Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

[9.0] "Beautiful, just beautiful. Johnny and Andrade told a great story here, and had everyone invested. They had me believing it was over more than once, wincing at some of the more hard hitters of the match. It all was pro wrestling looking great. ****1/2"

[10.0] "Perfect storytelling in this match. Johnny Gargano comes in as a Daniel Bryan-ish ultimate underdog aura to defeat an absolute star, Andrade "Cien" Almas. This is the start of Gargano's huge push in NXT, putting forward his undeniable qualities as a babyface. Zelina Vega does a great job at keeping Andrade alive in the fight and act as a perfect heel valet. Once both workers had the crowd in the palm of their hand, they just had to go all out and produce a fantastic bout. One of the best matches in NXT history and moreover, in WWE history."

[10.0] "One of the greatest matches of all time and this match is top three in WWE history. I love this match so much thank to Andrade and Johnny Gargano for this ."

[10.0] "[5.0*] This is a 5 star classic, and I don't care, best fed match EVER. The perfect amount of Gargano in this, not too much "heart" with the no-selling and kickouts at 1 and such, but that perfect amount where he plays the underdog so damn good like he has so many times before! Andrade of course is awesome and has great chemistry with Gargano, his meteoras looked f'ing sick and he really set up the hammerlock DDT as the ultimate end from the get-go. Fantastic chain wrestling at the start, amazing pacing, LeRae finally putting Vega out of action for the match was awesome, I can't praise this match enough. Gargano looked absolutely dead on that meteora on the apron as well, LMAO. HIGHLY RECCOMEND, FREE ON YT WATCH RIGHT NOW!"

[10.0] "One of the greatest WWE matches of all time. Every aspect of this match was a 10. The storytelling, the wrestling, the crowd, the emotion, everything clicked here. This is where Andrade peaked in WWE. A complete match."

[8.0] "I'm really not sure what about this it is but i can't feeling it's slightly overrated... perhaps my expectations were to high going into this match ? or was this a match you had to watch live to understand the appeal of it im not sure tbh"

[10.0] "Every time I think about this match, it feels like it just happened yesterday. Gargano and Andrade delivered what might be the greatest TakeOver match of all time, completely stealing the show. The crowd was on its feet from start to finish, living every single moment. This was professional wrestling at its absolute best--elite storytelling, perfect pacing, and raw, genuine emotion. Gargano's never-give-up underdog fire clashing with Almas at the peak of his powers made this an undeniable all-time classic and easily one of the greatest matches in WWE history. 5.75 Stars Classic Johnny Gargano is Heart & Soul Of NXT Black & Gold man miss him"

[10.0] "This could be my favorite NXT takeover match. Both guys are at their best. Andrade's knee strike was insane. Definitely a 10."

[10.0] "A Mind Blowing of a match. Even The overbooking is perfection. A masterclass in every aspect of wrestling ***** 1/2"

[7.0] "I really wanted to love this one more than I did. The in ring work is amazing, Gargano sells like death and Andrades offense looks stiff as hell, creating that underdog dynamic. But my god, the overbooking dragged this down for me. I swear Zelina Vega was in the ring more than both the dudes. It stops being dramatic and just makes the referee look like an absolute moron for not tossing her out after the third interference. It completely kills the suspension of disbelief when the ref is that incompetent just for the sake of 'heat.' If they had cut half the shenanigans and just let them go at it clean for the finish, this is an easy classic."

[10.0] "Good God, I don't know what I expected from this, but this is easily one of the most brutal, perfectly executed, desperate matches I've ever seen. It made me understand the love people have for Gargano, and just underlines the adoration I already had for Andrade. Showcasing Gargano as the ultimate babyface, but failing in the final moments is devastating. Flawless match, and easily one of the best I've ever seen from WWE>"

[10.0] "This match can only be described as a masterpiece. Great technical wrestling. Ends in a heartbreak. After the match Ciampa attacks and sets up a banger match for New Orleans."

[10.0] "Now we are gonna talk about business. Better, we will discuss history, and to be even more specific, it will be mine story with that match. Seven years ago, the reason why I started to watch NXT and became a huge fan of the "development" brand was this match here. I watched the thirty three minutes bout and even with my low knowledge about wrestling, I fucking loved it. And something I usually do with stuff I enjoy, mostly with movies, series and wrestling matches in that case, is literally never watch again, to keep the first momentum I had intact. Them I start to watch more things besides WWE, which made me forget some good bouts I watched, like this one for example. Now, 2025, I watched for the second time in my life, Andrade Almas vs Johnny Gargano and man...what a fucking match. So ironic to think that I watched it a day before Andrade be released from his contract once again, wishing the best for his future, even being under USA or not. Anyway, talking about the match itself, it is fucking special. The build does not remember you from any classic the NXT produced, instead they went into a fully lucha libre style which honestly made Andrade so confortable to fly and expose the best perfomance he ever had, honestly. Not his best match, but best perfomance without a doubt. The things he did under that ring are not human man, and the last minutes with him sharing a SUPER chemistry with Gargano is a unforgetable moment for any PW fan. The kickouts here were good and well applyed, Candice appearing to stop Zelina was a cool moment that only gave us more tension and passion to what was happening in that match and every big move felt like the last, something super common under both guys style. And this match had so much super moves, you can literally choose a favorite, there is like eight or nine here that can be easily remembered. This is a five stars match for me and I promess, this time, everything I saw will not be forgotten."

[8.0] "8.5 - This is a bit too NXT/modern for me with the cute sequences and so many superkicks but I have to give props to Gargano for selling his heart out like that. Literal tears of sweat."

[10.0] "Fucking legendary ass match. It's a three act epic that doesn't even feel as long as it is. Act I goes from the start of the match, till the double moonsault and the following slugfest. Act II starts after they get up and ends with the double knee spot, as Act III begins with the Gargano escape attempt, and goes till the heartbreaking end of the match. There's so many sequences and spots to analyze but I think keeping it short and sweet is best. On this night, a star was born. Gargano went from popular to atop the actual moon. It's only made better by the ending, and return of the Blackheart, accompanied by this absolute GEM from Mauro, "Yknow Gargano has one of the biggest hearts in NXT, well this guy, Tommaso Ciampa, he has a for sale sign, where his heart should be.""

[10.0] "Up to par with the Adam Cole match in NY. From a wrestling standpoint a top 3 match I've ever watched, from a storytelling standpoint probably top 20-30. Was it perfect? No, but it was pretty damn close."

[10.0] "One of, if not my favorite, match ever. Might not be for everyone, but it was to me an absolutely amazing match by two of my favorite wrestlers."

[8.0] "When I rewatched this, I sort of expected that I wouldn't view this match as highly as I once did. However, I did not expect to find this to be as great as I do. Johnny puts in the greatest singles performance of his career in this. He doesn't rely on some of the over the top acting and facial expressions that plague some of his other big NXT singles matches, instead he's just an extremely easy to get behind, fiery underdog who refuses to quit after enduring an unbelievable amount of punishment. He takes a lot of crazy bumps and sells decently enough to the point where he's incredibly easy to get behind. Andrade also puts in one of his career best performances too. He's great at getting heat on Johnny and wearing him down, making Johnny's underdog performance even better and his comebacks all the more electric. The second half of this is incredibly dramatic, with Andrade continuing to wear down Johnny, with the help of Zelina Vega at ringside, while Johnny continues to fight, fueled by sheer heart and determination. Vega continues to distract Johnny and create openings for Andrade but after doing this for most of the match, she gets taken out by Candice LeRae in the audience. Johnny eventually starts mounting offence and scores a few close pinfall and submission attempts. It comes down to the wire and both men find themselves on the apron. Andrade is able to use the last of his strength to push Johnny into the ring post, damaging his already injured neck, followed by a double knee strike and a rope assisted DDT for the win. This isn't a perfect match but both guys get a lot right here and put in some of the best work of both of their careers. This still has a sense of drama to it even on a rewatch and its still so easy to get invested into the idea of Johnny winning despite knowing the result. Could've done with a bit of time shaved off and a few less nearfalls early on but overall, this match is genuinely pretty amazing. ****1/4"

[10.0] "Wow Man this match felt like yesterday everytime I think about it This is the Greatest Takeover match of all time Gargano and Andrade killed it man they crowd was on their feet for this just a Perfect Professional wrestling match.Great Storytelling, Pacing, and Emotion this was Great *****"

[9.0] "Great work rate from both of these guys. Fantastic chain wrestling sequences to start things off as the stakes get higher and higher, until you're sure Gargano is bound to win due to his sheer gutsiness, and they instead have Andrade absolutely destroy him. Also amazing work by Zelina Vega, added an extra dimension to the match with her great heel manager troupe."

"Surprised at the high rating here. Neither of these guys - Andrade or Johnny Gargano really stand out in a positive way to me. The lack of size quite frankly contributes to the overall lack of believe- ability. Match drags too long with too many false finishes in my opinion. The promotion overall feels like the developmental territory that it ultimately is. I can maybe see someone saying it is a good or even great NXT match but honestly just not on par with any average main roster match up."

[10.0] "Rewatching one of my favourite match from Black & Gold NXT after seeing how great Andrade vs Gargano was in a tag team match. IIRC, at this point Andrade's English was still fairly limited. Yet he managed to have a perfect banger. Just showed how exceptional their chemistry was. The addition of Vega and LeRae also enhanced the storytelling of the match."

[10.0] "A match that makes you realise that Andrade never lived up to his potential. He looked like a total megastar here. Unfortunately he never got back here again. Gargano is step by step with him and plays the underdog like a king"

[6.0] "My biggest criticisms of this match by far are that it went on way too long and it had too much interference and ref distraction bullshit going on (typical sports entertainment booking). Ideally this match should have been about 10 minutes shorter but even cutting it down 5 minutes would have helped a ton. Obviously both of these guys can go in the ring and I wouldn't say they put on a bad match by any means, but it still felt like a spotfest with too many false finishes (although not the most egregious example of either). WWE commentary is unbearable to listen to which doesn't help with my enjoyment of the match. Gargano having to hold himself up by the ropes so that Almas could hit the double knee to the outside was cringe. It sucked when Low Ki did it in TNA and it sucks here (kind of mind boggling that when Low Ki did that move against KENTA in his ROH classic he ground his foot into KENTA's knee first which made him sit up as a response before delivering the shot, why didn't he keep doing it that way? ). Anyway, I totally understand why people love this match but to see it ranked THIS high is puzzling. A classic case of "this is simply not for me". 3.25 stars."

[10.0] "An all-time classic. Near-perfect blend of storytelling, pacing, and raw emotion. Gargano's underdog fire meets Almas' peak form, with Vega and LeRae adding the perfect dramatic spice. The crowd lived every second. Easily one of the greatest matches in WWE history. 5/5"

[9.0] "Perhaps the best NXT title match ever. These two have amazing chemistry and went out there and tore the house down. Crazy to me that Andrade hasn't been one of the biggest names in the industry by now. The guy has everything you could want in a modern heavyweight. Gargano's coming out party as a main event guy in NXT, even in a loss the guy looked like a star. These guys were so in lockstep with one another in this match everything they did looked crisp from the opening stages full of technical wrestling to the climax full of huge moves and near falls. Builds to a roof-blowing climax without getting into absurd territory which some of Gargano's eventual NXT title defenses did. WON first 5 star match given to WWE in years and you can see why. 4.75 stars."

[10.0] "Vicious battle with sick amount of great spots and near falls. One of the best highlights of NXT's Black and Gold Era."

[9.0] "A tad too much interference for my taste, but I can see why it's so well-regarded. Pretty much set the standard for Takeover main events in the years to come."

[10.0] "Johnny gargano was really the NXT goat. I can't even think of anybody else that comes close to be honest"

[10.0] "On my shortlist of best WWE branded matches of all time. This match I attribute to what made me a fan again after years of not watching."

[10.0] "Everything clicked, commentary was on point. A once in a lifetime match, and Gargano has a few of those. Simply the goat of NXT."

"10 NXT Black and Gold at it's finest, an absolute unexpected match of the decade displayed, everything about the match was perfect."

[10.0] "If the names involved here were "HBK vs Taker" at Wrestlemania or "Omega vs Okada" at Wrestle Kingdom....this match would be even more highly rated than it already is IMO. Its one of those few "perfect" wrestling matches in that its a spotfest...but its so flawlessly structured and paced that it doesn't feel like they're just spamming moves. Everything feels natural, despite the length and the amount of spots(including the closing sequence of near falls). Even the interference from Zelina and the added beef between her and Candice is done just right, and doesn't at all take away from the match itself. The ending is also amazing because the entire universe was certain that Gargano was bound to win after everything he had to overcome....so the shock value with Andrade getting the W only adds to its greatness. The technical in-ring ability on display is as good as it gets, including whatever match you may call "the best of all time", this match is on that same level in terms of pure wrestling. Again...the only thing holding this match back from "best ever" discussion, no matter how unfair it may seem, is the fact that these 2(especially Andrade) aren't nearly as popular or as historically important to the sport as names like Stone Cold, Rock, Cena, HBK, Undertaker, Flair, Kobashi, Misawa, Okada, Tanahashi, Omega, Ospreay, Danielson, etc.(names that you usually see involved in "greatest match of all time" candidates). But other than that....this is perfection. IMO its hands down one of the top 20 pro wrestling matches ever, and without a doubt the best NXT match. A must watch for anyone who hasn't already witnessed its greatness."

[10.0] "(5*) Yeah, this is the best match in NXT history, no doubt, this felt like more of an NJPW style than an American style, which isn't bad, honestly, a very good thing. This match made me a fan of Andrade and what he is capable of in the ring, is it one of the greatest matches of all time, strong contender."

[10.0] "One of the best matches in NXT, this was just a banger of a match. Just a pure wrestling match with amazing moments."

[10.0] "Best match in NXT history. This match looked like a WrestleKingdom main event, one of the most agile matches I've seen. They never stopped for anything in the world. THIS IS HOW A TITLE MATCH SHOULD ALWAYS LOOK LIKE! These two are so underrated and you can understand this opinion if you watch this match. Beautiful counters, impeccable story-telling, PURE BLACK AND GOLD."

[9.0] "[4.25*] Fantastic match! I am not usually very high on Johnny Gargano singles matches as I think he has some mannerisms that pisses me off a little bit, but thankfully they were just a very minor part of this specific bout, which made me like it a lot. The fact that Andrade is Andrade helped a lot too, he was just perfect there, unbelievable talent and the MVP of the match. For once I thought Johnny's facial expressions were pretty good because he was not doing rah rah dramatic cinema (lol) stuff, he just had a bleeding mouth and looked terrified the whole time. Gargano has some over choreographed moves that are not very appealing to me, so I was not the biggest fan of the first part of the match, despite the match itself having more of a Jr. Heavyweight style than a US indy style, thankfully. The second half was just perfect with all the drama, character work, surprisingly great selling and ASTONISHING nearfalls. One of Andrade's best matches and obviously the best Gargano singles match."

[9.0] "Incredible match here. Starts off technical with the agility coming into it quickly. Some really good, in places brutal spots. Does turn into a bit of a finisher fest but really enjoyable. Surprise winner too!"

[10.0] "[*****] This start is extremely fast-paced so I can't single out specific spots for a couple minutes. Both get to the outside, trade and dodge moonsaults until Johnny does a cannonball with nobody home and wipes out back first. Andrade gets thrown through the ropes, hooks his arms into them and recaptures the momentum, slide kicking Johnny. Andrade does the same rope catch, Johnny goes after, Andrade dodges but he doesn't expect Johnny doing a SLINGSHOT SPEAR? Johnny hits a Penta-esque superkick btu Andrade counters the AVALANCHE sunset flip powerbomb, hits a meterora, counters the slingshot DDT and hits an inverted tornado DDT off the middle turnbuckle and JOHNNY KICKS OUT? Johnny then hits a damn slingshot DDT onto the apron to the outside. Andrade hits a nasty double stomp to the outside and chucks him onto the apron and shoves him again and again. Another meteora and Gargano literally stands up from the pin like a boss. Chop followed by super kick to poisonrana by Johnny, Andrade tries to counter, by Johnny counters the counter and syches in the Gargano escape. Zelina breaks the hold but Andrade gets slingshot by Andrade to the outside. Zelina hits a hurricanrana to Johnny into the stairs interfering for the third time. Andrade hits the hammerlock DDT only for Johnny to fucking kick out. Candice LeRae stops Zelina from interfering again and drives her out of the arena. Gargano hits the slingshot DDT, Andrade kicks out, but synches in the Gargano escape. Andrade gets his foot on the ropes and hits a meteora to Johnny into the post. Draping hammerlock DDT to Johnny finally puts him away. This felt like it was never going to end (in a good way)."

[9.0] "This match was legitimately a match that was part of what resparked my interest in mainstream professional wrestling and what I think resparked an understanding that there was a market that existed of American fans who wanted to watch a more elevated in-ring performance. You can absolutely criticize the overuse of false finishes in the match, and perhaps it was a mistake to not have Gargano win, but perhaps in spite of that, bell to bell, this was a wonderfully memorable match, and the winner was so secondary to the memory of their ability to perform at such a high level, with such high work rate, while making everything constantly look good. It's not my favorite match of all time, and I think you needed to be a Gargano fan in 2017/2018 to really get the full effect of the story they were trying to tell, but for me, its the best WWE match I've ever seen."

[10.0] "Writing this to highlight my favorite niche thing in wrestling which is kickout progression. Johnny Gargano is king of this, he starts off kicking out at 1, slowly progressing the count. It'll get to a quick 2 off reversals, a near 2 on signatures, an insane near fall on the move just before the finish, so when he does kickout of the finisher, it feels like even more of a shock because he breaks the progression. Listen to the pop off the Hammerlock DDT kickout and tell me it wasn't perfectly paced out."

[10.0] "[5 Stars] That's why NXT Black & Gold was just one of the best products in wrestling history. An exceptional match between 2 excellent wrestlers offering us magnificent technique, the chemistry between them is insane. This is clearly one of the best matches in the history of NXT and even WWE. If you haven't seen this match, go and see it, it's a classic (*****)"

[9.0] "This was a great match. Great technical wrestling from bell to bell. Also, both men looked strong throughout the match. Zelina also played the role of heel manager very well. So well that when Candace made her presence known in the match, not only did the crowd erupt but so did I. I was happy to see her finally get some hands put on her. Only thing keeping this match from being a 10 for me is Gargano losing, The crowd was so hot for Johnny and you had the perfect match to give him the title. Hot crowd, wife interference, despised heel, everything made sense for this to be the moment Johnny won the title. I understand the attack at the end is to further push Gargano as the top babyface but this match would be so much better with that crowd roar of a Gargano win."

"Probably my favorite match of NXT black & gold Era. They both put on a clinic of high-flying moves, and hard-hitting offense, fast-paced sequences, flawless transitions, and several innovative spots."

"A simply incredible bout. In my opinion the best match in NXT history and a career best for both men."

[10.0] "All is left to say after 6 years it's still the best bout in the of nxt takeovers and one of the greatest in wwe history as well."

[8.0] "This match was fantastic but I was shocked when I saw that this was WWE's first 5* match since 2011. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong. I just don't think it's 5 stars."

[10.0] "This is my favorite match of a time it would take millions and millions (of the rocks fans) years to lost everything I liked about this match"

[9.0] "I do think this match is a tad bit overrated, not a 5 star match but still a great match. Black and Gold NXT was really special, white and gold just doesnt hit the same and the mens division at the moment is really poor. Johnny was such a great babyface and Andrade in NXT really was incredible. Andrade plays the role of a heel perfectly as does Zelina. Many people complain that NXT Johnny Gargano kicked out of everything but it didnt feel over the top to me here."

[10.0] "This was an incredible match between Andrade and Johnny Gargano. Fast pace technical wrestling. It was a near perfect performance from both guys. There was so much counter wrestling. They were high pace for most of the match. Andrade played the heel very good. Johnny is the ultimate babyface and underdog. Very strong from both guys. One of the best matches in WWE history."