10 best matches at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

#7 Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III)

A contest of hard kicks.

This was a battle between two premier strikers. One of them tried to demand the respect he felt he hadn't received after years of effort, while the other was a hot new arrival he wanted to make an example of. The atmosphere was kicked up a notch when Code Orange and Incendiary played Black to the ring.

The entrance played perfectly into the match because it was mostly a fast-paced, adrenaline-laden slugfest. At times, the match felt like a kickboxing contest, and that was a nice change of pace from what we typically see in a ring.

Black bleeding early on lent credibility to the hard impacts that fans knew both men could deliver. Itami started to take control during the middle of the match, sitting down in Black's signature post to crank up the mind games. Itami's control of the contest see-sawed back and forth throughout the middle, culminating with a super Falcon Arrow which resulted in a near-fall. It was, however, almost as damaging to Itami as Black.

That's when Aleister Black shot up and began his own mind games, staring down a disbelieving Itami. Both men exchanged a flurry of strikes, and Itami ended the affair with another Falcon Arrow for a two-count. He tried for Go to Sleep but failed. As he demanded respect from the crowd, Black got back to his feet. Itami charged and missed, and was met with a Black Mass. He fell for the three count.