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NXT started off as a reality show third brand replacement for the defunct ECW, and nobody would have even thought how far it would come since 2010. NXT is now a staple in the WWE and it is impossible to imagine a scenario where NXT is not as big as it has become. It has changed the WWE system in an extremely positive way and has given us most of the entire current roster of prominent wrestlers. All it needed was a vision and a platform. It got both.
When Triple H took over NXT in 2012, he completely revamped the entire structure of the show and made it the developmental brand of the WWE. Since then, it has grown immensely as we saw the WWE Performance Center get built in Orlando. The future has been shaping up perfectly for the company. One of the biggest steps taken was the introduction of semi-regular WWE Network special events. They later became branded as Takeovers. These shows would be held at the home of NXT, Full Sail University, every once in three months or so.
But it kept on growing and growing that WWE decided to book a Takeover on the night before SummerSlam in 2015, at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. This was monumental as it would be the first-ever NXT Takeover event in an arena. The first edition was a resounding success, as have the following Brooklyn Takeovers. New York City is WWE's home, and the Barclay's Center has become the venue for NXT's very own WrestleMania. They have stolen SummerSlam weekend for three years in a row, along with other big four pay-per-view weekends.
As NXT are preparing for their fourth summer in Brooklyn (and the fifth one before WrestleMania 35) here are all three NXT Takeovers from the Big Apple, ranked from worst to best.
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#3 Takeover: Brooklyn 2016
In all honesty, being last on this list does not mean that the show is bad by any means. Every single one of these shows was excellent in many ways, but there are some small separations between the high quality of each of these three shows. In this case, the second time NXT took over New York falls in this unfortunate position. While we saw some incredible things on this show, there is a considerable difference between the first three matches and the last three matches of this show.
The first half of NXT Takeover: Back 2 Brooklyn focused on enhancing some of the talent that needed to get over. The likes of freshly turned heel Austin Aries, recent signing Bobby Roode, and debutante Ember Moon earned straightforward victories in some decent if unspectacular wrestling matches. We did get to see the return of Hideo Itami, after more than a year out, and his creation, the Go 2 Sleep.
However, the fun picked up immensely as we rolled onto an NXT Tag Team Championship match between The Revival and DIY. Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa fought the good fight, and some more, but they just could not topple the old-school tag team greatness of Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson.
The last two matches saw the torch of the NXT Women's Division being passed from Bayley to Asuka, in the former's NXT swansong. Bayley had a history with Brooklyn, as we will see, and this match was the perfect farewell for the Hugger as she made her way to the main roster of WWE.
The main event saw Shinsuke Nakamura, who made his grand entrance to the sweet violinistic stylings of Lee England Jr, dethroning Samoa Joe to become the NXT Champion in a great match. It came after a long and exhausting night of action, but the crowd in Brooklyn came unglued as their favorite Japanese hero reached the top of the NXT mountain.
However, the show was completely stolen by the exhilarating tag team title match. The 2016 edition of NXT's WrestleMania could not match its predecessor in any way, but still held it's own as a fabulous wrestling show.
#2 Takeover: Brooklyn 2017
This Takeover was monumental in so many ways, as we saw a stunning opener, a surprising title change, a live entrance theme performance, unseen dominance, and an Earth-shattering debut. Brooklyn was in for a treat when NXT returned for their third annual summertime slobberknocker.
The show started off with a bang as Johnny Gargano, post-DIY, squared off against Andrade 'Cien' Almas, with new manager Zelina Vega. It was an incredible match, one which set the tone for both, the evening and their 5-star classic five months later in Philadelphia. The finish came when Vega threw a DIY T-shirt in the ring to distract Johnny Wrestling and gift Almas the victory.
Elsewhere, we saw SaniTY topple the Authors Of Pain in surprising fashion to become the NXT Tag Team Champions before they were attacked by a debuting Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly. This set the tone for the biggest moment of the night, which came at the end. Then Aleister Black came out to a live rendition of his entrance theme by Code Orange and Incendiary, for his hard-hitting bout against Hideo Itami.
Asuka, who had defeated Bayley last summer, retained her NXT Women's title in an incredible battle against the resilient Ember Moon, who made her debut on the same show a year ago. This match made Asuka look like an unbeatable killer and was her last NXT title defence, as she relinquished the championship shortly afterwards. The contrast between her booking on this show and in the current Smackdown landscape is striking.
However, the biggest talking point of the entire show came at the end of it. Drew McIntyre had just completed his redemption story by defeating Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship, but he was confronted on the apron by the earlier debutants Fish and O'Reilly. Then, following a stunning ovation, Adam Cole raced through the crowd to attack the new champion. The reaction bottled the magnitude of the moment, as Cole instantly became the most over man in NXT.
Brooklyn is one of the prime locations for such massive occurrences in NXT, and WWE as a whole and this show proved it. After a few years, we will look back in time at some of the biggest moments in NXT history. And it will always be remembered, that it was at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 3 where the Undisputed Era was born. They well and truly Shocked the System
#1 Takeover: Brooklyn 2015
Honestly, it would take a superhuman effort from all fronts to top the first and original edition of what became NXT's annual WrestleMania. The excitement was high, but so was the pressure. This would be the first time that most of these wrestlers would be performing in front of 15,000-plus fans in attendance. It was big and predictably, beautiful.
The original Takeover Brooklyn got off to a thunderous start as Jushin "Thunder" Liger made his first and only appearance in a WWE ring against Tyler Breeze, in a match that did not disappoint. We then saw a heartwarming NXT Tag Team Championship victory for The Vaudevillians as they beat Blake and Murphy, with some help from Blue Pants.
Fans were also treated to the debut of Apollo Crews, formerly known as Uhaa Nation, who showed off incredible strength and athleticism against Tye Dillinger. Also, Samoa Joe showed Brooklyn what he is capable of, as he put Baron Corbin to sleep. Admittedly, these four matches would not exactly scream 'Best Takeover' in a million years. But they played a perfect supplementary role, as the crowd was enormously excited throughout the entire night. Ultimately, that is what makes this show so special, along with the two biggest matches.
The main event of the evening was a hard-hitting Ladder Match for the NXT Championship, as Finn Balor conducted his first title defense against former champion Kevin Owens. It was an unbelievable match, one which was filled with carnage and spots for around 20 minutes before the Demon hit the Coup De Grace off the ladder and retrieved his title for the big win. However, they did have an overly difficult job to follow one of the biggest masterpieces in recent WWE history.
Prior to the actual main event, Sasha Banks fought Bayley for her NXT Women's Championship. This match was high on subtle storytelling, high drama, big moments, and pulsating action. After 18 minutes of war, Bayley put The Boss away with a swift Bayley-to-Belly Suplex and just like that, the greatest women's match in WWE history was brought to an emotional end. It was the perfect match which showcased the best of Bayley, and the best of Sasha. After the match, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch entered the ring to celebrate this monumental happening, as all of the Four Horsewomen hugged it out.
This match is the main reason why the first Takeover event at the Barclay's is also the best one. The overall atmosphere and feel to the event was incredible, and it's overwhelming success sent NXT into a much more positive direction. Gone were the days of Takeovers being held at Full Sail, it was time for NXT to take over every city they touch. It is now a tradition to have an NXT Takeover event on the night before a Big Five event, and we have the original NXT Takeover: Brooklyn to thank for that.
