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When it comes to NXT TakeOvers, TakeOver: Portland delivered in a very real sense of the term. It is rare for TakeOvers to be featured on a weekend without another WWE pay-per-view backing it up the next night. However, Portland's NXT TakeOver saw that the Black and Yellow brand has grown crucially independent in the best sense of the term, hitting all the marks that were needed for it to create a mark.
Each of the WWE NXT Championships with the exception of the Cruiserweight title was on the line at the TakeOver, and on top of that, there were two feuds between opponents very familiar with one another.
With interferences by Raquel Gonzalez and Johnny Gargano in matters that supposedly did not concern them, there's a lot to talk about from tonight's WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland. Here are the best and worst parts of tonight's show from the Black and Yellow brand.
#1 Best: Worthy tribute by Keith Lee
Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic are no strangers to each other. The two have faced each other numerous times over the course of the last 6 months.
Since the feud started, neither has been able to gain foothold over the other, with one win each, and two draws between them. NXT TakeOver: Portland saw that deadlock broken as Keith Lee was able to put away Dijakovic.
The respect between the two opponents was palpable, but neither held anything back with bragging rights on the line for the night, surviving the most devastating offense that their opposition could throw at them.
But there was something more on the line for Lee. He entered with a Maberry Strong t-shirt, which was a tribute to his high school football coach, Daniel Maberry, who passed away earlier this month.
Lee not only won, solidifying his position in the WWE hierarchy, but he also ensured that everyone knew there was a lot in store for his future. With a worthy tribute, this was one of the most emotional and best moments of the night.
#2 Worst: Raquel Gonzalez's botch
One of the biggest surprises of the night was the appearance of Raquel Gonzalez at the end of the match between Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox.
A feud between two former best friends like Kai and Nox is always personal, and so a first-ever NXT Women's Street Fight was a fitting way to determine who would be coming out on top of this rivalry. Both women gave it their all, even paying tribute to Tegan Nox's British roots with a cricket bat being involved in proceedings.
It looked a lot like Tegan Nox would be able to get revenge on her friend for turning her back on her, but there came the unexpected interference from Mae Young Classic's Raquel Gonzalez. Nox had Kai out on a table, ready to take her out with a top rope attack, but Gonzalez arrived and hit a double arm Chokeslam onto the table.
Unfortunately, she did not aim properly, and Nox fell onto the edge of the table, overturning it, after having connected with the back of her neck.
Thankfully, it looked like she had not been hurt, but that move nearly resulted in putting Nox on the shelf. Given the overall quality of the whole match, this one moment was extremely jarring. Gonzalez's debut in this feud might not have started on the best note but hopefully, it will improve.
#3 Best: WrestleMania challenge accepted by Charlotte Flair
Rhea Ripley is heading to WrestleMania 36, but it is not in the way that she hoped that she would. Ripley had one of the best matches of her life at WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland tonight, as she faced the impossibly strong and the unbelievably athletic Bianca Belair.
She was able to come out of that match as the winner, but did not get any time to celebrate her victory at all. Having challenged 'The Queen' Charlotte Flair to a match at WrestleMania, she should have had eyes on the back of her head.
Charlotte, having not answered the challenge so far, decided to choose the most vulnerable moment of Ripley, attacking her from behind while she was celebrating her exhausting win over Bianca Belair. The attack saw Charlotte standing tall at Portland with the NXT Women's Championship over the prone body of the Ripley.
As the winner of the Royal Rumble, she accepted Ripley's challenge, and now the two of them will be battling for superiority on 'The Grandest Stage Of Them All', WrestleMania.
#4 Worst: Johnny Gargano reignites his feud with Tommaso Ciampa
Tommaso Ciampa's return to NXT was an unbelievable one. At one time, he was the most hated heel in not only NXT but also possibly the entire WWE. His betrayal of Johnny Gargano had rankled the WWE Universe in the worst way possible.
However, that was all in the past. Given all that he had to overcome with his neck surgery threatening his entire in-ring wrestling career when he returned, the fans were firmly behind Ciampa.
Adam Cole has taken up the mantle of the top heel in the division as the NXT Champion. He was the one person standing between a much-awaited reunion between Ciampa and his beloved Goldy.
Ciampa was already battling the odds, taking on Adam Cole as well as the entire Undisputed Era who was standing by the side of Cole. Ciampa took them all on and even spiked Roderick Strong with an unbelievable DDT. He finally had some support at ringside in the form of Johnny Gargano, who arrived to apparently help his former tag team partner.
Earlier in the night, Johnny Gargano had his hopes completely extinguished by Finn Balor, who not only defeated him but also apparently wiped out the heart of Johnny Wrestling. Gargano was not there to help Ciampa, instead, causing a distraction and hitting Ciampa across the head with the NXT Championship. It was enough to end Ciampa's attempt, as all Cole had to do was pin Ciampa to win the title.
The reason that this is a 'worst' from the night is that Johnny Gargano's turn was not really unexpected. Instead, the shock factor was that it actually somehow spoilt what was otherwise one of the best matches of the night. Now Ciampa and Gargano have reignited their feud, something that the WWE Universe has seen for a long time now.
Gargano's character might have gone so back-and-forth at this point, that it is becoming difficult to see who he really is anymore.
#5 Best: Broserweights triumph
The journey of Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne has been rather unbelievable so far. Both men have been extremely successful in their solo careers, but their unlikely team of two months has done what many other tag teams had failed to do — defeated The Undisputed Era.
Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish have long acted as the Gatekeepers of the NXT Tag Team Division, testing and defeating almost every challenger that came their way for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
The Broserweights, however, not only went through every team in the Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament, but they also challenged the NXT Tag Team Champions with unexpected success.
Riddle and Dunne's individual energies meshed together in chaotic harmony on the one night that it mattered. They survived all that O'Reilly and Fish had to throw at them, with Dunne even kicking out of Chasing The Dragon.
Dunne and Riddle worked together as if they had known each other for two decades and not months, as Riddle catapulted Fish into a leaping kick from Dunne, with them picking up the win that mattered the most.
