10 Best NXT Matches Of 2019 (So Far)
Young King Cole.
A foreword on this list - 2019's half-way point provides opportune time for reflection on action thus far, but it's eminently possible that many of the matches here could appear in the December end-of-year edition.
NXT, for all the potential pitfalls, remains a glorious gift to the fanbase at large.
The weekly television product, subjectively, hasn't ever really recovered from the bleak reality of the future all the hopefuls theoretically aspire towards. A 2014-2016 golden era was underpinned by a collective drive for all the "developmental" prospects to make it to the main roster, back when the supposed grander stage had greater prestige than Full Sail or a blacklit TakeOver special. Back before an inconvenient truth was the devastating norm.
With Superstars suffering their sophomore slump at the hands of main roster writers rather than those in Orlando, Florida, NXT has instead become the place to enjoy the characters you love, and pray to a deity of your choosing that they never f*cking leave. It's an odd setup, admittedly, but one that helped usher in the balls-to-the-wall match quality that's elevated the specials (if not the show overall) into rarified air.
A card once extremely hard just to get on to became just about impossible unless you could promise to blow the roof off. It's why the TakeOver brand is so sacred, and why almost every match on this list comes from one of the year's editions.
Almost...
10. Adam Cole Vs Aleister Black Vs Matt Riddle Vs Ricochet Vs Velveteen Dream (NXT TV Mar. 20, 2019)
A spit-take showcase that brought out the very best of the five best of the rest on the NXT roster, this five-way battle repeatedly faced the risk of falling off a spotfest cliff until it became apparent how just willing the combatants were to dive from the height for the most magnificent outcome.
So often reduced to turn-taking, WWE and NXT multi-mans don't always deliver on the promise of the thrilling match graphics that come before them. Insular, singular story replace the creativity required to craft spots involving more than two wrestlers, whilst those selling on the floor look like caterpillars bored of waiting to become butterflies.
This, with a huge, huge spot on the line, was none of those things.
Ricochet was given one of his last opportunities to flex his alien athleticism on the developmental brand before his permanent main roster move. Aleister Black, too, was a man unburdened by the sort of scripting that has left him defeated by a door on SmackDown Live. Matt Riddle, as good a loser as he is a winner, appeared at times impervious to the multitude of blockbuster assaults, all while the 23-year-old Velveteen Dream was simply too young for this sh*t.
Like much of this list, the biggest moment of the match belonged to Adam Cole, and it came with his crucial killshot. Working just as hard but twice as smart, Cole replaced guts with brains to jump the queue, leaping from from the TakeOver outhouse to the NXT penthouse with one winning Last Shot.