The 10 Greatest NXT Takeovers of All Time

#1 Takeover: New Orleans (Apr. 6, 2018, Smoothie King Center, crowd of 13,000+)

Takeover: New Orleans was the closest NXT has ever come to hitting 5 home-runs over 5 matches. The opening 6-man ladder match, to decide the inaugural North American Champion, was a human demolition derby. A springboard shooting star plancha, rolling death valley driver, ladder-topped elbow drop and "Freak Accident" bodyslam through a ladder were just a few of the insane moments.

Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler cooled things off with an admittedly subdued, but traditional "fight" looking Women's Title match that was very solid overall, and Roderick Strong shocked the NXT Universe by turning on tag team partner Pete Dunne to join his former Ring of Honor cohorts Undisputed Era, allowing the team to retain the titles and win the third Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Aleister Black and Andrade "Cien" Almas put on a clinic with their intense and fast-paced NXT Championship match which would have been a perfectly fine main event...if it wasn't for the absolutely incredible storytelling of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa's Unsanctioned Match finisher.

The nearly year-long build-up to this slow and satisfying storyline conclusion, with which was filled with callbacks and allusions on top of the bloodthirsty barbaric ferocity with which these two enemies fought (powerbombs on concrete, metal crutch shots, and more) made for arguably the most heartstopping match in NXT's history, and the fierce, vociferous commentary of Mauro Ranallo along with Percy Watson and Nigel McGuiness added another layer of depth and dimension.

The tale of close friends breaking apart after betrayal, the more righteous of the two nearly losing his career only to persevere and emerge victorious with his supportive women by his side is an ageless storyline arc that more than fulfils WWE's mission statement of putting smile's on people's faces. It certainly put one on mine, from ear to ear.

Rating: 10/10.