NXT TakeOver: Portland - Ranking every match

#5 Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai

This match was going good until the end. You could feel the hatred between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai. They were that convincing in their roles. There were also some brutal weapons spots between them.

Unfortunately, the ending is what's going to be remembered about this match.

Raquel, the former Reina, Gonzalez came from out of nowhere to screw Tegan Nox over when she had the match won. The table failing to break from the fall was the perfect visual for the confusion everyone was feeling.

Undoubtedly, this signals good things for Gonzalez's future in NXT after being off TV for the most part, but TakeOver wasn't the appropriate place to re-introduce her to audiences.

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#4 Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair

While Charlotte's appearance in the aftermath will get most of the buzz, this was a solid match that went much better than many of us thought it was going to. It won't be on any match of the year lists, but it signaled Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair's maturity as in-ring performers, and it was much better than most of Shayna Baszler's TakeOver title defenses.

Now let's talk about Charlotte. The fact that she accepted Ripley's challenge shows just how big a deal the higher-ups view the NXT Women's Champion as. Truly, there is no losing scenario for Ripley here. She can lose and come up to the main roster where she'll get a big push, or beat Charlotte at WrestleMania.

She's in a good spot!