NXT TakeOver: Portland Results, Grades, and Analysis; Cole retains thanks to Gargano

Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano

The two jawed with one another before the bell. Once things officially got started, the two locked up with Balor tossing Gargano down. Another collar-and-elbow led to Balor then trying to work over Gargano’s arm, but Gargano countered with a rollup for just a one count.

A double knuckle lock led to a takedown by Gargano that Balor countered into a head scissors. Gargano wiggled out and locked in a side headlock, and Balor answered back with another head scissors, doing pushups while maintaining the hold. Gargano kipped out and hit a dropkick before taking Balor over into another side headlock.

Balor eventually got to his feet and shot Gargano into the corner, but Gargano floated out trouble and followed up with arm drag and another dropkick. He tried an Irish whip, but Balor reversed, which led to a sunset flip sequence that usually results in a Balor dropkick, but Gargano kicked him first and hit his rolling kick.

Gargano then worked over Balor’s arm, but Balor struck back with a knee to the gut and hit a back elbow for a one count. In the corner now, laid in a bevy of chops, shoulder blocks, and forearm shivers before whipping him into opposite corners and following up with more knife edge chops.

Gargano got his boot up on the last attempt and hit a few chops of his own in the corner. Balor avoided the last chop, but Gargano avoided another Balor chop attempt and speared Balor off the apron.

On the outside now, Gargano sent Balor into the barricade near the announcer’s table.  More chops followed, and when Balor tried to flee, Gargano tried for the John Woo dropkick to the barricade, but Balor countered with a Slingblade.

Balor then hit a knee to the head and rolled Gargano back in to continue attacking the neck. A basement dropkick scored two for Balor and he went back to work on Gargano’s neck. Gargano eventually fought out of a rest hold and hit Divorce Court on Balor went back to weakening the arm.

Gargano then used a hammerlock to cradle Balor for a nearfall. Shortly after, Gargano went for an enzuigiri, but Balor caught him and delivered a Dragon Screw leg whip. From there, Balor zeroed in on Gargano’s leg, punctuating things with a stomp on the back of Gargano’s knee.

He went for another stomp, but Gargano kicked him out of the ring and when Balor reentered, Gargano cradled him for a nearfall. Gargano went for another rolling kick, but Balor caught him and attacked the leg again and applied an inverted Figure Four.

Gargano broke free and hit a step-up enzuigiri when Balor tried to pick the bad leg again. A backbreaker onto the injured knee (which Gargano sold), a gordbuster, a roundhouse kick, and a lariat followed. He went for a suicide dive, but Balor caught him and attempted a 1916 on the floor. Gargano got out of the hold and shoved Balor into the steps.

He then hit a rolling senton from the apron to the floor. Back in the ring, a slingshot spear netted Gargano a nearfall. After some stomps, Gargano went hot the Lawn Dart, but Balor slipped out. Balor went for a reverse DDT, but Gargano escapes. Gargano tries La Mistica, but Balor stops his momentum and finally hits the reverse DDT for a nearfall.

Rope-assisted stomps from Balor to Gargano’s head followed, but when Balor tried the baseball slide, Gargano moved out of the way and hit a superkick. Back in, Gargano tried for Slingshot DDT, but Balor caught him and set up for the 1916. But Gargano picked him up mid-move and hit the Lawn Dart.

This led to a kick exchange that ended with a Pele Kick to Gargano, but Gargano fell on Balor for a nearfall! We got another strike exchange on the ring apron, with both hitting kicks on each other that staggered them. Gargano went for another slingshot spear, but Balor caught him again and tried for his DDT.

He let go and landed some knees and went up top and missed the last knee strike, setting up a Gargano slingshot DDT for a nearfall. We got another staredown and another strike exchange that ended with a discus clothesline from Gargano.

He went for a superkick, but Balor countered with a Slingblade. He attempted a John Woo dropkick, but Gargano answered with another superkick. He tried again with the basement superkick, but Balor hit another Slingblade and connected with the John Woo dropkick.

Coup de Grace attempt by Balor did not score, but the La Mistica into the Garga-No-Escape did for Gargano. But Balor worked out of the hold and crushed Gargano’s ribs with a double foot stomp. He tried again for the 1916, but Gargano countered again and reapplied the Garga-No-Escape.

This time, Balor broke the hold by reaching the ropes. He rolled to the outside, but Gargano followed him out and hit a John Woo dropkick that sent Balor into the guardrail! Gargano then went for the 1916 on the floor, but stopped once the announcer’s table caught his eye.

Balor quickly recovered and hit a gordbuster on the table. He then ascended to the other table, ran across and delivered a John Woo dropkick that sent Gargano off the table and into the guardrail. Balor then rolled Gargano back in the ring, hit the Coup de Grace, and finally scored with the 1916 for the clean win.

Winner: Balor via pinfall

Rating: *****. Unsurprisingly, this was the match of the night. I liked the story of Balor trying his hardest to hit Gargano with 1916 with Gargano trying to avoid it at all costs, as it played into the crux of the feud. They are clearly setting Balor up for another title shot with this emphatic win over Gargano. Could this be a red herring for a title change in the main event?

After a commercial advertised this week’s NXT, Cathy Kelley interviewed Roderick Strong backstage, who hyped up his Undisputed Era teammates before Adam Cole asked Kelley to leave.

The announcers thanked Poppy for the official theme song before transitioning to a Rhea Ripley/Bianca Belair video package. Belair came out with an awesome “Black History in the Making” attire (again, how is she a heel?), followed by the champion.