7 things NXT got right at TakeOver: Portland

NXT TakeOver: Portland is already one of my favorite wrestling events of the year as we got a series of A-grade matches at the event that made our jaws drop.

The NXT North American Championship match opened up the event and then the women of NXT took over with a massive Street Fight.

The Prinxe of NXT took over from there and took the fight to one of NXT’s veteran performers, ensuring that his dominance of NXT and WWE did not fall behind.

Things only got better from then on as Rhea Ripley battled Bianca Belair for the NXT Championship with WrestleMania 36 on both women’s minds. The BroserWeights and the Undisputed Era capped off the night with some good and bad moments that will leave a mark on the NXT Universe.

In this article, we will look a the 7 things NXT got right at TakeOver: Portland.

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#7 The Wicked Witch and The Shiniest Wizard

I haven’t seen a more brilliant women’s match without a title involved in the past year.

Former best friends and now bitter enemies Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox came head to head in a Street Fight. Kai did not wait for Nox to enter the ring and attacked him during her entrance.

The match erupted from then on as the heel brutalized Nox all around the inside before Nox was able to make a comeback in the fight. The two women did not hold back with the weapons and hit each other with anything they could get their hands on including Kendo sticks and trash can lids.

Never for a moment did either Superstar lose character even though they had to endure great pain during the match and tell the story perfectly to make their way up the NXT ladder.

The babyface Nox targetted Kai’s injured knee with a laptop and then a steel chair, making things very difficult for the Captain of Team Kick.

Nox’s dark side began to show as she laid Kai out on a table and trapped her head in a chair before climbing to the top rope to end it once and for all. However, Raquel Gonzalez made a surprise appearance and dropped Nox over a table after which Kai pinned her for the victory.

While the ending was a little off, the entire match was magical and saw the two mid-carders prove that they have what it takes to make it to the big leagues. The tainted victory confirms that this rivalry is far from over.

#6 Clash of the Titans

The ring was ready to take some punishment as two of NXT’s biggest men opened up the show with an NXT North American Championship fight.

The Champion Keith Lee faced a familiar rival in Dominik Dijakovic in a match where there was no clear heel.

Lee came out strong right from the start as he looked to defend his title against his biggest threat. Dijakovic, though, wasn’t willing to let the match slip and showed why he is regarded as one of the most powerful men in the locker room.

The two continued to give their best as chants of “NXT!” filled the arena. Dijakovic did everything in his power to undo The Limitless One and hit him with a massive Feast Your Eyes which still couldn’t put the Champion away. They no-sold each other’s attacks and gave fans exactly what they came to watch.

Dijakovic’s back started to give out which allowed Lee to finally hit the Big Bang Catastrophe for the successful title defense.

This was an incredible match that helped both men to come out strong while giving Lee the biggest defense he could have asked for. The two men embraced and stood together at the end signifies that the outcome did not affect their character and they could well continue to work as a team down the road.

#5 The Undisputed BroserWeights

The Undisputed Era faced their toughest competitors to date as they came face to face with the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Classic winners. Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle, who seemed like an odd pairing at first, looked to continue their unbeaten run as a team in this NXT Tag Team Championship match.

The challengers showed their uniqueness by fighting out of difficult situations and taking the fight back to the Champions. A double submission from the team gave the fans a lot to cheer about but the Champions managed to battle out.

The heels then worked together to try and eliminate their challengers as Dunne first collided with Riddle and then a Spear attempt by Riddle ended up flattening Dunne out.

Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly worked on the advantages but The BroserWeight’s double attacks helped them take the win over a team that barely ever loses in NXT. The BruseirWeight and The King of Bros won their first title together, which is also Riddle’s first Championship in NXT.

Beating Unsidputed Era is no easy feat, and the make-shift team showed that they aren’t a make-shift team anymore and are ready to take over NXT’s tag team division, allowing fans to get a fresher look.

#4 Fight Forever!

Did you want the Match of the Year? Well, you may have just gotten the Match of Your Life.

The Prinxe of NXT took on Johnny TakeOver in a match that fans were looking forward to more than any other match on the card.

Finn Balor did not hold back and went after the man he’s learned to hate as Johnny Gargano was unsure of how to deal with the former Universal Champion’s strikes.

A flurry of chops and a Spear helped Johnny Wrestling take over the match and take the fight to Balor.

After Balor regained control, we saw a different side to him as he attacked Gargano with several technical strikes as the announce team reminded fans of Balor’s past in Japan.

The action spilled all over the pace as the two men traded control of the match and tried to outdo their opponent, but a number of submission holds and near falls bore no fruits.

As the fight spilled over to the floor, Gargano hit a dropkick and sent The Prinxe into the guardrail. He then took Balor to the announce table and teased a 1916 DDT onto Balor, but the heel countered and dropped his opponent face-first onto the table. He followed it up with a running dropkick that sent Gargano into the guardrail and hit the Coup de Grace and 1916 DDT to pick up the victory.

This was an incredible match that did justice to the build-up and the two men involved. There is no better way these two veterans could have delivered and the fans were once again reminded why Balor and Gargano are known to be two of the best in the world.

#3 The Princess of Belair

Bianca Belair took to the ring to make her dreams come true and win the NXT Championship for the first time in her career from the current Champion Rhea Ripley.

The two women traded strikes and the advantage kept flowing to and fro as the chance of taking the title to WrestleMania was on both women’s minds. The EST of NXT showed her strength against Ripley and gave her a tough fight which made the Women’s title match more interesting.

The two women took things to the edge and a Gorilla Press slam from Belair to Ripley earned her the advantage once again. However, a Spear from The Nightmare undid all the advantage her challenger had built up.

Finally, Ripley hit the Riptide on Belair to pick up the victory and retain her title in a hard-fought match. The night wasn’t over for the two women as Charlotte Flair arrived and interrupted the Champion by attacking her and Belair before accepting her challenge for WrestleMania.

While Ripley came out as the winner and Falir stole the spotlight, it was Belair who gave the performance of her career to give the crowd something to look forward to.

With Flair attacking Belair too, it seems like the door to WrestleMania is not yet shut for the young Superstar. Will The EST manage to make it a Triple Threat match?

#2 Black & Goldie

The never-ending match headlined the show as it was for the NXT Championship.

Adam Cole, who is arguably the greatest ever NXT Champion, battled against the man who never lost the title, Tommaso Ciampa.

Ciampa was aggressive from the opening bell and took the fight to the Champion. He made Cole look like the underdog at first, but Cole was able to mark a comeback after a big wheelbarrow suplex into the announce table. The impact seemed to have done damage to Ciampa’s surgically repaired neck and help the Champion gain the advantage.

After Cole did more damage to Ciampa’s neck, The Blackheart managed to counter a Panama Sunrise attempt and gained back the advantage.

After several attacks, a Project Ciampa earned Ciampa a near fall and left him in disbelief. Cole then came close to victory with the Last Shot, but the former Champion was able to make his way to the bottom rope.

After several finishers and near falls, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly made it to ringside to help their leader win the match. Another Last Shot from Cole still couldn’t keep the challenger down as frustration continued to rise. After the referee was taken out, Cole hit Ciampa with a low-blow but Ciampa managed to hit one of his own.

He then hit the Fairytale Ending, but no one was available to make the count. After a gruesome betrayal, Cole managed to pin Ciampa and pick up what can be termed as the biggest victory of his career.

Not only was this match nonstop action, but it was also a thing of beauty and we arguably saw Ciampa’s best performance to date. While Ciampa may have been the perfect man to end Cole’s reign, it seems like the creatives have other plans for both men.

#1 The Betrayal

As if Johnny Gargano hadn’t had enough fun with Finn Balor already, it was his betrayal that took the game away from his long-time friend, Tommaso Ciampa.

During the NXT Championship match, Kyle O’Reilly slipped the NXT Championship belt into the ring for Adam Cole. However, Ciampa saw the belt and tried to take advantage of it himself before Johnny Gargano appeared and pulled the belt out of the ring. He then attacked Ciampa with it, allowing Cole to pin the former Champion and retain the title himself.

Gargano’s betrayal was not only unexpected, but it was also by far the biggest swerve NXT could have pulled off on a night when Gargano suffered defeat at the hands of Finn Balor.

While DIY has always had several twists and turns, taking the two men down the same path again seems to be odd given the fact that these two men were the frontrunners to dethrone Adam Cole.

With NXT pulling off the ultimate swerve, things will only get more interesting from here on and fans who were expecting Cole to make the switch to RAW or SmackDown soon will just have to wait a bit longer.