Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn (NXT, 12-11-2014)

NXT TakeOver: R-Evolution, Winter Park, FL

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The match is title (Neville’s NXT championship) vs career (Zayn’s in NXT). It was last chance time for Sami to finally climb the mountain and win the NXT title. NXT had done a great job painting Sami as a guy who “couldn’t win the big one.” They’d established that Neville was willing to do anything to win, despite not being a heel, while Zayn just wasn’t able to bring himself to capitalize on an injury in a previous match they had. This was a match with great build and great promos leading up, and really felt like a big match.

Neville isn’t necessarily an actual bad guy here, but the crowd is definitely treating him as the heel. The Full Sail crowd definitely knows (or at least knew then, especially) how to play their role for a match, and they really care about well-developed characters, which both of these guys had coming into this match.

They soak in the chants after the bell rings. “Let’s go, Sami!” and “Neville sucks!” Really soaking it in, as Zayn turns to look at the audience, turning his back on Neville, who walks up from behind just to remind him that he’s the guy Sami has to beat. Crowd sings the “Olé!” chant.

C&E to start, Neville with a quick waistlock takedown into a front facelock. Zayn reverses into a hammerlock, Neville gets a wristlock. Zayn breaks that and gets his own. Neville goes high for a kick, ducked, but he takes Zayn over with a headlock and escapes a headscissors. They reset.

Circle around again, Zayn offers the knuckle lock, Neville takes it but then backs out. Sami with the wristlock, takes Neville over, Neville reverses into a hammerlock and grabs a sort of crossface with his right arm, too. Zayn stands it up, turns it around, but Neville quickly reverses back to a wristlock. Zayn rolls, but Neville keeps the hold and grabs an armbar. Another takeover from Neville, he’s in control early, keeping Zayn from grabbing any momentum early with the crowd behind him, trying, in fact, to take the crowd out of it by slowing it down.

They come to another standstill. Zayn into the corner, Neville kicks up and over, then spins to the apron in the opposite corner. But he’s caught at mid-ring with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and rolls out to the floor. Zayn with a mule kick to the head, then a split legged moonsault press to the floor. Zayn goes back in while Neville recovers. For Sami, it seems more about proving the point — “tonight, I’m on my game.”

Neville waits until eight to get back to the apron and reenter the ring at nine. Heel kick from Zayn after he ducks a clothesline, cover and he gets one. Zayn rams Neville’s head into the corner. Neville fires back with a right hand, sends Zayn into the ropes, hits a forearm for two.

Zayn’s head into the turnbuckle now, and then a snapmare and dropkick to the back of the head from Neville, another two count. Neville controlling the tempo, big uppercut in the corner gets another two. This referee is very vocal and involved, telling Neville, while arguing, not to worry about the referee but worry about the opponent.

Neville with a kneedrop, barely gets two that time. Neville covering repeatedly just to make Sami Zayn spend energy kicking out in a slow pace. Neville with a chinlock. Zayn drives Neville into the corner and breaks the hold, but Neville hits another shot and lands a shotgun dropkick from the second rope.

Still with the slow pace, Neville taunting Zayn with kicks to the head, but then he puts some stank on them when Zayn shows fire. Neville off the ropes, Zayn springs up with a hard clothesline. Another clothesline from Sami, he hits the ropes, and connects with a dropkick. Neville again goes to the floor to break the momentum. Sami sees an opening to dive, but Neville comes in and catches him off-guard with a rana. Zayn to the floor, but he’s back in before Neville can dive, dumping Neville to the floor and hitting the dive on a second chance.

Back in and Zayn hits a crossbody from the top for two. A couple reversals, and Zayn hits the ropes, then catches Neville in the electric chair. He drops him down into a blue thunder bomb for two! Neville comes back with a running uppercut in the corner, again trying to slow Zayn’s roll. Zayn follows Neville to a corner, but gets caught with a kick, then a snap German off the ropes for two.

Sami tries to get back into it quickly, but Neville with a Liger Bomb for two, really drilled that one. Frustration setting in for Neville a little bit — he’s hitting Sami with heavy artillery and can’t keep him down. Forearms from Neville, Zayn shakes them off and calls for more. Now they’re trading back-and-forth. Neville with a spin kick to the stomach and a couple more kicks, off the ropes, Zayn avoids him, Neville eats another big clothesline. The camera’s zooming in and out there was atrocious but it’s a great little segment.

Zayn into the corner, runs for the helluva kick, but Neville moves and drops him with a kick. Neville up for the Red Arrow, but Zayn gets the knees up and grabs the Koji Clutch! Zayn drags it a little back toward the center of the ring. Neville stretches and gets the bottom rope, though, forcing the release.

But Sami’s got his chance. Zayn goes for the exploder into the corner, Neville reverses with a cradle and gets two, but Neville gets kicked away and smashes skulls with the referee. That’s one of the best ref bumps you’ll ever see. And it sets up Zayn checking on the referee instead of focusing on Neville, to the distress of the crowd. Superkick and reverse rana from Neville — one, two, NO!

Neville, due to shock, has to collect himself almost as much as Zayn. Forearm from Zayn, Neville slowly drops to a knee but comes back with his own, sending Zayn back into the corner. Neville catches Zayn coming out with another forearm shot. Neville goes for a high kick, misses, and Zayn hits a German. He chains it together with another one, and hangs on for a third. Instead, he goes for the half-and-half suplex and hits it clean.

Neville in the corner, Zayn goes for the helluva kick, but Neville slips out to the floor again. So Sami goes out and hits the diving DDT through the corner. That move never fails to amaze me, just the coordination and timing of it, not only to do it at all, but make it look good.

Helluva kick in the corner, but the referee gets hit in the head again, with Neville pulling him sorta into the way of Zayn’s run. “This ref sucks!” chant. Neville back to the floor to recover while Zayn checks on the referee yet again.

Neville grabs his title belt, but before he can use it, Sami boots him in the head. The crowd does not want Zayn to abandon his principles and use the belt as a weapon, but he picks it up and stares at it. He sets to use it, but ultimately can’t bring himself to do it. Even with his career on the line, he wants to win clean.

But Neville runs up from behind, rolls him up, and gets two. Neville runs into the exploder in the corner. Zayn has the opening, pauses for effect, and sprints in — helluva kick! 1, 2, 3!

Rating: 4.5/5. I really loved re-watching this, it took me back to what I think was the real golden age of NXT, 2013-15, which is not a shot at anything after, really. A few years removed, this holds up and then some. It’s a special match — basic in many ways, but works on the level it does because the performers are excellent, with terrific chemistry, and their story was well developed. I do think Sami Zayn is good in 2018 as a snotty heel, but I will always miss this Sami Zayn, the best pure babyface since the days of Sting and Ricky Steamboat in WCW. The crowd believed in him, WANTED him to be the truly good guy, and he was.