5 Best NXT TakeOver Matches

We are in an exciting period of pro wrestling right now. Bullet Club has taken over the world, Indy wrestling is stronger than ever and most importantly, NXT features some of the best wrestling you'll ever watch.

From its humble beginnings as FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling), to the creation of NXT, to the worldwide juggernaut that the brand has become, the creative team behind WWE's 'developmental' has shown that they're constantly looking to push the envelope.

From storytelling, in-ring, or presentation standpoint, NXT is so great that it outshines the WWE main roster every time a TakeOver special takes place, making the main roster seem tame on pay-per-view days later.

A staple of NXT since its inception are the live TakeOver specials, essentially the same thing as WWE pay-per-views on a slightly smaller scale. Since the first live event- NXT Arrival, wowed us with the opening match, featuring Sami Zayn vs Cesaro, the company has raised the bar in terms of the quality entertainment that two hours of wrestling can provide.

The upcoming and anticipated NXT TakeOver- New Orleans will take place on WrestleMania weekend. I'm pretty sure that it will exceed every wrestling fan's expectations and every match will deliver

In this article, we are going to look at 5 amazing matches that are instant classics and still gets the fans talking about it to this day.

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#5 The Revival vs #DIY (NXT TakeOver: Toronto (2016))

Best tag team match of all time

Without a doubt, this match was one of the greatest tag team matches in WWE history, maybe even the best. The Revival brought prestige back to the tag team division, producing some of the best tag matches in a very long time, both against American Alpha and DIY, with this 2 out of a 3 falls classic from Toronto being the best.

The tension was pretty crazy, many great near falls ocurred, the crowd went nuts, they used the callbacks cleverly and the ending was very good. The Revival had another very strong performance, their teamwork was great as usual, they brought a lot of heat.

#DIY impressed, having the crowd totally behind them and used it perfectly which made their story and their win that much more significant.

How could we forget the fantastic ending too, the scenes of #DIY putting The Revival in submissions and with the champions desperately trying not to tap out, even holding each others hands to make sure neither would lose the match looked incredible.

This was as close from tag team mastery as we've ever seen in not just NXT, but in WWE as well, a legitimate classic

#4 Sasha Banks vs Bayley (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn (2015))

The first NXT TakeOver to take place outside of Full Sail

In front of the largest crowd in NXT history at the Barclays Center, Bayley and Banks were the co-main event and bested every performer on a loaded Summerslam weekend. Right from the entrances, you could tell this would be special.

The atmosphere in Brooklyn was insane as the crowd was red hot. Bayley’s entrance was a tribute to the late "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, while Sasha channeled her inner Eddie Guerrero, who was her favorite wrestler, by arriving in an Escalade.

The storyline building up for the match was really great. You had Bayley- a never say die underdog babyface and Sasha- a cocky arrogant heel champ that we have seen before many times in wrestling.

The way the match was laid out was great. The near falls and submissions were well-built, and the storytelling was amazing. The crowd was super hot and into the entire match. The finish was also great.

Bayley performed a reversal frankensteiner and bayley-to belly for the win and completed her underdog story- winning her NXT Womens title. The post match sequence was emotional too; like an emotional roller coaster.

Not only was this the greatest women’s match in WWE history, but it was also the most important where women did actually steal the show.

It foreshadows a big possibly that women will main event a WrestleMania some day.

#3 Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NXT TakeOver: Dallas (2016))

The first time that the two squared off in a wrestling ring

This NXT Takeover took place on WrestleMania weekend and it outshone WWE's biggest PPV. One of the anticipated matches was the arrival of mega star Shinsuke Nakamura against NXT's biggest underdog Sami Zayn. When that match happened, magic occurred.

This was an electrifying debut for Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE, coming from New Japan Pro Wrestling, bringing unbelievable hype for this epic match. The atmosphere in Dallas was incredibly insane and they were excited for both men but especially for the King of Strong Style, from the moment he came out to his entrance music, they were going nuts.

This was Sami Zayn's last match in NXT so it was fitting that his last battle should be with Nakamura, which also was his first NXT match.

Zayn proved he was among the best on the planet today to me and everybody else. Sami's body language and selling were transcendental here; every single hit elicited a different, unique reaction that told the perfect story.

There was a solid 2 minutes of nothing but elbow strikes, but the pacing was so pitch-perfect it worked. The crowd chanting, "Fight Forever" made this match a very memorable match and a amazing debut for The King of Strong Style. This was a fitting end and a fitting beginning for not just both men, but NXT as a whole.

#2 Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne (NXT TakeOver: Chicago (2017))

Two of the best wrestlers from the United Kingdom wrestling a classic

Fans had pretty high expectations going into this match but my oh my, were they ever exceeded. What an absolute classic. Amazing psychology, some incredible spots without it being a spot fest, very well paced between two great wrestlers from the United Kingdom

It blew their first encounter, which took place in January for the WWE UK Championship Tournament, out of the water and made the UK Title look important. Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness did a good job with the commentary, putting over the wrestlers and making the match important.

These two young men went out there and put on match of the year in about 15 minutes. It's crazy to me that these kids are as talented as they are in their early 20s.

Tyler Bate is a guy that you just want to root for and he can do it all, while Pete Dunne is a natural, smug, no-nonsense heel and every move he does, feels very impactful and with a purpose.

This match was straight action from start to finish with some very convincing near-falls and a white hot Chicago crowd. Amazing stuff. It will go down as one of the best matches in NXT history.

#1 Andrade "Cien" Almas vs Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia (2018))

Probably the best NXT title match out there

This was the best NXT match ever, which I can't believe I'm saying as I've been crazy about every TakeOver. Both men were absolutely tremendous in this match. They pulled out all the stops to create a modern classic. Gargano made the most of his impressive work rate and affinity for small details to pull off a performance that was at once frantic and dynamic, while also understated and shrewd.

Though people's praise for this match is skewed more toward the challenger than the champion, Almas was no slouch, laying thick the cocky heel antics we've come to appreciate from the champion and showing off the in-ring ability that made him a star in Mexico.

What makes these two work together so well is the adaptability of their move-sets. Both of them have something for every position in the ring, minimizing time spent repositioning each other for spots. No position was too awkward for Almas and Gargano to pull off a visually stunning spot or sequence, giving the match a real sense of moment-to-moment progression.

Zelina Vega added an extra wrinkle to the match as a constant source of distraction for Gargano and anxiety for the fans, until her expulsion by Candice LeRae generated one of the match's best pops. While the finish has been described as jarring for its sudden change in pace, I believe the effect is intentional.

Here Gargano wasn't out-wrestled, but fell victim to something as crude as a shove into the ringpost, a fatal error that will no doubt factor into later storylines. His dead-eyed selling suggestive of a concussion perfectly set the stage for Almas to calmly set up the killing blow, spoiling Gargano's storybook ending.

The story between these two men may not have been the most developed, but it certainly adds more fuel to the fire of Gargano's ongoing character development and rivalry with Tomasso Ciampa. In the end, it's incredible before even making it to the main roster, Johnny Gargano and Andrade Almas can make a strong case for having wrestled one of the best WWE matches in history.

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