These Are A Few Of My Favorite NXT Things
NXT Homecoming was an entertaining show, and it had me reminiscing fondly over the entire journey that NXT has been on since its inception.
I got to watching a bunch of matches and moments from NXT’s history. That’s when the idea for this column came to me.
I’ll be looking back at all of NXT, from era to era, and choosing my favorite things that the brand has given us. Matches, shows, moments, debuts, and on and on. Simple enough. Then, I’ll turn the proverbial microphone over to you so that you can tell me about some of your favorites.
To make things easier, I’m only looking at the O.G. NXT, so NXT: UK and things of that nature don’t count here.
On with the show!
Favorite Debut: Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover: Dallas on April 1st, 2016. There have been a lot of really fun debuts on the NXT brand, but Nakamura was special. He was such a departure from the type of wrestler that WWE was looking to sign… from his style to his look to his age (36) at the time of signing. Then, we got the reveal of his entrance music, which I still say is one of the best entrance themes in the history of this great sport. A rabid crowd went banana pancake for Nakamura as soon as he walked out. As I said, there have been a lot of fun debuts in NXT, but Nakamura was able to captivate everyone’s attention like nobody before him, and frankly, nobody since.
Honorable Mentions: Samoa Joe at Takeover: Unstoppable on May 20th, 2015… Adam Cole at Takeover: Brooklyn 3 on August 19th, 2017… Bray Wyatt at NXT’s weekly Hulu show on July 11th, 2012… Ricky Saints at NXT’s weekly TV show on February 11th, 2025… Finn Balor’s “Demon” Persona at Takeover: R Evolution on December 11th, 2014
Favorite Show: Takeover: New York on April 5th, 2019. Why was this my favorite show? Easy. War Raiders vs Ricochet & Aleister Black… 4.5 Stars. Velveteen Dream vs Matt Riddle… 4.5 Stars. Pete Dunne vs Walter… 4.5 Stars. Shayna Baszler vs Kairi Sane vs Bianca Belair vs Io Shirai… 4 Stars. Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano… 5 Stars. Those are my own personal ratings. When the “worst” match on the show gets 4 Stars, you’re talking about something special. Not only is this my favorite NXT show of all-time, but it’s one of my favorite wrestling shows, period. Absolutely phenomenal work from everyone involved on the card.
Honorable Mentions: Takeover: New Orleans on April 7th, 2018… Takeover: Brooklyn 4 on August 18th, 2018… Takeover: War Games on November 17th, 2018… Takeover: Portland on February 16th, 2020… Takeover: Vengeance Day on February 14th, 2021
Most Disappointing Post-NXT Run: Shinsuke Nakamura. It’s weird to say that someone who won a Royal Rumble, the United States Title three times, the Intercontinental Title twice, and the Smackdown Tag Team Titles (with Cesaro) once has had a disappointing main roster run, but it’s true here. Nakamura had everything needed to be a true game changer for WWE, but it never happened. Even after his Royal Rumble victory, he was unsuccessful in taking the WWE Title from AJ Styles, having four title shots on pay-per-view over the span of 70 days, and ultimately walking away with nothing. He still gets fans excited when he makes his random appearances on television, but the odds of him achieving anything of note at this stage are slim to none.
(Dis)Honorable Mentions: Enzo Amore… Adam Cole… Keith Lee… Karrion Kross… American Alpha
Favorite Wrestler: Johnny Gargano. If there was ever anybody who was the clear “heart and soul” of NXT, it would be Johnny Wrestling. Whatever he was asked to do in NXT, he not only did it, but he excelled at it. His entire story with Tommaso Ciampa… tag partners, friends, bitter enemies, and everything in between… is probably the best story NXT has ever told. The Way was a silly idea for a stable, but largely due to him, it worked and got over with live crowds. Based on my own personal star ratings, nobody in NXT history has had more “great” matches than him. He WAS NXT for a lengthy period of time.
Honorable Mentions: Bron Breakker… Adam Cole… Oba Femi… Samoa Joe… Bayley… Dakota Kai… American Alpha… Ilja Dragunov… Rhea Ripley… Tommaso Ciampa
Favorite Moment: Bayley defeats Sasha Banks to win the NXT Women’s Title at Takeover: Brooklyn on August 22nd, 2015. Watching this match live, you could FEEL the culture shift in women’s wrestling. Things were already changing, but this was when many fans really began to notice just what was possible with the right women, the right storytelling, and the right booking decisions. Seeing Bayley finally get over the hump and reach the top of the NXT mountain was incredible, and the fans in Brooklyn that night showered her with praise and adoration.
Honorable Mentions: Tommaso Ciampa turning heel on Johnny Gargano at Takeover: Chicago on May 20th, 2017… Kevin Owens turning heel on Sami Zayn at Takeover: R Evolution on December 11th, 2014… Rhea Ripley celebrates her NXT Women’s Title victory with the fans at NXT’s weekly TV show on December 18th, 2019… InDex Wedding at NXT’s weekly TV show on September 14th, 2021… Dakota Kai turning heel on Tegan Nox at Takeover: WarGames on November 23rd, 2019
Favorite Title Reign: Asuka’s Women’s Title reign from April 1st, 2016 to September 6th, 2017. I was able to see a relatively decent amount of her work before she signed with WWE, so I knew the type of things she was capable of. This title reign still caught me by surprise. She looked so unstoppable, and so dominant, that you had no choice but to view her on an entirely different level than any other woman on the roster. That’s especially so when you consider the fact that she never lost the title, and had to relinquish it due to a collarbone injury. Without the injury, there’s no telling how long she would’ve been the champion. As it is, we got a recognized title reign of 522 days, and it set the stage for the madness that she would unleash on the main roster for years to come.
Honorable Mentions: FrAxiom’s second Tag Team Title reign from September 1st, 2024 to April 19th, 2025… Shayna Baszler’s second Women’s Title reign from October 28th, 2018 to December 18th, 2019… Adam Cole’s NXT Title reign from June 1st, 2019 to July 8th, 2020… Oba Femi’s current NXT Title reign… Bron Breakker’s NXT Title reign from April 4th, 2022 to April 1st, 2023
Favorite Match: WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov from Takeover 36 on August 22nd, 2021. Not only is this my favorite NXT match, but it’s one of my favorite matches, full stop. WALTER is known to dish out an ungodly amount of punishment. Ilja Dragunov is known to be able to take an ungodly amount of punishment. It’s like they were put on this planet to be bitter rivals. This wasn’t their first match against each other… far from it, actually, as their feud goes back to their time wrestling for wXw in 2015… but it might be their best work. WALTER was determined to retain his NXT United Kingdom Title, having held the title for coming up on 900 days at that point. Dragunov was determined to dethrone the unstoppable champion. The champion unleashed pure hell on the challenger, but Dragunov continued to fight back and fight back and fight back and fight back and fight back. One of the most physical matches you’re ever going to see. They both ended up with bruises, scrapes, and bruises all over their bodies, and were both bleeding from multiple places by the time the match was over. Shit… I think I’m going to watch this one again right now.
Honorable Mentions: Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole from Takeover: New York on April 5th, 2019… Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole from Takeover 25 on June 1st, 2019… Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano from Takeover: Toronto 2019 on August 10th, 2019… The Revival vs DIY from Takeover: Toronto 2016 on November 19th, 2016… Carmelo Hayes vs Ilja Dragunov from Great American Bash 2023 on July 30th, 2023… Carmelo Hayes vs Ilja Dragunov from No Mercy 2023 on September 30th, 2023… Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa from Takeover: New Orleans on April 7th, 2018… Andrade “Cien” Almas vs Johnny Gargano from Takeover: Philadelphia on January 27th, 2018… Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn from Takeover: R Evolution on December 11th, 2014… Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn from Takeover: Dallas on April 1st, 2016… Sasha Banks vs Bayley from Takeover: Brooklyn on August 22nd, 2015… Sami Zayn vs Cesaro from Arrival on February 27th, 2014… Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly from NXT’s weekly show on July 11th, 2018… Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne from Takeover: Chicago on May 20th, 2017… Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa from Takeover: Chicago 2 on June 16th, 2018
Your turn.
What are some of your favorite debuts/shows/moments/wrestlers/title reigns/matches in NXT history? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s get to my Weekly Power Rankings before closing things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this week’s column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
“Hangman” Adam Page vs Kyle Fletcher: For anyone that wasn’t already a believer, this match was real proof that Kyle Fletcher does, indeed, “belong” in the main event scene as a singles star. Even though he wasn’t victorious here, he showed that he absolutely, positively has future World Title reigns in his probably not-too-distant future. This was a great showing from both men, in a wildly physical match from start to finish.
Iyo Sky vs Stephanie Vaquer: If you said either Iyo or Stephanie were the best women’s wrestler on the planet today, you’d have a lot of people agreeing with you. For that matter, if you said either of them was the best wrestler, male or female, you’d have a lot of people agreeing with you. They wrestled this match like they wanted to prove those people right. Fantastic work here, combining technical greatness with a hard-hitting style that showcased both women’s backgrounds in the world of Japanese joshi puroresu.
Kazuchika Okada vs Mascara Dorada vs Konosuke Takeshita: Fans wanted the one-on-one between Okada and Takeshita, but AEW wanted to shoehorn Dorada in out of nowhere. Then, the match was put together to make Dorada look like a huge star. While I’m still eagerly anticipating the singles match between Okada and Takeshita, I really enjoyed this, too. I’d like to see Dorada get more time to shine in AEW in the future.
CM Punk & AJ Lee vs Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch: It wasn’t always a technical classic, but it was off the charts with its entertainment factor. At times, they were working an old school house show match, with more of a focus on the silliness of pro wrestling than I was expecting, but in no way is that a complaint from me. It was something different, and it allowed for an easier return for AJ, who can continue shaking off whatever ring rust she has in future matches.
Sami Zayn vs Carmelo Hayes: Yeah, letting Sami carry on the tradition of being a fighting champion that does open challenges was a great decision. There’s an entire lengthy list of names I’d like to see him face at some point on this journey. Perhaps I’ll have to talk about that soon.
Brodido vs The Young Bucks vs JetSpeed vs Hechicero & Josh Alexander: Every bit of the wild, dangerous train wreck that this type of match guarantees. What more can you ask for?
DIY vs Trick Williams & Carmelo Hayes: A real “generation vs generation” match that showcased two of the better pairings that have come through NXT. Fun stuff that really showed how versatile all four performers are, and what they could be doing on the main roster.
Mercedes Moné vs Riho: A real joshi match that featured an insane pace, stiff strikes, and some nasty looking submissions. There wasn’t really any reason to think Riho was going to win this match, but they still had a really fun battle.
The Usos vs Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed: It’s always fun to see The Usos teaming up again, as they’re one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling history. On the other side, Paul Patrol are being presented as two big, bad dudes that could be main event players soon. Lots to like here, including Special Guest Referee LA Knight basically giving up on trying to enforce too many rules, letting the action get nuts.
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs FTR: A red hot crowd supported a fun match with an equally red hot story, and that helped all four men deliver something that really “clicked.” With the post match happenings, including FTR taking both Christian and Beth Copeland out with Spike Piledrivers, it’s clear that the feud isn’t over. Works for me.
Stephanie McMahon: Congratulations to the first member of the WWE Hall Of Fame’s Class Of 2026. She was surprised by The Undertaker, who made the special announcement, and it immediately made her very emotional. I’ve been very clear in the past about my disdain for her on-screen “Authority” heel character, but as an executive and overall personality, she is certainly deserving of this honor.
Darby Allin vs Jon Moxley: It was stiff, it was violent, and it made me cringe on a few different occasions. Isn’t that what you would expect from a Coffin Match that involves Darby Allin and Jon Moxley? That’s damn sure what I expected from a Coffin Match that involved Darby Allin and Jon Moxley.
Cody Rhodes vs Drew McIntyre: They were put in a tough spot, coming after a few really entertaining matches on the show. On top of that, they had extra pressure because many fans believed something big was coming based on the match getting the main event spot over the mixed tag match and Cena vs Lesnar. In the end, they had a match that was good, and on its own, was more than acceptable as a pay-per-view main event.
“Timeless” Toni Storm vs Jamie Hayter vs Kris Statlander vs Thekla: Like we saw with Okada vs Dorada vs Takeshita, this match saw the lay out feature a showcase for someone who, ultimately, didn’t go on to win. Congratulations to Stat for becoming the brand new AEW Women’s Champion, but it was Thekla that really shined here. She looks like someone with a very bright future in the company.
Dragon Lee vs El Grande Americano: A really fun television match that continues the EGA saga. It really is amazing that Ludwig Kaiser stepped in for Chad Gable after Gable’s injury, and not only has the EGA story not derailed, but it has been even better. I don’t know what they’re going to do when Gable is able to return, but Kaiser is killing it with the character work right now.
Stephanie Vaquer vs Kairi Sane: A bit of a preview for Vaquer vs Iyo, and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially because the match made Kairi look better than she has in a long time. Simple, yet effective.
Mascara Dorada vs The Beast Mortos: They were competing for a spot in the Unified Title match at All Out, and they both wrestled like it. As I’ve said with Mortos matches in the past, his different style allows for him to work with all of these Lucha-based wrestlers and make for fun matches. He can move around, but he gets to showcase his power game in matches like this.
Rhea Ripley, Stephanie Vaquer & Lyra Valkyria vs Fatal Influence: It was fun seeing three of the most successful women to have come up from the NXT pipeline in recent years all return to an NXT ring. The match was fun. Nothing earth shattering, but it didn’t need to be.
Jurassic Express: I’ve been against the Jack Perry heel turn from the beginning. It didn’t work in the beginning, and it never worked for the entire duration. Turning him face again and reuniting him with Luchasaurus is a good idea, because it’s the only time that either of them were truly over and accepted by the AEW fan base. The fans have been wanting this, and now, they’ve got it.
This Week’s Playlist: “Imaginary Playerz” by Cardi B… “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” by Nine Inch Nails… “Move On” by Kevin Powers & Shaboozey… “Party On The Westside” by LaRussell, Larry June, Mike & Keys… “On My Own” by Joell Ortiz, KXNG Crooked & Grafh… “Troubled Water” by Of Mice & Men… “Bad Friend” by Bad Wolves… “Die About It” by Bad Wolves… “Legends Never Die” by Bad Wolves… “It’s You (2 Months)” by Bad Wolves & KILLBOY… “Made For The Misery” by Bad Wolves… “Pray” by I Prevail… “Into Hell” by I Prevail… “She Got The Best Of Me” by Luke Combs… “Don’t Stop The Rock” by Freestyle… “Danny’s Song” by Kapena… “Irie Beach Party” by Rebel Souljahz… “Love Song” by Maoli… “Pualena” by Vika… “Forever Be Mine” by Bitty McLean… “Dedicated To The One I Love” by Bitty McLean… “Bob” by Macka B… “One Drop” by Bitty McLean… “Waiting In Vain” by Norm… “Could You Be Loved” by Koa’uka… “Nothing Can Change This Love” by Bitty McLean… “Tease Me” by Chaka Demus & Pliers… “Murder She Wrote” by Chaka Demus & Pliers… “Let Me Love You” by J Boog… “Show Me” by Nesian NINE
