20 Greatest Matches In WWE's Empty Arena Era

***please update title to NXT TakeOver 31***

Moving back to the black and gold brand was the best decision Finn Balor has made of late, and one which must have many fellow NXT ex-pats plotting similar moves. The Prince is just taken far more seriously here, and is able put on this kind of crunching, deeply earnest bout with similarly talented performers like Kyle O’Reilly.

This is a brilliantly paced match built on nothing more complex than competitiveness and a title that actually means something. It starts with some mat based feeling out. Each man then attempts to catch the other with an array of submissions, before it devolves into all out brawling, with stiff kicks and knees as the pace skyrockets.

Too stiff, in part, as the match comes to what looks like a slightly abrupt finish. O’Reilly catches Balor flush in the jaw with an errant knee; moments later, the champion finally puts his foe away with the Coup De Grace.

It’s an unfortunate botch, but one the men make the best of. Balor, bleeding from the mouth and already swelling up, looks every bit the warrior as he pulls his vanquished opponent to his feet in a nice moment of sportsmanship.