WWE: Ranking the Top 25 NXT TakeOver matches of all time

7. WWE United Kingdom Championship Match: Walter (c) vs. Tyler Bate (NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, 8/31/19)

NXT UK is still relatively young compared to NXT as a whole, and we’ve only had three NXT UK TakeOver events. As such, this ended up being the only NXT UK TakeOver match to make the cut here, but this is a really magnificent contest.

Walter came into NXT UK as a seemingly unstoppable force, dethroning Pete Dunne after The Bruiserweight’s 685-day reign. Tyler Bate took Walter further than I think even Der Ring General expected him to, and produced easily the most spectacular match either man has had in their NXT tenure.

6. Unsanctioned Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Smoothie King Center, 4/7/18)

Just missing the top five is the Unsanctioned Match between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa from NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. Even without a championship, there was no question whether this would be the night’s main event.

Gargano’s NXT career was at stake here, but it was also a moment where he’d finally look to get revenge on Tommaso Ciampa for everything that had been done to him. What followed was a brutal contest, leading to a finish that was truly poetic justice.

5. NXT Championship Match: Andrade “Cien” Almas (c) vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Center, 1/27/18)

Rounding out the top five is the NXT Championship Match from NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, where Johnny Gargano tried his darnedest to wrest the title from Andrade

“Cien” Almas

. This contest is still regarded by some as the greatest match in NXT history, and while I don’t put it quite that high, it absolutely deserves to be in the top five.

Almas and Gargano went back and forth for over half an hour, and fans were truly chomping at the bit to see Johnny Wrestling, the “Heart and Soul of NXT,” finally capture the NXT Championship. Of course, things weren’t truly over after the bell rang, as the night ended with an old foe making his shocking return.