Ranking the Top 10 NXT TakeOver Matches of All-Time

Carl Gac

WWE.com

What are the ten best matches to have taken place at NXT TakeOver events?

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Since the dawn of the NXT, the NXT we all now know and love, fans of the company have seen some of the best wrestlers in the world performing for them inside those famous yellow ropes.

NXT is probably the best thing that WWE produces. Triple H has done what many people have tried over the years. He’s found the perfect formula for producing compelling television, booking matches and angles that make sense and allowing the wrestlers in the ring to go out and put on the best matches they can. Without the shackles that it would seem Vince McMahon puts on the stars on the main roster, the men and women of NXT are currently showing the fans that given the right platform they can be the best in the world.

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Every few months, NXT holds their network Specials, what started with NXT ArRival and then became the NXT TakeOver series. In the last couple of years we’ve seen 7 of these specials, with countless amazing matches. Titles have been contested, feuds have been started and finished, stars have been made and shows have been stolen.

It’s so hard to rate and rank a lot of the matches that we’ve seen, but over the next ten pages are what we think are the ten best matches in the history of NXT TakeOver.

Next: No. 10

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10. Natalya vs. Charlotte, NXT Women’s Championship Match, NXT TakeOver

After Paige won the WWE Divas title, she had to vacate the NXT Women’s title. A tournament was then created to find the new champion with the final taking place at NXT TakeOver. Natalya and Charlotte battled their way through a field that included the best that NXT had to offer plus some of the main roster Divas thrown in as well.

This match had it all. Two amazingly talented women in the ring. Two wrestling legends on the outside in Ric Flair and Brett Hart. Women proving that they were more than equal to their male counterparts. This was Hart vs. Flair for the new generation of fans. If expectations were high, then these two women more than lived up to them.

A match that went nearly 17 minutes stood out on a card that featured Adrian Neville vs Tyson Kidd and Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze. This was a far cry from the 3 minute Divas matches that Natalya was used to on the main roster. Both women are outstanding in the ring and this matched proved it.

They both pulled out some amazing moves, including some ridiculously painful looking submissions, a devastating looking back pack stunner and a beautiful moonsault, alongside some of the best chain wrestling and counter moves you’ll ever see in WWE. The crowd loved this match!

In the end it was Charlotte who walked away with the gold around her waist. A Sharpshooter was broken up by Natalya before Charlotte hit the Bow Down to the Queen to get the three count. Post match we saw Ric Flair celebrate with his daughter before the two women embraced in the middle of the ring, they both knew they’d pulled off something outstanding. An emotional night and a great way for Charlotte to win her first title in professional wrestling.

Next: No. 9

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9. Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor, NXT TakeOver: Rival

This match was another tournament final, this time to find a number one contender for the NXT Championship. The winner was scheduled to go forward and face the winner of the title match between champion Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

Balor beat Curtis Axel and Hideo Itami to reach this match while Neville defeated Tyson Kidd and Baron Corbin. Neville was the former NXT Champion and Balor had only been with the company for a few months. They had careers that basically mirrored each other prior to their arrival in NXT, this was looking like being one hell of a match.

Balor had made waves with some fantastic matches in the build up, along with his breathtaking entrances, the Demon was here in NXT. Neville needs no introduction as the longest reigning NXT Champion, he wanted that belt back. This was something different as face vs face matches sometimes struggle to live up to the hype, well this one did!

Early chain wrestling and speed moves couldn’t gain either man the advantage, until Balor hit a brutal looking seated drop kick and a big kick to a running Neville. Neville got his own big kicks in off the ropes before he ended up outside the ring. That prompted a massive dive over the top rope from Balor to leave Neville laying on the outside. Balor followed up with a huge drop kick to the face with Neville slumped against the guard rail.

Back in the ring, Balor hit a head stomp from the top rope to a standing Neville which could only get him a two count. Neville retaliated with some big kicks of his own, several hit the spot and he ended with a superkick. Neville hit big suplexes for a two count then a second rope corkscrew could only get him two as well, to surprise of both Neville and the crowd. A sling blade, a lariat and then the move he used to call the Bloody Sunday could only get two for Balor, who then to counter a Red Arrow for another two that looked like it should have been three.

Balor ended the match with the corner drop kick followed by the Coupe De Grace for the winning pin fall. Balor was your new number one contender. The painted Balor shook hands with his opponent after the match but would go on to lose his NXT Championship match in the following weeks to Kevin Owens.

Next: No. 8

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8. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks, NXT Women’s Championship Match, NXT TakeOver: R Evolution

The battle of the former BFF’s. Charlotte’s route to winning the title in the first place came with the contribution of Sasha, but once Charlotte held that NXT Women’s title it became the thing that Sasha wanted more than anything in the world.

Sasha seemed to have the momentum going into the match at REvolution in December last year but Charlotte wasn’t at the top of the food chain in NXT by fluke, she was the women to beat and Sasha knew it.

Sasha has a move set unlike any other female in the entire WWE, her brash, cocky “The Boss” character is one of the best as well. Sasha Banks may be the perfect all round package, she’s definitely in the top five in the company.

We saw brutal submissions, kicks to make you cry, a neck breaker that looked like it may have actually broken Sasha’s neck and then a ridiculous suicide dive by Sasha onto Charlotte that you had to see to believe. Sasha was holding nothing back to win that belt.

To conclude one of the matches of the year, we saw Natural Selection from the top rope by Charlotte to get the three count and see her hold on to her NXT Women’s Championship.

2014 was definitely the year of the women of NXT showing just what they could offer to the world of professional wrestling, they are just as good as any of the men that are their peers if not better!

Next: No. 7

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7. Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville, NXT Championship Ladder Match, NXT ArRival

The main event of the first NXT live special on the WWE Network. Neville had won a number one contenders match against Sami Zayn but had seen his title match end in a count out win against Bo. Another title match lead to a loss for Neville after Lumberjack Tyler Breeze had interfered. Dallas thought he had the better of Neville but lost a “Beat the Clock” match against him which lead to Neville again being named number one contender.

The ladder match was made by Triple H in the weeks leading up to ArRival and had a pre-match endorsement from king of the ladder match Shawn Michaels. This was the first ladder match in NXT history and was as breathtaking as you’d imagine from the men in it.

A back and forth match swayed towards both men at times. Dallas thought he had the better of Neville but received a ladder-assisted dropkick followed by a cross body block over the top rope to the floor. Dallas again looked like he would climb the ladder to grab the belt but Neville flew from nowhere to scale the ladder instead, only to get power bombed onto a ladder in the corner.

One of the highlights of the match had to be the Red Arrow onto Bo who was laid on top of a ladder, hoe that move didn’t result in injury is unknown. Neville claimed the title belt as Bo couldn’t get into the ring fast enough to stop him scaling the ladder.

Neville went on to be the longest reigning NXT Champion so far, before losing the his title to Sami Zayn after a 287 day reign.

Next: No. 6

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6. Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd, NXT Championship Match, NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way

What’s the best thing to do when three men are all fighting to take your title away from you? You accept all their challenges and fight them all at the same time.

Adrian Neville was in the midst of his NXT Championship reign and had already had previous encounters with all three of his opponents. He’d beaten Tyson Kidd twice already before this match, Breeze had cheated his way to number one contender against Zayn and the former ROH star felt he needed the title to confirm his stance as one of the best in NXT.

Neville and Zayn were perfect faces against Kidd and Breeze as the heels. This match summed up everything that made NXT such a great show to watch. High flying, risk taking, many near-falls and a quadruple move that was one of the best things you’ll ever see in wrestling. They fought in the ring, outside the ring, on the ramp. There were massive kicks, ridiculous top rope dives, double team and 4-man moves, more high risk than you could wish to see in a month of matches.

The highlight of the match had to be the moment where Zayn powerbombed Breeze and Kidd off the top rope, who in turn superplexed Neville into the ring. All four men got near falls on their rivals but in the end it was Neville who got the win and retained his title.

It’s not very often that WWE puts on fatal 4 way matches, when they have in the past it’s not usually the best match, but this match will go down as probably the best of its kind in the history of WWE. All four men were capable of winning and were already stars but after this match, they were all superstars.

Next: No. 5

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5. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, NXT Championship Match, NXT Rival

These two men needed no introduction to each other, having spent the last ten years or more as partners or rivals and even longer as real life friends. Zayn (as El Generico) and Owens (as Kevin Steen) were two of the best on the indy circuit for years before they made it to WWE. They made their names primarily in ROH but performed around the world as friends and foes.

Zayn had won the NXT Championship from Adrian Neville, and Owens had turned his back on his friend in the same night. Hitting a horrible looking power bomb on the ring apron only a few minutes after Sami had won the belt.

Zayn had spent months chasing the title and had finally won the belt a couple of months before this match. Owens had only been in the company for two months as he entered this match. Nobody could have predicted what would happen.

When the first move of a match is a dive over the top rope from your champion you know it’s going to be an epic. Owens spent the majority of the match beating Zayn up. Power bombs galore, big kicks and power moves all took it out of Sami, he couldn’t get into the match in any great way. All the abuse from Owens lead to the referee calling for doctors and eventually the match being stopped in Owens’ favour. We had a new champion after a match that was particularly brutal.

Kevin Owens needed no introduction to the NXT fans but this was the perfect way to welcome him as a dominating, powerful champion.

At the next NXT TakeOver we saw a rematch between them both which again ended without a pinfall as Owens injured Zayn to the point he couldn’t continue. That lead to the debut of Samoa Joe in NXT, that’s a whole other story!

Next: No. 4

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4. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, NXT Women’s Championship Match, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

Where do you start with this match? It was billed as the co-main event alongside Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship. It was a match that on paper could steal the show and by God did it do that!

We had seen many matches between these two, also throwing in Charlotte and Becky Lynch and the Four Horsewomen of NXT were here to stay. These four women really are the future of women’s wrestling in WWE.

This match was the arrogant champion vs the loveable underdog. Bayley was the massive fan favorite, her journey for this belt seemingly started over two years before this match. Sasha came in as the champion who knew exactly how good she was and wasn’t afraid to tell everyone.

Banks came out with the entourage of body guards. Bayley came out to a massive pop with the fans well behind her, this was her moment of truth. At times this was a brutal match, both women throwing kicks, locking in submissions and giving it their all to get the win. Banks tried her hardest to take out Bayley, including trapping her hand behind the steps and delivering a sickening kick, before trying to break it again whilst Bayley was locked in her Bank Statement submission.

Both women hit numerous near falls, before Bayley managed to hit a reverse hurricanrana followed by her patented Bayley to Belly suplex for the three count to become your new NXT Women’s Champion. She stood in the ring with tears running down her face as Charlotte and Becky came down and embraced her. Sasha would join them and recreate the infamous Curtain Call.

They will face each other again at TakeOver Respect in the first ever Iron Man match in NXT history. If the last encounter is anything to go by this match more than deserves its main event billing.

Next: No. 3

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3. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch, NXT Women’s Championship Match, NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable

Two of the best wrestlers on the roster of WWE, let alone the women’s division. The best women’s match in the history of WWE not just NXT. This match sets the standard for anything that follows it from the women’s division.

This match was one of the most brutal and intense matches you’ll see. It had more storytelling involved than any match you’ll watch this year. Lynch was previously the understudy to Banks in their tag team, but we saw friction building as soon as Banks won the belt.

Both women attempted to work on the others arm, in preparation of getting the win via submission. Back and forth they both showed a viciousness that you rarely see in women’s wrestling at this level. Both women had a mission and that seemed to be to take the others arm home with them as well as the title belt, it really was a case of tap or snap on more than one occasion.

They both show an amazing amount of creativity with so many moves used to hurt the others arms, this was a masterclass in psychology and submission wrestling. So much went into this match that it’s hard to understand how they both didn’t end up injured. The selling was on a different level here.

When Banks finally made Becky tap out to win the match, you knew that it’d be a long time till you saw a better match than that.

Next: No. 2

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2. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn, NXT Championship Match, NXT TakeOver: R Evolution

A lot had happened for Sami Zayn in NXT before he finally arrived at this match. He fought and lost championship matches, he’d lost number one contender battles and going in to this, he promised that if he didn’t win the belt, he’d be gone from NXT. This was all or nothing for Zayn.

Neville and Zayn had been allies for a long time in NXT, after Neville stopped Zayn winning the belt at Fatal 4 Way the rift began to build. Zayn earned another title shot but Neville pretended to be hurt before suckering Zayn and then beating him. Going into this, he knew he had to win.

This was a back and forth match with some beautiful high-flying from both men. It’s not like we weren’t accustomed to it but it was amazing to see both men at the top of their games in this match. Moon saults to the outside, Sami hitting his DDT through the turnbuckles, a couple of ref bumps, times when it looked like neither man could continue and the eventual Helluva kick that won Sami the belt. At one point it looked like Zayn would never get the three but this was the greatest NXT Championship match we’ve ever seen.

Then the post match stuff happens. Kevin Owens comes down to celebrate with his friend only to destroy him and want his belt, this match had everything. Zayn finally got his redemption, won his first NXT Championship and set himself on to another amazing feud that we’ve still not seen the end of.

Next: No. 1

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1. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro, NXT ArRival

This is the match that we think is the best in NXT TakeOver history. This match was the opening match at NXT ArRival. There was nothing on the line here other than pride. Both men are among the best in the world in the ring and proved it right here to end this feud.

Sami had won a match with Cesaro on his first night in NXT, they’d fought two more time after that and Cesaro had won both of those matches, one of them being the infamous 2 out of 3 falls match on NXT TV. Cesaro had been the United States Champion on the main roster and was in the midst of his “Real Americans” gimmick alongside Jack Swagger. Him dropping down to NXT gave Sami the perfect opponent to introduce himself to the NXT crowd.

Zayn got the better of the early going before Cesaro focused on the previously injured knee of Zayn. Sami missed the DDT through the turn buckles, met with a massive uppercut instead. Sami tries everything to get the better of Cesaro but sees himself slammed on the ramp after failing with a moonsault to the outside. Cesaro is dominating this match. Sami pulled out a plethora of moves including the Blue Thunder Bomb. We see so many near falls it’s hard to keep up. The match ends with Sami on the end of European uppercuts and then one last Neutralizer for the three.

That was an epic match. These two men are probably the best wrestlers in the company, only maybe Daniel Bryan can get close to them at his peak. Cesaro was already a star on the main roster and this feud was the perfect way to show the world that Sami Zayn could be his equal. When Sami finally hits Raw and SmackDown full-time we’re in for one hell of a ride!

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Carl Gac

Carl has been a massive wrestling fan since the mid 90's. A fan of WWE and TNA but mainly a lover of the indies and British Wrestling. Be sure to follow Carl on twitter to see his views on all things going on in the wrestling world.