Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole had a near-impossible task in their June sequel to an April classic - follow it.
The fact that the pair came within touching distance of their era-defining original was as admirable as the match was awesome. Kept relatively lean at 32 minutes, Adam Cole's big night came not a moment too soon, and the Undisputed Era crucially conquered the Champion all on his own for once. A victory for the programme before it fell off a cliff later that year, this went underrated all year just as it did on the night.
The main eventers had stolen all the headlines over WrestleMania weekend, but TakeOver: XXV belonged to NXT's tantalising midcard - Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong's spine-shattering opener was a tour-de-force of pro wrestling brutality, whilst Shayna Baszler's heartbreaking win over Io Shirai set off the 'Joshi Judas' lurking within the 'Genius Of The Sky'.
The rest of the plaudits belonged to the Street Profits, who kickstarted their short but perfectly formed run as NXT Tag Team Champions after a captivating ladder match victory over the last remnants of a once-great doubles division.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
