3. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa in an Unsanctioned match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans
The lead-in to this match was a classic splitting of two men who were tag team partners and friends. When Ciampa decided to turn his back on Gargano it set the stage for the match at NXT TakeOver: Orleans that would be “unsanctioned” in manner. Essentially, this meant the two men were going to destroy each other.
Ciampa entered to a chorus of boos and chants of “you suck,” solidifying his thermonuclear heat with the crowd. Gargano entered all business. The two wasted no time throwing hands. Finesse would be thrown out the window; this was going to be a fight.
The match found its way into the crowd, with Gargano throwing everything he could at Ciampa including his own body. Each man punished each other back and forth for over 45 minutes, with Ciampa suffering a nasty swollen eye in the process. Finally, mercifully, Gargano picked up the win by applying an STF and wrapping Ciampa’s own knee brace around his face.
Successfully tapping his former partner allowed Gargano to be reinstated to NXT as an active competitor and gave him a measure of revenge against Ciampa. It also gave wrestling fans a match that’ll never be forgotten.