10 Worst Ever NXT TakeOver Matches
7. Roderick Strong Vs Andrade 'Cien' Almas (San Antonio)
Most representative of the gradual decline the TakeOver brand has been forced to cope with since the 2016 Brand Extension, the middling undercard scrap between Roderick Strong and Andrade Almas would have been nowhere near an NXT supercard just one year earlier.
Neither men had established themselves on the card, with both subject to unfortunately clunky starts on television thanks to a myriad of wrestling industry quirks.
Andrade 'Cien' Almas wasn't only in possession of the single worst name in wrestling. He was also given a lousy spunky babyface gimmick borne out of some vignettes that showed the former 'La Sombra' theatrically removing his mask.
Fans took little interest in Almas, with most of his flashy babyface spots inadvertently subverted into cocky heel mannerisms without the hood.
Similarly floundering, Roderick Strong emerged in the summer of 2015 as Austin Aries' heel buddy for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Invitational, but was abruptly turned babyface following an untimely injury to 'A Double'.
Given an NXT insta-conflict and eleven minutes on the special, neither guy had yet established the bond with the audience to go so long, despite a hot closing sequence in which Strong survived Almas' double knee attack to hit a Sick Kick for the win.