WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland Preview: February 16, 2020

WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland Preview: February 16, 2020 by Felix Pichler

As always, this is the officially confirmed match card but the order in which I’ll talk about the matches in this preview is how I would set up this PPV.

Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai in a Street Fight

The build-up for this match started at NXT TakeOver: WarGames as Dakota Kai turned heel and attacked her former best friend Tegan Nox before she entered the WarGames match of the women (what then neither Kai nor Nox entered) even though they were on the same team.

Since then, Kai acted perfectly as a heel while Nox wasn’t really able to get her revenge. At NXT TakeOver: Portland it is time, and this could be one of the most brutal women’s matches we have seen within the last time in WWE. Anyways, it’s hard to predict a winner, but if Kai is able to get the victory, she will establish herself as one of the top heels of NXT.

Prediction: Dakota Kai

“The Undisputed Era” Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly (C.) vs. “The BroserWeights” Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne for the NXT Tag Team Championship

The BroserWeights Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne teamed up for the Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament and ended up winning it what gave them this title shot. However, we have here once more the problem that we have a tag match between one real tag team while the other one is in truth two singles wrestlers.

In general, I would definitely go with the Undisputed Era, but Riddle and Dunne received quite a lot of attention within the last time and due to that, it wouldn’t be such a surprise if they would win this match. But if Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly lose their titles in this match, Adam Cole would be the only one remaining in the UE with a title and I’m also not sure if he defeats Tommaso Ciampa. However, I think that Riddle and Dunne win this match since otherwise, it makes no sense to give them such a big push as a tag team within the last weeks. The other option would also be a split and a feud between these two but this would be too early

Prediction: Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne

Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Bálor

This is clearly one of the biggest dream matches we get to see this year in WWE. Additionally, about one year ago absolutely nobody thought that we would see this within the next time and if so, surely not at an NXT TakeOver. However, as Finn Bálor left the main shows to join NXT again, this match is really happening this weekend.

Besides the fight between Nox and Kai, this is the second non-title match on the card, but it still promises to be outstanding. Once more, it’s hard to predict any winner since both men are on the level to go for a championship. However, Gargano already fought against Ciampa and Cole for the NXT Championship while Bálor only faced Cole once a few weeks ago for the title. So, it would make sense to let the Prince go over while Ciampa wins the title and then these two go head to head.

Prediction: Finn Bálor

Keith Lee (C.) vs. Dominik Dijakovic for the NXT North American Championship

We saw this match already several times last year and in general these two men often in big matches within the last few months, but I still don’t expect this match to be boring as both superstars are amazing athletes and harmonise perfectly together. So, they will surely perform a great match.

However, I can’t imagine that Dominik Dijakovic wins the title since Keith Lee is not champion for a long time. Due to that, I think that they will use Dijakovic to let Lee look stronger.

Prediction: Keith Lee

Rhea Ripley (C.) vs. Bianca Belair for the NXT Women’s Champion

This fight between Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair is the only match of NXT TakeOver: Portland where the winner is already known before the PPV takes place. They already started with the build-up for the WrestleMania match between Ripley and Charlotte Flair. Due to that, Belair is clearly just there to give Ripley another push.

Considering this, that’s the match about which I’m the least hyped. It will surely be a good fight and they will work well together, but the finish is already clear. Anyways, it would be quite cool if Charlotte appears and interferes in any way or attacks Ripley after the match.

Prediction: Rhea Ripley

Adam Cole (C.) vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship

Even though we don’t know the order of the matches until the PPV actually gets underway, this fight will surely be the main event of NXT TakeOver: Portland as it is the fight for the most prestigious championship in all of NXT.

The build-up for this match even started before NXT TakeOver: WarGames and throughout this whole storyline Ciampa noted permanently that he never really lost “Goldie”. On the other side, Cole is maybe at the moment the best performer in NXT and at the same time has with the Undisputed Era three partners at his side who will surely get involved in any way in this match.

Anyways, both men would be a good option, so it’s hard to pick any winner. Ciampa and Cole are currently the two biggest superstars NXT has to offer and due to that, it doesn’t really matter who wins at the end since both are great options and besides it’s guaranteed that they blow the roof off.

But as already mentioned earlier in this preview, it would be interesting to give Ciampa the title and then let him start a feud with Bálor for the NXT Championship.

Prediction: Tommaso Ciampa

Summary

While it’s clear that Ripley will defend her NXT Women’s Championship and it’s likely that Lee beat Dijakovic, the endings of all other matches are extremely hard to predict as we always have superstars on about the same level and this makes this NXT TakeOver so interesting.