Ranking Every NXT TakeOver From Worst To Best

First not quite the worst, but the inaugural TakeOver is a curious watch several years on from its original airing.

A sequel to the Arrival live special earlier that year, TakeOver was another use of the WWE Network to try and expose the growing contingent of super workers and sh*tkickers to more than just the hardcore NXT audience, but stands as a rather uneven show on rewatch as a result.

Adam Rose’s routine win over Camacho was just exposure for a well-liked character going through a difficult main roster transition, while a cameo from The Ascension’s Tag Team Title tenure was super fun in the moment but a long way from the doubles golden era that emerged a couple of years later. The show comes alive at the midpoint with an excellent but of-the-time technical spotfest between Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn, whilst the main event between Neville and Tyson Kidd is good if also a little dated due to the ludicrous pace at which wrestling has advanced in recent years.

Surviving hindsight is Charlotte and Natalya’s scorcher for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship. Topping the impressive standards set by Paige and Emma, the pair go to war in an influential and era-defining scuffle. Futuristic and full of no-f*cks-given fighting spirit from the pair, the sense of gravitas isn’t in short supply and survives reappraisal.