10 Worst Ever NXT TakeOver Matches
Arrested Development.
For the second consecutive NXT TakeOver event, anticipation is in short supply for the once-beloved brand's breakaway supershow.
Since the launch of the WWE Network, Triple H's pet project has maintained its position as the true gem of the service, scoring points with an 'Arrival' event that served as a launchpad for the brand and Network as a whole, as the company utilised the spectacle to test the foibles of the service shortly before that year's WrestleMania.
As the stature of NXT grew to unimaginable heights, so too did the standard of TakeOver cards with Performance Centre prospects and indie darlings alike competing with one another to steal the show on the elevated platform the company had provided.
Ultimately, the bubble had to burst, and last year's Brand Extension seems to have pushed the developmental outfit to the brink, as Raw and Smackdown Live! raids on the once-stacked roster left the show short on the level of dynamic talent up and down the card that had spoiled audiences for the better part of two years.
However, despite being currently locked in a rebuilding phase with an Orlando card that reflects the changing times, several talents on WrestleMania curtain-raiser are destined to grab major headlines before the 'Show of Shows' on Sunday. And there have been plenty of superstars who have fallen well short during the special events.
Looking beyond a rose-tinted lens at the storied history of the event ahead of a pivotal night, here are the 10 worst ever NXT TakeOver matches.
10. Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy Vs The Lucha Dragons (Rival)
Long before American Alpha, The Revival and #DIY briefly redefined mainstream tag team wrestling in America, the NXT doubles division was in a state of flux following the departure of long-term Road Warriors tribute act The Ascension.
The titles floated across several teams in a series of passable matches, but hit a low point in this battle of two babyface sides that weren't over or popular enough to get the Full Sail audience to pick a side.
Blake and Murphy had dethroned Kalisto and Sin Cara just weeks earlier for the belts in a monumental upset for the time, but were simply too obnoxious in their overall presentation to gain traction as heroes.
This would shortly be addressed with the vital inclusion of Alexa Bliss during a laboured feud with Enzo and Cass (more on that later), but in the meantime they were stuck against a flagging Lucha Dragons act that the upset loss had done no favours for.
Despite a wicked Brainbuster/Frog Splash combination finisher, the dubstep duo were just too unlikeable to carry out the role as underdog champions, with the Dragons completely out of juice on NXT and receiving their main roster call-up just weeks later.