10 Greatest NXT Matches of All Time

#6 Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn (Takeover: R-Evolution)

Sami Zayn earns the NXT championship to the delight of fans

At Takeover: Fatal 4 -Way, Sami Zayn, the heart and soul of Full Sail University in 2014, nearly became NXT Champion in a four corner main even between himself, Tyson Kidd, Tyler Breeze and Adrian Neville, until the very last split second when Neville, desperate to retain his title at all costs, pulled the referee out the ring just before the 3 count, later winning the match with his Red Arrow finisher when Zayn couldn't make the save. Although the two had been friends up to this point, tension began to naturally build between them.

Although Zayn went on to honourably earn another title shot following a 3-match winning streak, he would fail to win the big one again as Neville played possum during their first singles encounter, pretending to be injured to get Zayn to lower his defenses so Neville could hit a quick rollup for the win. Zayn, responding to accusations that he was "too nice", finally challenged Neville to one last match in which he agreed to leave NXT if he lost again.

The match was an incredible display of athletic skill as Zayn and Neville, both indie veterans who frequented promotions like PWG before coming to WWE, put on an absolute clinic featuring amazing sequences, counters, and high-flying moves. By the end, a babyface Zayn, NXT title in hand with an inadvertently knocked out referee down, decided to do the honorable thing and defeat Neville the honest way, securing praise from the crowd as he finally won the NXT Championship fair and square.

An embrace from Neville himself and an outpouring of love from the locker room (including from Zayn's old indie pal Kevin Owens, who debuted earlier in the night) followed, but the feel-good moment would lead to an epic cliffhanger when Owens attacked Zayn out of jealous spite, setting up Zayn's first title defense against his very best friend.