You know the drill. Before the show I rank the matches based on my level of excitement to see them. After the show, I’ll rerank them to see who stood and delivered & who stayed seated. And I’ll only be ranking the top 6.

10. Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon versus The Way: Indi Hartwell has improved, but she’s not ready for Takeover. Hate me if you want, but I feel the same way about Shotzi. Moon can’t do enough on her own to keep this from being anything but average.

9. Johnny Gargano versus ???: This is based entirely on the idea that they seem determined to cram Dexter Lumis down our throats. I don’t even want him in the Gauntlet Eliminator match. Gargano versus Swerve Scott, Leon Ruff, Bronson Reed or Cameron Grimes would rank much higher. Gargano versus La Knight would have made this NXT Minus 9.   

8. Finn Balor versus Doomsday Saito: Dear Prince, please don’t take this personally. If you were fighting almost anybody else, you’d be top 3. Saito bores me to tears. He likes to beat people up. We get it. It’s wrestling. He has no story. No character. No drama. I’m sorry you’ll have to carry him through 20 loooong minutes. 

7. Jordan Devlin versus Santos Escobar: The ladder match stipulation definitely helps this one. I’m a big fan of the Irish Ace. His open challenge on NXT UK has been all good. I don’t know how you hit Devlin’s Side standing on a ladder, but I’m pumped to find out.  

6. Gauntlet Eliminator Match: There’s enough talent to keep Knight and Lumis from dragging this down completely. I’d be much more excited to see Reed, Swerve, Ruff and Grimes in a Fatal 4 Way. Maybe Lumis will kidnap Knight and drive him to Alaska, with Austin Theory along for the ride to live stream the entire trip.   

5. MSK versus GYV versus Legado Del Fantasma: From War Games to ladder matches, NXT has a strong track record with multi-wrestler affairs. I expect this to be a glorious car crash. I also think any team could walk away with the titles. I’m hoping Legado comes to the ring in their skeleton face paint. Win or lose, Wes Lee will shine the brightest.   

4. WALTER versus Tommaso Ciampa: I hope Ciampa has an insurance policy on his chest, because WALTER is going to light the old man up. If I thought Ciampa had any chance of winning, I’d rank this higher. I get the feeling the E is using this to showcase WALTER and propel him to RawDown. Not that he needs the help, but Ciampa is certainly qualified to make him look like a million euros. 

3. Pete Dunne versus KUSHIDA: This was thrown together at the last minute for the sake of filling up the biggest Takeover card in history. Who cares? It could be the main event. It could steal the show. It could steal the entire Wrestlemania week. Have I told you lately how much I love NXT?   

2. Io Shirai versus Raquel Gonzalez: Shirai has been flat and uninspired for most of her title reign. Crazy, screaming-in-Japanese Shirai is money. The start to this feud was blah. The build has been electric. I’m expecting this chapter to scorch the earth and leave no survivors.    

1. Kyle O’Reilly versus Adam Cole: This match has been slow simmering for 7 months and 11 years. You simply cannot compete with that kind of organic history. I feel like this is the kind of feud every wrestler dreams of having. This is the kind of feud I hope for as a fan. Everything about it make sense, and it’s the best long term storytelling since Gargano-Ciampa. If you have not already, watch the Prime Target promo package. It’s one of the best the E has ever produced. When you have ingredients that good, it’s hard to make a bad meal.