How would you rank the NXT TakeOver events (so far)?

[Messiah]

With NXT TakeOver: Dallas looking like it will be a show for the ages, how would you rank every NXT TakeOver to date? For the record, there have been 9 of them, beginning all the way back in February 2014 when the WWE Network first took off. Kind of crazy that it's already been 2+ years.

Here is how I would rank them:

9. NXT TakeOver: It was REALLY hard picking a worst show because none of them have been terrible. Compared to the worst WWE pay-per-view in a 12-month span, this show isn't all that bad. The issue I had with this show is that it lacked anything memorable. Natayla/Charlotte received a lot of praise at the time, but I don't think it holds up with the women matches we would see over the next year or two. Otherwise you are left with two solid but unspectacular matches between Breeze/Zayn and Neville/Kidd. On the plus side, seeing how well Kidd developed his character in NXT just shows how horrible WWE's creative staff is. For a long time, I just thought Kidd wasn't capable of having much of a personality. Boy what an opportunity can do for a wrestler.

8. NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way: This was just a better version of the above show. There wasn't anything memorable here. The main event was splendid and included the 4 best male workers in NXT at the time (Neville, Zayn, Kidd, and Breeze). Charlotte/Bayley was a solid match and it was what hooked me onto Bayley, so I imagine it did the same for others. Other than that, you had Corbin and his repetitive squashes, Amore/Lefort in a waste of time, and Dempsey/Rawley which is about all you need to know. Dragons/Ascension wasn't bad, but Ascension just didn't do it for me.

7. NXT Arrival: The only thing that separates this card from Fatal 4-Way is its best match wasn't just a great match. It was arguably the best match of the year. Zayn/Cesaro not only began Zayn's Road to the NXT Championship, but it told such an excellent story that even someone who was unfamiliar with the product at the time (like myself) could understand it. I love everything about this match. Also I think Paige/Emma tends to get overlooked a lot. It wasn't Banks/Lynch or anything, but it was a very good match that kicked off the stream of fantastic women matches at NXT events. This show could have been even better if Neville/Dallas wasn't such a disappointment.

6. NXT TakeOver: Respect: We're getting to the point where all these shows are great or have something extremely memorable about them. This show benefits and suffers from the fact that it was a one-match show: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks in a 30-minute Iron-Man match. While not better than their Brooklyn match in my opinion, they still found a way to deliver despite high expectations. This match included one of my favorite heel moments ever when Banks stole Izzy's (Bayley's super-fan) head-band, mocked her, then threw it back at her. Fucking amazing. Also I'm not afraid to admit that what happened post-match got to me. Seeing the real emotion on the face of Bayley and Banks afterwards, along with them being given flowers for their performance and accomplishments (main eventing a major NXT event... even if it didn't necessarily feel like one), was a great moment. There just wasn't much else on this show. The tag team classic had potential but I still don't see why Joe/Balor had to win. It certainly didn't and hasn't contributed to their feud much.

5. NXT TakeOver: London: This was a disappointing show. Not that it was bad or wasn't enjoyable, but I was expecting more. Still, it was a good show. Joe/Balor was very good, Bayley/Jax was a bit better than I expected, Corbin/Crews was solid, and I really, really enjoyed the tag team match and Asuka/Emma. Emma is so underrated. This was just a solid show all-around.

4. NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable: Joe debuted. Balor/Breeze was a nice, fun opener. Corbin had an extended match with Rhyno that was okay. We were given our first of many Enzo/Cass heartbreaks. All of that offered good support for what really owned this show - Banks vs. Lynch. That was the best match in 2015, I really don't care to listen to any argument that says otherwise. It is one of my favorite matches of all-time. I hope this match doesn't get forgotten over time.

3. NXT TakeOver: Rival: Owens/Zayn was a well-done, old-school kind of match. Not sure I was the biggest fan of the stoppage ending, but it did its job in putting Owens over as a bad-ass. On another note, I thought their feud in NXT was poorly done. Anyway, this show also had Balor/Neville, which wasn't as good as I anticipated but still a very good match. Neville was churning out great match after great match at this point. The Fatal 4-Way match for the NXT Women's Championship was fun as hell. Lots of great moves in this one and I was as happy as anyone when Banks finally won the title. Itami/Breeze was a good opener too.

2. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn: Bayley/Banks was nuts and it is a shame it didn't main event this show. The crowd was super hot for it and Bayley winning the strap is one of the best moments, NXT or WWE, of the last 5 years. That isn't to say the ladder match wasn't good. I really enjoyed it and thought it was one of the best single ladder matches in awhile, but it just couldn't follow Bayley/Banks. This show also featured a really good Joe/Corbin match, Liger's first match in WWE which was a fun one vs Breeze, and the conclusion of a good tag team rivalry between The Vaudevillians and Blake and Murphy.

1. NXT TakeOver: R Evoltuion: This probably isn't a better show than Brooklyn if you just go match-by-match, but this show proves that the quality of a card depends as much on the story preceding it as much as the actual matches themselves. WWE PPVs don't struggle with match quality (for the most part), but they struggle with purpose. In regards to this show, this wasn't an issue. Everything about Zayn vs Neville was handled superbly. Neville playing the tweener role was great. Zayn's road to the title and trying to overcome the obstacles, beginning back at NXT Arrival when he was fighting Cesaro for respect, was great. It was everything that an underdog storyline is supposed to be. And the match itself, brilliant. It told the story, it involved nuggets from earlier matches like Neville faking an injury (this is one of my favorite things; I love when a match incorporates previous events), it had the action, it had the conclusion. The high of Zayn winning the title for anyone who followed his journey was incredible, but then it did what a great show was supposed to do and made you look forward to the next show by having Owens cement his status as a heel by turning on Zayn after patiently waiting for the rest of the roster to leave.

R Evolution was the arrival of Sasha Banks, who had a great match with Charlotte (and they have had many). It was the debut of Demon Balor and the aforementioned Kevin Owens. This is a show where anyone who didn't watch it at the time probably won't realize how good it was (unlike Brooklyn) but anyone who saw it at the time knows how good and important it was.

[Messiah]

If I had to make a prediction, I think NXT TakeOver: Dallas will at least surpass Rival. I'm going to make somewhat of a bold prediction and say Dawson/Wilder vs Jordan/Gable is the best match on the card. That is kind of crazy to say on a card that features Joe/Balor, Asuka/Bayley, and Zayn/Nakamura (not to mention Corbin vs Aries, although as much as I like Corbin he's probably not going to be involved in a MOTN on an NXT special). I just think they will make the most of the likely 12 or so minutes they are given. Both are great teams.

[Daz]

I'm off the firm believe, The Revival, as well as Blake & Murphy, are the most underrated parts of NXT. Both incredible solid teams. If/when they're promoted to the main roster, they'll both be the work horse teams that help carry the division, hopefully for a long time to come.

The Dallas card is insanely good and could probably wind up being the best Takeover show yet. The only problem with it really is that it's so stacked, it's hard to imagine all the matches on it will get the time to really shine.

I would probably rank Respect over London in terms of in ring quality tbh. The London show was really carried by the crowd participation. Other than that, it's hard to argue with the rankings of any of these shows. Just looking at them though, when laid out like this, it is incredible how consistent in quality they have been.