NXT has featured many rising stars in the industry over the past decade. The brand may not get the same amount of respect that Raw or SmackDown does, but it has featured some of the most incredible matches the world has ever seen.
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The in-ring chemistry of many of the NXT competitors is what has made the top-level matches stand out from the run-of-the-mill contest. They have a history of putting on their best performances when it matters most, evidenced by the fact that many of WWE's highest-rated title matches were on the developmental brand.
10 Bayley vs. Sasha Banks - NXT TakeOver: Respect (9.18)
Before Bayley and Sasha Banks were two of the top female competitors on WWE's main roster, they broke out in NXT's women's division. Both women signed with the company around the same time, and they faced off in some incredible matches on the brand in their early years, including multiple battles over the NXT Women's Championship.
One of their best matches occurred at NXT TakeOver: Respect on October 7, 2015, when the two competitors faced off in a thirty-minute Iron Man Match for the NXT Women's Championship. Bayley defeated Banks with a score of 3-2 after she forced The Boss to tap out to a scissored armbar in the final seconds of the contest.
9 Moustache Mountain vs. The Undisputed ERA - NXT 308 (9.20)
Moustache Mountain and The Undisputed ERA both broke onto the scene in 2017, and they began feuding with one another as they climbed the NXT tag team ranks. They have faced off in some of the best tag team title bouts in company history, and their in-ring chemistry is nearly unmatched as far as tag teams go.
Their in ring-chemistry was on full display in the main event of NXT on July 11, 2018, when The Undisputed ERA won back the tag team belts and put on a show in the process. The two groups later recreated their magic when they produced one of the greatest opening matches in company history at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV two months after their first meeting.
8 Finn Balor vs. Kyle O'Reilly - NXT TakeOver 31 (9.22)
Finn Balor and Kyle O'Reilly have had similar career paths that saw them making a name for themselves in New Japan Pro Wrestling before making the jump to NXT, where they both have experienced significant success. They have only gone head to head once, but that contest was good enough to win WWE's Match of the Year award in 2020.
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The two competitors tore the house down in the main event of TakeOver 31, where they faced off in a hard-hitting affair for the NXT Championship. Balor retained the belt, but both men left the stadium looking like champions after the incredible bout.
7 Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate - NXT TakeOver: Chicago (9.46)
The rivalry between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate has intensified since they have become two of the top headliners of NXT UK, but their history goes even farther back than that. They faced off in a series of entertaining contests for the United Kingdom Championship throughout 2017, with their best match occurring at NXT TakeOver: Chicago on May 20, 2017.
Dunne came out victorious and proved that he was a force to be reckoned with in the stacked division. They have had one of the most entertaining rivalries in NXT history, and they will look to continue making magic together in the future.
6 WALTER vs. Tyler Bate - NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff (9.52)
WALTER and Tyler Bate are two of the most talented breakout competitors in the wrestling business today, and they have gone head to head in some of the best matches in recent memory. One of their best matches occurred at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, where they went head to head for the WWE United Kingdom Championship.
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The two men put on a show for over forty minutes, and WALTER escaped the contest with a hard-fought victory and retained his title in the process. The clash was not only one of the most entertaining of 2019, but it was also arguably the best of WALTER's young career.
5 Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville - NXT Takeover: R Evolution (9.54)
Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville faced off in a series of entertaining matches for the NXT Championship throughout 2014, with one of their best contests taking place at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution on December 11, 2014. Zayn put his career on the line in the match, and it was clear that impacted his performance, as he refused to be denied in the contest.
Zayn won the championship back in a match that many consider one of the best of 2014. However, his victory celebration halted when he was betrayed by one of his best friends, Kevin Owens, immediately following the contest.
4 DIY vs. The Revival - NXT TakeOver: Toronto (9.57)
Tag team contests steal the show, as there are just too many factors at play, and it is harder to achieve perfect chemistry between multiple competitors. Nevertheless, the two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT Tag Team Championship between DIY and The Revival at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on November 19, 2016, did just that.
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DIY, which consisted of rising stars Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, defeated The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) in one of the most entertaining tag contests in recent memory. The match's ending, which saw both Ciampa and Gargano force their opponents into submission moves in the middle of the ring, was especially incredible.
3 Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia (9.63)
Johnny Gargano and Andrade Almas had incredible in-ring chemistry with one another, and they wrestled in some of the most entertaining matches in recent memory. One of their best matches occurred at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on January 27, 2018, when the two men pummeled each other for over thirty minutes in their battle for the NXT Championship.
Almas outlasted Gargano in the match after hitting him with a shocking Hammerlock DDT from the top rope, and he retained his title in the process. Critics and fans agree that the contest was one of the greatest in NXT history, and both men established themselves as two of the biggest rising stars in the industry in the bout.
2 WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov - NXT UK (9.65)
WALTER and Ilja Dragunov have developed an in-ring rapport with one another throughout their careers, as they have faced off multiple times before even stepping foot in an NXT ring. They faced off for the United Kingdom Championship in one of the most physical matches of the modern era on October 29, 2020.
The two men battered each other throughout the entire match, but it was WALTER who stood victorious (well, he couldn't stand after the bout and had to be attended to, but you get the point) when the final bell rang. The match was nearly perfect from beginning to end, and the two competitors would be hard-pressed to experience the same success if granted another opportunity to go head to head...
1 WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov - NXT TakeOver: 36 (9.68)
Welp, so much for that theory. While their first matchup against one another may have been incredible in its own right, the rematch between Dragunov and WALTER was arguably even better. Dragunov got an ounce of revenge against his rival at NXT TakeOver 36 on August 22, 2021, when he defeated the Austrian beast for the United Kingdom Championship in phenomenal fashion, ending his 870-day reign in the process.
Dave Meltzer was a big fan of the hard-hitting contest, awarding it with 5.25 stars, which was only the fourth match in company history to receive a mark above five stars. It may seem ridiculous to expect them to top this incredible contest, but it would not be wise to bet against these two rising stars.
