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Best NXT Matches Ever.


The Natural

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I'm going to post my update. I've stuck to 20 when it could be longer, and likely will be at some point.

20. Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch. NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 2018.

19. Charlotte vs. Natalya. NXT TakeOver 2014.

18. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Rival 2015.

17. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. NXT TakeOver: The End 2016.

16. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable 2015.

15. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II 2016.

14. Asuka vs. Ember Moon. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III 2017.

13. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. NXT TakeOver: Rival 2015.

12. Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TV, 18th July 2018.

11. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 2018.

10. Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal. NXT TV, 25th December 2013.

9. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015.

8. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Respect 2015.

7. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream vs. EC3 vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 2018. *****

6. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn. NXT TakeOver: Dallas 2016. *****

5. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 2018. *****

4. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. NXT TakeOver Chicago 2017. *****

3. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn. NXT TakeOver: R-Evolution 2014. *****

2. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TakeOver: Toronto 2016. *****

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 2018. *****

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/3/2018 at 12:21 PM, The Natural said:

Looking back at mine, Johnny Gargano was involved in the two best matches in NXT. Interested in seeing the opinions of others ( you don't have to do a countdown), #1 placements and which of the two Sasha Banks vs. Bayley matches is preferred. I've always rated the Iron Woman Banks vs. Bayley match from NXT TakeOver: Respect 2015 more for the work involved including the use of the gimmick and Sasha Banks heel performance.

Watched Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn and Respect 2015 back to back yesterday. Two great matches. I still feel the Iron Woman match is the better of the two.

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  • 4 months later...

2018 was NXT’s greatest ever year. Here’s my updated list of the twenty best matches in NXT history…

20. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Rival 2015.

19. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 2018.

18. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable 2015.

17. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II 2016.

16. Adam Cole/Bobby Fish/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong/Akam/Rezar vs. Eric Young/Killian Dain/Alexander Wolfe. NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2017.

15. Asuka vs. Ember Moon. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III 2017.

14. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. NXT TakeOver: Rival 2015.

13. Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TV, 18th July 2018.

12. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 2018.

11. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream. NXT TakeOver: WarGames II 2018.

10. Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal. NXT TV, 25th December 2013.

9. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015.

8. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Respect 2015.

7. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream vs. EC3 vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 2018. *****

6. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn. NXT TakeOver: Dallas 2016. *****

5. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 2018. *****

4. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2017. *****

3. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn. NXT TakeOver: R-Evolution 2014. *****

2. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. NXT TakeOver: Toronto 2016. *****

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 2018. *****

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I actually disagree strongly with the idea that this was NXT's best year. Now the first half of the year was great stuff, but after that? Last half NXT has been one of the lowest points for NXT imo, off 2 Takeovers I viewed as pretty sizable letdowns in the grand scheme of things. We are in "Finn Balor NXT champion" levels of meh in NXT imo.

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I really need to do a Top 20 list of my own. Man, NXT has so many great things. It will take me years. 

I think my 2018 NXT MOTY was Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano on NXT TV just a bit above Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne on NXT TV. 

That Dream/Gargano match told two amazing stories at once. The first was the further unraveling of Johnny Gargano who lost his mind at the hands of his former best friend. But it also showed that Dream had a heel superpower of finding a weakness. Ricochet vs. Dunne was like a WCW Cruiserweight classic you'd see on a 1998 episode of Thunder, but told within the confines of a really fun story used to build up to War Games. I know the ending was "Adam Cole and the UEs ruin the match" but I really love that ending since the UEs are supposed to be pricks and the only way to get them as intended is by ruining MOTYs.

I think my Top 5 matches will always be:

1) Sasha/Bayley, IronWoman and 2) Sasha/Bayley, Barclay's. We're about to get a WrestleMania Main Event with three women's wrestlers. Just a few years ago, Asuka was on friggin' TV sets. What we have now does not happen without the great story of Bayley having to overcome the odds by remaining true to herself and defeating her evil twin -- someone who became a champion by embracing the false "boss" persona to giver her a fake sense of confidence. One of the best stories ever told in professional wrestling. I sort of want to keep these matches as one match. The work in both is superb. The IronWoman match was the first woman's main event in the WWE. The Barclay's match was just perfect heightening. 

3) Sami vs. Neville. The other great NXT morality play. Neville will go to the grey area to get ahead. Sami won't. He digs down deep and we get the "WHAT WILL HIS CHOICE BE" spot. Sami doesn't cheat and it almost costs him... but he finally ends up the champion. And then we have an Empire Strikes Back moment when Kevin Owens wrecked him. What a friggin' debut for KO -- a great, brutal match against CJ Parker followed by one of the best personal betrayals ever.

4) Revival vs. DIY, 2 out of 3 falls. Evil rich jerks like Ric Flair and Bobby Roode are why I got into wrestling and became a fan. But I stayed a fan because of tag team wrestling -- especially from heels who pull out non-stop clever tricks to win at the end. The Revival were just that. I loved the "holding hands to keep them from tapping out but AHHHHHHH" ending. The best.

5) Emma/Santino vs. Summer Rae/Fandango. The single best comedy match of all-time. Wrestling a lot of times needs levity and nonsense. The match was set up in a fun little feud. Summer Rae is one of the most underrated performers in NXT history. She was never that great as a wrestler but she was the first woman to really have a well-defined persona and character. She and Emma were beefing and had an initial dance off that Emma (of course) won. I just love that there was pathos over something so silly -- that is friggin' why wrestling is the best. Summer by then had been on the roster as Fandango's dance partner. Santino was an all-time great comedy worker and a fantastic pairing for Emma. They brought the house down in just a really magical and well-executed match.

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I knew that mixed tag would be on your list, gregg. Where it would fall on my list would depend on whether I leaned more towards “best” or “favorite.” It’s coming up in Yo-Yo’s Roomie’s NXT project, and I’m curious to hear the thoughts on it.

The Sasha/Bayley matches would be high on my list, along with the Sasha/Becky match with all the armwork and the Sami/Cesaro match from Arrival (which has the distinction of being the first live match shown on the Network).

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On 1/10/2019 at 4:15 AM, JonnyLaw said:

I knew that mixed tag would be on your list, gregg. Where it would fall on my list would depend on whether I leaned more towards “best” or “favorite.” It’s coming up in Yo-Yo’s Roomie’s NXT project, and I’m curious to hear the thoughts on it.

I watched that mixed tag team match for the first time this morning. Very funny from the entrance of Santino/Emma not on the same page to the chuckles in the match. I agree when it comes to best vs. favourite when it comes to lists/ballots. Would this match place on mine? I think it would because it's different so stands out and comedy is hard to pull off.

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On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 9:11 PM, El Dragon said:

*Ahem*

Dear anyone who doesn't view Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch as one of the very top tier matches in NXT history.

 

You are fucking wrong.

 

Signed, El Dragon.

This might be the most underrated match in the entire NXT run. On a sheer emotional level, Bayley vs Sasha in Brooklyn is(to me)the best women's match in NXT, but on a pure wrestling level this is right behind it

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On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 11:20 PM, El Dragon said:

The real fun part is we don't even get to count Ciampa/Gargano in this from the Cruiserweight Classic which is a matchup between NXT regulars that is fucking great. 

Also, I honestly feel like I can list like 3 different sub 5 minute Oney Lorcan matches. Oney vs. Drew & Oney vs. Hideo are fucking wars. 

God, that Oney vs Hideo match was fucking BRUTAL. I'm still pissed how short that was.

Gargano and Kassius had a really underrated match towards the tail end of 2017(I think?). Kassius realized how much bigger he is then Johnny and just KICKED HIS ASS.

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The only 2019 matches with a chance at making my list is Velveteen Dream/Ricochet/Aleister Black vs. Tomasso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano/Adam Cole on Halftime Heat and Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle at NXT TakeOver: New York.

Pete Dunne/WALTER and Johnny Gargano/Adam Cole from NXT TakeOver: New York miss out. Same for Kyle O'Reilly/Rode Rick Strong vs. Hanson/Rowe at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix.

Edited by The Natural
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WWE's YouTube account added the classic 2 out of 3 falls match between The Revival and #DIY at NXT TakeOver: Toronto 2016 yesterday. I've looked for others on there by WWE and thought it would be beneficial to collect them here:

 

 

 

Edited by The Natural
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I have no idea of my list anymore but I really might put Shayna vs. Io in the cage on a Top 20 list. That match was so fucking rad. 

Io did a bunch of crazy spots. They had all of the fun run-in stuff that brought Candace in for her fun revenge spots. This was followed by a really imaginative ending perfect for Shayna's bullying character -- she got choked the f out and passed out to hit the floor for a truly undeserved victory. And then it ended with Io snapping and entering the darkside and beating the crap out of Candace. 

A+ match.

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