WWE Programming's Best Match for Week of September 20

In a strong week across the board for in-ring action on WWE programming, we've seen more evidence—should we need it—that between the ropes, the roster might well be as strong as it has ever been.

From the top to the bottom of the card, there are wrestlers who can put on a great match at the drop of the hat; they just need to be given the opportunity. Pleasingly, even while Monday Night Raw can sometimes ignore in-ring action in favour of skits and segments, WWE seems to be making full use of the rest of its schedule to allows its talent to show what they can do.

Honourable Mentions

The sheer quality that's been on show this week made this a very difficult decision; any of these honourable mentions could well have been the match of the week, and all three deserve your time.

The main event of this week's Monday Night Raw saw Roman Reigns meet Seth Rollins less than a week out from their match at Night of Champions. The match itself was good, but you do have to wonder how much sense it made to push it to Raw rather than hold off until the pay-per-view.

You would have to imagine that something was held back so that the Night of Champions match remains special, so it's difficult to get completely invested in a bout that seems like it might be just a holding pen for both men anyway. That said, the pair did well, and the match is worth watching—but if you haven't seen it thus far, it's perhaps best to wait for their Night of Champions clash.

On Superstars, Justin Gabriel and Sin Cara had a third great match in their series, both men making a great case for both their own talents and the fact that Superstars isn't just filler. People always seem to get caught up in the idea of a cruiserweight division or a separate show; if that's something that you want to see, watch this match.

Seth Rollins best match of the week—a topic that could perhaps support its own weekly article—came on Main Event against Big E. We've seen these two compete on numerous occasions, memorably for the NXT Championship, but this was their best meeting yet.

Both men looked hungry, producing a match that would have been more at home on a pay-per-view than an episode of Main Event. Big E deserves a regular spot on Raw, and Seth Rollins might just be the most consistent man on the roster in terms of his performances inside the ropes.

Match of the Week for September 20: Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn vs. Titus O'Neil and Tyson Kidd on NXT

This match encapsulates everything about why NXT is consistently the best hour of television WWE puts out. There's a constant sense of progression in its major storylines, main roster stars and NXT wrestlers alike are used to their utmost, and, most crucially, in-ring promos are used to set up a narrative, but the bulk of the storytelling is done in the ring.

Rollins vs. Big E was a great match, but it was a one-off that doesn't really mean that much for either competitor aside from showing that the two can really go. This match was hugely compelling, but it also served the purpose of setting up several different storyline threads that will be revisited in future weeks. Simply put, NXT always gives its viewers reasons to tune in next week; Raw, on the other hand, regularly does the opposite.

Building off the finish of the main event of Takeover II last week, we saw Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville trade a few barbs in the ring to open the show—but it was when they hit the ring as a team that we really saw the issue between them develop.

In a flurry of blind tags and one-upmanship, we were given the next step in what seems to be the build towards the two contesting the NXT Championship—not through a promo but through the match itself. That seems basic, but we often see storyline development as a means to getting to a match in WWE rather than a match being one way of building a storyline in a way suited to a wrestling broadcast.

However, this match wasn't just focused on Zayn and Neville. Their strained friendship provided an opening for Tyson Kidd and Titus O'Neil, who managed to jell well as a team and begin to take advantage of the wedge between their opponents.

Kidd was given ample opportunity to continue his career-best characterisation as a cocky slimeball, and O'Neil was convincing in his big-man role. In storyline and out, they worked well as a pairing and held their end against two of the most talented up-and-comers in the company.

Just like the Takeover II main event, the match was satisfying as the end of a broadcast as well as a tantalizing glimpse of what's next. With great matches coming from every corner of the WWE schedule this week, hopes should certainly be high for Night of Champions this Sunday.

Did an honourable mention stand ahead of the match of the week for you? Or was it a different match completely? Make your thoughts known in the comments section below.