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NXT is WWE's best in-ring brand by far. They consistently outperform WWE's Superstars on the main roster (with the possible exception of 205 Live). There have been three NXT TakeOver events so far, and all of them have been exceptional wrestling events that stole the show.
NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, NXT TakeOver: New York, and NXT TakeOver: XXV were all extraordinary events that were a blessing to all wrestling fans.
There were excellent matches for all the titles in the Yellow and Black brand.
Superstars such as Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Ricochet, Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, the War Raiders, Aleister Black, Pete Dunne, the Velveteen Dream, and Matt Riddle all competed in some of the best matches in all of WWE
Some honorable mentions for this spot include the War Raiders vs Undisputed Era at NXT Takeover: Phoenix, Shayna Baszler vs Bianca Belair at NXT Takeover: Phoenix, Tommaso Ciampa vs Aleister Black at NXT Takeover: Phoenix, #DIY vs the Undisputed Era on an episode of NXT, Adam Cole vs Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano vs Matt Riddle vs Ricochet on an episode of NXT, and Shayna Baszler vs Bianca Belair vs Kairi Sane vs Io Shirai at NXT Takeover: New York.
#10 NXT Women's Championship: Shayna Baszler (c.) vs. Io Shirai (NXT TakeOver: XXV)
This match was arguably Shayna Baszler's best singles match to date in NXT. Io Shirai and Shayna Baszler had a great feud that made you want to see Io Shirai dethrone Shayna Baszler to become NXT Women's Champion. This match was a reflection of that. Io Shirai did everything that she could do to win this match.
After more than a year at the top of the NXT women's division, Shayna Baszler felt this would be nothing more than another simple title defense. It was extremely satisfying to see Io Shirai prove her wrong. The aggression, drive, and high-flying skills of Io Shirai added a lot to this match. It was nice to see that this match did not excessively rely on interference from Candice LeRae, Marina Shafir, and Jessamyn Duke as it could have quickly taken away from the match.
The finishing sequence of the match was specifically excellent with Shayna Baszler countering a series of roll-ups into the Kirafuda Clutch. Io Shirai showed a lot of spirit and heart when trying to get out of the submission in what might have been the best match of her WWE career so far. Her attack at the end of the match was also an excellent way to tease her heel turn (which happened a few weeks later).
#9: Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black, Ricochet, and The Velveteen Dream (Halftime Heat)
After a massive brawl broke out between the six-men listed above, a six-man tag team match was announced for Halftime Heat. This match was fantastic as it had excellent storytelling and was an all-action spot fest. It started with excellent high-flying skills from Ricochet before the heels took down the Velveteen Dream.
One of the essential storylines of this match was that Johnny Gargano did not trust Tommaso Ciampa. During the beginning of the match, Johnny Gargano had the choice to choose between tagging in Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa and quickly decided Adam Cole. After the hot tag to Ricochet, this match was nothing but action.
Ricochet's high-flying antics, Aleister Black's strikes, the Velveteen Dream's charisma, and flamboyance, the superkick party involving Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and Ricochet, the unique variation of #DIY's tag team finisher, and Adam Cole surprisingly busting out the Panama Sunrise all made this a great match. Adam Cole also looked strong at the end despite being pinned because it took a collection of finishing moves to defeat him.
#8: NXT Tag Team Championship Fatal-Four-Way Ladder Match: The Brit-Am Bruisers vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. The Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era (NXT TakeOver: XXV)
After the Viking Raiders were called up to the main roster while they were NXT Tag Team Champions in an untimely fashion, the tag team division was left in a state of flux as the Viking Raiders needed to relinquish the NXT Tag Team Titles. This ladder match was then set up to determine the new champions.
All four of these tag teams brought their A game to this match. The Undisputed Era was the in-ring generals and did most of the heavy lifting as they took a lot of damage in this match and hit a lot of insane moves. The explosive style of the Brit-Am Brusiers added a lot to this match as well.
The Forgotten Sons were great as the heels that nobody wanted to win, and the Street Profits were terrific as the underdogs of the match. Every team in the match teaming up to take down Jaxson Ryker helped to portray the power of the Forgotten Sons. The insane spots hit in the match helped to elevate all men involved. The sequence at the end with the Street Profits taking out the Forgotten Sons was excellent, and this match was the perfect coronation for the Street Profits.
#7: WWE United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne (c.) vs. WALTER (NXT TakeOver: New York)
Pete Dunne had been the WWE United Kingdom champion for more than 600 days when he faced off with WALTER at NXT Takeover: New York. WALTER was the biggest threat to Pete Dunne. There was a great story in this match as Pete Dunne did everything that he could to get the victory. Pete Dunne used his submission skills, joint manipulation, and high-flying skills to the best of his ability.
WALTER just used his power to dominate the match completely. We saw Pete Dunne use moves that we have never seen him use including a diving foot stomp to the outside. The near falls and the counters were excellent as well. WALTER countered Pete Dunne's Bitter End with a vicious lariat and countered out of Pete Dunne's finger-bending submissions with just pure power.
The two barely kicked out of each other's finishing moves in the Bitter End and the Powerbomb. The finish at the end was especially excellent with WALTER needing to use an Avalanche Powerbomb followed by a diving splash to get the victory. It showed that WALTER had to use every trick in his book to pry the championship from the mouth of Pete Dunne.
#6: Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong (NXT TakeOver: XXV)
In the latest WWE NEWS, Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong started a feud with each other when Roderick Strong took out Matt Riddle in the parking lot on an episode of NXT. The two superstars then competed in the opening match of NXT Takeover: XXV. It is fair to say that they opened the show in the best way possible.
They had a great match that re-established Roderick Strong as a superb singles competitor.
The two superstars exchanged every single move that they had in their arsenal. Roderick Strong used all of his trademark backbreaking offense while Matt Riddle used his strikes, submissions, and explosive power.
The Messiah of the Backbreaker put up a great effort and almost got the win with his Strong Hold finishing move and even managed to break out of the Bro-mission when it was fully locked in. The new finishing move that Matt Riddle debuted was magnificent as well.
#5: NXT Tag Team Championships: The War Raiders (c.) vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet (NXT TakeOver: New York)
Aleister Black and Ricochet earned a title shot against the War Raiders (now known as the Viking Raiders) by defeating the Forgotten Sons in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. While there was not much of a feud between these two tag teams, there did not need to be one due to the immense talent of the four superstars in this match.
All four of these men worked hard and were excellent as they kicked off WrestleMania weekend. Aleister Black & Rowe provided much of the striking in the match with vicious knee strikes and kicks. Ricochet & Hanson both provided high-flying moves for the matchup. In one exciting one moment, Ricochet caught Hanson in mid-air with a fallaway slam.
The high-flying sequence near the end was excellent as well with Aleister Black taking out Hanson with a moonsault plancha, only for Rowe to take out Aleister Black with a suicide dive, only for Ricochet to take out Rowe with a corkscrew moonsault, only for Hanson to take out everyone with a Diving Tope Con Hiro.
There were excellent counters as well with Aleister Black countering the pop-up powerslam with a Meteora. The near falls were terrific as well with Aleister Black breaking up a pinfall with a diving double stomp and Hanson using his power to break up a pin. The War Raider's win would have been an excellent way to solidify their status as the top of NXT's tag team division.
#4: NXT North American Championship: The Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle (NXT TakeOver: New York)
The Velveteen Dream and Matt Riddle started a feud that was likely meant to be a triple threat match also involving Adam Cole before the injury that Tommaso Ciampa suffered. This match had an intriguing set up as Matt Riddle dominated the whole match while the Velveteen Dream was not able to get in a lot of action.
Matt Riddle showed off his submission expertise early in the match by excellently targeting the arms. He then threw The Velveteen Dream around with a few German suplexes. The two then excellently exchanged moves such as Matt Riddle fluidly locked in an Ankle Lock on the Velveteen Dream or when the Velveteen Dream channeled Hulk Hogan.
There were excellent near falls and the sequence near their end when Matt Riddle hit the Velveteen Dream with a deadlift German Suplex from the ropes followed by the fantastic Floating Bro. The Velveteen Dream's counter of the Bro-mission was excellent as well as it showed that he barely escaped with the title which conveyed how much of a threat Matt Riddle was to him.
#3: NXT North American Championship: Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet (c) (NXT TakeOver: Phoenix)
Johnny Gargano and Ricochet started a feud after Tommaso Ciampa goaded Johnny Gargano into challenging Ricochet for the NXT North American Championship after his victory over Aleister Black in a steel cage match. Johnny Wrestling would then attack Ricochet on multiple episodes of NXT.
While Johnny Gargano's heel turn had mixed results, this match was exceptional. Both superstars worked their hardest to wow the crowd. The two superstars had several innovative counters as Johnny Gargano countered a dropkick into a powerbomb and a springboard into the Gargano Escape.
One incredible spot saw Johnny Gargano counter Ricochet's avalanche fireman's carry into an avalanche rana only for Ricochet to land on his feet. Ricochet hit a fantastic Tope Con Hiro over the ring post before one especially amazing sequence saw Johnny Gargano counter a Fireman's Carry into a Reverse Rana followed by the slingshot DDT for a nearfall.
The ending sequence saw Johnny Gargano realize that he needed to go to the darkness to get the victory and further enhanced his storyline with Tommaso Ciampa while also allowing Johnny Gargano to win his first-ever singles title finally.
#2: NXT Championship: Johnny Gargano (c.) vs. Adam Cole (NXT TakeOver: XXV)
Johnny Gargano continued his feud with Adam Cole and the rest of Undisputed Era after NXT TakeOver: New York (more on that match later). This led to Adam Cole challenging Johnny Gargano for the NXT Championship once again. The two had an excellent match that proved to be almost as good as their first match with each other.
The match had unique in-ring psychology with Johnny Gargano attacking the arm and Adam Cole attacking the knee. There were great sequences including a superkick party, Adam Cole countering the suicide dive into a superkick followed by a Panama Sunrise on the floor, several forms of the Canadian Destroyer from Adam Cole, and a Reverse Rana followed by the Last Shot.
All of the kick outs were excellent, and it was perfect that Adam Cole won the match without the help of Undisputed Era. This was a great match with a relatively unpredictable ending that helped show the dominance of the Undisputed Era.
#1: 2 Out of 3 Falls Match for the NXT Championship: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: New York)
Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole faced off for the NXT Championship after Tommaso Ciampa was forced to vacate the title due to injury. This was a perfect match that told a moving story. Johnny Gargano was the underdog who was hoping to redeem himself to the WWE Universe after his heel turn. It was a perfect choice to allow Adam Cole to get the first fall as it made the WWE Universe begin to doubt Johnny Gargano even more.
Johnny Wrestling also almost lost the second fall because he didn't want to win by count out. The third fall was the best fall of them all. One excellent counter was when Adam Cole countered the springboard spear into a superkick followed by a beautiful Panama Sunrise for a nearfall.
Johnny Gargano survived everything Adam Cole threw at him including A Fairy Tale Ending on the announce table (he barely made it back in the ring on time), multiple Last Shots, multiple superkicks, and interference from the rest of Undisputed Era to get a much-deserved title triumph.
Johnny Gargano was finally able to redeem himself after years of struggle with the Gargano Escape. The moment in the end with Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa was a beautiful moment that symbolized the end of their story.
