100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
62. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT TakeOver: Respect)
An 18 minute scorcher from NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn whet the appetite for more to come between Bayley and Sasha Banks. WWE chiefs helped out by sprinkling on an 'Iron Woman' stipulation and a 30-minute time limit on their subsequent TakeOver: Respect match. Encouraged by the show of faith and knowing they could deliver in a pressure spot, these future tag-team partners tore the house down inside Full Sail University.
There were only three short seconds left on the clock when the deciding submission happened, which added to the overall drama and popped the audience like only select NXT moments had before it. The bout from Brooklyn was undoubtedly excellent, but Respect upped the ante, and not only because it lasted approx 12 minutes longer. That time would've been useless without chemistry, a willingness to better what they'd done before, and (crucially) the fact that both wrestlers were over with hardcore NXT fans.
Respect had all of that magic and then some.
Banks was at her villainous best when poking Bayley in the eye or stealing objects from little girls dressed as Bayley in the crowd. Sasha literally made a kid cry and laughed about it. This, fellow fans, is why she's better as a heel than as a babyface; the same is true of the renamed Mercedes Mone in AEW.
All five falls/submissions in the match were timed to perfection too. That's worth pointing out. There was no filler or fluff to speak of here, and certainly no time killing for the sake of it. Bayley and Sasha used every single second well.