10 best matches at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

#5 NXT Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II)

A desperate quest to take the big man down.

Hot off the heels of his classic debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, Shinsuke Nakamura earned a title shot against Samoa Joe, the man who'd ended Finn Balor's record run as NXT Champion. NXT did a great job with the backstage scenes to make this feel like even more of a huge battle. Nakamura's spectacular live violin entrance amped the atmosphere up even further.

Both men exchanged light offense and played mind games with each other to open the match. There was a near count-out outside the ring as Joe slowly began to take advantage. Nakamura seemingly injured his knee when attempting an attack on the apron, and Joe took his opponent down with a suicide dive afterwards.

From there, he worked a slow, systematic decimation of his opponent with the fans clamoring for Nakamura to make his comeback. Every time Nakamura looked to get on a small role, Joe would find a way to smash him back to the ground. A marvelous little striking contest was the best example of this.

Nakamura pulled an Asuka and tried a flying cross armbar, but wasn't able to lock it in. Samoa Joe eventually transitioned into a cloverleaf. Nakamura got to the rope, but Joe answered back with two attempts at the Coquina Clutch, then followed up with a knee as Nakamura charged him, and then locked in a third Clutch. Nakamura got his foot on the rope. Not to worry - Joe eventually got the Muscle Buster. When Nakamura kicked out at two, the Barclays Center went nuts.

Joe attempted a second muscle buster, but Nakamura escaped and hit the Kinshasa, for another two count, keeping the suspense intact. After a short sequence, Nakamura hit a second Kinshasa and became NXT Champion, to the delight of the Brooklyn crowd.