5 Top WWE Superstars and their greatest NXT TakeOver performances

It has been over a decade since WWE NXT came into being. Once dubbed as a developmental brand, NXT steadily grew with each passing year and is now regarded as a major show alongside WWE RAW and SmackDown.

TakeOver is to NXT what WrestleMania is to RAW and SmackDown. We have witnessed 31 TakeOver events to date, and it's incredibly tough to pick one among these as the very best. Almost all the TakeOver events have wowed the fans and have been incredibly successful in execution. In the following list, we will take a look at five top WWE Superstars and their greatest NXT TakeOver performances.

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#5 Asuka defeats Ember Moon to retain the NXT Women's title (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III)

By the time this match came around, Asuka had solidified herself as the greatest competitor in NXT history, courtesy her undefeated streak. On this night, Asuka took on Ember Moon at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III with the coveted belt on the line. The beauty of this bout was the fact that no one had pushed Asuka this far until Ember Moon came along. Moon did her absolute best to defeat Asuka, but The Empress of Tomorrow wasn't someone who could be beaten so easily.

Asuka gave one of the greatest performances of her NXT run and defeated Moon to retain the belt. Unfortunately for Asuka, she broke her collarbone during the match and soon vacated the NXT Women's title. Asuka would go on to make her main roster debut in a matter of months, and the rest is history. Her winning streak was broken by Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34, but Asuka has been doing incredibly well for herself ever since then, and is the current RAW Women's Champion.

#4 Aleister Black defeats Adam Cole in an Extreme Rules match (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia)

Currently, Aleister Black is a mainstay on WWE RAW. Back in 2018, he was wowing the fans in NXT and having classics one after the other with the brand's top Superstars. His rivalry with Adam Cole had reached a boiling point by the time NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia arrived, and they settled it out in an Extreme Rules match.

The bout saw interferences from Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, but SAnitY came out to even the odds and fended off the villains. Black and Cole gave everything they had in an attempt to best their opponent, but it was Black who came out victorious in the end. A devastating Black Mass by Aleister Black ended things for Adam Cole, and one of the greatest hardcore matches of the modern era came to an end. Black has tons of potential to become one of the biggest Superstars in all of WWE in the near future. Hopefully, WWE handles him well over the next few years and lets him show what he is capable of.

#3 The Four Horsewomen battle in a Fatal Four-Way match (NXT TakeOver: Rival)

This is a unique case, as the above match can be considered as one of the greatest performances of any of the four competitors involved. All four women proved on this night why they deserved to become the top stars of the women's division, which they did after making it to RAW/SmackDown. Charlotte Flair came in as NXT Women's Champion, with Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley aiming to win the belt.

A series of near pinfalls left the fans astonished and on the edge of their seats. Flair gave her absolute best on this night, and so did Becky Lynch and Bayley. It was Sasha Banks though, who came out victorious in the end. After hitting a Crucifix on Charlotte, Banks pinned her to become the new NXT Women's Champion, thus marking an end to one of the greatest Fatal Four-Way matches the NXT crowd had ever seen. All four women would go on to become four of the biggest women's wrestlers in WWE, with Becky and Charlotte headlining WrestleMania 35 in the first women's main event in the show's history.

#2 Sami Zayn defeats Adrian Neville to win the NXT title (NXT TakeOver: R Evolution)

Sami Zayn is one of the top Superstars on WWE SmackDown currently, and is holding the Intercontinental title. Zayn has managed to secure a spot for himself in WWE following his move from NXT, despite not getting as many opportunities as he did in NXT. Back in 2014, Zayn was one of the biggest Superstars in NXT and was involved in a series of classic encounters with the NXT title on the line.

The stipulation of the above match made it all the more intriguing. Zayn believed that he didn't deserve to be in NXT if he couldn't win the top belt of the brand, and thus put his career on the line against NXT Champion Adrian Neville. Zayn and Neville had an excellent match, with both men hitting each other with devastating moves one after the other. In the end, a second Helluva Kick finished Neville, and Zayn became the new NXT Champion. Following the match, Kevin Owens attacked Zayn to end the show on a sour note.

#1 Andrade defeats Johnny Gargano to retain the NXT title (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia)

Today, Andrade is one of the most popular acts on WWE RAW. He has won the United States title on one occasion and has a bright future ahead of him. Andrade was a top Superstar in NXT back in 2018. At NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia in 2018, Andrade squared off against Johnny Gargano with the former's NXT title on the line.

Both men beat the tar out of each other, and the match lasted just over 30 minutes. Johnny Gargano was doing everything in his power to best Andrade and win the title, but the latter didn't have plans to leave the building without the NXT title. In the end, Andrade connected an elevated Hammerlock DDT on Gargano, and it was enough for him to pick up the win. Gargano had nothing to be ashamed of, as he had given one of the greatest performances in the history of NXT. Andrade, on the other hand, had proven that he was a valuable asset for WWE and had all the ingredients of becoming a top star in the future.

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Edited by Kaushik Das