NXT TakeOver: Portland

NXT TakeOver: Portland was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their NXT brand division. It took place on February 16, 2020 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.[1][2][3]

NXT TakeOver: Portland
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)NXT
DateFebruary 16, 2020
CityPortland, Oregon
VenueModa Center
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous
Royal Rumble		 Next →
Super ShowDown
NXT TakeOver chronology
← Previous
WarGames		 Next →
In Your House

Six matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Adam Cole defeated Tommaso Ciampa to retain the NXT Championship. On the undercard, Rhea Ripley retained the NXT Women's Championship against Bianca Belair, Keith Lee defeated Dominik Dijakovic to retain the NXT North American Championship, and The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) defeated The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.

Production

Background

TakeOver is a series of professional wrestling shows that began on May 29, 2014, as WWE's NXT brand held their second WWE Network exclusive live broadcast billed as TakeOver.[4] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live WWE Network specials. Portland was the 28th NXT TakeOver event and the first held on a Sunday.[3]

Storylines

The card will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines are produced on their weekly television program, NXT.[5][6]

On the January 15 episode of NXT, Bianca Belair won a women's battle royal to earn a NXT Women's Championship match against Rhea Ripley at TakeOver: Portland.[7]

On the December 18, 2019 episode of NXT, it was announced that there would be a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.[8] The tournament began on the January 8 episode of NXT. At Worlds Collide, it was revealed that the winner of the tournament would receive a NXT Tag Team Championship match at Takeover: Portland.[9] The finals of the tournament took place on the January 29 episode of NXT which saw The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) defeat Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) to earn a title match against The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) for the titles.[10]

During the women's WarGames match at TakeOver: WarGames, Dakota Kai attacked her teammate Tegan Nox as Kai was coming out of her cage, thus turning heel. As a result, Kai was dismissed while Nox was ruled unable to compete.[11] On the January 15 episode of NXT, Kai would eliminate Nox (who returned after a short hiatus due to a storyline injury) during the women's battle royal.[7] Due to the animosity between Kai and Nox, the two faced other in a match on January 29 episode of NXT, which Nox won after attacking Kai with her knee brace.[10] Later, a rematch between the two was scheduled and made as a street fight at TakeOver: Portland.[12]

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentators Mauro Ranallo
Nigel McGuinness
Beth Phoenix
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Jerry Soto
Ring announcer Alicia Taylor
Referees Drake Wuertz
Darryl Sharma
D.A. Brewer
Interviewer Cathy Kelley
Pre-show panel Charly Caruso
Sam Roberts
Mansoor

Preliminary matches

The event began with Keith Lee defending his NXT North American Championship against Dominik Dijakovic. The match began hot when Lee performed a hurricanrana on Dijakovic to a massive ovation. The match became a hard-hitting affair from then on. Lee would later perform three Grizzly Magnums to Dijakovic on the outside that were heard all across the arena. Dijakovic would bounce back by performing a Superkick and a Springboard Swanton Bomb on Lee on the outside. After trading some near-finishers, Lee would hit a Spirit Bomb only for Dijakovic to land on his feet. Lee would then hit another Spirit Bomb for a close nearfall. Dijakovic would go on to perform a massive Super Spanish Fly for nearfall. Dijakovic would try to go for Feast Your Eyes, but his back gave out, allowing Lee to perform a Big Bang Catastrophe on Dijakovic to retain the title. After the match, the two showed their respect for each other.[13]

The next match was the street fight between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai. The two had used different weapons all throughout the match like chairs, trash cans, a laptop, and a cricket bat. In the end, Nox had given Kai a Shiniest Wizard, but she wasn't done yet. Nox had Kai propped up on a table with a chair wrapped around Kai's neck. Suddenly, Raquel Gonzalez made her first appearance in WWE since the Mae Young Classic, and slammed Nox through the table, allowing Kai to pin Nox for the win.[13]

Following this was the match between Johnny Gargano and Finn Bálor. During the match, Gargano attacked Balor and landed a Slingshot Spear for a nearfall . Meanwhile, Gargano attempted a Slingshot DDT, Then Balor got away and landed a knee. In the end, after Gargano hit a shotgun dropkick to Balor into the barricade, Balor recuperated and gave Gargano a shotgun dropkick of his own. Balor then followed this up with a Coup de Grace and a 1916 for the victory.[13]

Then came the match for the NXT Women's Championship that pitted defending champion, Rhea Ripley, against the challenger, Bianca Belair. In the end, Ripley hit Belair with the Riptide to retain. Suddenly, Charlotte Flair, the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble winner, attacked Ripley and Belair, accepting Ripley's challenge for an NXT Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 36.[13]

The penultimate match was The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) against the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners, The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne), for the NXT Tag Team Championship. This match was filled with many high-risk spots and physical double-team action. Near the end, Riddle ran in and accidentally gave Dunne a spear. O’Reilly and Fish then capitalized by hitting Dunne with Chasing the Dragon for a dramatic nearfall. Dunne fought out of High Low and tagged Riddle in. Riddle tossed O’Reilly into Dunne's Enzuigiri to give Riddle and Dunne the victory and the titles.[13]

Main event

The main event was the long-anticipated NXT Championship match between Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa. Not long into the match, Cole performed a Wheelbarrow suplex on Ciampa to the broadcast table neck-first. Eventually, Ciampa countered an elevated Panama Sunrise and hit a top-rope Air Raid Crash on Cole for a nearfall. Ciampa then gave Cole two powerbombs onto the Spanish announce table. Following a kick and a lariat, Ciampa hit Project Ciampa on Cole for another nearfall. Cole later went for a suicide dive, but Ciampa caught him with a rocket launcher toss. Cole then hit a Draping Piledriver and an Ushigoroshi for a nearfall. Cole then hit The Last Shot, but Ciampa rolled out before he could make the cover. Ciampa then gave Cole another Air Raid Crash onto the ring apron, but Cole followed up with the Panama Sunrise onto the floor. As Cole was getting back into the ring, Ciampa surprised him with a Willow's Bell and then hit the Fairytale Ending for a jaw-dropping nearfall. Soon after, the rest of the Undisputed Era interfered, but Ciampa fought them off. Cole, however, delivered three superkicks and a second Last Shot for a dramatic nearfall. Cole then shoved Ciampa into the referee and hit a low blow on Ciampa, but Ciampa bounced back with a low blow of his own and hit a Fairytale Ending, but there was no referee to count the pinfall. Suddenly, Johnny Gargano came back and told Ciampa to use the NXT Championship as a weapon, only for Gargano to pull it away. After a few seconds, Gargano struck Ciampa in the head with the title, turning heel to the shock of everyone in the audience. Cole then covered the unconscious Ciampa to win the match and retain the title.[13]

Aftermath

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE moved many of their upcoming shows, including WrestleMania 36, to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with no fans in attendance. This began with the March 13 episodes of SmackDown and 205 Live. The WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony was also postponed.[14][15] NXT's next event, TakeOver: Tampa Bay, had also been postponed, but was eventually canceled; matches scheduled and planned for the event were moved to episodes of NXT, beginning April 1.[16] From March 21–26, WWE pre-taped several episodes of their weekly programs for future broadcasts, including WrestleMania (which was taped on March 25 and 26 and then airing on April 4 and 5).[17]

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[13]
1 Keith Lee (c) defeated Dominik Dijakovic Singles match for the NXT North American Championship[18] 20:20
2 Dakota Kai defeated Tegan Nox Street Fight[19] 13:24
3 Finn Bálor defeated Johnny Gargano Singles match[20] 27:22
4 Rhea Ripley (c) defeated Bianca Belair Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship[21] 13:30
5 The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) defeated The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (c) Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship[22] 16:58
6 Adam Cole (c) defeated Tommaso Ciampa Singles match for the NXT Championship[23] 33:23
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic bracket
First Round
NXT
(January 8, January 15) 		Semifinals
NXT
(January 22) 		Final
NXT
(January 29)
         
Imperium (NXT UK)
(Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) 		Pin
The Forgotten Sons (NXT)
(Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) 		5:08[24]
Imperium (NXT UK) 11:23[25]
The BroserWeights (NXT) Pin
The BroserWeights (NXT)
(Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) 		Pin
Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster (NXT UK) 18:20[7]
The BroserWeights (NXT) Pin
Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK) 17:39[10]
Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK)
(James Drake and Zack Gibson) 		Pin
Time Splitters

(Kushida and Alex Shelley) (NXT)

12:00[7]
Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK) Pin
The Undisputed Era (NXT) 13:00[25]
Gallus (NXT UK)
(Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) 		8:51[24]
The Undisputed Era (NXT)
(Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) 		Pin
gollark: It was one of my concept houses.
gollark: Plausibly.
gollark: Lag. Due to chunks being loaded.
gollark: You live *there*? Huh.
gollark: Indeed.

References
  1. "NXT TakeOver Portland Tickets Available This Friday". WWE. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  2. "Next NXT TakeOver special set for Portland, Oregon". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. November 23, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  3. "The Next NXT TakeOver Set To Take Place In Portland, Oregon On 2/16". fightful.com. Fightful Wrestling. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  4. Howell, Nolan (May 29, 2014). "Neville tops Kidd at NXT Takeover". canoe.ca. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  5. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  6. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  7. Powell, Jason (January 15, 2020). "1/15 NXT TV results: Powell's review of a Battle Royal for a shot at the NXT Women's Championship, Kushida and Alex Shelley vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake and Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. Moore, John (December 18, 2019). "12/18 NXT TV results: Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship, Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor for the NXT Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  9. Powell, Jason. "WWE Worlds Collide results: Powell's live review of Undisputed Era vs. Imperium, Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Championship, Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov, DIY vs. Moustache Mountain". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  10. Moore, John (January 29, 2020). "1/29 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament final, Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai, Adam Cole's challenger for the NXT Title at Takeover". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  11. Moore, John (November 23, 2019). "11/23 NXT Takeover: WarGames results – Moore's live review of Undisputed Era vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, a partner in a WarGames match, Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, and Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Kay Lee Ray in a WarGames match, Finn Balor vs. Matt Riddle". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  12. Mrosko, Geno (February 1, 2020). "Street Fight announced for NXT TakeOver: Portland". Cageside Seats. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  13. Moore, John (February 16, 2020). "2/16 NXT Takeover: Portland results – Moore's live review of Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair for the NXT Women's Championship, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne for the NXT Tag Titles, Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  14. "#COVID19 Update: @WWE @WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place. However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. See the full statement". City of Tampa on Twitter. March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  15. Tedesco, Mike (March 16, 2020). "NXT TakeOver and the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony not taking place during WM weekend". WrestleView. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  16. Powell, Jason (March 24, 2020). "NXT Takeover: Tampa's scheduled matches will air on NXT TV". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  17. Johnson, Mike (March 21, 2020). "WWE TAPING UPDATES". PWInsider. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  18. Garretson, Jordan (February 16, 2020). "NXT North American Champion Keith Lee def. Dominik Dijakovic". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  19. Garretson, Jordan (February 16, 2020). "Dakota Kai def. Tegan Nox (Street Fight)". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  20. Garretson, Jordan (February 16, 2020). "Finn Bálor def. Johnny Gargano". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  21. Garretson, Jordan (February 16, 2020). "NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley def. Bianca Belair". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  22. Garretson, Jordan (February 16, 2020). "The BroserWeights def. The Undisputed ERA to become NXT Tag Team Champions". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  23. Garretson, Jordan (February 16, 2020). "To". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  24. Moore, John (January 8, 2018). "1/8 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Damian Priest in a four-way for a shot at the NXT North American Championship, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament begins". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  25. Moore, John (January 22, 2020). "1/22 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Roderick Strong vs. Keith Lee for the NXT North American Championship, Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament semifinal matches, final Worlds Collide hype". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.