NXT TakeOver: Portland - 5 Potential finishes to Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano

NXT TakeOver: Portland is just a few nights away, and one of the biggest matches fans are looking forward to is between the two biggest stars NXT has ever produced.

Finn Balor, who returned to NXT late last year after facing defeat at the hands of The Fiend at SummerSlam 2019, will take on NXT’s heartbeat Johnny Gargano in a grudge match.

Balor attacked Gargano to turn heel early upon his return and has since been targetting the former NXT Champion who has done it all on the brand.

Both men have a score to settle, and while this match won’t be a Street Fight unlike the match between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai during the event, it could certainly turn into an ugly affair.

In this article, we will look at the 5 possible ways this match could end, and the rivalry possibly continue.

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#5 Finn Balor wins clean

Balor could take the win with a clean victory

This seems like an unlikely finish at this point, but anything is possible in WWE. Finn Balor has proven to one of the biggest heels in NXT and transformed into a heel from a babyface very smoothly.

Since then, Balor has taken out men like Matt Riddle, Tommaso Ciampa, and Trent Seven in major clashes to prove his dominance. He managed to get relatively clean victories over Riddle and Seven, proving that he was in NXT for business.

With that in mind, Balor is looking to end Johnny Gargano’s career in this fight, and he may very well do so as he is the superior Superstar in this battle.

Gargano is known to be the most diehard Superstar in all of the wrestling industry, and kicks out of several finishers with ease, taking the match to the edge. Balor’s Coup de Grace along with the 1916 DDT is probably the most lethal combos in wrestling today and could work against Gargano. Therefore, there is a good chance that Balor can be the man to lay down Gargano with a couple of his finishers and pick up a good hard-fought clean victory.

#4 Match ends in a disqualification

Will one of the men be forced to bring a weapon into the fight?

A more likely finish for the match could come through a disqualification.

Finn Balor is on a mission to end Johnny Gargano and is looking to go to any extent to do that. He has attacked Gargano anywhere and everywhere, and will not only look to keep the fight to the ring.

Gargano, on the other hand, is a man who we know can endure a lot of pain and suffering to exact revenge, and he has done that several times against Tommaso Ciampa, Adam Cole, and many other Superstars.

With so much history in this battle, both men will look to go after each other’s careers more than a win and could bring in weapons into the fight in an act of desperation.

If that turns out to be the case, then this match could result in disqualification with both men unleashing hell on each other without caring about the result of the match.

Not only will this outcome protect the ending of the match, but it will also allow the brand to book a stipulation match between these two men down the road as they seem to be ready to take it to the next level already.

#3 Johnny Gargano wins clean

There is no escape from the Gargano Escape

It’s never surprising to watch Johnny Gargano enter a feud and a fight as the underdog. Even though he is slightly bigger than Finn Balor in size, he will be walking into The Demon’s trap as the babyface underdog.

Keeping that in mind, the ball is in his court as Balor has already attacked him on a number of occasions and sent him to the hospital after delivering the 1916 to him on the entrance ramp.

Gargano is a former NXT Champion and has achieved much more than any other Superstar has in the Black & Gold brand. With all that experience behind him, he could go on top give a great fight to the former Universal Champion.

Balor has already faced defeat upon his return to NXT at the hands of Adam Cole, even though some distractions helped the current NXT Champion. This has shown that Balor is not invincible or above any NXT Superstar at the moment.

All that combined prove that Gargano can defeat Balor after kicking out of a few of his finishers and taking the match to the extreme. This outcome would change the entire course of this rivalry and possibly turn Balor even more villainous while helped Gargano take it to the next level.

#2 Finn Balor wins dirty

The Prince doesn't care how he wins

One of the more likely outcomes of this match could see Finn Balor show his true colors once again and take this fight to the extreme before using his heelish tactics to score the win.

As mentioned earlier, Balor has already defeated Matt Riddle and Trent Seven along with other Superstars clean since his return to NXT. On the other hand, his biggest win came against former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa which saw Adam Cole come out and assist Balor to pick up the victory.

While it seemed like Balor did not need much help in that match, he has already scored a controversial victory in NXT as a heel since his return.

This match is much bigger and much more personal for Balor, and that could take him to the edge and force him to use some heelish ways to score a win over a man who never gives up easily.

An unclean victory will give Balor the bragging rights he’s looking for while allowing this rivalry to continue and take it to the next level.

#1 Match ends in a no-contest

The match could make its way out of the ring into the arena

A no-contest seems like the most likely ending to the match which has extremely high stakes. NXT will be looking to extend this rivalry as it is bigger than any other feud on the brand without any title involved.

The potential match of the year candidate has already been dubbed as the final match of Johnny Gargano’s life by Finn Balor. Balor is not just thinking about defeating Gargano and sending him back home, but he is looking to end his career for good.

The feeling must be mutual now that so much has happened between these two men without a fight taking place. Gargano has suffered a lot at the hands of Balor without being able to get his hands on him completely.

Keeping all that in mind, we could watch these two men battle in an epic fight that ends up going all around the arena and ending with both men being unable to compete for any longer after some big spots. This would lead the match into a no-contest and make it a must-watch affair while protecting the outcome of the rivalry completely.

The outcome would also allow both men to disappear from television for some time before returning and getting back at it in time for TakeOver: Tampa Bay where they could battle in a huge stipulation match.