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NXT's recent move to the USA Network in the latest jewel in the crown of what has become WWE's third brand.
Having originally started in 2010 as a sort of reality-style program, NXT would soon merge its operations with the company's then feeder territory Florida Championship Wrestling to bring the WWE development process in house.
The move would end up being a stroke of genius by Vince McMahon - and more specifically Triple H. NXT would begin producing some of the best matches across WWE, as well as building a whole raft of fresh talent, such as Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt.
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However, it wasn't until the launch of the WWE Network in 2014 that the brand would take itself to the next level with the launch of their NXT Takeover events.
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NXT TakeOver drew more eyes to the product with its PPV-style format. Having originally been held at Full Sail University, Takeover would eventually go on the road to the point the events now run on the same weekend as big shows like Wrestlemania and Summerslam.
To date, there have been 26 TakeOver's, in which there has been some of the best WWE matches in the last decade.
As a result, here are 10 of my favourite all-time NXT TakeOver matches.
#10 The Revival vs DIY - NXT TakeOver: Toronto
NXT Takeover has always put a spotlight on tag team wrestling.
Arguably, the height of this came in 2016 when The Revival and DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) raged war over the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Three months prior, the teams met at the second Takeover event in Brooklyn, in which The Revival used underhanded tactics to score a submission victory.
It was such tactics that helped establish Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson as the first-ever two-time NXT tag champions.
The final meeting between the teams in Toronto wouldn't see such actions occur, as they would settle their feud in a two-out-of-three falls match.
Once more, the crowd were all in on the fan favourite team of Gargano and Ciampa, even more so after The Revival once again targeted Johnny Wrestling to go one fall up.
DIY would manage to square things up before the final fall resulted in a succession of near falls for both sides that only added to the raw emotion there was around the contest.
The closing to the bout is one that is still clear in the memories of many NXT fans, with both members of DIY locking in their respective submission finishes. Dawson and Wilder would claw desperately to try and survive, grabbing hold of each others hands to prevent a tap before eventually giving in and surrendering their tag team gold.
#9 Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NXT TakeOver: Dallas
In recent years, NXT has made a habit of debuting their newest acquisitions in the crowd of TakeOver shows.
But as big as the likes of Bobby Roode and Viking Raiders were to the brand, no debutant had made as much of an initial impact as one man would as Shinsuke Nakamura made his NXT bow in the ring rather than in the front row.
It was the beginning of 2016 and Sami Zayn had just returned from injury. Looking for one last big NXT match before heading to the main roster, he was addressed by a vignette on the screen of none other than Shinsuke Nakamura.
The King of Strong Style had long established himself for over a decade as one of the finest wrestlers in the world with his hard-hitting style.
Just two months shy of his well-revered bout with AJ Styles at Wrestle Kingdom, fans the world over were intrigued to see how the Japanese Superstar would adapt to the WWE style.
Indeed, he and Zayn clicked like a match made in heaven. The Underdog from The Underground is a great bumper, which made him a perfect fit to Nakamura's stiff offence. It should be no subsequent surprise now that the pair have gelled so well with Zayn as the current Intercontinental Champion's mouthpiece on SmackDown Live.
#8 Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch - NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable
Four years before their current rivalry over the RAW Women's Championship, The Boss and The Man first squared off in a match that remains underrated in the deep archive of great TakeOver matches.
It would take place at TakeOver: Unstoppable, and it came at a point when Sasha Banks was arguably at the peak of her powers as a heel.
On the flip side, Lynch was a relatively fresh face in NXT, and had yet to establish a proper character before this. In the months prior, she has served as the extra ammunition for Banks in her quest to dethrone Charlotte as Women's Champion.
However, cracks began to show in the pairing during a fatal four-way match at the previous TakeOver which saw Banks become champion. Lynch would subsequently become No.1 contender and in the following weeks, would begin to take on a 'take-no-nonsense' character that she has fine-tuned currently with The Man gimmick.
Credit NXT here as they helped create a big match feel by showing the pair walking backstage to the ring before the match begun. And to many, this was Lynch's breakout moment as a WWE Superstar.
Whilst the crowd started cheering for Banks, they ended being on the side of The Irish Lasskicker as she was able to give them belief at multiple points that she could cause an upset.
#7 Bayley vs Sasha Banks - NXT TakeOver: Respect
2015 was a stellar year for Banks as this is the second of three matches on this list featuring The Boss.
Takeover: Respect was supposed to be all about the crowning of the first winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Whilst many in attendance at Full Sail that night were there to honour The American Dream, the night was truly all about Bayley and Banks.
The pair stole the show two months earlier in Brooklyn, so expectations were rather high going into the rematch.
Add in the fact that they were making history, performing in a 30-minute Ironwoman Match, and you have all the ingredients for NXT's biggest main event up-to that point.
The match worked a classic format often seen in Ironman matches, with the heel in Banks never being behind for the majority of the bout. Indeed, The Boss was willing to do whatever it took to regain her title, including getting Bayley counted out by ramming her face into the Titantron.
Regardless of these efforts, The Hugger always found a way back into proceedings, but just when it looked like she'd timed her comeback perfectly, Banks locked in The Bank Statement with moments to go.
The Hugger would not be denied though, as to the crowds delight, she countered the former champ's finishing move into an armbar which forced Banks to tap, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
The fact that the whole locker room, plus Triple H greeted the pair with a standing ovation at the entrance showed just how great this match was.
#6 Andrade vs Johnny Gargano - NXT Takeover: Philadelphia
Over the last two calendar years, Johnny Gargano has earned himself the moniker Johnny TakeOver. This particular match at the first TakeOver of 2018 was the first to really show how fitting he was of that title.
At the time, it was hard to picture this as a main event contest of a big event. Gargano was in a storyline limbo as his former partner Tommaso Ciampa, who'd turned on him last year, was out injured. Therefore, he was just trying to keep himself relevant until The Psycho Killer's return.
For Andrade, he surprised many by dethroning Drew McIntyre at the previous TakeOver to become NXT Champion. Whilst not doubting the ability of both men, it was more if they could get the crowd invested. Well, they managed to do that and so much more.
The match has everything. It had the shenanigans of the debuting Mrs. Gargano, Candice LeRae coming from the crowd to neutralise Andrade's manager Zelina Vega. You had two fantastic technicians pulling out everything in their arsenal to put away the other.
Plus, you have probably one of wrestling's best sellers in Gargano, who made the champ look so destructive in the finishing stretch.
With Johnny Wrestling prone on the apron, Andrade hit the double knee smash into the ring post, causing Gargano to go very glassy-eyed. An elevated hammerlock DDT later and Andrade retained in NXT's first-ever match rated five stars by Dave Meltzer.
#5 NXT North American Championship six-man ladder match - NXT TakeOver: New Orleans
WrestleMania 34 weekend kicked off in some style with this all-time classic ladder match.
NXT announced weeks prior their intentions to introduce a new championship to brand. To crown the first-ever NXT North American champion, six of the top Superstars were chosen to go to war in a ladder match.
The makeup of the contestants combined various aspects of the roster. You had the powerhouses of Killian Dain and Lars Sullivan, the charismatic enigmas that are Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream, plus the brand newcomers of EC3 and Ricochet.
The One And Only was keen to show the fans who hadn't seen his prior independent work just what he was about.
Mere minutes in, he was hitting springboard flips to the outside and moonsaulting from falling ladders. Later in the contest, he even used himself as a pawn in the test of strength between Dain and Sullivan, who took turns in throwing The One and Only across the ring.
Another man who shone bright on this big stage was Dream, who was also putting his body on the line - hitting Death Valley Drivers onto ladders balanced between the ring post and another ladder.
To summarise, it was absolute chaos and well-fitting of its five-star status. Whilst Adam Cole would come out victorious in what was a great night for The Undisputed Era, each men came out of the match looking a million bucks. Amazingly as well, this wasn't even the best match of the night...
#4 Sasha Banks vs Bayley - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
I mentioned earlier in the piece how Bayley and Sasha Banks had set themselves a very high bar to top in the NXT TakeOver: Respect clash.
The bar was set here in what at this point, was the biggest night in NXT's short history.
NXT Takeover: Brooklyn was the brand's first venture outside Full Sail University. Taking place on the same weekend as SummerSlam, there was more than just the usual eyes on the product as they arrived in Brooklyn.
Before the two up-and-coming female Superstars made their way to the ring, the crowd has already seen Jushin Thunder Liger make his only WWE appearance and a hot tag team title change. So the pressure was well and truly on. But the minute Banks entered the arena chauffeured, you just knew they were going to deliver.
The heel work by The Boss at this time was nothing short of spectacular. She worked both the crowd and the challenger exquisitely throughout the contest, targeting any mistake Bayley made. In turn, The Hugger was at the peak of her underdog ability, and the crowd were baying to see her finally achieve her dream.
That moment would come in a superbly carried out finish, as Bayley would hit The Boss with a poisoned Rana from the top rope, followed by a Bayley-to-Belly to win her first NXT Women's Title.
What made this extra special was the win was followed by the iconic image of all Four NXT Horsewomen celebrating in the ring, soaking in the fact that they had well and truly made it.
#3 Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne- NXT TakeOver: Chicago
Call me biased as a Brit, but these two showed just why British Wrestling is a joy to watch at its best.
At the time, NXT UK wasn't a thing as of yet. WWE was only in the early days of its British project. Months earlier, 16 of the UK's best wrestlers fought over two days to crown the first ever WWE United Kingdom Championship.
That tournament was won by Tyler Bate, overcoming the favourite Pete Dunne in the final. Fast forward four months, and the pair were given another chance to impress to a much bigger stage at NXT Takeover: Chicago.
As the contest kicked off, there were two signs of how serious it would be treated throughout. First was how hot the crowd were for the pair even before the match stared, showing how well received the prior tournament was worldwide. Second was that WWE brought out legendary commentator Jim Ross to call the match.
Both Dunne and Bate would go on to construct a match that veterans in the game would be proud of. An exhibition of the classic British catch wrestling combined with a high-octane style of offence.
For one so young, Bate in particular, has so much strength, speed and technique, you'd think watching him he'd been wrestling for a long time. The fact that he was 20 at the time of this match is unbelievable.
Sadly though, it would his inexperience that would prove his downfall, as one big high risk move cost him, leading to Dunne putting him away and beginning his 685-day title run. This match put UK wrestling on the map globally as well.
#2 Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole - NXT Takeover: New York
When you lose your champion just weeks before your biggest show of the year, you might be forgiven for hitting the panic button. But this is NXT we are talking about!
The NXT TakeOver: New York card suffered a blow when NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa was forced to vacate the title as he required major neck surgery. This looked to be a major blow for the brand as they had been building up to the fourth and final chapter of his near two-year feud with Johnny Gargano.
Now, at this point, NXT could have done a drastic shift in storyline and try something different. Instead, they simply put a fresh twist into the same match they had planned - two out of three falls - and hope the talent of the two involved would propel it to greatness.
This faith was justified in spades, as Adam Cole stepped up to the plate in style to put on a near 40-minute classic with Johnny Wrestling.
The third fall, in particular, was poetry in motion. The leader of the Undisputed Era tried everything to gain that 2-1 advantage. He hit the Panama Sunrise destroyer for a near fall. He pulled off the finishing move of Ciampa - The Fairytale Ending - through the announce table. When both of those failed, he summoned the rest of the Undisputed Era to finally seal the deal. But still, Gargano would not go down.
As Cole got increasingly desperate, Gargano took advantage. After taking out The Undisputed Era and hitting Cole with the Gargano escape, the dream had been achieved. An absolute classic that was topped off with Johnny's longterm rival in Ciampa coming out to join the Gargano's in celebrating the victory.
#1 Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa - NXT TakeOver: New Orleans
A year and a half on, and this match still has everything to me.
The build to Gargano-Ciampa was carrying out to a tee. Ciampa's long-term knee injury that occurred the weekend he originally turned on Johnny Gargano added to the tension.
Gargano had been haunted for months by his former partner, who continued to work things with some stellar Twitter work to taunt his foe.
Once the Psycho Killer was cleared to return, he did everything to make Gargano's life miserable. Attacking Johnny Wrestling at every turn and even costing him his place on the roster at one point.
This set things up perfectly for their match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans in an unsanctioned match with Gargano's NXT career on the line. The atmosphere in the building was red hot, cheering wildly for Johnny Wrestling whilst booing The Blackheart as he entered the arena.
What followed after this was an absolute war, with both men beating each other all over the building.
What a particularly loved was the throwbacks to their previous encounters. One was towards the climax as Johnny Wrestling went to hit Ciampa with the knee brace, but the latter begged for mercy.
The pair ended up sitting legs folded side-by-side, just as they did at the end of their Cruiserweight Classic clash in 2016.
Ciampa used this to help his villainous ways, however, attempting to hit Gargano with the brace, but Johnny Wrestling saw it coming and used the brace to intensify his Gargano Escape to win what was an absolute emotional rollercoaster.
