The 10 best matches in NXT Takeover history

The WWE is less than a week away from putting on the biggest show of the year, WrestleMania. But for many in the IWC, the one event that they are looking really forward to this weekend is NXT Takeover: Dallas. On April 1, NXT churns out it's 10th installment of their Takeover series, which has already featured a handful of bona fide match of the year candidates with more almost assuredly on the way—perhaps from a couple Japanese imports. So in order to keep pace with the 10 NXT Takeovers, we are listing the 10 best Takeover matches to date, all of which show that the future is now.

10. The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) vs Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady – NXT Takeover: London

– The only appearance for NXT Takeover: London on this list. For a special that was supposed to be headlined by Finn Balor and Samoa Joe finally locking up, this tag match stole the show. The arena was particularly hot for the realest guys in the room and came with some soccer chants throughout the match. Now you either loved the chants and energy or hated it and thought they were putting themselves over. But whatever your opinion of the fans, there is no denying that nothing took away from how genuinely fun the match was to watch. Dawson is low key becoming a master of the false finish and shows off some of his best work here, faking out even the most jaded fans. 'Zo has really got the role of face in peril down to a science and he's working with one of the best hot tags going right now. Their matches might follow a specific pattern every time but it's a testament to how good they are that it gets over every match. But Dash & Dawson were the ones that went above and beyond. They play can go from the kick your teeth in heels to the sniveling begging heels in a snap, and can make it work. Plus the Shatter Machine is the best tag team finisher going, especially from the top rope. Technically speaking, there were some flubs but nothing huge, the biggest gripe is the powers that be's refusal to ever give Enzo and Big Cass a chance to hold the gold and lead the division. How you doin'.

9. Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs Baron Corbin & Rhyno – NXT Takeover: Respect 

– Some may think that it’s sacrilegious to have a Baron Corbin match on a list of best matches due to his numerous 30-second matches but he's greatly improved during his time in NXT and this one deserves recognition. It’s a little on the shorter side for anyone not named Corbin but it’s helped by the fast pace set by both teams. This is one of Baron’s best matches, it really helps when the former NFL player can just go with someone like Jordan or Gable as opposed to just wrecking his opponent and having to carry all the action, which leads to a slower tempo. Jordan and Gable both shine here too showing that the reactions they receive aren’t hollow but are based on how good they are in the ring. They more then hold their own against an NXT main eventer and an industry veteran. The end of the match was packed with a ton of action. After Gable had just done this, you thought you were about to see another innovated move to put the match away for the Olympian when he built up a head of steam. Instead you got a tilt-a-whirl End of Days, which legitimately came out of nowhere. Just awesome. The only thing keeping this from going higher was putting over an aging veteran like Rhyno and an already strong Corbin in favor of giving a push to a team that is Bayley-level over but is still in dire need of a signature win.

8. Adrian Neville vs Finn Balor– NXT Takeover: Rival                           

– When you have two elite athletes like this, you can expect a classic. This is one of those matches where the commentary and action are so intertwined that it adds to what you're seeing. Corey Graves and company talk about how these guys are so familiar with each other and it shows with a whirlwind of reversals and counters early in the match. And again when Finn goes for his patented tope con hilo or when Neville goes for his usual kick sequence. This match is the action has a distinct New Japan feel, which isn't surprising since both Neville and Finn have had great success in Japan. Like most puroresu matches the physicality is turned all the way up with solid strikes kicks, the "strong style" is on full display. And with the seamless melding of some lucha libre, this match could have easily been a G1 Climax final. The hesitation dropkick to a sitting Neville through the barricade was right out of the Prince Devitt playbook. Not just that but the double foot stomp to the back of head, the Phoenix Splash, the Bloody Sunday. They know how to build a match that continually trends upward but never plateaus. And this was just a clinic, fit for any Wrestle Kingdom.

7. Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks– NXT Takeover: Unstoppable               

– At the time the general sentiment around the IWC was that this was the best women's match in forever. And now, it barely cracks the top three of women's matches in Takeover history, that’s how crazy good the women's division has been in NXT. The match itself isn’t the most crisp, like Becky’s super weird foot armbar thing that didn’t really make sense, and what was supposed to be Becky catching a diving Sasha, but it more than makes up for it with emotion. I think for almost everyone it was the first time they got to see what Becky was capable of individually in the ring and it basically blew people’s minds. She brings a certain brutality with her, not as a brawler but with her variety of suplexes that all look painful. It’s not just her offense but the savagery comes out when she’s on the receiving end too, like when Sasha has her arm bent so far back and then steps on it, it's almost cringe inducing, but in a good way. The Boss is her usual awesome self, showing off her Kevin Owens-level of mocking ability. But this was really about Becky and it was evident with the post match admiration she got with the crowd singing her entrance music. Goosebumps on goosebumps.

6. Sami Zayn vs Cesaro– NXT Arrival                                                 

– Is this as good as their first match that got everyone talking about NXT? Meh, probably not. But it’s tough to live up to that match of the year hype. It’s still a wonderful match with some truly awesome moments. Cesaro isn’t the best as a heel but makes up for it with the spots he creates. Like catching Sami off of his springboard moonsault, and the uppercut he hits when Zayn goes for the tornado DDT through the ropes looked especially vicious. Plus the uppercut he unleashes at the end, give me two claps and a Ric Flair because it legit looks like Zayn might be unconscious. But it’s Sami who really looks like a star. No one can sell like this man. He consistently sells the leg injury throughout the whole 20-minute match, which is not easy. And he's the only one that can do the wobbly-legged collapse and make it look disturbingly real. He also pulls off the cleanest sunset flip powerbomb in the business. This match gets extra points because this is where the Sami Zayn underdog character really started to form and take shape. These two guys were really the ones to jumpstart the NXT following and this match shows what sparked everyone’s interest.

5. Tyler Breeze vs Tyson Kidd vs Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville– NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way

– When you get four people who can go like these guys in one match you know you're about to be entertained. And when you get four people who understand how to tell a story you're in for a smart wrestling match. And when you get both, you have yourselves a special match, and that's exactly what NXT fans got here. Friends Neville and Zayn are smartly kept away from each other for almost two-thirds of the match before getting their own little one-on-one segment. Kidd and Zayn take care of most of the action for the first half with Neville only appearing to constantly get knocked to the outside, which turned into an amusing subplot. Breeze got to play up his character by being the opportunist and trying to steal the win a couple times. Plus he was able to show how entertaining he can be with a flurry of dare I say, gorgeous offense that brought the crowd to its feet. Zayn gets his own moment at the end when he hits a suicide dive, a tornado DDT through the ropes and a Helluva Kick in a span of 30 seconds, which led to the false finish of all false finishes. The actual finish was awesome, with Neville kind of, not really, turning heel. Everyone came out looking strong and they set up the next main event feud with the friends becoming enemies. There's obviously some great spots, like the multi-man superplex, but this match was bigger than just spots. It was able to tell a story while incorporating all four wrestlers all while maintaining top notch psychology.  

4. Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn – NXT Takeover: Rival                           

– Once it was announced that Kevin Owens had signed with the WWE, this was a match that everyone was looking forward to. These two have put on showstoppers everywhere they’ve been, so much so that they even have their own Wikipedia article dedicated to their feud and this match lived up to that enormous hype. Although it was only over a two month window, this was a feud that embraced their rivalries/friendships in former promotions instead of ignoring them. That really made it feel like a blood feud even though this was their first match in NXT. For as big a match as this was, it’s really the small details that stand out. Both Owens and Zayn knew how amped up everyone was for this, so KO took a powder three straight times to open the match because this man knows how to be heel. He makes them wait. The two counts are just a little closer, when there's a pin attempt and one shoulder is left uncovered, that’s the one that’s raised to kick out. They are so effing smart. 

The ending is just too damn good. In the moment Zayn hitting his head on the ramp was sold so well it was almost impossible to tell if it was a work or not, it looked super real. Then KO just beating the hell out of him with punches while Sami looked all disoriented was just a chilling scene. It even hushed the always-vocal Full Sail crowd. Then the final series of powerbombs, just damn, how Sami kicks out with less and less oomph, until he's basically just rolling over onto his side, so realistic. It’s just a perfect ending, Zayn never quitting, always getting up, and Owens getting off on dishing out punishment.

3. Bayley vs Sasha Banks – NXT Takeover: Respect                             

– This match had a lot of pressure on it coming in. Not only was it a sequel to a legitimate match of the year candidate but it was also the first women's match to be the stand-alone main event of an NXT special. They couldn’t afford to put up something lackluster with all the expectations—and they absolutely delivered and then some. It would have been easy for them to kind of follow the blueprint of past iron man matches but they did their own thing. It also seemed impossible to get Sasha heel again especially after how their last match ended. But shame, shame on us all, because we should have remembered the Boss is on another level. Who didn't smile a little when Sasha snatched the headband off of Izzy in the front row and made her cry. That doesn’t make any of us bad people. It was just too perfect. There's just this art with someone who knows exactly what buttons to push to be hated.

Bayley played up the aggression nicely too, using the steps and that playing a role in the finish was a nice callback to their first match. The Bayley-to-Belly isn't the greatest finisher but she’s honed it to where it looks a lot more believable each time, and the way Sasha takes it makes it look more brutal too. And how can you not love when Sasha lands on her feet after the top rope inverted Bayley-canrana and delivers her own Bayley-to-Belly. It just shows the thinking that went into this match, that whatever worked last match is countered this time. There is a few nitpicks: the crowd and the chants can take you out of the flow of the match at times. That and the finish was a little hard since Bayley had on what looked like a modified Rings of Saturn so Sasha couldn’t actually tap. Plus she was being kicked in the head so she couldn’t nod and wasn’t emphatically saying "yes" so when the bell rang it wasn't clear if she actually gave up or if this was a setup to a part three. But this was an amazing match and all the post match stuff still gives everyone the feels.

2. Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville – NXT Takeover: R Evolution                 

– This is how you tell a story. A story of redemption, of a man finally getting the better of his inner demons and getting over the hump. But let’s back up because this story was almost a year in the making. It goes all the way back to when Sami couldn’t beat Cesaro at the very first NXT Takeover: Arrival. That’s when they started planting the seed, asking if Zayn could win the big one, having him get so close to reaching his dream and then falling short. So when he put his NXT career on the line for this match it seemed reasonable to think this was the perfect time to finally put him over. Then there came rumors of him being called up to the WWE, and maybe him being done in NXT was a way to send him off à la Bo Dallas. 

But let’s forget about the long game for a second because the story during the match was just as rich and well told. The crowd was so hot for Zayn during this whole match, it’s super rare to see a crowd be 99.9% in on the nice, white meat babyface. Neville does some heeling but he really doesn’t have to try that hard. I mean when you're facing Sami Zayn with his career on the line you could come down the ramp giving people $100 bills and you’d still get heat.  

Technically speaking, this match is five-star worthy, but that’s not really what it’s about, it’s about how it makes you feel as a fan. This match is simply perfect. Right around the moment when Sami checks on the downed ref for the first time and you can feel it costing him, that’s when you realize you're disbelief is completely suspended and you're now outwardly rooting for him. The crowd is yelling for him to turn around like he's Dora the Explorer. Even  heel announcer Corey Graves is yelling for Sami to get it together. Everyone  in the arena is 100% invested in Zayn. There's a moment when Zayn gets hit with a reverse hurricanrana after he checks on the ref again, and a little kid with glasses sitting front row puts his hands to his head, tears in his eyes because he thinks it’s the end. He has to be consoled even after Sami kicks out at the very last second. That moment brings us all back to our childhoods as wrestling fans. When you are so emotionally attached to your favorite wrestler every close fall or signature move brings out unbridled emotions. Then when he finally hits that Helluva kick, and the crowd is losing their minds, wow. That’s all there is to say. And that’s what a perfect match is supposed to accomplish…and yet it’s only at number two.

1. Bayley vs Sasha Banks – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn                           

– It’s no coincidence that the top two matches on this list are straight old school, Hulk Hogan (circa mid to late 80s, not racist 2015) style babyfaces finally triumphing in the face of adversity. When told right—think more Daniel Bryan and less Lex Lugar—these types of underdog stories give the highest emotional payouts. It’s also not a coincidence that the two faces in these underdog stories had their characters built slowly and steadily for the better part of a year. Everything that was said about Sami Zayn rings true for Bayley, except Bayley had her build last even longer before she reached the mountaintop.

From the very moment the video package hit, this had a big fight feel. The tension, the entrances, the crowd being so into this from the beginning. It had a feeling that’s usually only reserved for Brock Lesnar matches. There was just this electricity that you could even feel through the TV screen. The big arena probably had a lot to do with this too, which is one reason it gets the slight edge over the rematch. Just listen to the incredibly loud dueling chants to open the match, it's enough to gives anyone chills just thinking about it.

Storytelling has been a theme on this list but you won't find a better example than this match. Bayley came in with a disadvantage already after just recovering from a real life broken hand. There's never a good time for an injury but the stars kind of aligned for this one, as the woman that’s had to overcome everything, had another hurdle in her path. Then you got to see Sasha gradually amping up her attacks on the injured hand from twists to stomps, before going all out and jamming it between the stairs and the ring. That’s wrestling 101. What was so impressive from a technical standpoint is that this is the same company that usually won’t let women hit a regular powerbomb in a match but trusted these two enough to let them get brutal with their offense and even hit an inverted top rope hurricanrana...er Bayley-canrana And what a moment that was. Then they were smart enough to protect that moment by not giving Sasha a chance to kick out of it and going straight into the Bayley-to-Belly. This is how you preserve a moment.

But again it isn’t just about the wrestling. The Bayley character represents something bigger. She takes you to a specific time. A time when all of us as wrestling fans were naïve once. You cheer the good guys and boo the bad ones without a drop of irony. And seeing Bayley clutch that title makes you cheer since it takes you back to that moment. When you were deaf to all the outside noise, and the backstage rumors. That’s when you know something is great, when it organically takes you back to that moment, and that’s exactly what this match does on every viewing. Flame emoji, prayer hands, mic drop, this is the one.