3: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn – NXT TakeOver: Dallas
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Shinsuke Nakamura’s debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas was one of the most awaited debuts of 2016 and he didn’t disappoint. He faced the ‘heart and soul of NXT’ on Wrestlemania weekend and with a hot crowd waiting for them, they delivered.
From Zayn’s entrance with the crowd singing along to his themes song to everyone going nuts when Nakamura’s music finally hit and he made his way down – the match was one to remember. It was the kind of match you tell your friends that you saw live.
Zayn and Nakamura were respectful to each other but that didn’t mean that they went easy on one another – quite the opposite. Nakamura’s kicks and knees were as brutal as always, not to mention a nasty Michinoku Driver that Zayn delivered.
The emotion was heightened further by the fact that this was Sami Zayn’s last match in NXT. He wanted to leave on a high note as much as Nakamura wanted a win on his debut. Zayn came milliseconds away from winning on a couple of occasions but it was Nakamura who picked up the win in the end, pinning Zayn after a Kinshasa to the back of the head, off the middle rope.
An incredible debut, this match showed us what Wrestlemania could have been but chose not to be.
