Ranking every NXT Championship match on an NXT TakeOver (and Arrival)

15. Drew McIntyre v. Bobby Roode(c)- NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III

This was a solid match, and a solid way to coronate McIntyre as champion. The wrestling wasn’t anything special, but there was the nice touch of both McIntyre, and especially Roode, having to leave their comfort zones in order to win the match, with the former hitting a tope while the latter using a diving dropkick, enziguri and even a tilt-a-whirl into a Glorious DDT to attempt to win the match. Ultimately, this became a battle of resiliency between Roode and McIntyre, and McIntyre had more, kicking out of the Tilt-a-Whirl Glorious DDT, and after Roode hit another and rolled through, McIntyre headbutted Roode and hit a Claymore in order to win.

After the match, Undisputed ERA made their debut, and we looked set to get Adam Cole v. Drew McIntyre down the line. Unfortunately, McIntyre’s injury prevented us from seeing that happen.

14. Adam Cole v. Johnny Gargano(c)- NXT TakeOver: XXV

This was one of the three matches I didn’t watch before doing my rewatch, as my feeling that Gargano/Cole should’ve just been a one match rivalry was so long, I didn’t want to go through the same letdown that Gargano/Ciampa’s sequels provided.

But while I certainly think this match was a step down from the previous match in this rivalry, I still think it was a pretty good match. This match is lacking the meta significance of the first match (we’ll talk about it when we get to it),and some flaws from the original, including gratuitous use of finishers and the match going several minutes longer than it really needed to are here. Plus, the old spectre of a match revolving around working the leg are also here. But, in fairness to this match, Gargano avoids selling the leg either too poorly or too excessively to be believable. Plus, unlike the first match, there doesn’t really feel like there’s a wasted beginning portion of the match. There’s some really good wrestling in this match, and some really smart storytelling, including Cole faking out Gargano by pretending to signal for Undisputed ERA to assist him, buying him time to recover. The finish came when Gargano’s knee gave out, allowing Cole to hit the Panama Sunrise and Last Shot in sequence to secure the win, and finally win the NXT Championship.

This match is not the emotional rollercoaster that the original provides, but this was still a solid main event for TakeOver’s anniversary show, and a fine coronation for the current NXT Champion.

13. Kevin Owens v. Sami Zayn(c)- NXT TakeOver: Rival

By and large, the early years of NXT had a bit of a predictable feel to it, in the sense that once the live specials came around, there were never really any shock wins. This held true for the NXT title picture: Neville was the clear favorite to win the title over Bo Dallas, then retain it over a former member of the roster and in a fatal four-way. Then, given the stakes of the match and the arc of Zayn’s career, Zayn was clearly going to win the championship at R-Evolution. Zayn seemed to be the favorite to retain over Owens, only two months into his NXT career, even if it wasn’t done so decisively and even though Owens was set to eventually win the championship. Alas, less than a quarter of a year into his time on NXT, Owens dominated Zayn to win the title.

If the tale of Zayn’s title victory was how high his passion could lift him, his title loss was the story of just how badly his emotional nature could inhibit him. Owens took advantage of Zayn’s rage early to gain the advantage, then pummeled him relentlessly for the vast majority of the match. As noted by Corey Graves on commentary, this was almost akin to Lesnar/Cena at SummerSlam 2014. Eventually, however, Zayn was able to muster an extended stretch of offense, then answer Owens’ shots with some of his own. However, as it was earlier, his passion and intensity were his undoing. Zayn hit Owens with a springboard moonsault on the outside, but in the process slammed his own head into the ramp. Zayn became disoriented, giving Owens the opening to hit Zayn with the Pop-Up Powerbomb, then stomp Zayn into the ground with punches, kicks and several more powerbombs until the ref stopped the match, earning Owens the NXT Championship.

The match overall was another good main event, but it did suffer from Owens’ domination dragging at points in the middle, similar to the aforementioned Lesnar/Cena match, however, it still wasn’t too boring in the middle, and the intensity of this match and the genuinely shocking nature of the title win still make it a great match overall.

12. Samoa Joe v. Finn Balor(c)- NXT TakeOver: London

This is a match that gets better the less you remember the build up to this match. That isn’t because the build itself is bad or anything; the matches were good, the promos from Samoa Joe even better, and the whole storyline itself (Joe turning on Balor after winning the Dusty Rhodes Classic because he didn’t get a title shot) was well-received. Rather, it’s just the small issue that the finish was meant to be a shock retain by Balor, but because Joe completely dominated the build-up to this match, it became obvious that Balor had to win, or otherwise he’d be made to look like a total loser. This made the eventual outcome very predictable.

This match was intense throughout, from the feeling out process in the beginning until the end. Joe was able to hang with Balor every step of the way, making The Demon feel pain, keeping him on the back foot and twice locking him in the Coquina Clutch, requiring desperate escapes by Balor. Balor, for his side of things, gave as good as he got, and seemed poised for a decisive win after a trio of John Woo dropkicks left Joe lying in perfect position for the Coup de Grace. Joe was resilient, however, turning the tables on Balor and setting up for the Muscle Buster. Balor fired off a few strikes and knocked off Joe, before quickly hitting a Coup de Grace to steal the win.

This match, and the finish did a good job of preserving Joe’s momentum as the resident monster of NXT, while simultaneously giving Balor a much-needed win. This was a great end to the first chapter of one of NXT’s greatest rivalries.