The 10 Best WWE Matches of 2017

#4 Asuka vs. Ember Moon (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III)

The tap that we never saw coming in Brooklyn.

Many people expected Asuka to join the main roster after WrestleMania, so they thought she'd drop the NXT Women's Championship to Ember Moon at TakeOver: Orlando. That didn't happen, and in the subsequent months, she both surpassed Goldberg's undefeated streak and became the longest reigning WWE champion of any kind in the modern era. With those accolades under her belt, her rematch against Ember Moon had even more people anticipating that this could be "it," as surely, there wasn't anything left for her to do in NXT and the main roster beckoned. That turned out to be the case...but there was a twist.

The program was built well. In addition to the records looming over the match, Asuka had cheated to beat Ember Moon in Orlando, and then deliberately inflicted an injury on her to keep her out of action at TakeOver: Chicago. Now was the time for Asuka to pay. Added to this was a seemingly freakish coincidence - the "great American eclipse" would take place only two days later. All of these things came together with a brilliant promo and electric atmosphere to catch lightning in a bottle.

It started on fire, with Ember taking the fight to the champion as soon as the bell rang. A second rope cannonball to Asuka on the outside let you know right away that this wasn't going to be a slowly-worked match. It was going to be hard-fought throughout, adding even more adrenaline to the eruption we were all expecting.

Ember's advantage didn't last long, as Asuka drove her previously injured shoulder into the steel steps and then into the ramp with a suplex. That shoulder would be a target throughout. A series of vicious holds essentially took it from Ember's arsenal, but that didn't stop her by itself. Ember used her other arm, her legs, and anything else available.

Both competitors tried to get the Asuka Lock, and Asuka seemed to finally succeed...but never took her opponent to the floor, so Ember just slammed the champion on her back. Then, like a lion in an ambush, Asuka snapped into another Asuka Lock attempt on her seated opponent, but Ember reversed it into a pin, forcing the champ to let go. A running elbow by Ember evened it all up again. Offense was traded back and forth as Ember slowly began to take control, all the way till she hit an Eclipse out of nowhere. This was the exclamation point that had been building for months! The streak was over!

...Yet, Asuka kicked out, and the crowd exploded. It was going to take more than one Eclipse, no matter how potent the finisher was, it seemed! We then got a rewind from Orlando, when Asuka used the referee for protection from another Eclipse, but this time Ember was ready. She tried a crossbody, but Asuka reversed it into a rollup, only for the referee to spot her cheating by grabbing Ember's trunks!

The two false finishes made you believe it was anyone's game...again, all the way to the end. Ember immediately connecting with a superkick put the exclamation point on that. Unfortunately for her, Asuka played possum, lured her into the Asuka Lock, and her streak continued.

This match showed that while the "women's revolution" has been reduced more to a talking point than a fact on the main roster this year, NXT can always be relied upon to keep that torch lit.