5 Best Samoa Joe matches in WWE

#4 Samoa Joe vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II)

(7) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Samoa Joe, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II.A hell of a hard-hitting match and the best NXT Championship match on any Takeover Brooklyn card. pic.twitter.com/VpUpIt8WHR

— Andrew better not find himself in a timeloop ffs. (@Truly_Defective) August 18, 2018

Upon his WWE NXT debut, Shinsuke Nakamura was thrust into the NXT Championship picture in mere months. The champion at that time, Samoa Joe, was coming fresh from a string of memorable encounters against Finn Balor. Despite being in NXT, Joe and Nakamura were veterans of the wrestling business, and the fans knew well in advance that they would be treated to some intense bouts from the two.

At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, the two finally clashed, and it was a sight to behold. They presented a wrestling masterclass, with a classic heel vs face dynamic that led to the fans wildly cheering for Nakamura. They traded several power moves and wrestled a much stiffer encounter, unlike the typical WWE fare the fans were accustomed to watching.

In the end, while The King of Strong Style did become the new champion, Joe would recapture the title at the next PPV, NXT TakeOver: Toronto, thus becoming the first-ever two-time NXT Champion in WWE history.