5 best NXT Matches of 2017
When the Superstar Draft occurred in summer of 2016, a lot of people called it the end of WWE NXT. It was hard to argue against that idea. NXT lost its main event star in Finn Balor. They lost one of their best tag teams in American Alpha. They lost a bulk of their Women’s Division with Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, and Carmella.
They lost even more main event starts like The Revival, Bobby Roode, Asuka, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura during 2017 itself. It seemed the loss of so much star power would destroy the developmental brand this year. I am happy to announce we couldn’t have been more wrong.
NXT was fantastic in 2017. All three major title divisions produced high-quality matches through the entire year. There were many fans who rightfully said the five Takeovers overshadowed the five main roster pay-per-views the day after those shows. It is clear proof that NXT is always able to reload and produce new stars for us to enjoy all the time.
As we look a strong 2017 in the yellow brand, I present the five best matches of NXT. It was some really hard choices to limit to just five best matches. :
#5 Asuka vs. Ember Moon (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III)
Has anyone been booked better in NXT then Asuka? For the moment she arrived in 2015 she has been shown as the star. Her music, look and skill made her stand out from the rest of the NXT women’s division. She won the title in April 2016 and it never got boring as she held the title over a year and a half heading into Brooklyn in August of 2017.
The Brooklyn match was a star-making match for the talented Ember Moon. Asuka cheated for the first time in her career at Takeover: Orlando to beat Ember Moon. She injured Moon’s arm and cost her a title shot at Takeover: Chicago. It sold the idea that Asuka was afraid of Ember during the entire 2017 feud.
The match delivered on the storyline hype. Naturally, Asuka spent the early part of the match working on Ember’s arm. As the match progressed, Ember started to hit some good offence with some near falls after strong suplexes.
The fact Ember hit her finisher and only got a two count was shocking. After a few more believable falls, Asuka got her submission for the win. It was a surprising end to Asuka’s NXT career and likely her best Takeover match in her great Takeover career.