10 HUGE NXT TakeOver: Portland Predictions You Need To Know

10. A Kickoff Classic

As the first TakeOver of the NXT On USA era, WarGames had more pressure than some prior classics of the genre, but gently tweaked the formula to try and steer away from numerous natural comparisons.

The second WarGames stipulation match reshaped the event as a whole. Finn Bálor's TakeOver return underwhelmed on the night but felt as big as a title match in the build. Pat McAfee, no longer able to be contained by a desk, brought his short shorts into the crowd in a stirring fire-up right before the show went live proper. NXT, now more woven into the fabric of WWE than ever before even got its own Kickoff Match.

Angel Garza's victory over Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott was a seven minute ripper, flexing just some of the skills that had been rebuilt by NXT's reimagining of the Cruiserweight division and Portland could be promised the same.

Next Wednesday, Lio Rush will take on Jordan Devlin in an attempt to win back his recently-lost Cruiserweight Championship, but why not give him an exhibition here? Another go around with Angel Garza might feel like a retread, but there are sure to be others ready to look at the lights in a mini-banger rather than not get any exposure from them at all.