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The final episode of NXT before TakeOver: Portland was expected to build towards the matches that will take place on Sunday, and the show did just dad extremely well.
The night kicked off with Roderick Strong taking on a new enemy, and the show then continued to build up the rivalries that were already set.
Dakota Kai battled against Candice LeRae before her clash with Tegan Nox on Sunday, while Johnny Gargano met Cameron Grimes last night before facing Finn Balor at TakeOver.
The NXT Champion also battled against a newer Superstar in a great match to end the night, while Bianca Belair made a statement against Rhea Ripley just before an important match.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things NXT got right on this week’s episode before NXT TakeOver: Portland.
#5 Nox and Kai’s build-up
The former Captain of Team Kick is not going easy on any of her opponents since her heel turn, and this week she took on one of NXT’s best in the form of Candice LeRae.
Dakota Kai tried to start strong in this match and gain the momentum ahead of her clash with former best friend Tegan Nox at TakeOver: Portland.
After trading several blows and suicide dives, LeRae’s nose was busted after a kick from LeRae which proved to work in favor of the heel. LeRae continued to battle but a roll-up from Kai proved to be the turning point in the match as the referee counted to three and handed her the victory.
As the match ended controversially, LeRae wasn’t too happy and went after Kai following the match. Kai, however, grabbed the ring bell and attacked LeRae with it, which led to Tegan Nox coming out to LeRae’ aide.
The two women got into a massive brawl which required several men to pull them apart. This was perfectly done as NXT needed to provide the final blow before their clash on Sunday.
The creatives protected LeRae from a clean defeat which allowed Kai to use her heelish tactics to come out on top right before an important clash.
#4 A Strong showing
Last week, while looking for Tommaso Ciampa backstage, The Undisputed Era came face to face with Bronson Reed. While they pretended to have nothing to do with the big guy, Roderick Strong attacked him before the four men walked off.
This week, Strong came out alone to address the return of his arch-rival, The Velveteen Dream. Strong spoke about Dream disrespecting his family and putting a photo of his wife and child on his ring gear.
Reed came out to the middle to settle the score with Strong, and immediately a match was set between the two men without any warning.
Reed controlled Strong with some aggression and continued to counter whatever Strong threw at him. However, The Thicc Boi was unable to overcome the old b
This match showed just how good Strong is and has the potential to lead NXT if any of the top men switch brands. Dream taunting Strong yet again after the match sets up their clash for next week.
#3 Grimes’ big match
Cameron Grimes has been a constant on NXT for the last six months or so but has been part of a lot of mixed bookings.
At times he is able to dominate his opponents and pick up quick victories, but he fails to make an impact when it really matters. In any case, fans know that he’s a star in the making who is just looking for his breakout performance.
He may have just done that this week as he squared off against one of the most experienced men in WWE today, Johnny Gargano. Gargano, who is set to face Finn Balor on Sunday, wanted to make an example out of Grimes in this match-up.
Grimes did not come out weak as he gave Gargano an equal match and the two showed off great technical prowess. Not only did he manage to get a few major strikes to Gargano but he also managed to escape from the Gargano Escape.
After a good showing, Gargano was able to pick up the win to head into Sunday with a victory to his name. While Grimes lost the match, he got his biggest match in his NXT career yet on a night when Gargano was trying to build momentum.
This experience will surely help the tophat wearing Superstar gain a lot of momentum for the coming weeks.
#2 Belair gets back in the game
Bianca Belair will take on Rhea Ripley for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: Portland during the weekend which will be a great matchup.
Before she could get her hands on Ripley, she battled against Santana Garrett this week in an attempt to prove her worth in NXT. She did just that as she defeated Garrett in less than half a minute to pick up the most dominating victory of her career.
While that wasn’t something fans came out to watch this week, it was what followed that was interesting. Belair wasted little time in grabbing a mic and complaining about the NXT Champion and Charlotte Flair looking past her to WrestleMania.
Belair had every right to complain as not only the two Superstars, but most of the WWE Universe and analysts seem to be going over her thinking about their dream booking for WrestleMania.
This brought out Ripley to respond but The EST was not ready to do any more talking and she laid the Champion down with the KOD to make a huge statement for their match on Sunday.
This was the right thing to do to get Belair back in the spotlight and let her get the upper hand during the final segment of the build to their match.
#1 Kushida’s moment
Kushida came in NXT with a lot of hopes and dreams and immediately got an NXT UK Championship match against the massive WALTER.
While he threw everything he had at WALTER, he was unable to capitalize and win despite giving a good performance. Since then Kushida went off the radar and only returned to have a short rivalry with Cameron Grimes before getting into the Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament.
Finally, he got his big moment again as he was booked to take on The Undisputed Era's Adam Cole on this week’s show. Kushida impressed early and seemed to be an equal match for the man who will defend his NXT Championship against Tommaso Ciampa and TakeOver: Portland later this week.
The technical work in the match was on point, and fans were treated to something that could have been saved for a much bigger stage as Cole and Kushida were both great in the match.
Cole finally scored the win with The Last Shot to the back of Kushida’s head to pick up a hard-fought victory. After the match, Cole and Ciampa had a staredown to end the show.
While Cole was the highlight here, Kushida got the match he deserved and showed the world that he is capable of taking on any Champion in the company and give a good fight.
