’t expect one performance to be better than another, we know he will deliver what the match dictates. Sure, there might have been a few times the story had him do something over the top, but he makes it fit, and makes it work for what it has to.
The main event of NXT TakeOver: New Orleans was nearly 40 minutes of action against Ciampa. This comes off the heels of Gargano being booted from NXT. This dubbed as an “unsanctioned match” would also be the test for Johnny Wrestling to be reinstated. This is where the feud was reaching its peak, almost an old school Taz vs. Sabu feud. When Gargano and Ciampa get their hands on each other, its epic.
Epic it was. We saw signature moves being amplified with top rope leaps, uses of concrete floors, with crutches and braces as weapons. As the match progressed, the moves, the holds, every shot taken became bigger, heavier, you could feel the drama and the tension increase with the length of the match. As they tired, the fans tired. I recall watching, standing on my feet, but there was a moment where they were slugging it out and just leaning on each other, I felt exhausted, I looked at the fans, they look tired. But when the action kicked back up, BOOM, fans kicking and screaming with the action.
Very few times I could say I felt the story and the drama. We all know this crap is scripted, but when you have a good story, and two GODDAMN GOOD WRESTLERS, you will feel every impact, every toss, every landing.
From top rope lungblowers, powerbombs on concrete, all the way to a knee-brace-assisted Garga-No-Escape submission, this match easily goes in the unforgettable category.
