Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze

[7.0] "Not as good as the match against Cesaro, but once again Sami Zayn was involved in a match of the night contender. He's the MVP of this early NXT events."

[7.0] "I'm not the biggest fan of Tyler Breeze, but I love Sami Zayn. this was a pretty competitive match in NXT for the two of them in their early years."

[7.0] "This was a really solid bout, Breeze played the heelish underdog very well and Zayn was a great face on top. Breeze caught rare bits of offence through underhanded tactics and really excelled as a sleazy heel, but Zayn was the star of the show with amazing offence and selling. Breeze got the upset win with a Beauty Shot after a low blow, and this was a very well built and entertaining bout, worth a watch."

[7.0] "[3.75*] I really think this match was underrated, they try to work well in different rhythms and do it in beautiful spots, I think the match could have been at least three more minutes. I really liked the slightly unexpected ending."

[7.0] "A pretty solid match, all things considered. Tyler managed to keep up with Sami more than I expected. There were several engaging moments across the match. A minor botch during a complex counter move sequence is the only glaring flaw here. ***1/2"

[6.0] "Decent match, but there's not much to it. The first half was slow, but things heated up near the end. Sami really brought the best out of Tyler Breeze here and made him shine. Not to say that Breeze is a bad wrestler, just not quite on Sami's level and this match shows it."

[7.0] "Match starts out strong with some really nice feeling out work before Sami gains control. You can forget how good Tyler Breeze was as a technical wrestler due to his comedy work, but he and Sami did great together. Unfortunately, it got a little sloppy at the end where the two looked like they had something epic planned but just couldn't get the timing down. Finished was a little ridiculous. Still a great match but the last 5 minutes hurts it."

[7.0] "A very good match soured by a bad ending. Started fairly slow with both men exchanging control before the match increased its intensity with some dives and then some good moves and moments in the ring with the crowd increasingly invested in the action. If the match had finished at this stage I would have been more impressed but then they botched a couple of moves and then Zayn goes for the heeluva kick is struck low and taken out by the Beauty shot. Bad insulting finish."

[8.0] "Sami Zayn is so awesome. Match was a good showing from both guys. Breeze impressed me. Zayn's ability to kick out at 2.99 seconds every single time is simply impressive."

[7.0] "Tyler Breezes best singles match on TV period. I do think Zayn carried the match but Breeze did well too. It was surprising that Zayn lost but he was going through his underdog arc. Botch at the end which hurt the match but still a 3.5 star match. Tylers gimmick was cool but was never gonna catapult him to main event level. However he would have been a fine low carder and tag team guy."

[8.0] "A great balance of classic professional wrestling structure with some modern pro wrestling high spots sprinkled in. There's lots of good heel work from Breeze here, whether it's looking for a countout win, getting aggressive with Sami in the corner, bailing on the match, or finding a sneaky low blow. He balances Sami's exciting high flying and 'common man' underdog persona well. I also like the little touch of Tyler earning some credibility and proving his own resilience, which Regal is sure to point out in some great commentary. Great example of what a midcard PPV match should look like."

[8.0] "Fantastic match between these two combatants. Sami had the underdog gimmick here where he rules as always while Breeze really impressed and went beyond. Both had amazing chemistry inside the ring and the crowd were amped up till the last minute. The pacing was great and the final stretch was put together in an exceptional way. 4 out of 5 stars!"

[7.0] "I don't really agree with some of the booking of this match, they tried the same big match formula as the Cesaro match, with Sami Zayn being the underdog, only here he was physically superior to Breeze. However, the quality picked up as the match started to get more even, Zayn had a couple of good near falls that kept the crowd on their toes for the finish, but it was questionable. Sure, it's a good way to keep Zayn "in the cards" for a title shot, but if they gave Breeze the win, it should have been 100% clean."

[8.0] "I have always loved Tyler Breeze and I believe that with an opponent like Sami he can give his best, as he actually has. Incredible match that is made even more enjoyable thanks to the constantly heated crowd. Excellent initial exchange phase between the two, and a match that always continues at a high pace, with Sami making one of the best executed Blue ThunderBomb of his career (the second of the match). The final sequence is also of a high level, with an incredible selling of the Beauty Shot."

[10.0] "Really, really fantastic match that the crowd ate the hell up. Rewatching bouts like these gave me a bigger appreciation for Breeze than I ever gave him credit for, and Zayn is as stellar as always. A really nice gem."

[7.0] "Pretty standard match with a couple great moments added in here. Both guys are great in their technique but the beginning is nothing remarkable or noteworthy for the remainder of the match. I like Breeze's moves targeting Sami's face that works in with his character you want to see get beaten up. Zayn's selling is sometimes so natural you can get lost in the conflict, never calling too much attention to it here (barring the finish). His Arabian Moonsault, Crossbody and Blue Thunder Bomb here all look great, however there is a major botch when he tries Orange Crush that really hindered the finishing stretch. The finish is also a silly way to try and keep Zayn protected while on his fall from grace. Good match with the right person winning but never changed change to something greater. ***1/2"

[7.0] "The match started off fairly technical with Zayn controlling the match before Breeze got the advantage after pushing Zayn off the ropes. I love the aggression Breeze shows in his offence. The gimmick doesn? t scream someone to take seriously but Breeze makes you do that with his wrestling. Zayn? s comebacks are so fun and energetic. The Arbaian moonsault/thing is a thing of beauty as his blue thunderbomb. The match got to another level once they started trade back and forth. There was some great counters although there was a really awkward powerbomb set up by Zayn. It was actually so complexly botched that it looked good. The finish was weird but I liked the idea of it. Good match overall becaises a few overly ambitious spots. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Sami obviously carried this to be a really good match since Tyler isn't (still isn't) all that impressive, but he did get a few shots here and there, ****."

[8.0] "Great match, Zayn was great here, as was Breeze, really shows how misused he was for a large portion of his main roster run. The finish was great but the last few seconds of the match were a bit disappointing in my opinion. The botched Orange Crush(? ) really stood out but great nonetheless. (****)"

[8.0] "This is Tyler Breeze's best match and Sami Zayn proving he could look good while putting over developmental talent. ****"

[8.0] "This is the first of the three great matches of this edition of NXT TakeOver. Tyler Breeze is better than usual and Sami Zayn shows his skills for a highly enjoyable match. It's still easy to see how better Zayn is than Breeze in this match. ****"

[9.0] "This was a great match. The story of the match would continue to go on for the remainder of 2014, and would end with one of the best moments in NXT history. Zayn and Breeze worked a briskly paced, brilliant match here. Zayn tried to do everything he could, but, ever the opportunist, Breeze faked him out at the last second to become the new number-one contender. I'm giving this a 9/10 because I feel it's underrepresented in the Matchguide and will age well. ****"

[9.0] "A really fun back and fourth contest between both, with a finish outta nowhere. Also a great chapter on Sami Zayn NXT Champion Road to Redemption."

[9.0] "Thought this was the Match Of The Night here. Tyler Breeze's best 1vs1 match ever, as well. These 2 really rocked the house, and put on a great match that night. Marked for the blue thunder bomb. ****"

[8.0] "This was a great match, good pacing and some great near falls down the line. Zayn plays the underdog very well, and knows how to work a match and work to his opponent's strengths. Breeze showed a lot here, and overall this ended up way better than I imagined, and that was because I just didn't know what to expect from Breeze. There was one rocky spot towards the end, but they worked through it and recovered very well when others would have panicked. The finish was good, as it protects Zayn (you can tease that it was an intentional low blow he way they did it) but it was clean enough that Breeze comes away looking stronger because it wasn't a fluke. Breeze needed the win, but more importantly needed this performance. This was fantastic."

[7.0] "Very good match with a large number of interesting moves. Certainly, Sami Zayn showed much more, especially in respect of high flying. Therefore Tyler Breeze's victory looks not too natural. My rating: ***1/2."

[8.0] "Really good performance by Zayn, who once again shows that he might be one of the best babyface in the business. His selling and move-set shined once again. Breeze was ok, but I didn't really care at all for his control segments; the match only got exciting once Zayn took over. ****"

[9.0] "Great work from both men. The first portion of this match was hardly anything special, aside a few cool spots. The finishing stretch, however, was beautiful, a work of art in the sport. Zayn probably proved to be the best seller in the world here and especially in closing, and Tyler Breeze may have silenced his critics, finally wrestling a "real" match. ****1/2"

[7.0] "A very fun match. Most botches don't bother me that much, but there was one on e a power bomb attempt by Zayn that killed the momentum of the match. The ending also seemed random, and poorly explained by announcing initially. All in all, though, a very fun match."