Ranking Every NXT TakeOver From Worst To Best

21. Chicago II

Finn Bálor Samoa Joe
WWE

One of the only lopsided TakeOvers brought diminished New Orleans returns in the Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano main event and uncomfortable flubs in the NXT Championship battle between Aleister Black and Lars Sullivan, but WWE's hottest venue were at least given three total thigh-rubbers before the friction burns kicked in.

Ricochet's explosive win over a game Velveteen Dream was another game-raising loss for the younger of the two. Going over 20 minutes was no easy task, but 'The One & Only' was flawless in his own deployment execution as if to tacitly guide his ostentatious opponent.

Shayna Baszler blew through Nikki Cross in yet another tweak on 'The Queen Of Spades' fabulous TakeOver formula. The Sanity member's smile as she violently went night-night in Baszler's Kirifuda Clutch was a memorably superb character moment for the departing star.

Chicago II couldn't really be topped after its opener - Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong's world-ending Tag Team Title match against Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch was the sort of success story almost entirely dependent on spectacular pro wrestling. This was thunderous theatre, fabulous fighting and brilliant business wrapped in the slick presentation afforded to both NXT and The Undisputed Era as a stable.

Contributor
Contributor

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