NXT TakeOver New Orleans Rumors: Andrade 'Cien' Almas to Battle Aleister Black in Main Match
Rumors are strong that Andrade "Cien" Almas will be defending the NXT Championship against Aleister Black as the main match for WWE NXT "TakeOver: New Orleans," which is happening on April 7, Saturday, at the Smoothie King Center.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Almas was originally slated to defend his title against Lars Sullivan. However, the 29-year-old wrestler seems to be missing in action lately.
Sullivan has not been seen in recent live events, and reports say he was also absent from the NXT television tapings held in Atlanta last week, from Feb. 1 to 2.
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Meltzer was clueless about what happened to Sullivan, who was last seen in NXT tapings last Jan. 4. Sullivan has also been relatively quiet on social media lately, although he recently posted a cryptic message on Twitter on Feb. 5.
"Lars Sullivan is DA MAN," he said. Could this be related to the upcoming NXT TakeOver? Fans might have to wait a bit to find out.
Following last week's unprecedented two straight nights of taping, there is one more taping back at NXT's Full Sail Live homebase, but it looks like most of the main matches for New Orleans are all set.
As mentioned earlier, Almas and Black will battle it out for the main match, after Black continued his winning streak last week. Now that this is out, critics say Black is better built for the main match after all. With his history against Almas going back to his debut at the pre-"WrestleMania" event last year, their battle should give a better storyline for the championship.
As for the women's title, Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler are facing off on the ring.
It also looks like NXT is hoping to have a battle between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. Ciampa got a lot of heat in previous matches after throwing shade against fan favorite Johnny Wrestling. Analysts believe Gargano will get an unsanctioned revenge match against the Sicilian Psychopath.
