50 Ups & 50 Downs For WWE's Decade: The 2010s
20. Johnny Gargano Vs Andrade 'Cien' Almas
The first WWE-branded match to earn a Wrestling Observer five-star rating since 2011's epic John Cena/CM Punk Chicago showdown (more on that later), Johnny Gargano's desperate failed bit for the NXT Championship pulled at heartstrings long thought already-snapped.
Their collective graduation from TakeOver curtain jerkers to main eventers in-part relied again on their respective distraction pieces - 'Cien' had managed to keep it one hundred thanks to the persistent presence of Vega whilst 'Johnny Wrestling' was still emotionally entrenched in a rivalry his former best friend Tommaso Ciampa - a man not even on television.
What followed was an utterly gripping battle - a babyface chase for the ages that made the best of Gargano's evocative selling in one of the best closing stretches to a match in company history. Everything pointed to a win for the underdog here, breaking hearts further as Almas dug in and eventually doused his challenger's fire.