Top 5 Matches NXT Should Produce In 2019

2018 proved to be a fantastic year for WWE's third brand as TakeOver after TakeOver continued to impress and the weekly hour-long NXT program was consistent and entertaining. While TakeOver: Phoenix has come and gone and wasn't exactly the greatest show by the brand, it was nonetheless a fine, solid outing that will more likely go down as a small pause in NXT's exponential rise than the start of a reversal in fortunes.

The reason for this high expectation of greatness is simple: the booking philosophy and sheer depth of talent under contract ensure that there's absolutely no reason last year's level of quality shouldn't remain firmly intact and that the good times shouldn't continue rolling.

With that in mind, a countless number of insane dream-scenario match-ups lie in wait for Triple H, William Regal and the road agents down in Orlando to put together, but there are a few that arguably stand above the rest in terms of urgency.

These are the top 5 matches NXT should produce in 2019.

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#5 Pete Dunne vs. Velveteen Dream

Dunne and Dream get set to perform at a small untelevised Jacksonville event

A fresh matchup never before seen on NXT television, Pete Dunne and Velveteen Dream would absolutely tear the roof of any arena in the US or UK through a combination of both in-ring skill and character work. Though these two stars may not seemingly have a lot in common on the surface, they are in-fact more alike than not.

Both are hovering in their early to mid-20s; both were initially presented as heel characters then gradually became face when crowds began to enjoy them even more than their fan favorite rivals Tyler Bate and Aleister Black, and both are beloved for a combination of both their in-ring abilities and character work simultaneously.

While we can't say for sure that this dream match will happen, with Dunne spending at least half his schedule in England for NXT UK and British indie promotions, and Velveteen Dream rumored to be main roster-bound, it's still fun to think about.

Imagine Dream making his entrance in mock British monarch attire or Dunne trying to match Velveteen's charisma in a face to face standoff. Picture Dream reversing a Bitter End pump handle slam into his trademark spiked DDT, or Dunne countering a Purple Rainmaker elbow drop into a triangle choke. The possibilities!

#4 Undisputed Era vs. DIY

Is DIY together again? Has Gargano turned to the dark side?

Given the fact that Johnny Gargano has seemingly given into dark impulses and re-joined his tag team partner turned arch nemesis Tommaso Ciampa, it appears that the rebirth of #DIY, in an evil and sinister form, has come.

Naturally then, they should want to recapture their spot as the top tag team they were around this time two years ago. Whilst a match with new champions The War Raiders might make for a good performance with a conventional face/heel dynamic, an epic war with the more evenly-sized Undisputed Era would probably make for an even greater aligning of the stars at a near-future TakeOver special.

Imagine a long, deep, story-driven match where the two teams make callbacks to their previous epic encounters with The Revival, the Authors of Pain and Moustache Mountain. The psychology, tag team combos and spots, and finishing sequence could be amazing if all parties involved got creative enough.

In fact, both of these teams are so top tier that it wouldn't be a stretch to suggest this not only could potentially become a TakeOver main event but perhaps WWE's first tag team Ironman Match.

#3 Kairi Sane vs. Io Shirai

Kairi Sane (nee Hojo) and Io Shirai in STARDOM

Fresh off their appearances in the 2019 Royal Rumble with over 40,000 in attendance, Japanese sensations Kairi Sane and Io Shirai have come a long way from the dojo of their previous smaller wrestling home, World of Stardom, to the glitz and spectacle of WWE's sports entertainment production.

It's a likely scenario that the two close friends will be packaged together in a unit resembling the Jumping Bomb Angels once WWE's nascent women's tag team division grows and they graduate to the main roster. However, it would be criminal to not give fans at least one singles match at a TakeOver between these two incredibly athletic ladies.

Of course Sane (then known by her birthname Kairi Hojo) and Shirai have wrestled before as two of the biggest stars in their home country and with at least one of their previous encounters freely available on video sharing sites. However, there's something about colliding on a bigger stage at an NXT TakeOver that would likely make this dream match a bigger deal.

Aside from the energetic screams of 10,000 or more fans in attendance (as opposed to 500-2,000 in Stardom), the higher production values and the intense play-by-play commentary of Mauro Ranallo, Shirai and Sane would likely get special entrances that could resemble an anime or JRPG video game.

That's making no mention of the match quality itself - chain sequences, moonsaults, headscissors, planchas and flying elbows galore.

#2 Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic

Lee and Dijakovic put on an indie classic less than two years ago, will they do it again?

Like the women stars of Japan, Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic (formerly known as Donovan Dijak) have tangled in another life before WWE, earning a very rare five-star rating from Dave Meltzer's prestigious Wrestling Observer publication for their impressive 2017 match at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's annual BOLA (Battle of Los Angeles) tournament.

With both former indie stars finding themselves on the NXT roster just a year and a half later, it's safe to assume the powers that be at the Performance Center and Full Sail have seen their work together.

One can only hope and assume then, that there's a plan to have Lee and Dijakovic re-create the magic from the indies on a larger scale within the "Hottest Brand In Sports Entertainment".

Crowd reactions at Full Sail might be similar in scope but with a massively larger home audience and the possibility of a TakeOver or pre-TakeOver dark match booking, the two men could feasibly perform the same amazing monkey flips, big-man moonsaults, powerslams, stiff strikes and flying dives in front of an arena-sized crowd.

#1 Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano have a deep, layered history

Though they may have reunited for the time being, the incarnation of evil #DIY seems like it may play out as a temporary alliance rather than a permanent pairing. Gargano's long-term character arc (possessing a heart of gold despite being repeatedly attacked, humiliated and cheated out of opportunities by Ciampa) just screams for one final chapter where at long last, justice prevails and Johnny Wrestling finally deposes his former friend and becomes NXT Champion.

The end of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa's cinematic narrative, by far the most overarching and compelling story in the history of the black and yellow brand, is most certainly looming. It would feel incomplete without a final showdown where the good guy - fair and honest, hard-working and talented with a good woman by his side, inevitably prevails and brings the tale to a close.

This could happen after a brief reinstatement of their tag team as a heel unit and subsequent matches with the Undisputed Era and perhaps other teams like the War Raiders, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, the Street Profits and Moustache Mountain.

Gargano would then logically need to find a moment to turn on Ciampa in a similar way as he had been turned on, leading to one final winner takes all match that could be totally layered with amazing counters and reversals as well as callbacks and allusions to the past. The depth of storytelling in a final Ciampa vs. Gargano match could be nothing less than incredible.