10 Best Ever UK WWE Matches

2. Finn Balor Vs Samoa Joe - NXT TakeOver: London (December 2015)

Tyler Bate Pete Dunne
WWE Network

Finn Balor and Samoa Joe's rivalry became the main event bedrock of an NXT product that was the talk of the entire industry during the the brand's creative and commercial peak in the summer of 2015.

Turning heel on Balor after the pair had teamed all summer and won the inaugural 'Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Invitational', Joe embraced his vicious side in an effort to unseat 'The Demon' as NXT Champion and kingpin of the popular developmental league.

It had been a heartbreaking turn for the titleholder, who openly spoke of his disappointment that his former friend took the shortcut to glory instead of merely asking him for a shot at the belt.

Though marginally topped by their engaging Dallas brawl thanks to Samoa Joe's accidental bloodletting, the initial encounter was layered with intrigue after 'The Samoan Submission Machine' brutally beat down Balor and made him tap out to the Coquina Clutch weeks earlier.

Sticking and moving to avoid the choke as well as Joe's wicked Muscle Buster, Finn was a distinguished destroyer, performing flips and dives and eventually matching his opponent's devastating strike game to dislodge him from the top rope and hit a match-winning Coup De Grâce.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett