10 Times Wrestlers Got Standing Ovations In Defeat
1. Sami Zayn (NXT TakeOver: Dallas)
As NXT's golden era started to fade into the distance (and awkwardly bleed into the main roster), so too did its golden boy. Sami Zayn had already left, really, but it took an awe-inspiring display in Dallas to serve as a proper sendoff.
Injury had robbed him of an earlier call-up in 2015, but his return to the black and gold brand in December felt temporary anyway before he worked the 2016 Royal Rumble the following month. It was time for the 'Underdog From The Underground' to poke his head over the top and try and skank his way into Vince McMahon's heart.
That'd go about as well as you'd imagine, but the goodbye before that awkward hello was one to treasure.
In what'll surely stand as Shinsuke Nakamura's best WWE match forever, Zayn and 'The King Of Strong Style' worked with superhuman pace and spirit to the dizzied delight of an electrified TakeOver crowd. If the card served as the zenith of the time, this match may have been the sharpened tip of the peak.
Zayn appeared to stifle tears as he left. The crowd - in between rapturous applause - did the same.
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