10 Forgotten WWE NXT TakeOver Classics
8. The Authors Of Pain Vs. DIY Vs. The Revival - NXT TakeOver: Orlando
The Authors of Pain were never intended to flourish in NXT, hailed as the land of the indie darlings. They were simply too bland to be classed as top-tier NXT stars when you had non-WWE standouts like Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka coming through the ranks at the same time.
They did, however, produce a corker at TakeOver: Orlando.
A three-way elimination bout pitting them as the defending NXT Tag Team Champions against DIY and the Revival, the AOP's stance as hosses added some spice to the DIY/Revival series. They acted exactly as they needed to here, hence why all four challengers put their differences aside to take them down. The two challenging teams combining to hit each other's signature manoeuvres - the Meeting in the Middle and the Shatter Machine - remains an underrated TakeOver moment.
In reality, the challengers didn't need to succeed in their quest for gold here. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were on the cusp of their impeccable rivalry, whereas Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were off to the Raw roster mere days later.
As for Akam and Rezar? They were still fresh into their title run, having won them at the previous TakeOver, and they desperately needed the straps to keep their aura alive.
Inarguably one of the AOP's greatest matches ever, it proved that WWE could do tag team wrestling right when they wanted to. They just needed the right combination.