The 10 Greatest NXT Takeovers of All Time

#3 Takeover: Dallas (Apr. 1, 2016, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, crowd of 8,000+)

Perhaps the show that began the "good luck tomorrow, main roster" cliché, Takeover: Dallas was a sort of passing of the torch as the second generation of stars would begin to fully take the spotlight as most of the initial roster had left or were on their way out.

The card was strong on paper and absolutely lived up to its own hype as the Friday night event before WWE Hall of Fame and WrestleMania became the best show of the year, easily surpassing the dud that was Wrestle Mania 32 in eyes of most fans.

The Revival and American Alpha got massive crowd pops for their high-energy Tag Team Title opener, Austin Aries debuted in a solid effort against Baron Corbin, Asuka began her reign as NXT Women's Champion following a high-quality win over Bayley, and Samoa Joe and Finn Balor's NXT Title match, though somewhat marred by personnel stopping the match to tend to Joe's blood-gushing cut, was still a satisfying main event.

Nothing on the card, however, could come close to the masterpiece that was Shinsuke Nakamura's insanely good debut against a main roster-bound Sami Zayn. The two charismatic athletes, who'd never wrestled anywhere before, made history in 20 minutes of hard-hitting, high-flying, technical brilliance that made Takeover: Dallas a defining moment for NXT.

Rating: 9/10.