10 Best NXT Matches Of 2019 (So Far)
2. Johnny Gargano Vs Adam Cole (TakeOver: XXV)
Building on an amazing, amazing New York NXT Championship battle (more on that later), Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole went into TakeOver: XXV armed with one more weapon than their first match, but a potent weight of expectation that could well have blown up in their face instead.
Now rivals rather than opponents, Champion Gargano and Challenger Cole had lived a Rocky III in the build-up as the detailed developmental booking carefully crafted them as passing ships. 'Johnny Champion's course was plotted through high schools and family reunions with his new belt and sense of restored pride. The defeated Undisputed Era leader sharped himself to a savage, bloodying point on the Largo loop, biding his time for his second crack at the strap.
After everything they'd given from themselves to the first war, it was a remarkable feat to very nearly top it in such energetic fashion. Drawing from very little about the first match, they instead performed the ultra-versions of their Brooklyn selves. Cole's prevailance, sans Undisputed Era assistance, was crucial to the genetic make-up of the match - he was still a piece of sh*t, but on this night he found a way to be better than the best. His ascension was overdue, but the eventual rise was worth the wait.