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WWE hadn't seen 5-star matches in seven years before the breakthrough was made at NXT: TakeOver Philadelphia. Since then, WWE scored two more 5-star ratings for matches at the greatly received NXT: Takeover New Orleans. With NXT Takeover: Chicago coming up this Saturday, one has to wonder whether any of the matches on the card will be able to earn the magical 5 stars from Dave Meltzer.
A 5-star seal of approval from Dave Meltzer means more today than it ever has done in the past with the internet wrestling fan population growing by the day. With NXT recruiting the best talent from around the world and also churning out world-class matches on a regular basis at the moment, it should not be too much of a surprise that a decent proportion of its roster has taken in part in at least one 5-star match. Here is a brief overview as to which wrestler have achieved this impressive feat and how they did it.
#5 EC3, Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan & Velveteen Dream
Number of 5-star matches: 1
5 Star match: Ladder match for the North American championship at NXT Takeover: New Orleans
Winner of match: Adam Cole
Titles in NXT: 0 (combined)
The Ladder match for the North American championship at NXT Takeover: New Orleans was perfectly chaotic. The 6 men were clearly defined character all of which with a seemingly legitimate chance of winning the title. Dain and Sullivan brought the strength, Dream and Cole brought bundles of charisma and EC3 and Ricochet were the unknown to many as they made their NXT debuts in the match. Everyman had several moments were they shone and while Adam Cole eventually grabbed the gold, each man involved elevated their careers.
#4 Tommaso Ciampa
Number of 5-star matches: 1
5-star match: Unsanctioned match vs. Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans
Titles won in NXT: 1, NXT Tag Team Championship with Johnny Gargano
Ciampa's unsanctioned match against Johnny Gargano is many people's match of the year so far for 2018. It brought a year worth of storytelling to what seemed a perfect ending. The match featured a number of believable false finishes and with many expecting this to be Gargano's farewell match before he joined the main roster, Gargano coming out on top was a real surprise. With these two going at it once again this Saturday, could we have another 5-star match on our hands?
#3 Adam Cole
Number of 5-star matches: 2
5-star matches: Ladder match for the North American championship at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 6-man tag with The Young Bucks vs Ricochet, Will Ospreay and Matt Sydal at PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2016
Titles won in NXT: 1, North American Championship
Cole was victorious in the 6-man ladder match that was discussed earlier. In addition to that, he also took part in a less well known 5-star match in PWG, teaming with his then-bullet club stablemates the young bucks, to take on the high-flying team of Will Ospreay, Ricochet and Matt Sydal. Having shown he is capable of producing 5-star matches both in and outside of WWE, Cole is rightly one of the leading stars of NXT.
#2 Ricochet
Number of 5-star matches: 2
5-star matches: Ladder match for the North American championship at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 6-man tag w/ Will Ospreay & Matt Sydal vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks at PWG Battle of Los Angeles 201
Titles won in NXT: 0
Ricochet was involved in the same two 5-star matches as Adam Cole. Ricochet has earned a reputation for being one of the best wrestlers in the world with his ludicrous agility alongside his effortless charisma. Ricochet will take on the Velveteen Dream at NXT Takeover: Chicago in what has the potential to be an instant classic. If that doesn't work for him, history says putting him in the ring with Adam Cole is a good idea!
#1 Johnny Gargano
Number of 5-star matches: 2
5-star match: NXT championship match vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia AND unsanctioned match vs. Tommaso Ciampa at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
Titles won in NXT: 1, Tag team championship w/ Tommaso Ciampa
Gargano has earned the right to be the underdog king of NXT. Having worked his way up the card with consistently exceptional performances, Gargano got his first singles title shot against Andrade "Cien" Almas. This match was sensational and was the bout that ended WWE's 7-year drought of 5-star matches. Since then, Gargano has put on another 5-star classic against Tomasso Ciampa and who would bet against him repeating the feat in the rematch this Saturday?
