Top 10 NXT Tag Team matches

EA compilation of the best NXT Tag Team matches
EA compilation of the best NXT Tag Team matches

Without question, NXT has one of the best Tag Team divisions in the world. The art of two-on-two brawls was brought back to prominence in the last few years thanks to spectacular efforts from those duos that have graced the black and yellow brand since its inception back in 2012.

Whether it was the early days of The Wyatt Family, to the establishment of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, to the breakout of The Revival, to the dominant streak of Undisputed Era, we have been treated for years to match of the night, and sometimes even match of the year, candidates.

It seems as though with every single TakeOver that goes by, another instant classic tag team match blows away everyone watching around the globe. Limiting the selection to one match per rivalry, let's take a look at the gold standard of NXT tag team competition.

#10 Authors of Pain vs. The Revival vs. DIY: NXT Takeover Orlando

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Any match involving both DIY and The Revival is bound to be a great one. The two pairings lead this Tag Team triple threat match for the majority, and we actually got to see a rare sight with these bitter rivals teaming against a bigger and far more dominant force – The Authors of Pain.

A memorable highlight saw DIY and Revival combine arsenals to deliver both of their tag team finishers to AOP, with members from each team stepping in to deliver the final blows (a moment which had me leaping out of my seat), but it still wasn’t enough to put the behemoths away for the three count.

After DIY was eliminated from this match, the pace slowed the Orlando crowd began to boo in disapproval at AOP's dominance, but regardless, the match was still fantastic overall nonetheless.

#9 Undisputed Era vs. Lorcan and Burch – NXT TakeOver: Chicago

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Oney Lorcan’s willingness to destroy himself and everyone else around him is a gift to us all. Thanks to a flurry of fantastic spots, double team moves, vicious strikes, and an insanely hot Chicago crowd, this instantly became one of the best Tag Team matches in NXT history.

Burch and Lorcan straight-up want to hurt people. Their smash mouth style is a painful delight to watch. When Lorcan brings out his impressive array of flips and running strikes along with the flurry of forearms and uppercuts he's heralded for, it never feels like he's doing it to play to the crowd or exhibit his abilities.

With Lorcan, everything he does is a frantic attempt to try and hurt his opponents. Lorcan loses himself in the fight so much that he's willing to utilise every part of his body as a weapon, and it makes for fantastic viewing.

Any match that starts with Kyle O'Reilly playing air guitar is destined to be a classic, yet this one went above and beyond. Give these teams another huge platform again, and I'm sure they can put together something even more spectacular.

#8 Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black, Ricochet and The Velveteen Dream – WWE Halftime Heat

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To the delight of many, WWE announced back in early 2019 that their iconic Super Bowl halftime attraction would be making a return after 20 years.

Unlike the Empty Arena Match which featured two of the company's biggest Attitude Era stars, the goal for this year's WWE Halftime Heat was to expose the future stars of WWE to as many people as possible within a half an hour window, giving it away for free globally on social media, YouTube and the WWE Network.

After the show they put on, I can't see how anybody wouldn't want to immediately sign up to WWE Network and turn on NXT (especially given how terrible the actual game was).

Each competitor got their chance to shine in this insanely fun six-man tag bout. With the unique atmosphere of the Performance Center, surrounded by an audience of their peers, Cole, Gargano, Ciampa, Black, Ricochet and Velveteen all exhibited their best moves and abilities to put on an extremely entertaining show that could outshine Maroon 5 at their best. Forget Adam Levine, give me Velveteen Dream.

#7 Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era – NXT TV, July 11th, 2018

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The trio of matches these two teams had in 2018 was something special. The first came inside the historic Royal Albert Hall which saw Bate and Seven shockingly clinch the NXT Tag Team Championships in front of their home country crowd.

Yet their rematch back on the promotion's home soil in Full Sail was easily their best encounter.

Fueled by desperation to reclaim their gold, Undisputed Era brutalised Trent Seven's legs to a torturous degree on an episode of NXT television.

Visibly battling between his willingness to win and the punishing pain in his limbs, Trent Seven showed unbelievable heart as he limped around the ring and fought through the extreme pain.

UE's targeted attacks culminated in a savage double kneebar to Seven, who was almost in tears through pure agony. Tyler Bate had to reluctantly watch for over a minute as his partner was punished in the middle of the ring.

Emotion finally got the better of Bate as he literally threw in the towel to end his mentor's torment, immediately leaping into the ring to protect him. It was simple theater told perfectly inside a ring.

#6 War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era – WWE NXT TakeOver: Phoenix

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When given the opportunity to show everyone just how good they are, the then-named War Raiders, now known as The Viking Raiders, pulled out every weapon in their arsenal to display their wonderful chemistry and prove their place at the top of the tag team game.

Exhibiting every trick in their collective moveset, Hanson and Rowe seemed like an unstoppable force against the Undisputed Era. Through a combination of brute power, unexpected athleticism, and unfair levels of speeds, their offence was punishingly painful, powerful, and extremely impressive.

With this one dominating performance, it was clear WWE had a new monster team on their hands. After Undisputed Era had dominated the NXT Tag Team division for so long, they were overthrown by an almighty viking force that pillaged them of their gold. TakeOver Phoenix was a defining performance for the then named Hanson and Rowe when they opened the show by immediately stealing it.

Although they now may go by different names on a different brand, hopefully Erik and Ivar can once again collide with O'Reilly and Fish in another show stealing bout once the main roster inevitably becomes Undisputed.

#5 American Alpha vs. The Revival – NXT Takeover Dallas

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The resurgence of top-quality Tag Team wrestling in WWE really caught fire when these two teams were given the opportunity to put on insanely good matches together. During WrestleMania weekend 2016, American Alpha and The Revival blew all of our minds with one of the best two-on-two bouts of the last decade.

These four men put on a technical masterpiece, trading a variety of holds and double team moves. As they always do, The Revival manipulated the mechanics of tag team wrestling better than anybody in the world by preventing pinfalls, tags, and saving each other from succumbing to American Alpha’s painful offence.

Each part of this match flowed so seamlessly that it felt as though every aspect of it had been choreographed perfectly.

It truly is a shame American Alpha aren't still teaming today. Unfortunately, it seems Jason Jordan may never return to the ring, but thankfully Chad Gable is finally getting a chance to show how ridiculously skilled he is on 205 Live.

Whatever the future holds for these four men, I'm sure down the line they will be remembered fondly for starting something special in NXT.

#4 War Raiders vs. Aleister Black And Ricochet – NXT TakeOver: New York

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Between NXT TakeOver: New York, WrestleMania, Monday Night Raw, and SmackDown Live, we all saw Aleister Black and Ricochet wrestle as a team four times over the biggest wrestling weekend of the year, and we never once got sick of watching them.

Despite being a mismatched pairing seemingly thrown together out of necessity, Black and Ricochet proved to be an entertaining duo with high chemistry. Their differences were overshadowed by their in-ring similarities and complimentary styles.

After winning the prestigious Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, the newly formed duo went and put on one of the best tag team matches ever seen at an NXT TakeOver when they faced War Raiders. Unlike their match with Undisputed Era, the team then known as Hanson and Rowe were challenged by the persistent tournament winners in an impressive back-and-forth showing.

Helped by a burning hot Brooklyn crowd, it was a highly competitive match capped off by an emotional goodbye to the brand by Ricochet and Black. All four men came out looking primed and ready for stardom in arguably the greatest two-on-two, single fall tag team match in NXT history.

#3 WarGames Match – NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2017

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Back in 2017, many of our hopes and dreams were answered when a WCW icon finally returned after an almost twenty-year hiatus.

No, it wasn't The Shockmaster (as wonderful as that would have been), but instead, it was the punishing, two ring spectacular known as WarGames.

For the first time in WWE history, the flagship tag team match from their greatest rival would be making an appearance, and despite two decades of waiting, the steel cage spectacle certainly did not disappoint.

Here is a list of reasons why you should absolutely love the first WarGames match in NXT history:

– First match of its kind in twenty years

– A participant of the first-ever WarGames match was involved

– There were two rings with plenty of shenanigans

– Killian Dane did some amazingly athletic things for a man his size

– Alexander Wolfe was once again brilliant yet underrated

– ADAM COLE BAY-BAY!!

– A superplex from the top of the cage

– Authors of Pain threw grown men around like they were children

– An amazing table spot

– Mauro Ranallo on commentary

Do I need to say more?

#2 Street Profits vs. Lorcan and Burch vs. Undisputed Era vs. Forgotten Sons – NXT TakeOver: XXV

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If you want to watch pure chaos erupt, this is the match for you. A manic array of human flesh darting around the ring in a constant series of barbaric attacks and falls.

There was nothing complex about it, just four teams absolutely killing their opponents and destroying their own bodies along the way.

Every man played their role perfectly, leaving chunks of themselves along the way. Once Street Profits pulled down those title belts, I felt exhausted just from watching that human demolition derby. It was violent, it was anarchic, and it was amazing.

Honourable Mentions

Rhyno and Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor and Samoa Joe – Dusty Rhodes Classic Final

British Ambition vs. The Wyatt Family - NXT TV

The Ascension vs. Hideo Itami and Finn Balor – NXT TakeOver: R-Evolution

Sanity vs. Undisputed Era – NXT TV

American Alpha vs. Rhyno and Baron Corbin – Dusty Rhodes Classic Semi Final

DIY vs. TM-61 - NXT TV

Authors of Pain vs. DIY - NXT TakeOver: Chicago

TM-61 vs. Authors of Pain - NXT TakeOver: Toronto

American Alpha vs. DIY - NXT TV

#1 The Revival vs. DIY: 2/3 Falls – NXT Takeover Toronto

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As stated previously, The Revival have perfected the art of professional wrestling. Unfortunately for them though, their best outings seem to be when they’re on the losing end. When they faced DIY at TakeOver Brooklyn back in 2016.

It was an immediate masterpiece that seemed impossible to top, that is until TakeOver Toronto where the two teams managed to take NXT tag team wrestling to a different level.

Of course, the greatest and most memorable moment of the match was the double tapout finish. The image of Dash and Dawson grasping each other's hands in a desperate attempt to resist submitting will be one of the most enduring images in NXT for years to come.

This match was pivotal in establishing The Revival as the kings of tag team storytelling in WWE, and kicked off Gargano's epic run of legendary TakeOver matches.

Not only is this the best tag team match we've yet to see in NXT, it's one of the greatest ever in WWE history. Hopefully one day we get to witness another two teams with the levels of chemistry DIY and The Revival had flourish together in NXT.

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Edited by Zaid Khan