10 Greatest NXT Matches of All Time

#1 Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano (Takeover: Philadelphia)

Almas attempts a hammerlock DDT on Gargano at Takeover: Philadelphia

The greatest match in the history of NXT took place on January 27, 2018 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. NXT Champion Andrade Cien Almas, a Mexican lucha libre star who spent time under a mask in CMLL and NJPW before joining WWE, defended his strap against the spitfire Johnny Gargano, who at the time was just starting to rebound from a losing streak caused by mental affliction generated by his ex-tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa. With Ciampa out of the picture due to injury and Gargano having mustered the fortitude to overcome his anguish and secure the number one contendership, Gargano's chances of reaching the top of NXT by winning its greatest accolade seemed like a strong likelihood.

Almas entered the arena flanked by a Mariachi band and his "business partner", the beautiful but conniving Zelina Vega, who had a habit of interfering in Almas' matches despite her clients incredible talent. Vega was convinced that since Almas had already beaten Gargano at Takeover: Brooklyn III that there was no chance Johnny Wrestling could overcome the momentum she and Almas had amassed as a unit. Gargano nevertheless put on the fight of his life, and for more than 30 minutes he and Almas engaged in an ridiculously outstanding, utterly insane match that surpassed every other that NXT had ever produced.

There was storytelling including callbacks and to the Brooklyn III match (Zelina Vega throwing a DIY t-shirt at Gargano to distract him worked in New York, not so much in Philly), amazing athleticism including a double moonsault from Almas and a reverse hurricanrana from Gargano, good striking including a stiff-looking elbow from Almas and swift kicks from Gargano, and excellent ring psychology from both wrestlers such as the selling of desperation and Vega's outside interference, which led to the suspense of a Gargano near-fall and ultimately, a beatdown from Gargano's real-life wife Candice LeRae, who was sitting in the first row.

Gargano vs. Almas pit an ex-indie blue chipper with a heart of gold (think Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan) against a lucha libre star who had been groomed for wrestling success since he was a teenager and the results spoke for themselves. Though Almas went on to win the match clean (and fan favourite Gargano was subsequently attacked by a returning Tommaso Ciampa), both stars more than proved themselves capable of elevating NXT into the stratosphere of in-ring excellence, with 5 stars from Dave Meltzer as a bonus.