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NXT TakeOver: Portland is the next big event that will take place for the Black and Gold brand. Fans have been eagerly waiting for the event since the success of the NXT TakeOver: WarGames followed by NXT’s massive victory at Survivor Series.
All four main Championships of the brand will be on the line during the event, and fans will also see a battle between two pairs of bitter rivals who’re looking to end each other’s careers.
Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa will come face to face for the NXT Championship, while Rhea Ripley will take on Bianca Belair for the women’s version of the title.
Johnny Gargano will take on the man who tried to end his career late last year and seek revenge against Finn Balor. This is a grudge match that fans have desperately been waiting for, and it could possibly be the final match of one of the Superstars’ careers.
With so much on the line, we will look at the five things that must happen at NXT TakeOver: Portland to make it a big success.
#5 The Broserweights draw first blood
Pete Dunne isn’t the most fun-loving guy in NXT, but since he has been paired with The Super King of Bros, it seems like he’s slowly beginning to get a smile on his face.
Dunne and Matt Riddle defied all odds to win the Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament which has allowed them a chance to compete for Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly’s NXT Tag Team Championships. While Dunne and Riddle didn’t sound like the most impressive pairing at first, their teamwork has turned out to be one of the most interesting ones with their paired moves proving to be way too effective.
Undisputed Era has been holding the Tag Team Championships for about six months now and are already in their third reign.
With Undisputed Era already achieving everything a faction possibly can in a brand, NXT should allow The Broserweights to defeat the heels and take their most prized possession.
Undisputed Era seems ready to move to another brand, and The Broserweights could free them of the burden of carrying the gold belts around, allowing them to look for other opportunities instead.
The Broserweights have turned out to become one of the most fan-favorite teams in WWE in such a short time, and NXT should use that to allow the Dusty Rhodes Classic winners to push ahead and stay relevant.
#4 The Limitless One retains
The rise of The Limitless One has been nothing short of phenomenal as he has taken NXT by storm in the past few months.
At a time when the Undisputed Era seemed indestructible, Tommaso Ciampa seemed like the best candidate to break the back of the faction and take away the NXT Championship before the rest of the three men started to lose their titles.
However, NXT chose Keith Lee to demolish the gold standard Undisputed Era first, as Lee defeated Roderick Strong to take away the NXT North American Championship.
Dominik Dijakovic has emerged as the No.1 contender to Lee’s prize, and we all know that the two men are capable of producing some hard-hitting action-packed matches as they are no strangers to one another.
Both men have had a rivalry with the past where they have traded victories, and even though Lee has gotten the push on the back of a strong build-up before NXT WarGames and Survivor Series last year, Dijakovic has put in equal amounts of hard work.
With that in mind, Dijakovic deserves the title as much as Lee, but since NXT is currently building on everyone’s favorite new big guy, they must allow Lee to retain the title on his first defense.
Since this is Lee’s first title in WWE, he should not lose it so soon after winning it, that too on his first defense as fans are just beginning to bask in his glory.
#3 The Prinxe leaves a mark
The match we’ve all been waiting for.
NXT’s former leader Finn Balor is set to take on NXT’s current face Johnny Gargano in what can be termed as the match of their life. Balor has returned back to his roots after facing defeat at the hands of ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt after which his demons came back to haunt him.
Once he returned to NXT, he aimed for the top as he turned heel and attacked NXT’s premier Superstar Johnny Gargano. Balor has already termed this match as the final match of Gargano’s life.
With the hype already built around the match, along with the hype of these two big stars facing off, NXT must deliver an unforgettable match.
The two Superstars must battle for their careers rather than for the win, and the match must go into a no-contest with Balor delivering the final blows to leave a mark and take this rivalry into the next chapter.
This rivalry is too big to come to an end with just one match, and therefore the brand needs to work with this carefully to fuel the fire while protecting the outcome.
#2 The Nightmare continues
Shayna Baszler was an unbeatable force on NXT until Rhea Ripley decided to invade the brand. The former NXT UK Women’s Champion wasted little time on the brand and on the December 18 episode of NXT, defeated Baszler to win the NXT Championship.
Since then, we’ve watched her defend her title against NXT UK’s Toni Storm at Worlds Collide and even head over to RAW to challenge the Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair to fight her for the title at WrestleMania 36.
While Ripley has big hopes and dreams, Battle Royal winner Bianca Belair has other plans as she will be the first woman from NXT who will take on Ripley for the NXT Championship.
The two will meet at NXT TakeOver: Portland, and Belair seems confident enough to defeat the Champion, take her title, and head over to TakeOver: Tampa Bay and WrestleMania with it.
While Belair is a good prospect, NXT should keep their focus on Ripley and at building her rivalry with Flair which is garnering a lot of fan interest.
At TakeOver: Portland, the brand should allow Ripley to retain her title against Belair after a hard-fought match. Belair should not lose too easily either, and NXT could use the stage to allow Flair to interfere during the match and cost Belair the title, possibly setting up a match between Flair and Belair before Flair accepts Ripley’s challenge for WrestleMania.
#1 Daddy brings Goldie home
Arguably the biggest match of the night will main event the show. Tommaso Ciampa has been on the prowl for several months as he wants the title he never lost back in his arms.
Adam Cole, who is the current NXT Champion, is not ready to let go of the gold which he wears around his waist ever so proudly.
This will be the first time we’ll watch these two huge NXT Superstars battle against each other one-on-one. Even though they’ve been battling in NXT for several years, they have never faced each other in a singles competition.
With that in mind, this will be a competitor for Match of the Year as Cole has proven time and time again that he’s the best in the business while Ciampa is second to none.
Cole already has a huge victory over SmackDown’s Daniel Bryan and has also given Seth Rollins a good fight on RAW, and his recent performances have shaped him up to become a bigger competitor than he already is.
Since Ciampa has shown no interest to move from the Black and Gold brand, NXT must allow Ciampa to win back the title he never lost in his first effort while freeing up Cole to prepare to move to the main roster.
