Tomorrow is @WWENXT #takeoverportland, and since we didn't (forgot) to make a segment on our predictions I thought I'd take some time to write about it here! Takeovers always deliver amazing matchups and this one is no different, the card is stacked with dream matches. While there's always the chance for last minute additions or changes, so far I haven't heard any rumblings of surprises, so without further ado..
The card stands as follows, as well as what I think match order might be. (again, I have no insider info, this is just guesses based on history)
Singles Match: Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano
Street Fight: Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox
NXT Tag Team Championship: The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs. The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne)
NXT North American Championship: Keith Lee (c) vs. Dominik Dijakovic
NXT Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Bianca Belair
NXT Championship: Adam Cole (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Starting with the Balor v Gargano match, I fully suspect Balor getting the win, this feud is not done I think, and Gargano seems to work best as the underdog in longer feuds, so I think he'll lose here setting up a bigger match down the road. Perhaps #TakeoverTampa. Additionally I think some more time establishing the new, vicious, Prinxe Balor is needed.
Kai v Nox should be a fun one, and contrastingly, while I love the dynamic of the heel Kai and the returning babyface Nox, I do feel it's time for both to move on to other matches, maybe to roll back around to this later in the year. That being said I think Nox pulls out the victory here in a potentially brutal, match of the night candidate.
I'm going to get straight to the point, I think the UE drop the belts to the Broserweights here. The UE have been dominant for the past few years and have shown that they can still work without the belts. Additionally the Bros are red hot right now and the fans are behind them, so it makes sense to put the gold on them. It also works with a future storyline (more on that later).
Lee v Dijak(ovic) is a match we've seen a dozen times before, but that doesn't mean it'll be boring! They never fail to deliver barnburners, so I expect no less this time. I do think it's too soon to take the belt off Lee, no matter how much I love Dijak(ovic). TBH, this was one of the ones I wasn't sure where to put on the card, I honestly feel bad for whomever follows it, but I couldn't justify putting it farther down the card.
Ripley v Belair is worthy of main eventing, but I just have a feeling it won't. Two powerful, charismatic athletes, each with their own unique style will make for another MOTN candidate. Both of them will be stars for years to come, and both are worthy of the title, but I feel WWE showed their hands a bit bystarting the build for Charlotte v Ripley already. They have tried to plant the "we don't know if Rhea will still be champion after..." but I don't see any way they have her drop the belt right now. Ripley v Charlotte is a #Wrestlemania match, Belair v Charlotte isn't... Yet...
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Main Event, Cole v Ciampa! The payoff to the future story I hinted at earlier. After prophesizing last year that the UE would be draped in gold, and delivering, I think that the era ends here. We already had Roddy drop the belt to Lee, and earlier on this card I have the Broserweights beating Fish and O'Reilly for the belts, leaving Cole the only champion... until Ciampa takes back Goldie! The storylines coming out of this are many. Tension in the UE over all this could lead to infighting, or maybe it brings them together like a pack of wild dogs. Ciampa could grant a rematch at a future event, or maybe another challenger steps up (coughcoughBalorcoughcough). Regardless I'm excited!
So those are my thoughts. I'll update below with DA Fabe and Justin's picks! I'm interested what you think, comment below your picks!